Winthrop hopes scholarship giveaway attracts more students to basketball games

College administrators know there are two popular ways to motivate students: money and pizza. This basketball season, Winthrop University’s Coliseum will have both – new scholarship giveaways to boost game attendance and pizza available with the swipe of a meal card.

The pizza slices have been around for awhile, but the scholarship incentive is new this year. It’s an effort by Winthrop leaders to get more fans in the student section at men’s and women’s games and, hopefully, to turn around the trend of students leaving campus on weekends.

On Fridays at Winthrop, says student Sara De Oliveira, “come 2 p.m., it’s a ghost town.”

With most Winthrop students being South Carolina natives,a parade of cars leaves the parking lots on Thursday nights and Friday afternoons. For years, university leaders have bemoaned the “suitcase school” label and have tried ways to keep students in Rock Hill on weekends.

The new program, called Game Changers, is the latest attempt.

“This is exactly what Winthrop needs,” said the 20-year-old sophomore from Dallas, Texas.

Oliveira is on the Winthrop Eagles Coach’s Cabinet and has been working with school faculty and staff members to market athletic events and Game Changers.

Oliveira says she’d like to see Game Changers pull in at least 500 more students to basketball games.

Students who attend home basketball games, sit in the designated student sections and stay until the final buzzer have a shot at winning $500 scholarships.

The scholarships will be given away only if the Eagles win at home. Donors have committed $2,000 for each home victory, which will provide three $500 scholarships per game. The remaining $500 will go toward a bigger scholarship for a student at a game at the end of the season.

To win the big prize, students must attend at least five home games.

Another incentive program, sponsored by Agape, will award student organizations money for charitable causes they support if they recruit the most students to home games. Agape will donate $6,000 to philanthropic efforts designated by three winning Winthrop clubs or organizations.

During the games, support groups such as WU Crew and the Coliseum Crazies will try to energize fans with “cheer cards” to direct chants, free t-shirts and paint for people to show school pride on their bodies.

Support for Game Changers comes from the top. Winthrop President Dan Mahony came up with the idea and helped find donors.

Mahony, who started July 1 as Winthrop’s 11th president, says he would like Winthrop to be the best, or one of the best, schools in the Big South Conference for game attendance at men’s and women’s basketball games.

Last season, the men’s team averaged 1,239 fans – below the conference average of 1,446. The women’s team averaged 410 – below the conference average of 600.

Bigger and better-known NCAA Division 1 conferences count thousands of people in the crowd during basketball season. On average last season, Division 1 men’s teams drew 4,754 people to games, with the Big Ten, the ACC and the SEC leading the way. Division 1 women’s teams drew an average of 1,565 fans last season, with the University of South Carolina leading the nation in home attendance for the first time ever at 12,293 fans per game.

Coach wants ‘hostile home environment’

If students go to games, it’s likely they’ll have a reason to celebrate at Winthrop. Both teams have had winning records in recent years. The 2015-2016 season started Saturday for the men, Friday for the women.

Cook led the women’s team to its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance and Big South Conference championship last year. He has averaged 21 wins per season. In the Big South pre-season poll, the women’s team ranked second.

Men’s coach Pat Kelsey is in his fourth year at Winthrop. Last year he led the Eagles to the team’s second consecutive Big South conference championship game. . The squad was voted third in the conference’s pre-season poll this year.

Getting more people into Winthrop’s 6,100-seat coliseum will make a big difference for the players, both coaches say.

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Kelsey – known for his energy and passion on the court – says “I’m not going to rest until we have a hostile home environment.”

He’s been telling students, “Come to the games, stay and cheer like crazy.” Kelsey says he wants Winthrop basketball games to be like “can’t-miss-TV in Rock Hill ... . When I think about it, I can’t sit still.”

Kelsey says having a “loud, raucous” coliseum crowd not only will strengthen Winthrop’s home court advantage but also aid in recruiting players.

The Game Changers program may be the first step toward building a bigger fan base, he says. But even if the idea doesn’t take off with students, Kelsey and Cook said they are glad Winthrop leaders, especially Mahony, are putting resources toward increasing game crowds.

At other schools, Kelsey said, it’s rare for coaches to find that kind of support.

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Winthrop hopes scholarship giveaway attracts more students to basketball games."