Auburn’s famed “Section 111” will be returning to Plainsman Park this season, but things will be different under new coach Butch Thompson.
Although it became the official student section of Auburn Baseball in 2000, Thompson is the first coach to fully accept the section. Most coaches in the past have not approved of the heckling nature of the section, but Thompson has been clear that he wants his team to have home-field advantage.
Other SEC schools, such as Missouri, LSU, Texas A&M and Alabama, have similar groups. It has become a part of the game at the college level and Auburn is willing to join the trend.
In the past, the section has been a source of controversy, as some of the more traditional fans do not enjoy seeing the heckling students catch on.
“We’ve had some letters from smaller schools or parents that say it is unsportsmanlike,” said Josh Deas, one of the leaders of Section 111, "but opposing players have said, ‘You guys were amazing, and we enjoy playing against Auburn.'"
Section 111 takes pride in being a rowdy group during the game, but they always back it up with respect.
The section usually picks one player to target for the whole game, but once the game is over they take to Twitter and make a point to wish that player good luck with the rest of the season and thank him for being a good sport.
On Feb. 11th the baseball team will be holding a ‘Fan Day' where people in the community will have a meet and greet with the players and coaches as well as a tour of the baseball facility. Section 111 hopes to become a staple in this “Fan Day” experience.
“It takes us from being an unofficial student section and group of friends who like to heckle to being a recognized student section that can actually grow within the school," said Christian Long, another one of the 10 leaders.
Thompson’s support is already making a difference.
The leaders of the group decided to branch out to the Auburn Athletics marketing department in order to organize events and t-shirt giveaways for students. This is the first year since the inception of Section 111 that any branch of the Athletics department has chosen to recognize and support the group.
They hope that this support will also help the popularity of Section 111 grow and contribute to the atmosphere at games. Some members cited the effect “The Jungle” has had on the basketball team as a reason to get people excited about baseball on The Plains, as this basketball season has proved that home-field advantage can be an important tool in college athletics.
Much like Bruce Pearl, Thompson has been active on social media to try and create support for the student section, which in turn will create support for his program.
The Section leaders hope to hold a student instructional session on Feb. 11, where they can review the “10 Commandments of Heckling”. These “Commandments” include “Thou Shalt Not Use Profanity”, “Thou Shalt be Friendly” and most importantly, “Thou Shalt Love Baseball."
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