Football is the undisputed answer when it comes to most watched sports on campus. All the other sports have their spectators, but none compare to the fans who pack Spartan Stadium.
The ice hockey teams are looking to change that, by offering a shuttle to select home games at Spartan Arena. The shuttle is offered for games picked by the coaches of the Men’s and Women’s teams, like the recent “Purple” game for Domestic Violence awareness.
The idea of a student shuttle was brought up to the Student Government Association by the coach of the men’s team, Steve Moffat.
“I suggested or asked the Student Government Association if it was possible if we could get a student fan van and they did an unbelievable job setting it up, and we got one for each Friday home game,” Moffat said.
While the idea was brought up to the SGA, Delegate Hollie Nop and Secretary Colleen Kunz especially liked the idea.
“I thought it was a nice thing that (Coach Moffat) came to the SGA to ask for our help, so I thought it was something to pay attention to,” Kunz said.
Nop added the SGA was interested in the project because of what it meant for student life, and based on the fact that 30 people rode the shuttle to the first game, according to Kunz, the service is making an impact.
“It is our way to enhance weekend activities and just help give students something to do,” Nop said.
Nop and Kunz both mentioned a few other reasons why students may not flock to hockey games the way they do with other sports. These reasons included traveling to Rutland and ticket costs.
Moffat said the tickets used to costs $3, but Associate Dean for Athletics and Recreation, Deanna Tyson was the person behind making the tickets free.
The Men’s ice hockey team and its coach really enjoy the new service.
“Well, the guys love it, I mean we’ve had unbelievable student support at our home games and you know it’s great for the school to be able to show some support for the team and it really fires up our guys,” Moffat said enthusiastically.
According to Nop, the service is largely a bridge between the transportation now and the options available in the future.
“The campus is trying to move into Rutland and expand more into Rutland as a whole and they’re going to be offering more transportation on the hour every hour,” said Kunz.
The shuttle is entirely free and there are even prizes offered for students who take the fan van, such as lanyards, foam fingers, bottle openers and key chains.