Men’s head basketball coach Neil Dougherty said Tuesday that fans should support TCU victories by chanting for the Frogs, rather than belittling opponents.

Dougherty said he appreciated the massive fan support for TCU during the game against the Louisville Cardinals Feb. 17, but disapproved when fans chanted that the Cardinals were “overrated.”

TCU defeated a top-ten opponent for the first time in over 14 years, but Dougherty warned fans that such chants needlessly motivate teams for the next time they play the Frogs.

“The chanting really took away from our own guys who were beating the No. 10 team in the nation,” Dougherty said. “If anything, we should have been chanting that the team was ‘underrated’ and gave credit to our guys who were winning against one of the most recognized teams in the country.”

Dougherty asked for “hot, sweaty fans” to fill Daniel-Meyer Coliseum next week as he and staff members handed out flyers in The Main. He said he wanted to speak informally to students regarding the chants at the Louisville game.

Junior finance major Ian Shaw listened to Dougherty in The Main and said he thought it was great that Dougherty came out and spoke to the student body personally about the issue.

“I agree that when you chant ‘overrated’ it’s like saying ‘your team is bad’ instead of congratulating our team on a win,” Shaw said.

Instead of making derogatory comments to the other team, students should focus on supporting our own team, Shaw said.

Sophomore radio-TV-film major Amanda Redmon said Dougherty talked to her and her friends and encouraged them to attend next week’s game.

“He was really trying to encourage us to go to the game,” Redmon said. “I jokingly asked him if I could sit next to him on the bench and he said no, but that I could sit behind him.”

Redmon said Dougherty was really nice and obviously wanted as many students to attend the game as possible.

Dougherty said a good way for fans to support TCU is with simple cheers. TCU fans should make the coliseum anything but a neutral court, he said.

“For the Louisville game, the crowd really energized us,” Dougherty said. “We want an atmosphere that is 100 percent cheering for TCU.”

Fliers announced a $500 prize for the student group that shows the most spirit at next week’s games.

TCU plays Charlotte today and Houston Saturday at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
Staff reporter Stacey Grant contributed to this story.