I started my college career a few years ago at Syracuse University, playing bass in the basketball pep band. There was something uniting for the school in those games. It could have been the Orangemen’s trip to the Final Four or just the shared experience rooting for the home team. It united much of the campus in a way that is not seen here at NEIU. That could change next month.
There are many differences between Syracuse and NEIU, and it could be said that it is not fair to compare Eagles to Orangemen. In many ways the two institutions could not be further apart. But they are about to have one thing in common: big basketball.
The American Basketball Association’s Chicago Rockstars are going to have their inaugural season on this campus starting Nov 10. This is not because NEIU was looking for big basketball but because Chicago State’s new-state-of-the- art sports facility, where the Rockstars were set to play, is still under construction. Call it outsourcing school sprit.
The Rockstars represent a return to big sports not seen in a decade on campus. It’s true that students have started a baseball team that is competing with other schools, but they are basically a student club. The Rockstars are closer to what the Chicago Wolves are to the Chicago Blackhawks.
The university community has the opportunity to have a small experiment in sports. Unlike Syracuse, NEIU has neither dorms nor a domed stadium within walking distance of those dorms. It does not have network television contracts or even a pep band. So what will the university community do with this?
Will students embrace it, or will it be another great resource commuter students do not have time for? There is the opportunity to show the administration that there is something on campus to unite these disparate communities. If turnout is strong and there is a buzz about these games, perhaps this could signal a new university president to consider sports again.
Not all students on this campus are big sports fans, especially at a university that has lacked teams for a decade. Students who make sports are a priority might go to where the Blue Demons, Wildcats or Fighting Irish play. NEIU has been given an opportunity at no cost to see where sports rank on this campus.
It may be that there is no bang and it all fizzles and goes to Chicago State next year, but the advocates for sports on campus can’t say they did not have the opportunity to show what sports means to them.
The only other thing that is unknown is how much students will have to pay for seats.