Building a Home Court Advantage at the X

College basketball student sections are known to embody the energy, passion, and enthusiasm needed to help create a distinct home court advantage, e.g., Duke's Cameron Crazies, Michigan State's IZZONE, and Kentucky's Big Blue Nation.

The Corral, Boise State's student section, lived up to its peers by helping create a raucous atmosphere during the Broncos' victory over 18th-ranked San Diego State on Feb. 28 in front of a sold-out ExtraMile Arena. It marked the highest-ranked win at home for Boise State since 1998, and all but secured the home team a second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The game was attended by 12,208 fans, the seventh-largest crowd for a home game in program history, and highlighted by a jam-packed, boisterous, and well-choreographed student area located in Section 1 at the east end of the arena directly behind the basket.

"During COVID, social distancing guidelines lowered the number of students that could attend the game," said Corral member and Boise State student Conner New. "But even more, COVID impacted the number of students who wanted to go to the game. Now that the social distancing rules are over, it has helped to increase student interest and attendance, making the games more fun!"

And also making games more memorable.

One of the greatest compliments about the atmosphere was from season ticket holder Jeff Baker, who utilized social media to share his praise.

Boise State student and Corral member Ryan Tesch credits a reset of organizational structure.

"When I was a freshman, the Corral was not a structured entity," said Tesch. "I believe just one person was in charge and only seven students attended meetings. This year, under the guidance of graduate assistant Ezri Staheli and the rest of the marketing team, the Corral began to change. It started to feel like an organization that students could rally behind while supporting all our teams."

Under Staheli's leadership, who crafted the change in the student section as part of her Master's of Athletic Leadership practicum project, the Corral was administered through Bronco Athletics. The move provided an opportunity to establish a new leadership team, launch a Freshman Ambassador Board and designate seating areas at all Bronco Athletic events.

"During my sophomore year, there was a structure and a plan that was being executed," said Tesch. "Football games felt more organized. We felt louder and worked together as a cohesive unit to cause even more #BlueChaos. There were also efforts to engage more students for women's basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball and other sports for the first time."

Staheli's plan worked.

"Ultimately, basketball was our crowning achievement as a board. We saw attendance, as well as student involvement and standing, greatly increase throughout the year culminating in an epic San Diego State game on senior night," said Tesch. "We added more balloons, fatheads, and pregame flags and tried unique cheers. Overall, the Corral went from a misused and disorganized club to an organization that felt like a rallying cry that the entire student body could embrace. Of course, there is more work to be done, but the growth seen coming out from the pandemic has been impressive and we can't wait to build upon it! Go Broncos!"

Embracing the opportunity and following the lead of the student section was a group of alumni, known as the Blue-Collar Club, who sat directly across from the students in the west end of the arena behind the basket in Section 12. During halftime, the two sections would swap props to ensure each opponent felt their presence.

Throughout the season, fans were complimented for their efforts by local media, athletic department administrators, Coach Rice and student-athletes.

There were other milestones achieved during the season too.

* First home unbeaten conference season since 1998.

* Overall attendance grew by 21%.

* Three games with 12,000+ fans in a single season which matched the 1987-88 record.

"The team was also really good," said New. "That helped make a difference and definitely brought more students out to the games."

…and set a new standard for a fan-driven atmosphere at Bronco men's basketball games.

Boise State Athletics

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