Last summer, as uncertainty about the fall semester and the status of sporting events raged on, so did that of the Ramblin’ Reck Club’s role on campus. Since 1930, Reck Club has maintained school traditions and spirit, largely through their presence at athletic events.

In figuring out how to handle sports during a pandemic, Reck Club reached out to other schools with similar spirit organizations. They started with a few in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), including Clemson, Miami, Duke, and UNC. Together, these spirit groups started meeting and discussing best practices for the upcoming fall. Over the next few months, the network of spirit organizations grew into what is now known as the Collegiate Spirit Organization Network, or CSON. As it stands, CSON includes more than 15 schools spanning five NCAA Division I conferences.

Throughout the fall, CSON member schools would send one representative to each meeting, where they’d help each other figure out how to handle anything from navigating Covid-19 to getting students out to athletic events. Ranging from brand new to decades old, from large schools to small ones, the spirit organizations were able to draw from each other’s wide range of experiences with ease. While there's no formal parliamentary structure to CSON meetings, Reck Club, as its founder, steps in as the de-facto leader when necessary.

Adam Lederer, CSON chair within Reck Club, credits the network with helping Reck Club figure out how to make its own internal changes.

“It’s been a convenient time to be able to take a step back and critically analyze all the systems that we use to engage students with athletics,” he said. “It’s great to be able to take lessons from other schools and apply them at Georgia Tech.”

While the pandemic has made it difficult to implement new initiatives at sporting events right now, Reck Club now has the perspectives of several other schools at its disposal when the opportunity arises. When that time comes, they’ll be able to use the information gained from CSON in discussions with Georgia Tech Athletics. They’ve learned about an incentive system used at UNC for basketball games that involves attendance at non-revenue sports, and about Duke’s “dirt sheets,” which include facts about opposing teams’ players that fans can use to throw them off their rhythm.

Even once sporting events return to normal, CSON will still be there to help schools across the country maintain school spirit and get students engaged with campus athletics. It will also continue to serve as a way for members to connect and provide tips when visiting each other’s’ campuses for away games.

“In the future, I hope that we’ll be able to transition more of our focus toward athletic marketing tactics and cool traditions that other schools have implemented to get their students engaged,” Lederer said.

Click here to learn more about the Ramblin’ Reck Club.