Morgan State University students were able to enjoy the football home opener thanks to a new seating arrangement at Hughes Stadium, Saturday.
In an exclusive interview with The Spokesman in August, Morgan’s Athletic Director Edward Scott made the announcement about the new seating opportunity for students.
Scott said that the blue seats, which are normally reserved for season ticket holders, will be available for Morgan students and that free giveaways as well as coupon cards for local vendors, such as Smoothie King, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dave & Busters and McCormick & Co. will be given away.
“This is my first year here so I never really knew that we couldn’t sit here,” said freshman Charline McClure. “I like these seats and it makes it live because we have the live squad right here, the cheerleaders are right here hyping us up and we’re all going along with the cheers. It’s making the game much better.”
This is part of Scott’s plan to get the students more involved in athletic events and create some excitement around home football games. He has made this one of his goals as new AD and is hoping the passion and school spirit will grow.
Another new feature added to the fan experience at Hughes Stadium was a brand new end zone display and sound system that will provide a better experience for both fans and athletes.
But for a couple of Morgan upperclassman, the new seats didn’t meet expectations. “They’re not as comfortable as I thought it was,” said senior Steven Jones. “They look comfortable but they’re not. “There really isn’t a difference, you can still see the game in the seats on the side and the seats here, it’s just a different angle of the game that’s all,” said senior Andre Peters.
Although Jones and Peters weren’t too impressed with the seats they are on board with improving the fan experience. “Free anything always gets college kids coming, I think that’s the words we look for is free and cancelled as far as classes. But anything free more people will come out,” said Peters.
During the week prior to home football games students should look for appearances from mascot Benny the Bear and promotional tables inside of residence hall lobbies, the student center and dining halls for tickets.
Morgan Students can take advantage of the new amenities at the next home game, Saturday, Sept. 23 vs. North Carolina A&T at 7 p.m.
