The Orange Krush by Kevin Mroz

The Orange Krush is a very unique basketball student section. Not only does it provide its students with seats really close to the court, but it also serves as a very successful non-profit organization that has donated nearly 1.5 million dollars to charitable organizations throughout the Champaign-Urbana and campus communities.Proceeds raised by the Orange Krush Foundation 3-point program are allocated by 50% going to the University Scholarship Endowment and 50% going to local charities.

Background of The Orange Krush:

I met up with Brett Zimmerman who is an Orange Krush Chair. He is one of three different people with this title. He was able to get this title by being an active member of The Orange Krush the past two years and by going through an interview process done by members of the Illini Pride Executive Board. His responsibilities include writing the "Hoop Scoop" which is a publication given out to students before each game that includes possible cheers, he leads the cheers during the games (as seen wearing the #1 jersey in the picture above), makes sure things run smoothly during game day, and he is part of the group that decides how the money is going to be distributed.

How The Orange Krush Operates:

The image above is part of a pledge sheet. In order to be in the Orange Krush, each student must get pledges from people willing to donate money based on the amount of three point shots that are made by the Illini during the season. The amount of money raised determines the level that they are in Krush. Varsity members need to raise $1.50 per 3-pt shot (however, freshman and transfer students only need to raise $1.00/3-pt shot). If you raise $3.00 per 3-pt shot, you become a member of the All American team and receive greater benefits such as getting first priority of seating. Below is an image of the different lines students get in before the game. The line on the bottom of the picture is the Varsity line, and the line closest to Assembly Hall is the All American line. Once all of the pledges are collected, members of the Illini Pride Executive board review Grant Applications. These are requests from different charities for money that is raised by the Orange Krush. This committee reviews each request and decides to either fulfill the requested amount, partially fulfill the requested amount, or reject the request(which rarely occurs).


Finally, a check ceremony occurs in which members of the Orange Krush present a check to the Orange Krush foundation . The amount of money on the check is the total amount of money that was raised by the members of The Orange Krush.

Employment Opportunities:
There are several ways to be involved with The Orange Krush. One way is through the Athletic Department. There is a person in the marketing department that advises the executive board on matters that concern the athletic department such as tickets. Another way would be through the Illinos Foundation. People from here help run the website, hand out letters, and collect the money from the pledges. Finally, there are student leaders. There is a vice president, three Krush Chairs, and Krush Helpers which are made up of members of the Illini Pride Executive Board. To work your way up in the student leader role, students must be active members of Krush for several years, and apply for each position.

Current trends and issues:
Right now there is pressure for members of the Executive Board of Illini Pride to get the pledging process up and being ready to receive pledges sooner. The deadlines for when the pledges are due keep on moving up, thus providing more pressure for the board to prepare even earlier than the previous year.
For the most part, the number of people who join Krush each year is based on how the basketball team did the previous year. About 660 people were in Krush last year. This year, Brett said that he expects there to be about 1000 people in Krush. This is based on about 100 people over the summer signing up during registration, and about 370 people already signed up on the website.

Leisure for The Orange Krush:
The Orange Krush's definition of leisure involves supporting the surrounding community whether it is Champain-Urbana, the University, or the basketball team. They get joy out of feeling involved in such a wonderful environment. The main benefit Krush serves is being able to provide financial support to both the university and local charities in the surrounding area.

Synopsis:
The Orange Krush is a win-win situation for everyone. Students are able to benefit by being able to sit close to the action during basketball games, while the surrounding area and the University benefits from the students getting pledges to raise money. A lot of work is put into making this one of the best student sections in the nation. ESPN expert Doug Gottlieb said it very well when he said, "The Orange Krush at Assembly Hall is without question the undisputed king of student spirit groups. In addition to donating $50K to the Jimmy V Foundation and planning events outside of the games, they bring it like no other every game day." What makes the section so unique is the non-profit aspect. It is truly remarkable the amount of money the students have rased all for a good cause. A lot of work is put in behind the scenes to make things possible. The finished product is one to be very proud of. I cannot wait for basketball season to start so that I can be a member of the Orange Krush.