Fans in 'Roar's Box' cheer on hoops teams
Members of group provide support from behind basket in Rec Hall

By JIM IOVINO
Collegian Sports Writer

A group of Penn State students wearing long-sleeved white shirts and known simply as the "Roar's Box" cheered on both the men's and women's basketball teams at several games during the just-completed regular season.

The Roar's Box is a section behind the West end basket at Rec Hall where approximately 60 students sit. The original idea for this spirit group came from members of the Penn State Alumni Association, who wanted to create an organization that would promote and support Penn State winter sports.

"The real reason the Roar's Box was started was to promote sports other than football that don't get the kind of support they deserve," said Chris Velasco (senior-finance and international business), director of the committee in charge of running the program this year.

The Association proposed the idea to the Lion Ambassadors, a group of students involved in University promotion.

"The Roar's Box has a lot of potential for increasing the popularity of these sports," said Lion Ambassador Rick Griggs (senior-premedicine).

Last year, the project was given to one of the Lion Ambassadors' six committees. Once the project was in place, it was met with a favorable response from the students involved.

Angelo Annese (junior-accounting and economics) sat in the Roar's Box for several games this season.

"I have so much fun at the games," he said. "I hope they expand it next year -- it will make it more effective."

This season, the students involved with Roar's Box attended eight men's and four women's basketball games.

"We didn't want to go too far," Velasco said. "We focused on those two sports for now so we could get recognized and get the word out."

Because of the white shirts, which say "Roar's Box" in blue, the group gets a lot more notoriety than the average fan. The shirts, which are sponsored by the Alumni Association and the Student Book Store, 330 E. College Ave., are given out free to anyone who goes to a game and sits in the Roar's Box section. The group gave out approximately 200 shirts last season and about 300 more this season.

Anyone can join the Roar's Box for a women's basketball game because student tickets are free, as long as there are enough seats. But to sit in the Box for a men's game, students have to buy the tickets in advance, Velasco said.

"We attended four conference and four non-conference men's games this season," he added. "When we sold the tickets in the fall, the 60 tickets that we had reserved for those games sold out in 50 minutes. We have a waiting list in case one of the ticket holders can't make it to a game. We can call up someone on the waiting list who can use their ticket."

Because of all the student interest, the Lion Ambassadors would like to increase the spirit group next year, Velasco said.

"We'd like to expand the number of seats to at least 100," he added. The group would also like to expand the number of sports they attend. Some sports they have in mind are men's and women's volleyball, men's and women's gymnastics and ice hockey.

"Basically, all sports that need PR work," Velasco said.

Once the new Bryce Jordan Center opens, more tickets will be made available to the spirit group. They are hoping they will be able to increase the size of the Roar's Box.

"You can actually hear 60 people going crazy in Rec Hall," Velasco said, "but in a building the size of the Jordan Center, 60 people wouldn't be much."

Many other universities around the country have similar spirit groups.

"The groups are considered clubs at some universities," Velasco said, "and the students in them get a PE credit for being involved."