ROSEMONT, Ill. – Though the Wright State men’s basketball recent road swing to a pair of Big East arenas did not result in wins, the Raiders can say they were well supported.
The Raiders played at Georgetown and DePaul last week and the games were well attended by WSU alumni. At the WSU game at Georgetown on Nov. 13, 40 Washington D.C. area alumni joined university President David Hopkins for the contest and a pregame meal.
On Saturday, 45 alumni from the Dayton area joined with a number of Chicago alumni on the Party Deck at Allstate Arena.
Pat Koogler received her bachelor’s degree from WSU in 1976 and her master’s in 1980. She and her husband drove from the Dayton area to Washington and then to Chicago to see the Raiders.
“Having all of these alumni networks around the country is just a great way to connect with all of these formers grads,” Koogler said. “We have alumni everywhere. Wherever we play, we can get a group of Raider fans together.”
Her connection to WSU basketball started in the early 90s as an elementary school teacher in Xenia Community Schools. She used basketball statistics to teach her students how to learn math. Working with the Athletics Department, Koogler gave tickets to WSU basketball games for passing grades.
The result was near 100 percent passage.
“Incredible improvement, it shows what basketball can do,” Koogler said. “I have been able to keep in touch with a lot of those kids who went through the program and have gone or are now going to Wright State.”
Greg Scharer, the Executive Director of Alumni Relations at WSU, organized the event in Chicago. He was among the group who traveled to see the Raiders take on DePaul.
“Folks who come on these bus trips tend to repeat and come over and over again,” he said. “It is about the camaraderie.”
The chance to support the Raiders coupled with the comradely attracted Koogler to both of last week’s events.
“It is funny because most of the alumni you talk to instead of asking them what year they graduated, you ask them how many buildings were on campus,” Koogler said.
Scharer said the Alumni Association organizes gatherings involving WSU athletics wherever there is a strong alumni base. In the state of Illinois, there are over 800 WSU alumni.
The support from the alumni was noticed and appreciated by the team.
“We get incredible support,” WSU head coach Billy Donlon said. “When you think about Wright State President Hopkins and people make this bus trip to Chicago every year now that we played a non-league game. We have great fans. The university is an incredible university from the support the Athletics Department gives and the university itself.”
