Can student section make a difference for Beaver basketball? Dam right
(courtesy Dominic Cusimano)
CORVALLIS — Wayne Tinkle’s Oregon State Beavers are clearly a different team at home than on the road. Members of “Beaver Dam” want to do their part to provide an even bigger homecourt advantage.
Beaver Dam is the student section that sits together at OSU sporting events. The group is most visible at football and men’s basketball games. Members were very visible — and noisy — during last Thursday’s rousing 97-89 overtime victory over Gonzaga at Gill Coliseum before a sellout crowd of 9,301.
“This is the first time Beaver Dam has been active since before the pandemic, when it kind of fizzled out,” says Kevin Brown, the Beaver Dam president. “We are excited to be back in full force.”
There were 3,620 students in attendance, a figure that school officials are calling a record, bettering the mark of 3,267 set at the Oregon game earlier in the season. I’m not sure there weren’t more students than that at some games during the Ralph Miller era, though enrollment in those years was in the 10,000 range, about a third of today’s numbers.
No matter, Beaver Dam was loud and proud in cheering the Beavers to victory. It was officially “Beaver Dam Night,” and there were giveaways to those students in attendance. The first 500 students received Beaver Dam neck chains (with the Beaver Dam logo on it) and the first 750 got “block O’s,” with three different designs. The Beaver Dam also distributed “long-range” balloons and Fatheads (giant cardboard cutouts) intended for students to wave while the Bulldogs were shooting free throws.
(courtesy Dominic Cusimano)
The slogan for the evening was “Fill Gill,” and the old gal was indeed filled to the gills, including standing-room-only along the walkway in both end zones. Beaver Dam seating is primo — at Miller Court level on the entire side opposite the team benches. For the Gonzaga game, every seat in the student section was taken.
Frosty Comer would like to see that be the case all season. His dream would be to have that be the case for the entire arena.
Beaver Dam Leadership Council members (from left) Kevin Brown, Shelby Poggio and Josh Morford, flanked by benefactors Frosty and Vicki Comer
Frosty and wife Vicki are the benefactors and de facto advisors for Beaver Dam. Both are Oregon State graduates. (Full disclosure: Frosty is chairman of the board of Cook Solutions Group of Portland, primary sponsor of kerryeggers.com). Frosty is former president of Our Beaver Nation, the fund-raising arm of OSU athletics, and has been a member of the board of directors since 2012. The Comers are season ticket-holders for Beaver football and men’s basketball.
The athletic department contributes to the Beaver Dam budget, but the Comers have chosen to supplement that. Last April, on OSU’s “Dam Proud Day,” the Comers issued a challenge to fellow alums and Beaver supporters. They offered a one-for-two match, with funds going to Beaver Dam.
“We said we would donate a dollar for each $2 donated up to $25,000,” Frosty says. “It was intended to raise $75,000.”
The drive didn’t get there, reaching only $10,000. The Comers came through with their $25,000, anyway. The $35,000 went to help pay members of the organization’s Leadership Council for their time and also for promotional items. The athletic department is also funding some student internships through the school’s sports marketing program.
Some of the Beaver Dam funds were used during the 2024 football season. Toyota underwrote costs of orange cowboy hats distributed to the students at one game and for hard hats given out for a basketball game. At the Civil War men’s basketball game earlier this season, jerseys were the giveaways.
“We will probably do (the one-for-two match) again this April,” Comer says. “But the money is supposed to go specifically for men’s basketball. I’m going to make it clear that I want to empower the Beaver Dam to help fill Gill.”
That’s in line with the intentions of the Beaver Dam officers: Brown; Shelby Poggio, the marketing and campus relations director; Josh Morford, social media director, and Nick Abele. They are also part of an internship program funded by the athletic department.
Beaver Dam distributed 750 “block O’s” — a creation of Oregon State alum Roger McKee — before the Gonzaga game
“We are grateful to Frosty and Vicki for their support,” Brown says. “We were able to jump out to a good start this year in terms of engagement for football. And what we have been able to do for men’s basketball is really exciting. The goal is to get students to go to games, and then to come back.
“Our narrative this year is a focus on men’s basketball, increasing the attendance to what it used to be. We see this as a great team to do that around. We want to help increase the home-court advantage.”
Comer has nothing against football, women’s basketball or any other Oregon State teams. He simply has a special interest in men’s basketball, and Tinkle’s team in particular.
“I have this feeling of momentum for the men’s program,” Comer says. “I’m hoping we can build on that. It’s been fun watching the student section get re-energized.”
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The Comers have had courtside seats for men’s basketball for years. Their seats are located directly in front of the Beaver Dam section. There were times in the past when Frosty didn’t like what he was hearing behind him.
“When things went bad, they would have profane chants,” he says. “I thought, ‘That’s not going to get us anywhere. We have to be creative and classy.’ ”
Frosty became interested in helping the Beaver Dam develop an identity. The organization’s history is hazy. It stretches back to at least 2000, perhaps longer. From 2012-16, Jeff Lulay was a student and president of Beaver Dam, and the group held prominence. During the pandemic in 2020, it died. During that time, Comer was president of Our Beaver Nation. He knew that about $2 million of student fees were annually going to the athletic department.
“I want to make sure the students were getting value for their money,” Frosty says.
This is the first time the Leadership Council has been in full operation since the pandemic.
“We all have a passion for sports,” says Poggio, a sophomore. “It is great to have the opportunity to do something bigger than us and help create a good atmosphere at games. And hopefully there will be little kids who see how much fun it is to be part of Beaver Dam, and they will say, ‘I want to go to Oregon State when I am older.’ ”
Oregon State is 11-1 in games at Gill heading into Thursday’s home matchup with Pepperdine, but the Beavers have drawn more than 4,500 fans only twice — for the Oregon and Gonzaga contests. Tinkle has been imploring more fans to come out to games, so the Beaver Dam’s efforts have to be to his liking.
“We haven’t met with Coach Tinkle directly, but through our proposals and ideas we have been connected with him,” Brown says. “One of our priorities is to make the atmosphere in the building electric. We want to make it so, if students don’t attend a game, they will feel like they are missing out. We want to make it so loud in Gill that the opponent can’t communicate, which will help the Beavers.”
Adds Comer: “I want it to be the winter event for Oregon State students.”
In order to drum up enthusiasm for his OSU wrestling team, Coach Chris Pendleton visited a number of fraternity and sorority houses and spoke at their chapter meetings this academic year.
“We helped coordinate that,” says Morford, a member of Sigma Chi. “Utilizing those kind of communities on campus can be effective in getting them to rally behind what’s going on at sporting events.”
Tinkle is an affable sort not averse to promoting his product. I would think he would be open to speaking to student living groups, or perhaps having a Q&A session open to all students at Gill during the season.
“We have not arranged anything yet with Wayne, but it is in the works,” Poggio says. “It is supposed to happen at some point this year.”
The sports marketing department used photos of OSU players holding the giveaway chains and O’s in digital advertising through emails to Beaver fans.
“We have also connected with the players on social media,” Brown says. “They are in support of our goal, aligning with us. We are excited to prove to them that we can do amazing things and help shape their team’s culture.”
Comer suggests the Beaver Dam sponsor competitions between fraternities, sororities, other living groups and social groups to generate more interest in game attendance.
“Once you get them to games, they will want to come back,” he says.
Morford is bullish on OSU men’s basketball this season.
“Beaver Dam is an amazing thing for this school, coming off the year Oregon State had, being left behind with the dismantlement of the Pac-12 and most of the teams leaving,” he says. “Student morale was a little bit down, especially after the (2024) football season ended the way it did.
“But I haven’t seen this much excitement for men’s basketball in a long time. This team really is making people excited, and not just the student body. My parents have never watched more games this early in the year. We have the opportunity to make sure students know what is happening on campus. (Men’s basketball) is a big part of that.”
Morford and Abele put together printed “Beaver Dam” newspapers handed out to students at the Oregon and Gonzaga games.
“Nick is the one who writes the articles,” Morford says. “They have been a blast to do, telling about the history of the teams, information about the players, the night’s matchup and so on. It allows the students to learn more about the players than just their name and numbers. They get to see their personalities.”
Brown says there will also be a “Beaver Dam Night” for a women’s basketball game against Pepperdine on Jan. 30. “We have an exciting event planned for that night, something we have never done before,” Brown teased, declining to reveal details on kerryeggers.com.
Beaver Dam is also promoting a “Beaver Benny-Fits” program. Students who attend at least five of the final seven men’s home games are entered in a raffle to win one of five Amazon gift cards. Those who attend six or all seven are eligible for larger gift card.
“We are hoping to start it at the beginning of the season next year,” Poggio says.
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Brown is a senior, but wants to leave a legacy.
“We want to get the Beaver Dam brand out there, he says. “We are proud to be a part of Beaver Dam. We want every single student to come to their favorite sporting events throughout the year.
“We want to establish something that will be around for decades. In 20 years, it would be fun to see the chains that we handed out come back to Gill. It would be fun to have people say, ‘Oh yeah, my dad went here in 2025 and saw the Beavers upset Gonzaga.’ We want to help make lasting memories for students that will be talked about for years.”
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