IN THIS ISSUE:
Meet Joe White | Planet Orange | The Alumni Interview

FEATURE STORY (continued) — March/April 2005


Planet Orange ...

Sea of orange

Two nights before the then-No. 1 Wake Forest men's basketball team visited Champaign on Dec. 1, a tent city sprouted on the outskirts of Assembly Hall. More than 36 hours before game time, members of the Orange Krush staked out their place in line, ensuring they would have the best seats possible for the most-hyped game in Champaign-Urbana in 25 years.

They didn't have to sleep outside. Because of their status within the group, most of the Krush members were already guaranteed a spot in the Orange Krush courtside seat cluster. But the 30 tents full of students were the diehards who didn't want to take any chances.

There is no denying that Orange Krush is the jewel that sparkles brightest in the Illini Pride crown. No one has painted the Hall orange quite like the Krush, whose influence has reverberated beyond Assembly Hall. Longtime Champaign sports media personality Loren Tate '53 COM credits the group for making the hue the weapon it is today.

"People who once upon a time would come to games and not wear orange and would laugh at people who did because orange is kind of a weird color  unless you're all in orange  and that's what's become the case," Tate said. "I quoted a guy in my book ["A Century of Orange and Blue: 100 Years of Illinois Basketball"] as saying, 'Once upon a time I laughed at these people. And now if I didn't wear orange to the game, I would buy orange after I got there because I wouldn't want to sit down without having my orange on.' I think that that all generated from the Orange Krush."

The group has also become media darlings, featured in newspapers coast to coast, national magazines and on TV. However, not all of its news has always been positive.

"Orange Krush got popular in its early days for being a negative section where we would just pound the other team," said Phillip Davidson, a senior and past Krush chairman. But having received a warning from the Big Ten for their behavior, Krush members changed their tune.

"The past few years it's become more of a loud, spirited organization," Davidson said. "This is when we finally started to get some good recognition  good press, just good things are happening. Plus, it doesn't hurt that the team's doing well."

But there's a lot more to the group than crazy costumes and funny chants. Not many people comprehend all that goes on behind the Orange Krush curtain.

"Duke has the Cameron Crazies, the Izzone is at Michigan State, but the one thing that Orange Krush is getting a lot of publicity for is what [those groups] don't do. And what sets us apart from those student sections is that we raise money for charity," said Mark Perkes, a junior business major and president of the Orange Krush Foundation. "That's something people don't realize. We've raised more than $600,000 for charities in the last six years."

The foundation was established in 1998 to provide a mechanism for students to give back to the community, campus and the University, Perkes said. To be a member of the Orange Krush, a student must raise at least $1 for every three-point shot the Illini convert over the course of a season. Krush members have collected pledges from more than 10,000 donors in 43 states, Canada and Australia. To qualify for the coveted floor seats, Krush members must raise at least $3 per shot.

While that might not seem like a lot of money, consider that the Illini nailed 231 three-pointers last season  meaning the students who raised $3 in pledges collected a total of $693 each. (Some exceed the minimum  one woman generated pledges totaling more than $11 per shot.)

Based on pledges solicited — and helped by an influx of 400 new Krush members  the group projects to raise at least $500,000 this season alone. In the fall, the foundation distributes the proceeds to charities that apply for grants.

The foundation also has established two endowment funds that directly benefit the University. The first, named in memory of the late Matthew Heldman '98 bus, a former Illini point guard, is a $250,000 scholarship endowment for a men's basketball player. The foundation is still raising money for the Rod Cardinal Sports Medicine Fund, a tribute to the former Illini men's basketball trainer. That endowment will benefit all student trainers at the University.

Mutual admiration society

While Illini Pride members are most noticeable at game time, they do a lot behind the scenes, too.

One of the hallmarks of the organization is the way it develops relationships with Illinois coaches. Each year, the Illini Pride chairmen — at least one for each cheer group — consult with the respective coaching staffs to exchange ideas and to get an idea of what the coach envisions as an ideal home atmosphere.

"All of the coaches really appreciate Illini Pride and what they do for their sport," said Allison Berg '02 ALS, MS '04 ALS, a former Illini gymnast who is now the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics adviser for Illini Pride.

And the athletes do, too. Senior forward Roger Powell of the men's basketball team said of the Krush: "They mean a lot to us. They bring so much emotion and so much excitement. I think they kind of intimidate other teams at times."

That appreciation was evident last December before the Wake Forest game. "Coach Weber had the entire team deliver pizza (to the people waiting outside Assembly Hall for good seats)," said Perkes. "(Weber) paid for it. People actually hung out with them for an hour. That was about 11 o'clock at night."

Athletes and Illini Pride members also intermingle at barbecues and meet-and-greet events. During an Illini Pride football tailgate this fall, some members of the women's tennis team and women's basketball team attended, and some of the women's basketball players walked alongside Illini Pride's Homecoming float.

The synergy between fans, athletes and coaches invigorates everyone involved. The student fans have helped Illinois teams stage some of their biggest triumphs this year. The Spike Squad shook the rafters at Huff Gym during the Illini's five-set victory over top-ranked USC in September. And 700 Wrestle Heads backed the then second-ranked Illini as they whipped rival IowaÚto collect the program'sÚsecond dual victory over the Hawkeyes in 43 years.

Other UI coaches might agree with Weber when he speaks of the home court advantage Illini Pride members bring to the game.

"I think it's part of the mystique of Assembly Hall," he said. "Why do other teams play so poorly there? Why can we beat teams so soundly? You hope it's the players, you hope it's your system, your coaching.

"But at the same time I think that (Orange Krush) brings something to the table."

That support seems nearly unstoppable. "Everybody's excited, everybody's rowdy, everyone's having a good time cheering loudly for Illinois," said Kurt Brown, a senior accounting major who sports an apron and chef hat at men's basketball games to honor Weber.

"We could win zero games," Brown said, "and I'd probably be just as thrilled being there."

Bleill is a free-lance writer in Champaign.

Photo by: The News-Gazette