DURHAM -- After Bri Howington, a Duke freshman, watched the Blue Devils men's basketball team play St. John's on Saturday, she and two friends left Cameron Indoor Stadium to enjoy the sun-splashed afternoon. They could not discuss the game's outcome, however, because the second half had not started.
"The corner we were sitting in, the other fans were depressing," Howington said. "So we're going to brunch."
There is growing sentiment that Cameron has lost some of its craziness, and there is definitive evidence that it has lost some of its Crazies.
About 1,200 seats are earmarked for Duke's undergraduates, but this season students have filled about 700 a game while classes are in session. Over the past three years, the university has filled the gaps by regularly selling hundreds of student-section tickets to nonstudents, giving the famed Section 17 an unusual look.
"Now you see some empty seats, and you see some adults in there," said Bill Hoines, a season-ticket holder who has been attending Duke games for 45 seasons.
At many universities, signs of a declining fan base would be met with a shrug. But at Duke it is more complicated because basketball is an inextricable part of the culture.
Students camp in tents for months to be first in line when the Blue Devils face North Carolina. Before each game they receive printouts on how to heckle the opponent. And during play, they stand and synchronize chants and gestures that are later copied at arenas across the country.
This is all part of the charm, part of why the Cameron Crazies are envied and vilified, and part of the reason the identity of the university seems shaken by the recent slowdown.
"We're fiercely loyal to each other and very defensive and proud, and I think this has struck a nerve," said Norm Bradley, a 2001 graduate who was in charge of monitoring the lines of students waiting to enter Cameron during his senior year. "It's almost like the students don't appreciate what a privilege it is."
It is unclear why the Cameron Indoor Stadium experience is shifting. Many students blamed a mixture of academic pressures, Greek life and long lines, but those factors existed during boom times as well.
"A lot of students just don't think these players are that exciting," Howington said.
Runs in cycles
Interest could also be cyclical. During the 1999-2000 season, there were often empty spots in the undergraduate student section, and that Duke team included future NBA players Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer, Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Jason Williams.
The next year, 100 undergraduate student tickets were redistributed to graduate students.
"The student section, just like the team, changes every season," said Rebecca Wilusz, a head usher of the graduate section who was an undergraduate at Duke and is now working on her doctorate in biomedical engineering. "Students learn to fill new roles, but it takes time."
Undergraduates begin lining up hours before tip-off and are admitted on a first-come-first-served basis. There is no charge for admission, and there is no guarantee of entry or warm weather. And the recent downturn has made lines and wait times shorter than ever. Undergraduates regularly receive text messages from student groups telling them that lines are bearable and seating is plentiful.
"We're trying to debunk the myth that you have to camp out overnight or be outside for 10 hours to get into a game here," said Duke's director of marketing and promotions, Mike Forman.
Three seasons ago, the university began opening some student seating to donors and season-ticket holders. About 10 days before each nonmarquee game, Forman and student representatives agree upon an estimated attendance figure. The remaining tickets are then sold for $65. About 400 were sold for the Jan. 19 game against Wake Forest.
"The students that don't come out anymore, I wish they would come back," freshman guard Austin Rivers said.
Rivals' numbers up
The Triangle's other ACC schools report that student attendance is up this year.
North Carolina's allocations vary depending on the game. There will be 6,000 student tickets for the Duke game next week, but Christmas break games usually draw between 500 and 1,000 students.
The allocation for student seats to the N.C. State game last week was 3,200, according to Clint Gwaltney, North Carolina's associate athletics director of ticket operations.
N.C. State's student attendance is also having a strong year, said Dick Christy, associate athletic director for external operations.
The Wolfpack varies the number of student tickets depending on the game. The high-water number is 4,500 for marquee contests such as the North Carolina game. Christmas break games typically receive substantially less - usually somewhere around 1,500.
Of course, it is not as if Cameron Indoor Stadium is being confused with the student library. And with upcoming home games against rivals Maryland (Feb. 11), N.C. State (Feb. 16) and North Carolina (March 3), there is likely to be a considerable surge in attendance.
