Please
wear your Student Rebel Bullpen Club "T" shirt to all Friday
night games to help show your support
WE HAVE ISSUED USER NAMES
AND PASSWORDS TO ALL STUDENT MEMBERS THAT PROVIDED A USABLE EMAIL ADDRESS.
IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED
YOURS, GO TO THE MAIN PAGE OF THE REGULAR BULLPEN CLUB WEB SITE AND CLICK
ON
REQUEST PASSWORD AND
FILL OUT AND SUBMIT YOUR INFORMATION. WE WILL FORWARD A PASSWORD TO YOU.
DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN WRITE UP
ABOUT OUR CLUB;
The days of Ole Miss students simply
sitting beyond the right field fence and hanging out with their friends
(seemingly oblivious to the baseball game at Swayze Field) may have come
to an end with the formation of the Student Bullpen Club.
The Student
Bullpen Club, affectionately known as "Swayze Crazies," is in its first
year of true existence. Several students had tossed around the idea of
forming a group that would support the baseball program with agreater
amount of student involvement - consisting of increased attendance, school
spirit and financial backing.
"I was a manager my freshman year and the coaches and I talked about
forming a group to get students involved in the baseball program at Ole
Miss," says Ian Navarro, one of the students that dreamed the club into
existence. After two years of simply talking about this idea, the decision
was made that the 2006 season was the time to take action and turn the
plans into reality.
After contacting Ernie LaBarge, the president of the Ole Miss Bullpen
Club, they formed a student division with his encouragement. Their current
membership is more than 170 members, but that number is expected to rise
once conference play starts. They would like to match the Ole Miss Bullpen
Club membership of more than 1,000.
For only $20, a member gets Swayze's Crazies t-shirt, ice and cups during
the game, and are able to attend the crawfish boil during the LSU series
weekend. But perhaps the largest benefit is stated on their facebook
group: "your money is an investment in sending the Rebels to Omaha, home
of the College World Series."
"We are definitely a program on the rise and are capable of competing with
the best," says Navarro, a junior from Houston, Texas, "We are set to
become a national powerhouse."
And much like the Rebel baseball program that is on the rise, the Student
Bullpen club is still in its formative years. The founders are encouraging
the student section to wear red shirts on Fridays, especially their "Swayze
Crazies" t-shirts. The idea is to form a "red-out" in the right field
student section, creating a hostile environment for the visiting team.
Another benefit of Swayze Crazies is the large Ole Miss student presence
when recruits come to visit. "It is always a positive when deciding where
to play when the students seem to be behind the team," says Cody
Satterwhite, an acclaimed freshman pitcher from Byram, Mississippi.
Students interested in becoming involved with this new organization can go
to www.bullpenclub.com and click on the student link on the left side, or
you can go by the Student Bullpen Club tent during a weekend game and pick
up an application.
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