Bryer Haywood, Staff Writer
Ben Martindale, Staff Writer
Drew Thompson, Sports Editor
VCU men’s basketball garnered national attention for its historic performance in this year’s March Madness. Their comeback against the University of North Carolina was the largest in first round NCAA Tournament history.
Men’s basketball is undeniably the premier attraction for VCU Athletics, and it receives the funding to back it up. VCU Athletics Director Ed McLaughlin promised to devote $4-5 million to pay men’s basketball players last year.
With the success of the team this past season, that number is only slated to increase. The team is also already revered by the Richmond community, with home games averaging a sell out of 7,614 people. Even for away games, thousands of people show up to support the Rams.
Official statistics from VCU Athletics show that 14,178 Rams fans went to the second round game against the University of Illinois. Though the Rams ultimately lost that game by 21 points, the fervor for the team has not diminished.
However, while the community travels in droves to support the Rams, the student section tends to remain the emptiest come the opening whistle.
VCU is home to over 29,000 students, but the overall student population tends to not know, or not care about the athletics on campus.
A majority of the sports receive little attention from fans and students alike, and the men’s basketball team tends to draw more attention only because of its national recognition.
For some students, like third-year business management major Emeka Guthrie, there are simply more important things to focus on than attend basketball games.
“The reason I don’t care for basketball that much is because other things require that attention too,” Guthrie said.
Guthrie is a transfer student and added that she wishes the university put more attention on other aspects of the school rather than just the basketball program.
This sentiment is echoed by other students, like second-year psychology major Ryan McLellan.
McLellan noted that he does not engage in sports and has not noticed anything about basketball culture at VCU. He added that he thinks greater emphasis should be placed on other sports programs or activities in general.
“I don’t think I’ve heard anything about VCU sports programs aside from basketball,” McLellan said.
However, there is a disconnect in the student base on the importance of the men’s basketball program.
Zane Tripp, a third-year communications major, called the program “incredibly important” to VCU’s school spirit. Tripp said he feels like there has been a noticeable culture shift on campus since the NCAA Tournament.
“After we saw them win against UNC, there was [sic] a lot of people extremely happy, especially on social media,” Tripp said. “The fact that I saw my school on my “For You” page, it made me happy.”
This disconnect extends past just the student base, as the rest of Richmond also finds themselves wrapped up in it.
During a February Board of Visitors meeting, Clifton Peay, chair of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee, spoke about Richmond not having a “real sports culture.”
Greg Burton, Director of Communication and Engagement at the Center for Sport Leadership, said the opposite, calling the sports culture “strong,” “vibrant” and still evolving.
It is increasingly harder to bridge the gap between people who care and do not care about sports. The March Madness win — while bringing national attention — does little to clear the disconnect.