Hailing from a high school of 300, Student Body President Michelle Murphy said she was surprised when she discovered that students at her former high school attended more football games than the number of students at Eastern’s games.

“There was no question of whether people were going to go to games,” Murphy said. “Everyone just went, and you didn’t show up without your black and gold (Tuscola High School’s colors) on. There was a huge crowd at every game, it was just kind of a cultural thing.”

Having attended every football game since coming to Eastern, Murphy hoped to establish an animated medium for student involvement in campus athletic events.

Murphy pioneered Panther Nation over the summer as what she described to be a last push to promote pride on campus along with the board of directors, comprised of DeMarlon Brown, president of the Black Student Union, Otis Seawood, special events coordinator of the University Board and Jarrod Scherle, student government vice president for business affairs.

Replacing Eastern’s Blue Crew, which Murphy had participated in previously, Panther Nation was organized to combat low attendance at sporting events, as well as to create a cheering section.

“It was meant to remedy a failed attempt at getting some school spirit for a lot of years,” Murphy said. “It’s not something you can fix overnight, and it’s going to take several years of constant attention to build a foundation strong enough to keep the group going.”

With approximately 450 due-paying members, Murphy said Panther Nation is the largest student group on campus, though she admits participation has fluctuated since the first semester.

“I can’t really pinpoint what it is,” Murphy said. “I don’t know if people just don’t have the kind of pride they need to get excited about Eastern events, but I sure hope it changes. Our athletes deserve support and they work hard to get it. I’m sure it’s a little disheartening when it doesn’t work out.”

Murphy said participation in Panther Nation held up well during the prime of football season, but the group is currently experiencing a gap in interest leading into basketball season.

She said the board intends to take the necessary steps to boost the organization, especially in time to pack Lantz Arena for the men’s and women’s basketball whiteout game against Morehead State at 5 p.m. Thursday.

This will be Eastern’s second nationally televised home game on ESPNU, and Murphy said the first 300 students would each receive a white T-shirt to support the whiteout theme.

In addition to the chance of being on TV, members of Panther Nation can compete for prizes in contests to determine the best face and body painting as well as the best custom-made T-shirt and best sign.

Murphy said Panther Nation will be hosting giveaways and restarting the point system for event attendance this semester.

“It’s hard to do a lot of stuff when the budget’s frozen,” Murphy said. “I’ve been scrambling around getting donations and prizes and it’s an uphill battle to say the least. It’s hard to do big-time events when you don’t have a big-time budget available.”

While Murphy said Panther Nation would ideally generate a profit, the board has already spent its operating budget for the year, which includes a $20 membership fee.

“It’s not cheap to put on a tailgate for every football game, and it’s not cheap to keep re-buying the merchandise,” Murphy said. “We’ve gone through the budget to keep ourselves afloat because we didn’t want to harass people for donations.”

As Panther Nation is a leg of Eastern’s student government, the board has informally appealed to student senate members to support a co-sponsorship of a resolution to bring to the apportionment board in the event that the organization requires funds.

Murphy intends to provide a travel opportunity to support the women’s basketball team.

For the time being, she said the board will continue to consider ways to reach out to the student body as well as generate a higher student turnout at sporting events, including baseball and softball in the coming months.

Erica Whelan can be reached at 581-7942 or elwhelan@eiu.edu.