COLUMBUS, Ohio — It didn’t take long for Tommy Nusz to get to know Vic Schaefer.
Asked by then Mississippi State Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin to meet Schaefer, Nusz spent about half of the free time at the August Road Dawgs Tour stop in 2012 in Houston, Texas, talking to Vic and his wife, Holly.
“He is clearly passionate. He is infectious,” Nusz said. “He is very persuasive.”
Nusz said Schaefer communicated his vision for the MSU women’s basketball program and outlined what he needed to help the program reach the highest level. He said it was easy to believe Schaefer was going to realize those plans. The success in winning 13, 22, 27, 28, 34 games in the first five seasons has shown Nusz and many others the vision was real.
That vision has been realized in part thanks to the support of a core group of fans that has traveled to follow the MSU women’s basketball team since Schaefer’s first season in 2012-13. Many in that core group were part of the average attendance of 1,317 in Schaefer’s first season in Starkville. That number blossomed to 7,439 this season as MSU (36-1) won its first Southeastern Conference regular season title and earned its second-straight trip to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. MSU will try to take the next step at 6 tonight (ESPN2) when it faces Louisville (36-2) in the national semifinals.
Nusz, who flew from Texas to Ohio on Thursday, will be there with his wife, Terri, and his daughter, Megan.
‘Starkville-North’
Tommy, who provided a gift that went toward the construction of the Nusz Player Suite, the team’s locker room in Humphrey Coliseum, has been around coaches all his life. His father, Dave, was a defensive backs coach at MSU from 1970-72.
He said he made an immediate connection with Vic and his wife, Holly, that has introduced him to another “family.”
“It is just a connection,” said Nusz, who lives in Houston, Texas. “It is everybody. There is such a connection with these young ladies that they’re infectious.”
The fans who have been with the Schaefers from the start share that sentiment. Former MSU women’s basketball coach Sharon Fanning-Otis and her husband, Larry, have helped organize bus tours. David Hunt and his wife, Betty Lynn, and his daughter, Betsy, Rosalie Morris, and Brad Bradway and his wife, Mary, were just part of the contingent of MSU fans that took over the Marriott hotel at 3100 Olentangy River Road in Columbus and made it feel like “Starkville North.”
“The players Coach Schaefer has put together are not only good basketball players but they are good people,” Hunt said. “I hate to use cliches, but they have these t-shirts that say ‘Family.’ That’s what they are. The players are that way. They’re friendly. They appreciate your support. It is not just fun watching basketball, it is fun being with them.”
Hunt said the Bulldogs build the friendships by going into the stands after games to mingle with fans. He said the players will interact with people outside of Humphrey Coliseum, too, which he said helps the fans feel like the players value the support.
Hunt said the players have acted that way since Schaefer’s first season. In fact, he said he and his family stay in touch with former MSU player Savannah Carter and former manager Yasma “Ya Ya” Smith, who is in Columbus, Ohio, to be with the team.
Bradway said he and his family traveled some to watch the women’s basketball team when Fanning-Otis was the coach, but he said Vic and Holly Schaefer have “taken it to another level.”
“He has done a magnificent job,” Bradway said. “It has gotten past the fan. All of us are like a little family — a bunch of gypsies — but we travel together and we have gotten to know one another. Everybody gets along and it is fun. It’s one of those things that everything has come together and it works in all areas.”
‘They’re invested’
Coach Schaefer calls his fans “the choir.” He has worked to build that group by holding weekday luncheons that allow the fans to learn about the program and to talk to the players. Schaefer said the fans who were with the team at the beginning have done a great job building the following to a season attendance record of 133,906, which included sellouts of the first- and second-round NCAA tournament games.
“Their love and affection for my players and my staff is greatly appreciated,” Schaefer said. “I think it is fun for them because they were there with us when we were 13-17. They know what that felt like, but they have also been with us when we’re 36-1 and they know what that feels like.
“They’re invested,” he added. “It is never too late to get on the bandwagon. I don’t have a problem with people jumping on the bandwagon, but those people, I think there is a real sense of pride for our kids, our program and our university.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.