The current fan base for Eastern is widely absent and unenthused about athletics. O’Brien Field has a capacity of 10,000 fans and the Panthers have attracted 6,529 fans on average since the 2008 season, good for 65 percent capacity. In men’s basketball, the attendance records are far worse, as a mere 1,190 fans on average have flocked to Lantz Arena since 2008, recording a mere 22 percent capacity.

Clearly, the fan base is not enthused, and as a result, the student fan base is not seeing the quality teams that Eastern puts on the playing field.

The Panthers typically compete for conference championships in a number of sports and deserve to have a large and passionate following that regularly attends games. Regardless of the recent success throughout the athletic program, students continue to ignore Panther athletics and choose to support other teams from across the nation, or ignore sports entirely.

To support my case that Eastern is a consistent contender throughout the athletic program, I looked at the Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner’s Cup standings from the past four seasons to determine the state of Eastern athletics.

Beginning in the 2008-2009 season, the OVC created the Commissioner’s Cup. The Commissioner’s Cup is a symbol of overall athletic excellence in OVC sports and is presented to one school on an annual basis, with both men’s and women’s sports included.

To determine the Commissioner’s Cup champion, the OVC uses a point system to rate each school’s performance in a given sport. Schools are required to count the point totals in football, volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, along with their next eight highest point totals from the remaining sports.

The first place finisher in each sport of that school would be awarded 10 points, while the second place finisher would be awarded nine points and the third place team would be awarded eight points, etc.

Since its inception in the 2008-2009 season, the Panthers, as a whole, have ranked inside the top three in each of the four years. They recorded a top-three finish in the 2008-2009 season as Eastern Kentucky and inaugural champion Murray State narrowly edged the Panthers in total points.

Eastern was awarded its first Commissioner’s Cup in the 2009-2010 season. That year, the Panthers performed exceptionally well in three of the four required sports. Football and women’s basketball both won the OVC that year, netting a combined 20 points. Men’s basketball also performed well as they tallied seven points, recording a fourth place finish in the OVC.

The Panthers also had four other programs record perfect scores as both the men and women’s indoor and outdoor track teams tallied 10 points that season, netting a combined 40 points.

In the 2010-2011 season, Eastern also performed well as a whole as it became the first school to win back-to-back Commissioner’s Cups. Eastern did not see the same result in the four required sports, but had a great deal of success throughout the athletic program. It had seven programs finish the season with a ranking of eight or better, meaning each of those seven programs recorded top-three finishes in their respective sports.

Once again, both the men and women’s indoor and outdoor track teams netted a league-best 10 points each. The softball team also recorded the best ranking in the OVC and both the men and women’s cross country teams recorded top-three finishes.

The following season (2011-2012) the Panthers once again performed well as a whole but failed to cap off a three-peat as Eastern Kentucky edged the Panthers by five points. With the inclusion of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville being eligible for postseason play the conference champion would now be awarded 11 points.

That season, Eastern had five programs record league-best scores as both the men and women’s track teams capped off a three-peat of its own in both indoor and outdoor track, netting a combined 44 points.

So, as you can see, Eastern fields a competitive sports program that consistently battles for, and wins, OVC championships in a number of sports. The consistent winning should draw a passionate fan base, but that continues to be a problem.

The 2012-2013 season should be exciting in a number of sports as football and men’s and women’s basketball will be opening a new era with three first-year head coaches. The men and women’s track team will be gunning for a fifth-straight conference championship and both the baseball team and softball team are poised to have successful seasons.

So, come out and support the Panthers this season. They are sure to excite.

Jordan Pottorff can be reached at 581-2812 or at jbpottorff@eiu.edu