An email appears in your inbox. The content includes the following offering:
A chance to win $10,000.
An eye-catching opportunity, especially when paired with the promise of free swag and Chick-fil-A meal cards.
What if all you had to do to collect these prizes was attend a free event held right on campus? Would you jump on it?
If you’re on the mailing list for The Red Sea, this enticing line-up may be familiar to you.
The email was sent on Nov. 11, signed by Hailey Toles ‘26. Toles is the Red Sea’s Co-President, a leader of an organization committed to fostering the school spirit at Fairfield.
The message advertised the upcoming home openers for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, hosted at the Leo D. Mahoney Arena. It included instructions for students to reserve their free tickets, which can be claimed using the Super Stag app.
The flashy email, laden with opportunities to elevate the fan experience, reflects the Red Sea’s efforts to promote student engagement with Fairfield Athletics.
“We always have giveaways for students to thank them for their support of our athletic teams and get students excited about coming out to cheer on the Stags,” Toles shared with palpable enthusiasm.
The giveaways are an added bonus. With a convenient location and lack of monetary commitment, it seems like a no-brainer to head out and support Fairfield’s teams.
Following the 2024-25 basketball season, The Mirror published an article criticizing a university-wide school spirit drought.
“At just about every women’s basketball home game this year, there weren’t even enough students present to fill up half of our section in Mahoney Arena,” Assistant Sports Editor Danny McElroy remarked in the article. “It took Coach Carly giving out free meal swipes at the Tully, for one of their last home games of the year, in a rivalry game against Quinnipiac, for there to be a moderate student turnout, and even then there were still Bobcat invaders sitting smack dab in the middle of the student section that night with essentially zero resistance.”
To test the legitimacy of these observations, The Mirror published a poll on the anonymous Fizz platform. The poll asked, “Are you going to the basketball home openers?”
As of 1 p.m. on Tuesday, 474 students had weighed in:
17% of respondents, or 79 students, are only attending the women’s game.
26% of respondents, or 122 students, are only attending the men’s game.
31% of respondents, or 152 students, are attending both the men’s and women’s games.
26% of respondents, or 121 students, are not attending either game.
The unofficial, non-scientific data demonstrates a shift from McElroy’s inspection. Still, the poll is likely skewed due to the natural popularity of the first games of the season.
The Mirror reached out to Sarah Ratchford, Associate Director of Athletics/Marketing & Revenue Generation, to inquire about how many tickets had been reserved for the respective home openers. Ratchford did not respond in time for print. If The Mirror receives the ticket sale data, this information will be updated online.
Numbers aside, Toles and her team are working diligently to implement new initiatives to ensure that the red seats of the student section are not left barren beyond the inaugural matches.
“As a club, the Red Sea is always working to increase attendance and make attending sporting events a fun and casual event,” she shared.
Her Co-President, Emma Morris ‘25, reinforced their collective mission.
“This year, there’s more focus on engaging students in new ways, making everything feel more interactive and exciting,” Morris noted. “There are fun promotions, giveaways and theme nights that make each game stand out. The halftime entertainment is also a highlight.”
The Mirror posted a second poll on Fizz, asking students to select their favorite part of attending basketball games. The options included: “the game itself,” “the food,” “half-time entertainment” and “free items.”
It garnered 347 total responses. The winning answer, with 233 respondents, was “the game itself.”
In anticipation of the upcoming games and activities, Toles recommends that fans remain engaged with their Instagram: @fairfieldredsea.
The women’s basketball team played their home opener last night against Richmond. The men’s team will kick off their home schedule Friday night at 7 P.M. against John Jay. Student tickets will be available starting tonight.
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