Fan favorites: Miami’s men’s basketball team packing Millett Hall
Record crowds are supporting the RedHawks during their undefeated run
Fan favorites: Miami’s men’s basketball team packing Millett Hall
Miami University swimmer Eli Rolfsen is used to racing in the pool at the Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center on the Oxford campus.
But the first-year Finance major has garnered national attention for “swimming” in the student section during Miami’s men’s basketball 26-0 undefeated run so far this season. While the swimmers don their Speedos, Rolfsen is hoisted into the air to “swim” in a high energy, hilarious show of support to distract Miami’s opponents when they step up to the free-throw line.
So, what is it like “swimming” in Millett Hall?
“It’s really surreal,” said Rolfsen, admitting that it takes some courage for them to drop down to their Speedos in such a public place. “We did it the first time when nobody was here and thought why not try it the second time when it’s a packed house.”
Rolfsen called it good team bonding and a lot of fun.
“It’s a good environment to be in, and anything I can do to help them miss their free throws is always fun,” he said. “Against Central Michigan, there was definitely a guy who we rattled a little bit. He ended up missing three or four in a row.”
Added fellow swimmer Luke Pugh, a first-year student majoring in Mechanical Engineering: “I believe it has been extremely effective. When looking at different teams who’ve played here while we’ve done Speedos, their free throw percentage was dramatically lower than their average across the season.”
You might expect that in a large, open arena like Millett, the swimmers would be freezing. Pugh said actually, they’re comfortable.
“It gets surprisingly warm when all of the guys are around you cheering on the best basketball team in America,” he said.
Record sellouts
Miami University President Gregory Crawford, a fixture at the games, was thrilled to see Millett filled to capacity for another record sellout.
“It’s just very exciting to see how much this basketball team adds to the student experience,” President Crawford said as he watched a sea of fans filling the arena. “It’s spectacular. We’re here an hour early and there are very few seats left."
One of the early birds was Lindsay Stevenson, a senior majoring in Business Analytics. She has been a diehard fan of the basketball team since her first year at Miami and is thrilled to see the swelling crowds this season.
“I finally got to see other people share what I think college should look like,” she said, noting that she has only missed a couple of the games in four years, once due to an evening class exam.
She was among the dozens of students who ran to get prime seats in the rowdy student section — something she hasn’t had to do before.
“I got here really early. I work for Athletics, so I was actually working for baseball in the office, and when 7:30 hit, I ran down here,” said Stevenson, who also works for field hockey.
Stevenson has kept track of the team’s impressive record since the 20th straight win on a large poster. With each win, the tally is updated on the jerseys of two players.
“In every game, the players have come and stuck a new one on,” she said, hoping for a another win that night before the victory against Ohio University. Sure enough, afterward, the players ran over to change the numbers to 25-0. It has since climbed to 26-0. Two more home games remain: against Bowling Green at 8:30 p.m. this Friday and against Toledo at 7 p.m. March 3.
Stevenson was sporting red-and-white striped overalls in Millett before they became a giveaway to the first 200 students at the OU game.
“I’ve had these for a while. President Crawford came up to me the last game and was like ‘We need to get these to more students,’ so I think I may have actually started the trend,” she said.
Band provides plenty of pep
Pep band members Evan Osborn and Annabelle Jokisch, both seniors, said they have really enjoyed watching the teams do so well this season.
Osborn, a double major in International Studies and Urban and Regional Planning, plays mellophone.
“I never really liked sports until I joined Pep Band in high school, and ever since, I have made every single home game that I can, between basketball, hockey, and volleyball,” he said.
“People tell me all the time that I ‘bring the energy to the band’ if that tells you anything about how much I love it. Win or lose, I always try to keep the energy up and support the team,” he said.
He enjoys playing at the basketball and hockey games.
“I instantly fell in love with hockey from the moment I first walked into Goggin over three years ago,” he said. Being from a rural town in Indiana, he was already a fan of basketball. “But Goggin was a whole new world for me, even though the team had not quite been able to win that many games. This year, hockey has been absolutely insane!”
Osborn said he’s “absolutely speechless” that the hockey team has won nearly as many games this year (17) as his freshman, sophomore, and junior years combined (18).
“I never considered that I would be around when hockey would be nationally ranked,” he said.
Jokisch, a double major in Zoology and Environmental Science, also has enjoyed playing music at the games and participating in a special show on ice that they do at a hockey game once a year.
She has played baritone in the pep band all four years at Miami.
“It has been so enriching,” Jokisch said. “We have a pretty solid baritone section, we're all pretty close, and it is so fun to hang out at these games with all of them and the rest of my friends in the band. And it's such a great opportunity to bond with other students, getting rowdy, joining in those old chants, showing our school spirit together. The student section and pep band work together to get a lot of chants going.”
Jokisch added, “I honestly think that if I hadn't joined the pep band my freshman year, I otherwise would not have gone to basketball or hockey games, or at least not as often, which would have been an absolute shame. I love following Miami athletics now, and I can't imagine a spring semester where I wasn't heading to Goggin or Millett every weekend. This year, the atmosphere at hockey and basketball games has been truly unmatched, and it is absolutely heartwarming to see them have the success and receive the attention they so deserve.”
‘That means you’re in the big time’
Gov. Mike DeWine ’69 and First Lady Fran DeWine ’71 attended the most recent OU game at Millett. In addition to being alumni, four of their children and seven of their grandchildren have gone to Miami.
“It's exciting to see it filled and feel the excitement,” DeWine said of Millett. “When we went here, most of the time they were playing at (the former) Withrow Court, which was actually a great venue because it was so loud.”
“It’s amazing. They are undefeated so far,” he said, impressed the game was televised on ESPN. “That means you’re in the big time.”
Throughout Millett, fans filled the arena to the very top rows.
Sitting in row LL, a few rows from the top, Matt Brady, a junior with a double major in Finance and Accounting, called the packed arena a beautiful sight. He was among 30 students and alumni from his fraternity, Alpha Sigma Phi, soaking up the action.
“There are 10,000 people in here,” he said. “It’s a sports school now, and we love it.”
