Student support at games has made a difference in the outcome as a bigger cheering section can lead to increased morale.

Home-field advantage has been a long debated phenomenon. There may not be a lot of proof to back up the energy it gives to players, but go to a game where there is a lot of local support and watch what it does to players.

According to Jeremy Jamieson in his article “The Home Field Advantage in Athletics’, there are four major things that deal with home field advantage that affects teams. These include the “crowd, familiarity, travel and the rule factors”.

Students at Black Hills State University seem to believe the crowd has affected their own personal attitudes towards the game both home and away.

“Traveling in the RMAC is tough for every team, having a large, loud, and obnoxious student section is always a huge advantage for the home team and can often affect player performance both home and away,” Mitch Foth, a sophomore on the men’s basketball team said.

Having a large student crowd keeps the energy in the game up. It can show the team that everyone is counting on them and supporting their win.

Sophomore guard for BHSU men’s basketball Riley Ryan said, “With big crowds you definitely feed off the energy. You don’t recognize being tired. It can help raise your game to another level.”

There have been noticeable increases this year in the student crowd attendance at basketball games. Many coaches and players tweeted about how the support from the football players and other student body really helped pull the teams through this last weekend.

The BHSU football players especially left a huge impact on both of the teams this weekend. They stuck out as being extra rowdy and supportive.

“It’s extremely motivating for our team when we’re in the presence of an upbeat crowd. It can be intimidating toward the opposing team as well. The women’s basketball team really appreciated the support this weekend from the football boys and everyone else. Having strong supporters definitely contributes to our success on the court,” senior player for women’s basketball Calli Bechtel said.

Whether or not a loud student section can affect a team’s playing ability has never actually been proven but let the scores from last Saturday’s games speak for themselves. Both basketball teams pushed through to a win with a large cheering section.