Despite the rollercoaster of a month that Texas men’s basketball had, interim head coach Rodney Terry and his team are doing well. The Longhorns are currently fourth in the Big 12 and the No. 7 team in the nation. Fan attendance reflects this current success. Sellouts are becoming increasingly common, and getting a student section seat is becoming more competitive. 

Senior journalism major Cecilia Rodriguez showed up to the Moody Center over an hour before tipoff before Texas’ game against Texas Tech.

But other students started waiting in line nearly eight hours before tipoff. 

Biochemistry freshman Jack Maddox, or “Bevo Hat Guy” on Instagram and Twitter, spent over 12 hours at the Moody Center on Saturday. Maddox told the Texan that he was at the front of the line a little before 9 a.m. Tipoff against the Red Raiders was at 7 p.m. that night. 

“Guess what? The line’s already starting,” Maddox said in a video posted to his Twitter, encouraging other students to join him. 

After spending his day in line, Maddox was able to snag a front row seat. Rodriguez stepped in line around 5:45 p.m. but was ultimately turned away from the arena around 6:15 pm. 

“I think students were (partly) expecting that they would maybe not get in,” Rodriguez said about the students who were shut out of the game. “But they were shocked that it was capped out and that many students were left out.” 

The exclusivity of the student section is not a surprise. The Moody Center itself seats up to 10,000 on basketball game days, which is 6,540 less people than the old home of Texas basketball, the Frank Erwin Center. Per a Texas Athletics spokesperson, the student section in the lower bowl of the Moody Center seats 1,200 students. The standing room-only section can fit up to 600 students. 

The Erwin Center fit 1,000 students in the lower bowl. Extra seats were reserved for students in the mezzanine, but the number of seats in the section varied by game. 

Texas Athletics Director Chris Del Conte cited Duke’s student section as one of the inspirations for the Moody Center design back in April 2022. Duke’s student section also seats around 1,200 students.

While Texas may not be considered college basketball royalty like Duke is, the elements of the Blue Devils’ infamous raucous student environment that Del Conte wanted to emulate are present at the Moody Center. Students can be heard before and during the game, jawing at opposing players. The more dedicated ones, like Maddox, dress up in eccentric costumes to show their spirit. 

“The last two ball games, they’ve been over the charts for us in terms of the energy that they’re bringing into the building and bringing to our guys in critical times of the game,” Terry said about Texas’ student section against then No. 17 TCU and Texas Tech. 

Having the students affect game outcomes in a positive way for the Longhorns is exactly what Del Conte was looking for. For the most part, opposing teams are rattled by Texas’ home crowd.

“It’s always difficult (to) play in front of a loud crowd and good student section,” Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams said after his team’s 72-70 loss inside the Moody Center. “We had a really long winning streak because we had such a great home court advantage last year (and) went undefeated at home. They’re building here, so it’s impressive.” 

And while not all students may be willing to wait in those long lines, the ones that do keep coming back for more.

“You’re just one with the moment, and it’s almost addicting,” Maddox said.