Student Villages: Who has 'em

By Adam Duerson

Click here to get the entire issue of Sports Illustrated on Campus in digital format.

One measure of a student section's worth surely is its willingness to wait for the best seats...for days on end, sometimes outside, often against the elements. Here are five other campus campsites where students will do anything for a choice spot.

Connecticut

Before a Jan. 11 home game against Oklahoma, a throng of nearly 100 UConn men's basketball fans waited 75-plus hours in butt-cold Storrs weather (temperatures bottomed out at -3°) for behind-the-basket seats. Propane heaters and blankets piled 10 layers high were the norm. RULES: In extreme situations -- Jan. 11 included -- coach Jim Calhoun has been known to invite the Huskies' faithful indoors for morning shootarounds: genuine warmups. Otherwise, they're on their own.

Kansas

Because students camp out on the Allen Fieldhouse concourse, "you can barely walk around if you work here," says Jayhawks sports information director Mitch Germann. "You have to step over people on the way to the copier." RULES: At least one camper, who can represent up to 30 people, must be present from 6 a.m. to10 p.m. every day until game time, with random roll calls each day.

Virginia

UVA students have dubbed the tent city that springs up before men's hoops home games "'Hooville." A student-council-sanctioned group, the 'Hoo Crew, monitors the line and posts on the web its policies governing the 'Hooville way. RULES: While Wahoos tend to be rabid fans, they're also hygienic ones. Policy allows for a brief grace period -- the only time a group can leave 'Hooville in its entirety -- for campers to take down their tents, go home, shower and get back in line just before tip-off.

Wisconsin

Approximately 25 students began camping out on Sept. 28 to get first crack at the best seats for the upcoming men's basketball season -- even though said seats weren't awarded until Nov. 2. Eventually nearly 700 students were waiting in the cold. RULES: Madison is a "no camping" campus. (Very misleading, if you ask us.) For this occasion, however, students were granted an exception.

Cornell

Yeah, we know this is a basketball list, but we can't overlook the Lynah Faithful, who began lining up on a Wednesday night last September. By that Saturday 2,000-plus hockey fans were waiting for their shot at one of the 1,628 student season tickets. RULES: Basically, there was one rule last fall: The line cannot start until 4:45 p.m. on Friday. Of course, everyone ignored that commandment. At one point an unofficial list was started to maintain order, but an unidentified person nabbed it and ran off.

SI ON CAMPUS Sports Illustrated On Campus, a new magazine covering college sports and collegiate lifestyles, is available as an insert in 72 major college newspapers across the country every Thursday throughout the school year. Click any of the links below to see selected content from the latest issue, or click here to get the entire issue in digital format. • Cover Story: A Lost Weekend in Krzyzewskiville • Student Villages: Who has 'em • Student Sections: Who's No. 2? • Road Trip: University of Minnesota • Previous issue: Dec. 9, 2003

Issue date: January 29, 2004