By Glypie Grider
The L-Raisers like to make noise, and they have another year of events and activities planned to help promote school spirit for the University of Louisville sports programs.
Laura Holsclaw, president of the L-Raisers, said tailgating will be a big event at football games this year. “As far as I know, we will be teaming with the radio station KISS-fm for tailgating events. They will be giving out prizes, and we hope to have food. It is very exciting that we can work with a radio station and, together, help support our Cards,” she said.
Jason Buckner, former L-Raiser adviser, said the annual homecoming RSO lobby decorating contest will help promote spirit among other groups on campus. Though last year was the only year Buckner advised the organization, he said he still plans to consult with the group.
L-Raisers is the largest student spirit group on campus as students automatically became members when they purchased football and basketball season passes. Members are encouraged to wear the RedShirts and cheer loudly at games.
More active members of the group help fill up balloons for basketball games, make posters, and come up with cheers for upcoming games.
Though the group plans to continue with these traditions, Holsclaw and Buckner feel there is room for improvement within the organization.
“Personally, I was a little disappointed in the student presence in the Final Four games,” Holsclaw said, referring to the men’s basketball appearance in St. Louis. “By this, I mean students were sitting down during the game — not cheering. This was the Final Four! I really would have liked it if we were a more unified presence.”
Buckner said having the students focus on key games instead of trying to market every single game for every single sport — a change from the way the group has operated in the past — should help unify the student presence at games. “Students want to go to games surrounded by other students and that was not happening since their attendance was spread so thin by our schedule. The students talked and we listened,” he explained.
Though Holsclaw said the switch to the Big East conference won’t necessarily have a bearing on the organization, Buckner pointed out that the bigger media markets will help draw in bigger crowds. “I think the Big East has really gotten students excited because now they are part of a conference with more highly visible names nationally. When they travel or talk to their friends at other schools, Louisville will not be as obscure a name, or — no disrespect to Conference USA — be regarded as a ‘second tier’ school.”
The L-Raisers hold their first meeting of the school year at 9 p.m. on Aug. 29 in the Floyd Theatre at the SAC. For more information on the organization, visit their Web site at http://www.louisville.edu/rso/lraisers.
