In light of National Girls & Women in Sports Day on Wednesday, Feb. 4, it feels especially necessary to acknowledge the people working overtime behind the scenes. At Colorado College, it’s two former women’s basketball players who decided that empty bleachers were no longer acceptable.
Juniors Willa McLaughlin and Rose Koehler have taken on the task of reviving school spirit and supporting women’s sports on campus, beginning with women’s basketball as the team continues an impressive season. What began as a low-stakes, boredom-driven idea during Half Block has quickly turned into themed games, growing student sections and a newfound culture of showing up.
It started with wig nights and the continued tradition of customized CCWBB groupie hats.
That first spark led to another theme. Then another.
“And then we were like, okay, let’s keep it rolling,” McLaughlin said. Their next idea? Sunday Best, where the pair wore suits.
People came. And notably, it wasn’t a Tiger Attack game, Colorado College’s officially designated high-energy home-game promotions with mandatory attendance by designated sports teams, meant to draw larger crowds.
“I feel like it’s been fun to kind of spread the themes along,” McLaughlin said. “Just to motivate people to get to the games because as we know, the [Division III] sports viewing isn’t, I would say, a major component of college campus life. Totem pole-wise, it’s kind of at the bottom.”
Their strategy relies less on formal promotion and more on confidence, be it real or manufactured.
“We pretend like a ton of people are coming,” Koehler said. “Sometimes we’re surprised by the turnout, and that’s nice.”
“Totally,” McLaughlin added. “We’re like, ‘Oh, you’re the only one not going.’”
“But we tell everybody that everybody is coming,” Koehler said.
“Because once they go to one game,” McLaughlin said, “they’ll get hooked and they’ll come back.”
That momentum matters, especially on a campus where many students simply don’t know when games are happening. Word of mouth, Mclaughlin says, is critical.
Timing plays a role too. Friday night games and Sunday afternoon tip-offs have become social opportunities rather than scheduling burdens.
Friday night games, according to McLaughlin, can be treated as a pregame space before evening plans.
“It’s 7 p.m. What are you really doing for two hours?” she asked. “Why not go dress up in a crazy outfit and get hyped before you go out?”
“And Sundays,” she added, “what are you really doing at 2 p.m.?”
Structural challenges remain. Men’s teams often play before women’s teams and committing to both can turn into a four-hour ordeal on plastic bleachers. Still, the women’s basketball student section has continued to grow.
“I’ve heard some recent happenings that people are bringing dates to the basketball game,” Koehler said. “Bring a date. Bring a date.”
Looking ahead, McLaughlin has her sights set on going bigger, hinting at tailgates in the future.
The idea addresses one of the biggest barriers to attendance: the intimidation factor of walking into a small gym alone.
Showing up solo can feel like being put under a spotlight. McLaughlin and Koehler instead are proposing a simple solution: gather beforehand, dress up together and enter as a group.
They’ve even floated using the lawn across from the gym for a “grill and chill” pregame with music, food, costumes and community before heading inside to support the team.
Both Koehler and McLaughlin believe that the movement has also strengthened bonds across women’s athletics.
“I feel like it’s a close connection between lacrosse and women’s basketball and women’s soccer,” Koehler said. “Even volleyball. And now track, I feel, is trying to integrate themselves a little bit more into that and it’s becoming a little sisterhood.”
When asked about men’s attendance, their answer was blunt.
“No. Where the brothers at?” Koehler said.
The ripple effects have gone beyond the gym. At Tony’s, a local bar in the Springs, CC women’s basketball fans have been approached by strangers asking how to earn a groupie hat. The response: bring at least 20 friends, teammates or acquaintances to Senior Day and inclusion in the next groupie hat order would be considered.
Senior Day, they promise, will be the biggest yet including face paint, crazier themes, hot dogs, basketball costumes and maybe even RoCCy.
“If they’re not gonna give us RoCCy,” McLaughlin said, “We’re bringing RoCCy.”
As National Girls & Women in Sports Day calls attention to equity and visibility, the atmosphere around CC women’s basketball offers proof that change doesn’t always start with administration or policy. Sometimes, it starts with two people, a little boredom and the decision to care.
“It’s taking off,” they said. “And it’s only up from here.”
Women’s Basketball plays at home next on Friday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Reid Arena.