Coach Wayne Kreklow has a tradition before every game at the Hearnes Center. From the bench, he gazes across the arena to section A16, sees it packed to the brim with fans donning their gold T-shirts, and smiles knowing the Columbia community is proudly behind Missouri volleyball.
But A16 doesn’t hold the rowdy painted fans of VolleyZou, the student section or the obnoxiously chanting Antlers, a bunch widely known for its crude antics. Instead, the section contains an energetic group of senior citizens known as the Golden Tigers.
The origins of the group trace back to 2006, when one of Missouri’s most avid fans was in need of a heart transplant. Nellie Dodd, a Columbia citizen and Tiger fan for more than 30 years, had attended nearly every practice and game for the program since Susan and Wayne Kreklow began coaching in 2000. When she fell ill in 2005, the Kreklows made it their mission to help her continue cheering for the team by personally driving her to all team events.
After she fully recovered, the Kreklows decided Dodd needed to become a part of Missouri volleyball. By the end of 2006, Dodd had organized a senior citizen fan group dubbed the Golden Tigers.
“We finally decided that we had to give Nelly something to do for our program,“ Wayne Kreklow said. “Our thought process was that there’s a group of people out there that would really enjoy this that nobody had tapped into yet.”
Dodd recruits fans by attending nursing homes and retirement centers and advertises the group through public speaking, emails and personal phone calls. She made more than 500 calls alone for the Tennessee match, the team’s inaugural Southeastern Conference game.
Dodd estimates the Golden Tigers currently has 758 members.
“I try to include everybody in the community,” Dodd said. “Whenever I see somebody that I think would be interested, I tell them about the Golden Tigers. I’ll always have sign-up forms, information and posters in the back of my car to give to people.”
By joining the group, each member gets a free ticket at every Missouri volleyball home game along with a Golden Tigers shirt and an invitation to a dinner social one hour before each game.
“We try to reach out and touch people’s lives,” Dodd said. “It’s a joy to come out and be an encouragement to the team. When you’re encouraging someone, you encourage yourself. “
Junior outside hitter Lisa Henning, who joined Dodd this summer in spreading the word about the Golden Tigers, knows how much the team appreciates having the group cheer them on every home game.
“They’re not the loudest crowd or the most energetic crowd, but I feel that they have that positive energy that everyone wants,” Henning said. “During the game, I think we notice it a lot.”
Wayne Kreklow added that, along with the student section, the Golden Tigers help make the Hearnes Center a supportive and energetic home court.
“I think the key to attendance and creating a home atmosphere is to create a base that you can depend on every match,” Kreklow said. “That’s probably our most reliable, largest fan group.”
Even though she puts innumerable hours into the program, Dodd still makes it to every home game to give the Tigers words of encouragement.
“We have the best coaching staff in the nation and all these girls who give 100 percent,” Dodd said. “I told them when they lace up their shoes, they have to go out on that court and play like champions, and don’t let anybody tell you that they can beat you.”