A note from an Aggie alumnus
I recently received an email from Dr. Ross Peterson, a class of 1965 Utah State graduate and later a professor at the university. He voiced to me his concerns about the dwindling USU student section.
His thoughts can be found below.
It is time for the Aggie students to recapture the Smith Spectrum
According to KVNU the temperature that February morning in 1960 was eight degrees when four college freshmen lined up west of the Nelson Fieldhouse.
The Aggies and Utes, both in the Skyline Conference and both ranked in the top ten of all polls, were meeting with the conference title on the line. The Fieldhouse doors opened at six during the freshmen game, so all day long, we rotated every fifteen minutes, two in line, two in the Student Center.
At five o’clock we decided to stay put. There was no losing our place in line. We were about 200 behind those at the doors and they only admitted 1600 students. The line behind us went to the corner of seventh north, turned east, and wrapped around the ROTC building.
The Utes’ “Billy the Hill” McGill and Allen Holmes were pitted against the Aggies’ Cornell Green and Max Perry. A matchup made in heaven and all we needed were student I.D. cards. Once the doors opened, everyone in line rushed the doors and the ushers quickly lost control. By the time I got inside the Fieldhouse, I had no idea where my friends were so I made my way to a space on a bench two rows from the top on the aisle.
The benches literally swayed and rocked as people pushed and shoved and grunted to find any place to watch. I remember being irritated as season ticket holders meandered in just before the national anthem. My older brother spotted me just as they started the anthem and fought his way up the aisle. As they sang “Land of the Free and Home …”we sat down before the anthem ended. Our seats were secure, but we stood the entire game anyway.
Sadly, the Ags lost by two, 77-75, that night and settled for the NIT and a 24-5 season. The students claimed ownership of the Fieldhouse that night and five years later, when Wayne Estes scored his 2001 point, I was on the same bench on the aisle crying as he left the floor. The tears flowed unashamedly the next morning when we learned of his death.
During my tenure as a professor at USU nothing has thrilled me at athletic events more than how the students took ownership of the Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum and made the venue one of the most noted in the land.
With traditions, rituals, Wild Bill and Big Blue, the place rocked and the students willed the Aggies to victories on many occasions. When I travel to alumni events throughout the country and ask students what they missed the most about USU, almost all said, “The Spectrum.”
It is time for this generation of Aggies to declare ownership of those 4,000 seats and bring joy and excitement to every game.
For the past few years, the energy has gradually diminished and new students have no idea of what it is to bring “the force” to bear on the opposition. The students have helped fund Athletics for decades and do so now at an increased level. This Saturday is an opportune time to take back the building and restore the magic that had USU’s Spectrum in the same conversation as Duke’s Cameron and Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse.
College should be fun and not just job preparation, so come and be crazy, wake up the season ticket holders and they too can chant “I Believe” and stand for the fight song. They went to sleep when the students started staying home.
— Dr. Ross Peterson, History Dept. USU ’65
