LONDON, Ontario, Canada — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) continued its strong presence on social media, recently being named the winner of the first College Court Report Fan Favorite contest. The contest was managed by College Court Report, a Canadian based men’s college basketball website that covers the sport and places an emphasis on all levels from Canadian to mid-major hoops.
The website, who sponsored the Mascot Mayhem contest last summer, continues to see a strong presence from Hawk supporters. In that contest, UMES’ Harry T. Hawk was named the top mascot. At the end of the 2014-15 season, Riley Wallace National Player of the Year, Mike Myers Jr. earned a spot on the fan-voted team as a First-Team selection.
Now it’s the fans turn, who represented themselves to a first-place finish.
“In an attempt to keep school spirit alive over the course of the off-season, we launched the 1st Annual #CCRFanFavourite contest, in conjunction with RabbleTV, to see which school in the NCAA had the best fans in the country.,” said website founder Tyler Bennett.
The contest started out with all 351 schools vying for the title of ‘Best Fans in the NCAA’.
“After two weeks of voting, the field was narrowed down to the top 32 vote-getters, regardless of conference. It was a bit of a surprise to us, but the majority of the teams were mid-major programs,” added Bennett.
From there, another two weeks of voting helped to narrow the field down to the final eight teams, who would then go on to compete for the title. UMES made a late charge, thanks in part to social media posts and finished the contest in first place.
For the Hawks, 2014-15 season was the best in recent memory. Coach Bobby Collins took the team to the most wins, 18, since the 1973-74 campaign. They also made their first NCAA post-season appearance this season since that same season, earning an invitation into the 2015 CollegeInsider.com tournament.
“Things for the Hawks did more than just improve. They exceeded people’s expectations night in and night out,” said Bennett. “Overall this season, the Hawks finished with an impressive 18 – 15 record, which included an 11 – 5 record in MEAC action. They finished 3rd in the regular season conference standings. Considering they only won 15 games total in the previous three seasons combined, the 2014-15 season was a big step forward for the program.”
“With the success of the 2014-15 season fresh on the minds of their fans, they came out in full force to show their support once more for their team. Thanks to their fans, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks are home to the top fans in the NCAA,” concluded Bennett.
Final Standings
1. UMES Hawks
2. N.J.I.T. Highlanders
3. UTPA Broncs
4. Longwood Lancers
5. Detroit Titans
6. Stetson Hatters
7. Dartmouth Big Green
8. Vermont Catamounts