Athletic department to blame for shrinking crowds in Cameron
As a freshman in the Fall of 2003, I can recall a time where students were turned away at the door for a home game against the University of Detroit, a school whose biggest claim to fame in the world of basketball is having Dick Vitale as head coach. That was at a time when undergrads owned considerably more real estate in Cameron than they do now. We were loud, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and original. Ruby red slippers awaiting Roy Williams at his seat upon his first visit to Cameron to remind him he wasn’t in Kansas anymore immediately come to mind. And now, as a grad student in my ninth consecutive year at Duke, the undergrad section has deteriorated into a shadow of its former self. The undergrads do not know the game or the team and what few cheers they remember are dull and uninspired, to put it mildly. While there is no doubt that this current batch of undergrads are at fault for not attending games and reacting with relative apathy when rarely in attendance, Kevin White, Mike Forman and the brass at the University Athletic Department should assume the lion’s share of blame in this scenario for creating a culture in Cameron Indoor Stadium that is like every other arena in college sports.