USF women's basketball sets attendance record on Education Day

TAMPA, Fla. - As the University of South Florida women’s basketball team tipped off against Charleston Southern, class was officially in session. 

"Leading up to this day, we knew we needed to prepare ourselves with communication, because those kids get loud," said USF senior guard Maria Alvarez. 

Today, success wasn't counted in free throws or three pointers, but measured in decibels. 

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"There were some people that were really, really struggling with the sound," said senior forward Evelien Lutje Schipholt. "My ears are honestly hurting, as well. Like, actually beeping hurting."

This was no ordinary game, however, as the Bulls hosted their annual education day game.

"It was about 200 buses and 85 schools," explained USF marketing coordinator Shalyce Caban. 

Caban, a student at USF herself, was in charge of contacting elementary schools around the Tampa Bay area and offering this free event to students and chaperones. 

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"It was kind of like an ‘ahhh’ moment when you saw everyone cheering and saw the stands full," Caban said. 

Billed as the loudest game of the year, this crowd of kids delivered on that promise. 

"Sometimes you have to be good at lip-reading, seriously," Alvarez said. "I think they got the loudest during the free throws, and then you think 'holy wow.'"

Something that also helped make this the Bulls' loudest game of the year was the number of students in attendance. Because when roll was called, the Bulls had perfect attendance. 

"We had to turn away schools," explained head coach Jose Fernandez. "There was a waiting list. Just imagine if we had more capacity. We could have had even more."

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In total, 9,574 students, chaperones and fans packed the Yuengling Center for an 11:00 a.m. tip off, which was good enough to set the program record for a home game. 

"I loved the kids and loved playing for the kids," Lutje Schipholt said. "They're just excited about everything. It doesn't matter if you do something wrong or right. It's just a constant cheering. I loved it and love playing for the next generation."

At the end of the game, the students cheered the Bulls on to an 81-35 win over the Buccaneers while setting a new record for perfect attendance in the stands.