Every winter, students at the University of Wisconsin fill the Kohl Center’s southside bleachers — willing their men’s basketball team to victory. UW currently ranks at No. 2 in the competitive Big Ten Conference for average attendance in the 2023-24 season, with much of it attributed to the work from AreaRED’s men’s basketball leadership team.

AreaRED — a student organization popular for its unrivaled enthusiasm for Badger athletics — has used a team of 10 individuals to power student sections at men’s basketball games this season and beyond.

Leading the program are senior Samuel Geffers and junior Elise Poos, the two men’s basketball directors for AreaRED. On any given gameday, fans at the Kohl Center can see Geffers and Poos handing out Fat Heads, leading chants and making numerous appearances on the arena’s Jumbotron during live action.

There’s more that goes into leading the game, though, starting at least a week early. Depending on the number of home games the men’s basketball team plays over a week determines the amount of work Geffers, Poos and the rest of the team can dedicate to each event.

The process begins with the preparation of newspapers placed on each student section seat, including information like the projected lineup, lighthearted jabs at the opponent and instructions for following game day traditions.

“You just kind of scour the internet,” Geffers said about the research that goes into the newspapers.

With ideally two weeks to work with, the men’s basketball committee uses that research to find some humorous, lighthearted background on each of the opposing players. In the end, their goal is to make students laugh, sometimes even diving into an opponent’s random NIL deals — a new avenue to work with this year, Geffers said.

For example, AreaRED found that Purdue University’s men’s basketball team had partnered with a mattress store, revealed in a Instagram video featuring the players singing along with the store’s mascot. The silly discovery made perfect content for the newspaper, Geffers said.

After a weekly meeting to divide assignments, the AreaRED team usually arrives at the Kohl Center three hours before tip-off to set up giveaways, newspapers and promotions.

“Getting all of the giveaways set up, all of the Fat Heads you see we’ll give out to the students, the sign-making station, just getting that whole concourse area set up was kind of the next step,” Geffers said.

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The concourse area located at the entrance of the student section at the Kohl Center provides an interactive setting for students to create signs and grab Fat Heads, hoping to draw enough attention for a shot to make it on national television or the scoreboard  throughout the game.

When all of the pregame activities come to a halt, tip-off ensues with Poos, Geffers and the rest of their team sitting in the front row. It’s their responsibility to create a game time energy and positive environment to give UW’s men’s basketball team an ideal home-court advantage.

“We like to set the precedent for the student section to start the game as loud as possible … being an example for the rest of the students of how to behave, and we use the whiteboards,” Poos said.

It starts with being loud on defense, starting chants and maintaining that energy throughout the entirety of the game, Poos said. To help with that, AreaRED uses whiteboards to communicate chants when the time feels right. While that occurs throughout the live action in games, downtime and maintaining a positive atmosphere was something Geffers and Poos wanted to resolve.

Through constant brainstorming that Geffers mentioned in conversation, the AreaRED team hands out balloon to students for the second half. During most men’s basketball games, volunteers help out with the run between sections of students to hand out balloons.

From there, the stadium’s south side is littered with red and white balloons being morphed into headbands, balloon animals and much more. It’s all to get that energy back for the men’s basketball squad after a 15-minute halftime.

AreaRED got the idea from fellow student sections around the nation, and now makes approximately 400 balloons for the lower bowl of students.

Poos, Geffers and the rest of the team spend a day or two before the game blowing up the balloons. It’s about an hour-long process according to Poos, sometimes longer depending on the amount of staff they have for that day.

The creation becomes worth it once the horn sounds at the beginning of the second half, though.

“I think it really helps just make them excited and have something to do,” Geffers said. “It’s way easier and way more fun than just waving your hand in the air when someone is shooting a free throw when you can wave a balloon at them.”

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It’s a little thing to enhance the men’s basketball gameday experience at UW, Geffers said. The success and consistency of attendance and the environment have been noteworthy, as the Badgers finished the year 19-13 on the season before entering the postseason portion of March.

The environment created on these game days begins with the work beforehand. Chemistry and the willingness to step up and help each other have powered AreaRED to the success it enjoys today.

Results for men’s basketball games don’t just come from the committee, it extends past that through the entire student organization.

“The support that we get from other AreaRED directors and committee members for each different sport — even if it’s not as popular,” Poos said about what makes the group special. “The AreaRED members in our committee all show up for each other and support one another’s efforts to boost that fanbase morale and impact the atmosphere for those specific teams.”

It shows, along with the group’s ability to enhance atmospheres and create energy on any given day. Their commitment and bond as an organization — extending throughout UW’s athletic department — has allowed AreaRED to leave a positive impact on Badgers athletics.

“The sense of community that is within the club and that we’re working on creating something for every student,” Geffers said. “The number one message we try to push is that any student that’s at any sporting event is a part of AreaRED.”