The success of the men’s basketball team has been consistent over the past several seasons, and the hype of the women’s team is hotter than ever. As the men continue to rack up wins and the women look to stun opponents with their highly regarded recruiting class, WSU made a move to decrease student seating in Beasley Coliseum by 1,500 seats. ASWSU President Brandon Scheller said average attendance at basketball games last year was around 3,500 students, nearly 1,800 less than the 5,300 seats slotted for students. “We really weren’t filling up the stadium, which surprised the heck out of me,” Scheller said.

During the summer, the Athletic Department and ASWSU met and came to the conclusion that this problem needed to be resolved. Therefore, effective this season, the number of seats in the student section has dropped from 5,300 to 3,800. The seats, which are at the end of Beasley Coliseum closest to the visitors' bench, were given to the Athletic Department to sell to the general public.

“The last thing we wanted to do was turn students away, but we also don’t want any empty seats at Beasley,” Scheller said.

The Athletic Department made a push for the move to be made over the summer. Department officials believe it was the right move to be made for the program and for WSU students, said Casey Fox, director of marketing for WSU Athletics.

“This was a collaboration between ASWSU and the Athletic Department to help out the program with ticket sales, but to make sure to be fair to the students as well,” Fox said.

The news of the move has evoked mixed emotions from students.

“(It’s) completely absurd, taking away the students presence, especially near the visitors bench. It's like giving the opposing team a free slap on the heinie,” freshman business major Bill Mace said.

The men’s team faces Mississippi Valley State on Saturday night at home. The game will provide a preview to whether these changes will play a significant role in changing the attendance this season. For now, less student seating will be available, but the move was made to fill the coliseum stands, and help bring more passion to Friel Court, Scheller said.

“With the direction our basketball team is going, we want to keep the energy there. We still have the highest allocated percentage of student section seats in the Pac-10,” Scheller said