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 Home Court Advantage:
Why Families Love Collegiate Women's Basketball (and Vice Versa)
BY MELANIE LAWRENCE
© COPYRIGHT 2003 BY PARENTS'
PRESS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This article originally appeared in the December 2003 print edition
of Parents' Press.
EDITOR'S NOTE, Oct. 27, 2005:
Since this article originally appeared, there have been some
changes in coaching staffs. Joanne Boyle is UC Berkeley's new
(as of fall, 2005) head coach for women's basketball, and Joaquin
Wallace is now head coach at San Francisco State.
November is upon us, and for
many Bay Area families, that means not only the start of the
holiday season, but an additional source of excitement: basketball!
Some families will curl up in front of the television with snacks
and sodas and cheer on the pros; others will risk jammed freeways
and significant financial loss to see these teams in person.
Some families, however, will
simply walk up the street or take a 10-minute drive
to jump up and down with their children and scream for their
favorite college women's basketball team. The tickets are cheap,
the lines are short, the band is loud, the cheerleaders aren't
X-rated, and the players are tall and agile, skilled and focused,
and, for many of us, just as interesting as Baron Davis.
What's in It
for Them?
Collegiate athletic departments,
too, have marketing departments, and like their student athletes,
they play to win. Michelle Jacoby, women's basketball coach at
Saint Mary's College in Moraga, puts it this way: "We have
a loyal following because the Lamorinda area Lafayette,
Moraga, and Orinda is very family-based. We have pre-game
basketball talks, half-time activities, and post-game autograph
session. Our players are very accessible to their fans, and very
popular. They even get dinner invitations to fans' homes."
The family atmosphere extends
to Jacoby's crowded office, with its many photos of her kids
and husband the latter is also part of Saint Mary's athletic
department and a crib for her younger child.
She adds with a grin, "We
especially love CYO [Catholic Youth Organization] nights, because
then you've got 150 or more girls out there screaming!"
Jacoby credits the high attendance
at her team's games to the Junior Gaels, Saint Mary's sports
fan club for kids. For a $50 yearly membership ($25 for a single
sport), Junior Gaels may attend discounted games, clinics, autograph
sessions, and special events for all the college's sports.
U.C. Berkeley's athletics department
boasts a junior fan organization called Cub Club ($25 yearly
fee). Cal's Golden Bears play better when they have a large audience
with lots of shrieking Cub Clubbers in the bleachers, coach Caron
Horstmeyer believes. "When the crowd cheers, our adrenaline
just picks right up. The fans, especially the kids, are our sixth
man, our home court advantage."
Like Saint Mary's, Cal consciously
promotes a family atmosphere, with games of basketball-themed
musical chairs and tug-of-war at half-time, as well as short
exhibition games by local elementary school teams.
 Unfortunately,
budget cuts at San Francisco State University have also meant
cuts to fan outreach. "We've done basketball clinics at
the Y and other activities in the past," remembers Arden
Kragalott, who's coached the Gators' women's basketball team
for the last 12 years. "But we still have autograph sessions
and photo ops, of course." Kragalott, too, is adamant about
the importance of their fan base: "The more fans, the more
electric the atmosphere, the better our play."
What's in It
for Us?
College basketball is entertainment.
Our children get to giggle at the giant costumed mascots: the
warrior Gael of Saint Mary's, the goofy Cal bear, SFSU's comic
gator. It's a chance to eat popcorn and listen to raucous band
music and to yell in a way that's seldom encouraged at
home or in school. The half-time activities are fun, and getting
your favorite player's autograph is something special. Players
are introduced over the public address system and spotlighted
like film stars. Whether a player scores a 3-pointer or is benched
after a foul, her colleagues never fail to hug and pat her, exchanging
high-fives down the line.
Ritual and entertainment aside,
what else is it about kids and college sports?
"They can envision themselves
out there on the court. Watching team sports motivates kids to
want to be like the players," says Caren Horstmeyer. She
proudly notes that her players, most of whom "adopt"
several Caren's Kids every year, are excellent academic role
models; exceptional athletes who are also smart and responsible
enough to succeed at a top university. (The Bears just finished
a five-week series of basketball clinics in the local schools;
in between teaching guarding and shooting skills, players also
talked about the importance of education.)
Character is the key to Arden
Kragalott's take on young fans and their favorite players: "They
see how teams work together, and work hard. They see that to
perform any kind of task in basketball, you need the players
to perform it together.
"And they watch our players
being positive on the floor and encouraging each other from the
bench. They see that teamwork is about not being selfish."
 St. Mary's Jacoby agrees, adding,
"The kids also see women being athletic, women being competitive,
women being assertive. It's good for boys to witness that and
to learn to respect it."
And what do the girls in the
bleachers witness? In her ground-breaking book, Reviving Ophelia:
Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, Mary Pipher says:
"Girls in sports are often emotionally healthy. They see
their bodies as functional, not decorative....They are in a peer
group that defines itself by athletic ability rather than popularity,
drug or alcohol use, wealth or appearance."
Advice for Young
Players
What about the fan who wants
to be out there on the court herself, rebounding and shooting?
"Realize your end goal,"
advises Arden Kragalott, "but, day by day, keep it simple.
Some people look too far ahead. Break your goals down into steps:
free throws, for example. Lay-ups.
"And don't be afraid to
take chances. It's okay to make mistakes. You do your best learning
then, and your confidence grows afterward."
Caren Horstmeyer reiterates the
importance of academics: "Keep your grades up. It increases
your college options and is an NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic
Association] requirement as well.
"If you have a position,
keep developing your position skills. And get on a good AAU [Amateur
Athletic Union; see resources sidebar] summer team; that's the
place to be seen and recruited."
(In the long run, being on a
college team is also a career advantage, according to the Cal
coach: "Businesses love to hire college athletes. They know
they're responsible and accountable, that they've developed leadership
skills so they've learned how to deal with people.")
Speaking of recruitment, Michelle
Jacoby summarizes: "We recruit players who are very well
rounded, who have a strong work ethic, and are good people, who'll
be team players. The work ethic is mandatory; so is wanting to
always improve just because you love the game."
Women's sports have come a very
long way since the days when female athletics were relegated
to the back pages and the end of the broadcast. Despite the past
uncertain fortunes of the Women's National Basketball Association
and the moribund state of the Women's United Soccer Association),
all three coaches remain optimistic about the future of their
players and their sports-minded fans.
"I used to have to go abroad
to play. Fan support has made a difference," says Horstmeyer.
"And people want to see girls do well now."
Jacoby is quick to cite the enormous
impact of Title IX, the 1972 landmark law prohibiting sex discrimination
in federally funded education; in some cases, Title IX tripled
and quadrupled the number of athletic scholarships available
to college women, although she acknowledges that the competition
for those scholarships is fierce and growing more so.
Nevertheless, Arden Kragalott
concludes, "I just feel that every kid should pursue her
dreams. With focus, anything is possible."
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Where to Find
Out More About Collegiate Basketball
 Saint Mary's College
St. Mary's Rd., Moraga
Women's basketball games are played at McKeon Pavilion (turn
left at campus information gate).
Junior Gaels membership information: (925) 631-4699.
Game tickets cost $6-$10. Game schedules: (925) 631-4392 or smcgaels.ocsn.com
San Francisco State University
19th Ave. at Holloway Ave.
Women's basketball games are played in the gymnasium south of
Cox Stadium.
Game tickets cost $3-$5. Game schedules: (415) 338-1579 or athletics.sfsu.edu
University of California, Berkeley
Women's basketball games are played at Haas Pavilion, Bancroft
Way at Dana St.
Cub Club membership information:
(800) GO-BEARS.
Game tickets cost $5-$10. Game
schedules: (510) 642-9448 or calbears.ocsn.com
The teams frequently need volunteer
ball girls and ball boys, usually age 6 and up. Call for further
information, or just check in with game officials when you arrive.
Saint Mary's and U.C. Berkeley also run summer basketball camps.
National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA)
Organization of about 1,200 colleges, universities, athletic
conferences (competitive regional networks of college teams),
and sports associations, including many Bay Area teams and every
imaginable sport. Their website includes huge searchable databases
of members' game schedules and team statistics.
ncaasports.com
Amateur Athletic Union
Pacific Association Girls Basketball Program
The AAU sanctions many local amateur sporting events; their basketball
program runs a summer championship series.
www.aaupacific.com
Women's National Basketball Association
Despite rumors to the contrary, the women's pro basketball teams
are adding games and at least one new franchise to
their schedules. Their site is a lively and entertaining one,
full of stats, standings, and articles about leading women hoopsters.
www.wnba.com
Women's Sports Foundation
Founded by tennis immortal and women's sports advocate Billie
Jean King, WSF is an information resource with a good selection
of links: multisport sites, issues and actions, events, scholarships
and grants, and careers in athletics.
www.womenssports
foundation.org
Wish Publishing
P.O. Box 10337
Terre Haute, IN 47901
(812) 299-5700
The first women's sports publishing company, Wish offers such
titles as Five-Star Girls' Basketball Drills and Complete Conditioning
for the Female Athlete.
www.wishpublishing.com
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