The Director of Athletics at Saint Louis University has a message for the student body – the Billikens need your support to succeed on the court. That was Chris May’s message in a letter to the students published today in The University News and in a concurring interview.

“These Billiken teams are for you, the coaches and the arena; this entire athletic program is for the students and the University community,” May said. “This is the student body’s athletic program. Student participation is a critical piece to building a successful program. That’s why it’s so important for us to let the students know that these are their teams.”

May’s effort to focus on energizing the University community comes on the heels of a controversy surrounding the Dec. 19 tilt against Missouri State. At that game, MSU students were allowed, with paid admission, to sit in the student section at Chaifetz Arena. More than 200 fans did so, much to the ire of Billiken fans.

While May wishes to focus on the positive, he did note the incident, saying, “Billiken fans should be assured it will not happen again. We’re refocused and energized with how we can connect with the students, and we’re getting some good responses from that.”

Student participation has been a controversial topic among the SLU community. Many believed that, after the building of the Chaifetz Arena, more students would attend both men’s and women’s basketball games. While student attendance is up-over 550 students bought season tickets, according to Director of Ticket Operations Andrew Doeschot, it has not met the expectations of the athletic department.

“We had hoped there had been more students coming to the arena,” May said. “There have been some unbelievable, great attendances, and others that are ebb-and-flow. So, what we, the athletic department, need to do is continue to build that connection between the students and the athletes. When the students have showed up, it’s been off the charts, they’ve been great. They can be the sixth man, and they make an enormous difference.”

Alyson Hau, president of Blue Crew, agrees with May that, while it’s been a slow process, the students are slowly becoming more committed to their Billikens.

“It helps a lot that the team is doing spectacularly … we’re getting there,” Hau said. “The students are really starting to come out. Definitely the on-campus arena is helping, Coach [Majerus] is doing a great job, the players are awesome and the athletic department is doing a great job. We’re getting there.”

Among the upcoming promotions targeted at bringing students to the Chaifetz are the “Blue Out” against Dayton and the “Billiken Blizzard” against Xavier.