HURD works to increase support for USU athletics

With the USU football team currently 0-4, it might be easy for students to lose heart and abandon the team as hopeless, but that is exactly what HURD refuses to do.

Corinne Smith, president of HURD, said HURD is all about supporting USU sports, regardless of wins or losses. HURD is the USU school spirit club and should be and will be there to support all of the sports, she said.

HURD, named after a herd of cattle, is in its second year as a club at USU and is the largest on campus, boasting 1,100 members and still growing. HURD sponsors events such as the weekly football Coach’s Show, with USU Head Coach Brent Guy, and tailgate parties before every home football game, she said. In the spring, HURD will also sponsor pregame parties for the basketball games.

“The HURD is for every USU student,” Smith said. “There are a lot of new people to meet in the HURD, and there are lots of sports to support so there is something for everyone. We have anything your interested in. This club is really about getting students to show support to our school.”

Megan Darrington, Athletics vice president, said HURD is really trying to get students excited about participating and getting involved with the school, and they give students incentives to become a HURD member to have the opportunity to get involved.

“Every HURD member gets a HURD t-shirt and a discount card to business in the town,” Darrington said. “If you are a HURD member, you get the perks in USU Athletics.”

HURD, which is based on an old USU club called the Blue Crew, is the only spirit club on campus. Darrington said one thing HURD aims to do is pull the different aspects of USU together.

“The tailgate parties are really fun,” Darrington said. “We get to combine forces with the HURD, the Greeks, ASUSU, Athletics and the community and pull everybody together to throw a really great party.”

HURD members work to inform students on the athletics that are going on at USU, whether they be school-sponsored teams, club sports or intramurals, Darrington said. HURD informs its members each week of the happenings in the athletics community by sending out a mass e-mail, she said, which gives students the opportunity to go and get involved if they want to, which benefits the students and the sports they are supporting.

“The HURD is a great thing for USU Athletics in general because it informs the students of what is going on,” Darrington said.

HURD is currently working on projects to involve the students more, Smith said. One project HURD is actively working on is making the Junction the “Home of HURD,” she said. The HURD will paint the wall in the Junction, where there are already foosball and air hockey tables.

“We really want to make the Junction a place for the HURD members to come hang out and get to know each other,” Smith said.

HURD works to get volunteers for sports that need them and is especially working to improve the student body’s opinion of the football team, Smith said.

“We want the students to be more positive about football,” Smith said. “We are trying to get them to support them, even if they are losing.”

Smith said although the team is not winning, she wants students to be aware of all of the progress both the coach and the team have made.

Christie Bagley, senior in music composition and current HURD member, said the support for the football team and other sports that are not necessarily doing well is one of the reasons she decided to join the HURD in the first place.

“I think the HURD is cool,” Bagley said. “It ties us together as students more, and it helps us support our fellow students instead of bashing on them. We all make mistakes and even though they reflect on us as students, I think it is still important for us to stick it together.”

HURD is for student athletes and for students who just want to support the athletes.

“I am really not an athletic person, but I really liked getting involved and going to games and supporting the school,” Smith said.

Cami Jones, undeclared freshman who is also a member of the HURD committee, said she thinks it is especially important for athletes to go out and support the athletes on other teams.

“I think that any team has bad streaks, and you need to go support everybody,” Jones said. “In high school we weren’t the best, but we try to support as many other teams in hopes of getting support in return.”

HURD organizers said they hope to have more people come out and support them and the athletics teams throughout the school year, Darrington said. If students want to get involved, they have to pay $20 and sign up either at one of the events or in the Student Involvement Office in the Taggart Student Center Room 326, she said.

Smith said she thinks HURD is for every person at USU and she would love for the club to keep expanding.

“There is always fun with HURD,” Smith said. “Anyone who loves to be an Aggie should be in this club.”

-debrajoy.h@aggiemail.usu.edu