In the past couple of weeks, I’ve seen a slew of WashU students posting at football games and tailgates on social media. Sometimes faces are painted, and often there is a sea of people all adorning the same colors. Yet these pictures are not taken outside Francis Field, but rather at the University of Michigan or Notre Dame.

The problems with social media curation aside, these posts are indicative of a larger desire among WashU Students to have a better gameday culture. Anecdotally, I’ve heard from sports fanatics and casual fans alike that going all out to support a college team is a fun experience. Similarly, athletes on this campus put in hours of work and effort only to see meager turnouts at games. So, fellow Bears, what is preventing us from building a robust gameday culture for our scholar-champions? While certainly easier said than done, below I present the case for why and how WashU could improve fan culture.

First, our teams are very good. We have won 24 national championships, and teams are routinely competing for conference and national titles. In other words, playoff games aren’t few and far between. Currently, football sits at 5-1, and women’s soccer has not conceded a goal in over two months. Team performance is not a valid reason to pass on attending a game. 

However, I can already sense the X trolls responding, “But you’re division three,” followed by some unnecessary expletives. Yes, ESPN’s College Gameday isn’t visiting tomorrow, and we simply don’t have the amount of people to fill a 100,000-seat stadium, but we shouldn’t be comparing ourselves to Division 1 teams; we should be measuring against ourselves. I, and likely many others, want a stronger sense of school spirit. If even 1,000 undergraduate students — 1/7 of our total population — showed up at Francis Field, that would be complete pandemonium. We don’t need to be an AP Top 25 school to have a strong sports culture. We need to tap into the resources that already exist.

This is certainly easier said than done. For one, important campus partners would need to hop on board. Campus Life, Student Union (SU), WUPD, and perhaps most importantly, WashU Athletics, all have the power to bolster or weaken the ability to tailgate and cheer. While past efforts from SU to draw bigger crowds are admirable, free Chick-fil-A alone isn’t enough to make a difference. Closing off the Simon Lot for tailgates, permitting clubs and social organizations to host related functions, and free Chick-fil-A sounds like a more attractive offer. I’m not blind to the liability and costs associated with making this change. I just think the tradeoff is worth it.

Realistically, this process would be a gradual one. It would start with one football game a year and slowly expand from there. I imagine this operating similarly to how the Harvard vs Yale game does. While we lack an equivalent historical rival, we are quick to call ourselves the Harvard of the Midwest. And in Bleacher Report’s Top 25 Tailgating Schools, Harvard’s game against Yale propels them into the top 10. 

Becoming a school with a strong gameday isn’t solely in the student’s best interest either. I’m sure WashU Athletics and the administration at large would love to see an increase in attendance and enthusiasm. Not only would it marginally increase revenue, but it would help dispel the notion that WashU lacks school spirit. Again, any potential costs are far eclipsed by the relative benefits. 

So where do we go from here? First, SU should take the lead in working with campus partners to explore what a more robust tailgating and gameday experience would look like. This would also mean bringing in a wide range of student groups in the process, including, but not limited to, Greek Life and The Bomb Squad. Second, the administration will need to be measured in their role; ensuring safety is a top priority, but overzealous demands could easily crush any momentum from students. Third, using the student groups mentioned above, SU would need to lead a strong marketing campaign that advertises the revamped approach to students. Lastly, let the attendees make the event over time. Cheers and traditions are created organically, not by any top-down authority. 

Everyone should continue to visit their friends across the country and experience what a Division 1 gameday is like. But those visits should not be mutually exclusive from building our own gameday culture. In the same way that WILD and Mardi Gras have the necessary buy-in from students, so can one major game a year. May next year’s Instagram pictures be colored with silver and red!