Star players, such as Chris Carr and Marcus Timmons, and effective coaches, such as Rich Herrin for the men’s team and Cindy Scott for the women’s team, have been instrumental in making the SIUC basketball program a winning body. The fans of the Saluki basketball season are also an important factor playing into the teams’ victories through vocal and financial support from ticket sales.

thanks to a three-way partnership of coaches, players and fans, the Saluki men’s team currently has highly competitive winning stats in their conference. The men’s team currently holds a record of 11-4, placing them second in the conference. While fan attendance at the men’s games has been solid, turnout at women’s games leaves much to be desired. Coaches and players for the women’s team have proven their worthiness for support the women hold a record of 10-4. However, with an Arena capacity of about 9,000, average attendance at Saluki women’s home games is only about 200 fans. The men’s fans need to pay an equal amount of support to the formidable Saluki women.

just as the teams and coaches cannot lay down their playing hatchets, neither can the fans neglect the importance of providing enthusiastic support at the games. Fans are part of the fuel to the fiery success of the Saluki teams; they need to show in full force in the last few games of the conference season to give their teams an extra playing edge to fend off opponents.

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