Morgantown, West Virginia – Bob Huggins has made no secret of his disdain for the current COVID guidelines in college basketball right now. With all of the renovations that have happened inside the Coliseum since last season, Huggins is eager to get fans back in the building, cheering on the Mountaineers.
In his postgame interview following the home opener against North Texas, Huggins said the following: “We have 14,000 seats in the Coliseum. It’s beautiful. New scoreboard…the same scoreboard that you have in Madison Square Garden and this place doesn’t look 50 years old anymore. It looks new and vibrant.”
Huggins continued: “It’s missing one thing. It’s missing people in the seats. There are 14,000 seats, and we can’t put 3,000 in here and spread them out?”
Huggins has a point. The Coliseum is a massive arena and 3,000 people can easily socially distance safely while watching the games. While it would take an organized effort to accomplish it, it’s certainly something that could be done without risking the health of anyone in attendance.
College sports are not the same without fans and a home court advantage is non-existent without the support of the home crowd.
According to Huggins, it really does affect the players as well. “This is such a sterile atmosphere. It’s not what they (players) signed up for, to be honest with you. It’s not what they signed up for. I don’t get it. I don’t get it because it’s about the guys that are playing.”
Perhaps Huggins’ pleas to allow fans will convince the university to change their stance in the near future. However, in the meantime, West Virginia will have to play very challenging opponents like the 19th ranked Richmond Spiders tomorrow inside a near-empty Coliseum without the advantage of a home court crowd supporting them.
