While Auburn basketball has had its ups and downs over the last few years, one constant has remained.
"The Jungle" has been the official name of the Auburn basketball student section since 2010, when Auburn Arena opened.
Its goal: to make winning in Auburn Arena as difficult as possible for all Auburn opponents.
The goal of the revamped Jungle Leadership Team, comprised of 11 students, is to do that in a more organized way in 2015.
The team was established in December 2014 after Auburn Athletics marketing officials approached Jacob Varner and Clint Richardson, now co-leaders of the Jungle Leadership Team, about forming a student-based group that would bring organization, spirit and most importantly, noise, to the Jungle.
Though the team was up and running for a while last season, the late start made it difficult to do as much as it would have liked.
This year, Varner, Richardson and the other nine members have already been meeting for months to brainstorm ideas and formulate a plan of how to create the best environment possible.
“To put it plainly, our goal has always been to be the loudest, the most passionate, the best overall student section in the SEC,” Richardson said.
Crowd noise affects a basketball game, perhaps more than any other sport, because of the crowd’s close proximity to the playing surface and because the noise is amplified indoors.
Making it tough on opponents is the responsibility of the Jungle, and it’s one they take seriously.
“Our motto is ‘Fear the Jungle,’ and we mean that,” Varner said. “We wanted to be a fearful place for opposing teams, but at the same time, we also pride ourselves on being classy and professional … We want to be loud and obnoxious during a game.”
Since the hiring of coach Bruce Pearl, excitement around Auburn’s men’s basketball program has skyrocketed. With more successful teams on the horizon, the Jungle Leadership Team is looking for ways to not only make the games tough on opponents, but also fun for the students.
“We want people to come to basketball games because they enjoy it, because they want to support the team,” Richardson said. “Not because it’s a Tuesday night and they don’t have anything better to do.”
The team’s final goal is to win the Naismith Student Section of the Year Award, which is given annually to the nation’s best student section. Members believe it’s a realistic goal if the Jungle can become more organized than years past.
“My goal this year is to have every student on the same page, doing the same kind of cheers, wearing the same thing and just be more of an organized, cohesive unit,” Varner said.
While the Jungle Leadership Team has been working hard for weeks to improve the Jungle, it has not been alone in the endeavor.
Pearl and several Auburn players met with the team in October to brainstorm ideas and give the Jungle an idea of what the basketball team likes to see and hear during the games.
“It’s something (Pearl) cares about a lot, and he has taken time out of his schedule to talk with them and show his excitement,” said Rachael Doyle, director of marketing for Auburn Athletics. “A lot of this inspiration also came from Bruce and what his likes are.”
If Pearl continues his recent success on the recruiting trail, it might not be long before Auburn basketball is relevant again on the SEC and national scenes. If and when that happens, the new and improved Jungle will be there to provide all the help it can.
“Basketball is fun to watch; it’s fun to cheer on,” Varner said. “It’s different than a lot of other sports, and the passion really shows.”
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