Welcome to The Jungle

They are loud. They are proud. They are all Auburn, all orange, all the time. They are the Auburn men’s basketball team’s biggest fans and the opposing team’s worst nightmare. Who are they? Welcome to The Jungle.
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Since Jan. 11, 2012, the student section at Auburn’s home basketball games has been louder and more spirited thanks to a dedicated group of students who are officially known as “The Jungle.”

“The Jungle started just prior to the season, and we decided to launch it for our first conference game against Kentucky,” said Mike Hales, who oversees The Jungle as the assistant director of marketing for Auburn’s Athletics Department. “We had talked about coming up with an identity for our student group. The Jungle was really meant to unify the student body and help them to feel as much a part of the basketball games and the atmosphere as possible.”

Students loved the idea and quickly responded to e-mail requests to become members, Hales said.

Hales explained that there are numerous benefits of being a Jungle member including the first 750 members receiving a free official The Jungle T-shirt. By wearing the T-shirt to select games, members receive early admittance, allowing access to the best seats in the student section.

The Jungle is sponsored by Momma Goldberg’s Deli, and members who wear their shirt on game day to the restaurant receive free nachos with the purchase of a drink. Members are given priority for special game day students promotions and contests, while also having the first opportunity to purchase post-season tickets. Additionally, members receive weekly e-mail, Twitter (@AUJungle) and contest updates.

“So far this season, the biggest impact of The Jungle has been attendance,” Hales said. “There’ve been so many students that have worn their shirt every game religiously. We’ve seen a lot of students show up much earlier than usual. We’ve had a packed student section for every conference game so far. It’s been incredible.”

The long lines of students waiting before the games to get in early speak for themselves by showing the excitement The Jungle has brought to Auburn’s basketball program.

“The huge lines, that’s great to see,” Hales said. “We want to see that urgency.”

Another key impact of The Jungle is their participation during the games.

“We started a new cheer that they do for free throws where they say ‘A, U’ every time we make a free throw, and they’ve done other things during the game where they start cheers,” Hales explained. “It just creates a fun, festive atmosphere.”

The fans, coaches and players all feed off this positive energy, and their dedication has not gone unnoticed.

“It makes such a huge difference when our student section is involved,” Hales said. “We hear that over and over again from our coaching staff and our players about how much of a difference the crowd makes. For us, we feel the student section is the heartbeat of our crowd, and they really make that atmosphere what it is.”