For the first time in at least seven years, Duke men’s basketball’s home matchup against Maryland might not be a tenting game. Instead, students will likely camp out to see Duke square off against Wake Forest and, as always, long-time nemesis North Carolina.
Shifting the tenting games is one piece of a larger effort to generate greater energy among Cameron Crazies, whom head coach Mike Krzyzewski and others said have not lived up their reputation during recent seasons. Head line monitor Steve Rawson announced the likely changes at a town hall meeting Thursday night about adjustments to the laws of Krzyzewskiville.
Duke will face Maryland Jan. 26 and UNC Feb. 9, which would have limited the tenting period compared to previous years. The Wake Forest matchup is not until Feb. 20, and students have suggested that extending tenting will generate more enthusiasm for the season. K-ville enthusiasts hope elevating the game with the Demon Deacons to tenting status will also help infuse energy into Cameron Indoor Stadium throughout the season.
Rawson said opening tenting for all three games was still a possibility. Prior to 1997, Crazies regularly tented for more than four games each year. Rawson plans to gauge support of the extra tenting game at several community forums during the next few weeks.
Since Maryland won the National Championship in 2002, the team has slipped, and in the past few years Duke fans have chanted “not our rivals” at the Terrapins. The team’s lackluster performance last year prompted the change, Rawson said.
Last year many students regarded the Maryland game as a footnote along the way to UNC. Students’ lack of enthusiasm was vindicated when Duke trounced the Terps 86-63 Feb. 22. After the game, the Crazies filed out of Cameron in virtual silence, bored by the blowout. No one even attempted to light a bonfire.
Maryland edged out Duke in an overtime game to win the ACC championship later that season, but students are dwelling on the Blue Devils’ victory.
Avid tenters at the forum hailed the change as a welcome move, noting that Wake Forest will likely be one of the best teams in the nation next season. “As soon as the schedule came out, everyone had that game circled,” said sophomore Jeff Harris, who lived in Tent No. 3 last year.
Even though the ACC expansion has forced the league to abandon its double round robin schedule, for the foreseeable future Duke will continue to play Maryland and UNC twice each season. Duke and Wake Forest will play twice in 2004-2005 but are not guaranteed to have a home-and-home series in future years.
K-ville came under scrutiny in Spring 2003 after students suffered through a season of unusually harsh weather conditions. Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, challenged tenters and line monitors to shorten the tenting period, and administrators debated the consequences of the month-long campout on intellectual life.
As a result of the discussion, students could not officially register for tenting until about one month prior to the first game. Tenters, however, gathered in K-ville as early as Dec. 26.
Despite the continued enthusiasm of die-hard residents, the Cameron Crazies were criticized for a lack of creativity and attendance as onlookers said the cheers sounded stilted and seats in the student section remained empty.
Attendance continued to lag throughout last year, and line monitors increased efforts to make students aware of open seats in Cameron.
A slight resurgence of enthusiasm surfaced at the end of the season with “cheer sheets” being reinstituted after a year-long absence and several large parties in K-ville before the UNC game.
More ways to generate support for the team were discussed at Thursday’s meeting. Rawson said he wanted to fill the stadium by making basketball games more appealing to students who may be intimidated or discouraged by the current line policies. Attendees also discussed whether to deter students from setting up tents well before the official opening of tenting.
“We’ll continue to be creative in trying to fairly implement the system,” Rawson said, adding that he wanted to be mindful not to “disenfranchise the hard-core students.”
Jake Gillen, a senior who has been in one of the first five tents for three years, said that “some people are just committed to other things” and do not deserve the best seats in Cameron. Others at the meeting reiterated that K-ville spots should remain “first-come, first-serve.”
The next forum will take place Sept. 9 at 8 p.m. on the fifth floor of McClendon Tower in Keohane Quadrangle.
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