Membership requires $10 and taste for Big Macs

Banking on the probability that Saluki fans love Big Macs, SIU has joined with McDonald’s to put a new spin on the rabid group of fans at basketball games known affectionately as the Dawg Pound.

Traditionally, the Dawg Pound has always been the section of the arena comprised of the most ardent Saluki fans. To be a part of the Pound, one simply had to have a maroon shirt and an undying dedication to the Salukis.

Advertisement

But this year, for the first time, $10 will also be a requisite to be officially recognized as a Dawg Pound member.

Dropping a 10-spot gets students, T-shirts, rally towels and official membership cards. This card allows members to get one 99-cent Big Mac per visit to any Carbondale area McDonald’s. Also, the doors to the SIU Arena will be opened a half-hour early for Dawg Pound members to ensure they get the seats they paid for.

Mike Trude, the promotions and marketing director for SIU, said it is the equivalent of getting season tickets. If official members do not show up to the games, those seats are still open to other students.

However, Dawg Pound members with cards have priority over other students for those seats.

“I don’t care if they’re wearing the T-shirt and their names are on the list,” Trude said. “They have to have the membership card and the ticket to get in early.”

While some students who have religiously participated in the Dawg Pound may be disappointed in having to pay to sit there this year, Trude said it is a minor issue. He said seats are readily available throughout the stadium and as the games are athletic events, the athletic department has the right to decide such things.

In addition to the regular season seating privileges, Dawg Pound members will also have the first crack at post-season tickets for both basketball and football events should they be available for students.

Advertisement*

Trude said the concept came out of looking at other schools that employed similar methods for their sports teams. One example was Purdue’s “Gene Pool,” named in honor of the Boilermakers’ head basketball coach Gene Keady.

Like the Dawg Pound, members of the “Gene Pool” must pay to be part of the group in order to attain the seats they want. Unlike SIU students, Purdue students must also pay to get into the games.

“We know students here can get into the games, that’s not a problem,” Trude said. “Where they sit after that has become a problem.”

Trude citied the fact that proper sportsmanship among fans has become a concern not only among the Missouri Valley Conference games, but also those throughout the NCAA.

By selling memberships for the Dawg Pound, SIU has more control over who sits in those seats as well as providing crowd control in the Dawg Pound section. Trude said the concerns voiced by the MVC and NCAA do not pertain specifically to the Dawg Pound, but to all student sections.

Thus far, more than 400 out of available 750 memberships have been sold. Trude said he expected things to go this well, but not so soon before the start of the basketball season. He attributes the success in large part to McDonald’s sponsorship, helping to defray the costs of T-shirts and rally towels.

“It’s a win-win situation,” Trude said. “McDonald’s gets to reach students and it’s a sponsorship benefit for us.”

Cheap food is obviously one of the best ways to lure college students into anything. Trude said many students bought memberships solely for the Big Mac deal.

“I hope they still attend the games,” Trude said. “If they don’t, they’re really missing out.”

Lance England, a freshman in computer science, thought it was an interesting idea, particularly the 99-cent Big Macs.

“It sounds like a good way to get people on board,” England said. “Besides, everyone loves McDonald’s.”