ALEX KERR | staff writer

Which came first: the Cougar or the Trojan?

A recent Los Angeles Times article noted a “possibly unprecedented move” by the USC Trojans encouraging their fans to wear all black, as well as instating black uniforms for the basketball team.

To the average Times reader this may have seemed to be nothing more than a flattering color choice, Cougar readers, however, might see something all too familiar in the Trojans’ new “Black out the Bruins” campaign.

Nike provided black “NIKEiD” T-shirts to the first 1,000 USC students, in an attempt to intimidate the UCLA Bruins with a sea of blacked out Trojan fans. It was reported that the Trojans’ head basketball coach, Tim Floyd, was the source of the school’s new color theme.

While it may be obvious that USC’s Blackout program is not “unprecedented,” it may not be clear just where the concept began.

Before the Cougars proudly boasted “Brick and Black,” Azusa Pacific once called orange and black their colors. In 1999, the switch was made to brick and black, a similar color combination to Biola and Westmont.

Corresponding with the new color scheme was the move from the Cougar Dome to the more spacious Felix Event Center. Due to concerns that student spirit would diminish in a larger venue, a committee was formed to develop student support for athletics, as well as team spirit.

Keeping in mind that rival schools focused their student sections around the color red, the newly formed committee agreed to push black as the new APU standard.

Deliberation began as to what the committee, and the student section, should be titled. Both “Blackout” and “Black Hole” were suggested, the second of which was already in use by the notoriously enthusiastic fans of the Oakland Raiders.

A name was eventually decided upon, beginning the now eight year-old tradition known as the Azusa Pacific “Blackout” section.

“The idea came from other large universities doing the same type of idea with a student section that all wears the same school colors,” Associate Director in the Office of Alumni Relations Ben Lion said. “But we are one of the few universities or colleges where the students almost all wear the same shirt.”

Fall of 2006 was the first semester in which Student Life and the Office of Alumni Relations partnered to provide nearly 1,000 Blackout T-shirts to incoming freshmen. Events were organized to focus on Blackout, raising team spirit and awareness for the student section.

A Blackout sponsored tailgate party was organized for the first home football game, at which students wearing Blackout shirts were given free food.

Events such as the tailgate party have continued to promote and encourage the growth of Blackout, ensuring incoming students will continue the tradition.

It is, in fact, the students rather than the committee behind it, that have made the program what it is today. The “Crazy Eights,” a group of 12 students dedicated to maintaining the Blackout student section at athletic events, have become the face of the program as a whole.

Eight of the 12 students remain standing throughout each game, wearing shirts spelling out the word “Blackout.”

Known for their clever cheers and attention drawing enthusiasm, the “Crazy Eights” ensure each sporting event is full of Cougar and Blackout pride.

While the concept of wearing a single color to support your school’s athletic program may not be original to Azusa Pacific, it is clear that “Blackout” is a Cougar-born idea among southern California schools.

In a fitting turn of events, USC’s first night of testing out their new student section, the Trojans lost to the UCLA Bruins, 56-46.