O Zone ambassadors help try to promote student section themes for football games and other athletic events. But their work is not limited to working with the O Zone; they work with the entire student body.
“We would like to build the brand and increase student interest in football,” O Zone ambassador Justin Wand, a junior studying English, said.
The student section at Ohio football games sits between the 40 yard lines on the student side of Peden Stadium in the first seven rows. Ohio has had some tough games this season, losing to Virginia, an Atlantic Coast Conference school, and undefeated Cincinnati, but still has a winning record. When asked what gets students involved in the student section, Wand said having a successful teams helps.
“That’s a good starting place, because if your team is good, then people will want to watch and cheer them on,” he said.
The entry fee to join the O Zone is $20, which includes an Adidas t-shirt and a coupon booklet. The group gets priority registration on any trips that the university does, so if the Ohio football or basketball team qualifies for a bowl or NCAA tournament game, the O Zone has special access to go to those games. The O Zone leaders also have a plan to rent out half of Buffalo Wild Wings for the O Zone to watch an away game and get free wings.
“Our goal with the O Zone is to re-create the image of it—many students think it is more of a formal group, or simply do not know it exists at all or show much interest,” O Zone ambassador Anielle Barden-Dancy, a junior studying sport management, said in an email. “We aim to create a fun, student-focused environment within the student section. We would love to have a passionate interactive student section that showcases our Bobcat pride at all athletic events.”
At a recent game, the O Zone hosted a tailgate, which will most likely be held for the Homecoming game as well. They aim for it to be bigger, however, because there will be more people on campus.
For Homecoming, the also group plans to bring back their spirit signs, and hopefully incorporate more elements to grab the attention of other students. They hope to have signs at games that read things such as “First Down Ohio,” “Defense” and “Make Noise.” The group is also trying to be more active on its social media accounts.
“Since we are O Zone ambassadors, we are trying to get more people to join the O zone and get the members to show lots of school spirit at the games,” ambassador Caitlin Stegmaier, a junior studying music production, said in an email. “We are hoping that we have a great turn-out in the O Zone section at the Homecoming game and that we can all cheer on the team together!”
Wand said the O Zone’s job is also geared toward getting students hyped for basketball, because the O Zone originally started for basketball.
“It was started for basketball, but it really encompasses every sport that we have here at the the university,” he said. “We think we’ve had a pretty good start getting the students excited for basketball, because the team should be really good this year.”
The Bobcats have a few big basketball games coming up this year. The team will host Iona, which has regularly qualified for the NCAA tournament in recent years, and Marshall.
“While there are still many steps to be taken, we really are passionate about creating a student section that students want to be a part of and participate in,” Barden-Dancy said.
