hutch_redsea1As the cold November weather rolls in, sports fans find themselves torn in all types of directions. For the average college student, it’s usually a time to root for your college football team on Saturdays, it’s a time to be excited about your college basketball team getting underway, and a time to buy more college gear to get ready for the winter months while still sporting your school’s logo.

All that sounds great for a school like the University of Texas or Penn State, which has over 50,000 students, top ranked teams, and plenty of national coverage but what about a school like Fairfield? We are a school just shy of 4,000 students, we don’t have a football team, we watch all the stadiums packed with crazy fans, and we say… Man why can’t things be like that here?
My question is…. why can’t it be?

Sure, we don’t have the numbers to fill a 20,000 seat arena, and we will never be considered a national powerhouse, but Fairfield can still be a great atmosphere to experience sports. We are the ones who can make that happen and nobody understands that more than Hutchinson Williams.
For those of you unfamiliar with Hutch, He was a Fairfield graduate in 2008 but more importantly, the face of Fairfield school spirit.
William’s presence was huge on campus and his effort to improve school spirit has always been a priority. Most students remember the face painted, wig wearing, Hutch that yelled and screamed at all the Stags games, but now things are different.

He remains at Fairfield as a Graduate Assistant for Marketing Promotions and even though his job has become is a continuation of his work as a student, Hutch knows that being a student is a once in a life time thing.

“Don’t miss out. I am still here but it’s different. The wig and face paint aren’t coming back anytime soon.”

The college years fly by so quick and there are so many opportunities during that time. Being an alumni, Williams understands how special being a college fan is and his goal is to make sure everybody takes advantage of it.

The Athletic department invests a lot of time on this issue and is doing things to bridge the gap between hesitant students and the games themselves. The first way to do that is to put a good product out there. Fairfield sports teams are increasingly improving each year and Williams believes this should be the main reason fans support their team.

“We offer a good product. You don’t realize the excellent opportunity you have to watch sports at this level until you are gone” said Williams.
Outside of the teams themselves, the school is working hard to make the events more interactive for the fans. The “StagCup” brings students right into the game. All eight residential areas on campus are represented. At halftime of each game, teams face each other to represent their hall and win prizes. This way, students can come watch the game and support their residents as well. That is just one of the many examples.stagstofan

The overall goal is to build a stronger community. Hutch, the sports teams, coaches, and school officials can try a lot of things to get fans to games. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of strong Stags fans out there and many more waiting to throw on the Cardinal red to support their school, but that decision ultimately depends on you. We have four short years. Are we ever going to be like Florida, or Notre Dame, or UCONN? The answer is no, but can we show our teams and our school that we have just as much heart and dedication in our 4,000 as those school have in their 50,000? Absolutely.

So as the basketball season and all the other sports roll in, and the Stags come out to battle, throw on your red and come down to the game. In the end, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Don’t wait ‘til it’s too late. Join Stag Nation and make being a fan part of your college experience.
Or as Hutch Williams says “This is a once in a lifetime chance. Go Give it a shot. Give it the old college try.”

About The Author

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.