Crimson Guard (basketball)

The Crimson Guard is the student section supporting the Indiana Hoosiers. Despite not having a unified section of seats, the Crimson Guard is one of the largest student sections in the nation.

History

Until Tom Crean became the head coach of Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball, the university did not have an official student section. Despite IU's storied basketball program and its established tradition, IU was one of the last schools in the Big Ten to have an official student section.

In 2007, during two home games against Purdue and Iowa, tension rose between the current students and alumni when the "cross-armed" alumni remained seated during the games. Beau Dunffee, an IU student at the time, began a "Stand up old people" cheer, which eventually led to the revolt to get an official student section at Assembly Hall. Kelvin Sampson, the then-head coach, also expressed his wishes for a student section, claiming that a unified student section seated near the court would provide a greater advantage for the team. Dunfee argued that when it comes to student seating, it's quality over quantity. Even though there were 8,000 [scattered] seats reserved for students, not all of them were looked upon favorably. A 2007 ESPN poll said IU's students' spirit was 4th among all universities, which made the push for a student section all the more reasonable.

Gaining attraction and having the platform to do it, D.J. White made one request during his speech on senior night. He asked that IU have a "real" student section, such as Michigan State's Izzone or University of Illinois' Orange Krush. He stated, "I want to give a special shoutout to our sixth man, the student section. When I come back to visit, when I come back to watch a game, I actually hope we have a real student section, which we really deserve."

Sara Amato, from the Indiana Daily Student (IDS), wrote in June 2008 that the Indiana University Student Association (IUSA) was focusing their efforts on creating an official student section. Luke Fields, the IUSA president, said, “We can do our part. We’ve got to get them to do theirs.” Noting the degree of difficulty, he named Tom Crean as an important figure in the creation of a student section.

Despite the cries from the students, some people from the athletic department voiced their concerns. It is well known that basketball is the money-maker at IU; much of the campus' revenue comes from basketball ticket sales. It was claimed that if IU took away prime seating from alumni and gave it to the students, the result would be a loss in revenue. Other, similar concerns about the cost were also voiced.

In the fall of 2008, during an enthusiastic lecture, Tom Crean was asked about an official student section during the Q&A session. While he indirectly addressed the issue, he ultimately had no answers for the students. When he asked if a student section was something they would be interested in, the crowd erupted with cheers and applause. Crean asked that the students to be patient and give him some time, as this is something he would like as well. Having sold 9,100 tickets to students during the 2007-08 season but dissapoined that students had been showing up after tip-off, Crean said that if a student section was something that the students wanted, then it's something that should be considered.

Still without a student section, IDS writer, Jeremy Rosenthal proposed creating a student section at the women's basketball games. The tickets to these games are free, so the university wouldn't have to be worried about losing money. Rosenthal argued that if the student section was considered successful, then perhaps that would be enough evidence to support having an official student section at the men's games.

Finally, in 2009, the name "Crimson Guard" was selected by the students as the name of the new, official student section. Senior Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing, Pat Kraft, stated "The students are what makes Assembly Hall such a special place, and after tallying thousands of votes, they have decided their own name for the best student section in the country. We are extremely pleased at the turnout and look forward to continued support and excitement from the Crimson Guard.". Even though tickets and seating haven't changed, the Crimson Guard has started to form itself. Since becoming the official student section, the Crimson Guard has created their own website and Twitter account. In a recent 2010 effort, IU had their first "first-come, first-serve" student section game. Students who held tickets for certain rows in certain sections during the 2010-11 season were able to sit wherever they wanted. Fred Glass, IU's athletic director, claimed that he was open to expanding this type of student section if it was popular; however, an entire, full-fledged "first-come, first-serve" student section was unlikely due to a feared drop in overall ticket sales that might be caused if students started to cherry-pick games to attend.