The Buckeyes will give students 800 seats in the first 10 rows at center court.
Students will now sit in the first 10 rows of sections 104, 105, 106 and 107 for Ohio State men's basketball games.COLUMBUS, Ohio — It's been a long time coming, but Ohio State men's basketball games might feel more like college games than they used to.
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In its 13th season in the Schottenstein Center, Ohio State will this season create a center court student section, moving 800 student seats to the first 10 rows behind the benches and scorer's table where faculty and stuff used to sit.
"We think by doing this we'll get the fanatical students to be a part of it maybe a little bit more and a little bit better than we have," said Bill Jones, Ohio State's associate athletic director for external affairs. "We thought let's find a way to get them where they want to be and where we think they can make a difference."
Ohio State president Dr. Gordon Gee enthusiastically announced the move during an interview with WBNS radio in Columbus on Thursday, saying he and Athletic Director Gene Smith would be among those moving their seats to accommodate the students. Jones later confirmed the details, and admitted some staff members might not be happy to give up their seats.
"There's been a little complaining, but I don't know how many of them are really thinking about basketball," Jones said. "I'm sure there are going to some faculty and staff not real pleased."
But Jones was reassured by the support he says the move has from Gee, Smith and student leaders who have been asking for better seats for years.
"I think for the most part that everyone is going to be pleased and the majority will receive it well," Jones said, "because I think they all believe, the faculty and staff members included, that it's about the students."
Jones said the students will have about 1,400 seats in the lower area of the arena in all, fewer than the 2,000 seats they had in the past but still enough to meet demand, Jones believes. He said the students will take up the first eight to 10 rows in that lower section, and the final two rows will not be sold and remain empty so that students will not block other fans if they stand for most of the game, which Jones expects.
He said Ohio State had talked about reconfiguring the Schottenstein Center in some away to create a student area, but that would have been too costly, so this was the solution that made the most sense. He said the move has been gradually building over time, and he knew it was needed after traveling to many Big Ten road games with the team last year.
Jones remembers working on his ticket duties in the concourse last season at Purdue, and when Boilermakers star Robbie Hummel made his first 3-pointer of the game, "I thought the roof was coming off," Jones said.
What Ohio State has now won't be like what the Boilermakers' larger student section in a small building offers, or what the ridiculously loud "Izzone" student section gives Michigan State, with students surrounding every inch of the court. Jones knew that when he heard the roar in West Lafayette, so he thought, "How can we get closer to that?"
This has to be closer.