Post by krazykev on Jan 27, 2007 7:50:40 GMT -5
By Rob Daniels
Staff Writer
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GREENSBORO -- Unlike the average third-party political candidate, the N.C. A&T Aggies have found that the hardest part was getting on the ballot. But once they had an advocate and a chance, they struck a blow for populism.
Ross Perot, say howdy to Aggie Pride.
With almost all the precincts reporting Friday afternoon, A&T ranked 14th out of 22 original nominees in an espn.com poll that asked fans to name the college basketball programs with "the best school spirit." The Aggies are outpacing more established and celebrated programs, chiefly Oklahoma and 1994 NCAA champion Arkansas.
"We've drawn when I was horrible," said coach Jerry Eaves, whose team is 4-3 in the MEAC entering today's home game with Norfolk State. "They still come out. It's hard to explain. Now that we have a product -- and we're not the best team -- they back us like we're North Carolina. Like we're Duke."
A&T, which won seven straight MEAC titles in the 1980s but hasn't won a championship since 1994, is drawing 3,412 fans a game this season. More than 4,800 showed up for the Howard game on Jan. 8 although the BCS national championship football game was going on simultaneously. And that was enough to start a mini- insurgency against the big guys.
ESPN convened seven of its college hoops experts -- former Duke player Jay Bilas, former coach Fran Fraschilla, ex-Notre Dame and Oklahoma State player Doug Gottlieb and four career journalists -- and asked them to name the five best environments in the game.
Kyle Whelliston, the network's guru on all things outside the six major conferences, was asked to stump for his people, and his list enumerated Missouri State, Western Kentucky, Valparaiso, Penn and A&T.
"At most schools," Whelliston wrote, "four straight 20-loss seasons would make the fans bring pitchforks and torches to the gym, but N.C. A&T fans are loud, proud, true-blue and devoted. The Aggies fans pack the Corbett Center with 4,000-plus crowds each and every game, regularly clocking in at double the next-closest MEAC school in average attendance."
In 2005-06, the Aggies' attendance of 4,040 fans per game was 21/2 times the average of the MEAC's other 10 schools.
A raucous student section, situated behind both baskets, makes life difficult on opponents unlucky enough to draw the assignment of in-bounding the ball. If not for the rulebook, which says you can't play music while the ball is in play, the band would go all night. And heaven help the foe who fouls out. The public-address announcer makes a special mention of it and elicits a chant from the fans wishing the miscreant a nice evening.
So the Aggies had a sponsor in Whelliston, and they therefore had a spot on a ballot with Duke, named by four of the other six members of the caucus, and Kansas, chosen by five panelists.
Then it became a matter of power to the people.
A&T tracked last in the early going but gradually moved up and ultimately passed Penn, Southern Illinois, New Mexico, Gonzaga, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri State and Butler. That part again spoke to the zeal of the fan base, which logged on and voted in numbers disproportionate to their numerical total.
By way of comparison, A&T reported men's basketball expenses of $621,672 in Fiscal Year 2005-06. Arkansas checked in at $5,272,643; Oklahoma parted with $3,908,020.
At 4 p.m. today, the Aggies play their first home game in 19 days. During that time, they put together their first three-game winning streak in MEAC road play in five seasons. Hampton comes in on Monday night and another big throng is expected.
The future may be even more intriguing.
"If we do get back to the level we want, they'll be lined up outside the Corbett Sports Center," Eaves said. "No question."
Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rdaniels@news-record.com
Staff Writer
ADVERTISEMENT
GREENSBORO -- Unlike the average third-party political candidate, the N.C. A&T Aggies have found that the hardest part was getting on the ballot. But once they had an advocate and a chance, they struck a blow for populism.
Ross Perot, say howdy to Aggie Pride.
With almost all the precincts reporting Friday afternoon, A&T ranked 14th out of 22 original nominees in an espn.com poll that asked fans to name the college basketball programs with "the best school spirit." The Aggies are outpacing more established and celebrated programs, chiefly Oklahoma and 1994 NCAA champion Arkansas.
"We've drawn when I was horrible," said coach Jerry Eaves, whose team is 4-3 in the MEAC entering today's home game with Norfolk State. "They still come out. It's hard to explain. Now that we have a product -- and we're not the best team -- they back us like we're North Carolina. Like we're Duke."
A&T, which won seven straight MEAC titles in the 1980s but hasn't won a championship since 1994, is drawing 3,412 fans a game this season. More than 4,800 showed up for the Howard game on Jan. 8 although the BCS national championship football game was going on simultaneously. And that was enough to start a mini- insurgency against the big guys.
ESPN convened seven of its college hoops experts -- former Duke player Jay Bilas, former coach Fran Fraschilla, ex-Notre Dame and Oklahoma State player Doug Gottlieb and four career journalists -- and asked them to name the five best environments in the game.
Kyle Whelliston, the network's guru on all things outside the six major conferences, was asked to stump for his people, and his list enumerated Missouri State, Western Kentucky, Valparaiso, Penn and A&T.
"At most schools," Whelliston wrote, "four straight 20-loss seasons would make the fans bring pitchforks and torches to the gym, but N.C. A&T fans are loud, proud, true-blue and devoted. The Aggies fans pack the Corbett Center with 4,000-plus crowds each and every game, regularly clocking in at double the next-closest MEAC school in average attendance."
In 2005-06, the Aggies' attendance of 4,040 fans per game was 21/2 times the average of the MEAC's other 10 schools.
A raucous student section, situated behind both baskets, makes life difficult on opponents unlucky enough to draw the assignment of in-bounding the ball. If not for the rulebook, which says you can't play music while the ball is in play, the band would go all night. And heaven help the foe who fouls out. The public-address announcer makes a special mention of it and elicits a chant from the fans wishing the miscreant a nice evening.
So the Aggies had a sponsor in Whelliston, and they therefore had a spot on a ballot with Duke, named by four of the other six members of the caucus, and Kansas, chosen by five panelists.
Then it became a matter of power to the people.
A&T tracked last in the early going but gradually moved up and ultimately passed Penn, Southern Illinois, New Mexico, Gonzaga, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri State and Butler. That part again spoke to the zeal of the fan base, which logged on and voted in numbers disproportionate to their numerical total.
By way of comparison, A&T reported men's basketball expenses of $621,672 in Fiscal Year 2005-06. Arkansas checked in at $5,272,643; Oklahoma parted with $3,908,020.
At 4 p.m. today, the Aggies play their first home game in 19 days. During that time, they put together their first three-game winning streak in MEAC road play in five seasons. Hampton comes in on Monday night and another big throng is expected.
The future may be even more intriguing.
"If we do get back to the level we want, they'll be lined up outside the Corbett Sports Center," Eaves said. "No question."
Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rdaniels@news-record.com
