York College sport teams are not getting much fan presence at the games. Season in and season out, the fanbase here remains to be the big question.
York College being a commuter school rather than an on campus school plays a role in student attendance at games. Most students go straight home after classes, head to work, sometimes in most cases they’re not aware when a game is even happening.
“I think there are a lot of issues when it comes to the fans and we’re a commuter school,” said Assistant men’s basketball Coach Jessica Cherry. “I’ve talked to students and they just want to go home after classes.”
Not having a home field, forces fans to travel out to other schools which are at times in upstate New York to see the games and this situation often results in conflicts with transportation and distance. Coach Cherry described this issue as a “hardship and not an excuse” to support the cardinals.
Coach Cherry also said that the fact that York can not host meets and games for sports such as softball, soccer, track and field makes it somewhat reasonable that they lack fan presence. She also talked about the renovation of the track and soccer field, which has been a long time coming for the cardinals since they haven’t hosted a track event in ten years as coach Cherry said.
Some students at York said they do not attend the games either because they don’t have the time for them, they have grown old for sports or that they are just not that enthusiastic about them.
“I’m a new student here taking two classes this semester in and out,” said Senior Kyle Samuels an art director major.
“I used to be into sports, but I sort of lost interest in it”.
Samuels added “I just don’t make time because I’m too busy studying.”
Although this might not be a surprise, basketball is one if not the only sport that generates ample numbers of fans.
Sophomore student athlete Shauncia McClendon who plays volleyball and basketball talked about the difference in fan attendance in both of these sports.
“Volleyball not a lot at all, but basketball is mainly because the men play after us,” said McClendon “but we have a little more support.”
Despite the low attendance at games, basketball often seems to attract many students.
“I went to basketball games because that is the only sport I’m interested in,” said Freshman Trent Simon who is studying psychology. He also said some students are not attending games because they might not be interested in sports.
“I attend a couple of basketball and tennis games here when I have the time,” said Junior Ruel Quamina who is an accounting major. “There are a decent amount of people there, and it is not outlandishly crazy but decent.”
Though fan attendance at these games is a matter on its own, these students say that they just do not hear much about the games being advertised.“When I first started I was on the step team here so I used to be at the games” said Senior Jasmine Tillman, a psychology major. “I don’t see flyers for the games or even hear about”.
When it comes to showing support, it is done better by two sides. Coach Cherry said the student athletes and staff from the sports organization try to attend as many of the events presented by other clubs on the campus knowing it would be nice to show them support when they host an event. Her message to the students at York is simple.
“Come out and be a cardinal, you came here to be a part of the York College community,” said Coach Cherry. “Be a cardinal and support your fellow classmates no matter what team they play for”.
