A rotating schedule of featured games is designed to drive crowds to Winthrop athletics.
By Ava Regitz
Staff Writer
Sports
Winthrop student-athlete leadership is looking to revitalize Winthrop pride with the introduction of Golden Games starting this fall.
The Winthrop Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is inviting students across Winthrop’s campus to a highlighted game each week to cheer on the Eagle sports teams currently in season.
The goal is to get more students involved in athletics across the board and grow the bond between regular students and student-athletes.
“I feel like we’ve always been separated,” SAAC president Emmy Cardenas said. “There’s always kind of been a gap between the student athletes and the students, and we really want to feel like one big community together that everyone supports everyone.”
Cardenas, a junior on the softball team, said SAAC wants to establish the support both ways.
“We are going to try to support student groups or organizations on campus more so that they also receive that support from us,” Cardenas said.
NCAA legislation requires all active member institutions to establish a SAAC. The main duties include representing student-athletes in campus affairs, connecting teams across athletics and helping improve the overall student-athlete experience.
The main focus of the Golden Games is to boost student attendance and support, but there is also emphasis in the initiative to build the team-to-team relationships within Winthrop athletics.
“The idea is that if you are showing support to all of the teams, that support will eventually come back around to your team, but we have to build that community first that supports each other,” Cardenas said.
A regular season game, senior night or a Big South Conference matchup can all be designated as Golden Games. As the chosen game rotates between the active sports, students will have multiple opportunities to see Winthrop’s teams compete.
Cardenas said SAAC understands people are busy throughout the week, but they want to make it as manageable as possible for people’s schedules.
“The idea is that if you’re going to go to one game during the week, go to this one,” Cardenas said.
This is not SAAC’s first attempt to draw more student fans to games. Eagle Nights, last year’s program, had athletic teams themselves pick one game during their season to be spotlighted, but it did not have the effect SAAC was looking for.
“They weren’t posted regularly and highlighted so that people were remembering, and then it was also only one game,” Cardenas said. “So it was like, ‘Oh, maybe people come out,’ but all the rest of the games, it’s the same thing– no one’s showing up.”
Beyond the cross-team support, the goal is to give casual fans or even first-time attendees easy access to Winthrop athletics.
“The energy and the environment at games are really what we all make it,” Cardenas said. “So if everyone shows up with tons of energy and enthusiasm and good competitive spirit, then the games will be really fun.”
The remaining October Golden Games are women’s soccer versus Presbyterian on Oct. 14 and men’s soccer on Oct. 24 and 27 facing Gardner Webb and Furman, respectively.
