Cassell Guard boasts special courtship with basketball and Hokies

Duke has the Cameron Crazies. The Green Bay Packers feature the Cheeseheads. The Cleveland Browns have the Dawg Pound. Arnold Palmer marched with his own “Army.” Michigan State is home of the Izzone.

These are just a few of the famous names and homes of the most rabid fan bases in all of sports, and if a bunch of smart, savvy Virginia Tech students get their way, Cassell Guard will start being mentioned among that group.

Fully rested after seven months off, this large throng of Virginia Tech basketball student supporters arrived at full throat when the basketball teams opened the 2024-25 season on Nov. 5 with a men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader at Cassell Coliseum.

The games marked the tipoff of another campaign for this devoted band of 1,200 game-day crazed students unwaveringly committed to creating nightmarish evenings for Virginia Tech opponents and lifting the Hokies to victory.

“We have obviously had a lot of changes going into the season with new players, with Coach [Megan] Duffy, and a new men’s roster as well,” Ana Tate said. “There is definitely a lot of uncertainty, but I think after our opener we are all super excited. … We’re super excited for this new era for Virginia Tech basketball. I’m excited to see how the season plays out.”

Tate, a senior from Chesapeake, Virginia, spends her weekdays pursuing a degree in accounting and a minor in Spanish and her evenings and weekends in a more entertaining capacity, supporting both basketball squads. Her older brother was once a part of Cassell Guard, and now she helps to run it.

Lest one think otherwise, Cassell Guard isn’t a collection of undisciplined, maroon and orange-clad hellraisers. On the contrary, this student-run organization, which has been in existence since 2007, features a 17-member executive board that meets regularly and creates detailed marketing and social media plans.

The board also executes those plans. Various members man tables at strategic locations around campus, such as dining halls, to promote games throughout the week, while others hand out T-shirts and Fatheads or play lawn games with students before each game. A group works with the athletics department to promote various “theme” games, and members talk with the both the men’s and women’s coaching staffs periodically, seeking input on how they can help on game days.

“It truly is a lot of work, but it is something I just get so much joy out of, and the people that we have on the board are so willing to help and be there,” Elenora Fiel said. “It’s just cool. I think sports is really something that brings people together. This year is going to look a lot different because we had a lot of change on the teams, but there’s still so much excitement around Virginia Tech basketball that the work is worth it because you see the people who come and they get so much enjoyment out of it.”

Fiel, a senior from Vienna, Virginia, serves as the president of Cassell Guard. The position almost represents a perfect example of symmetry, considering her father started her and her older brother filling out NCAA Tournament brackets as young kids in elementary school.

Once Fiel arrived at Virginia Tech, the advertising major went to a game and fell in love with it. She joined Cassell Guard after her freshman year, earning a spot on the executive board after participating in an interview process.

“I was big into the Fatheads and passing them out and getting people hyped and excited,” Fiel said of her role then. “I was very big on the bacon costumes, too. We got the bacon costumes my sophomore year, and I was in charge of handing those out, picking people that looked like they wanted to wear some bacon and rock it. That’s kind of what I took pride in every game. It was, ‘All right, Elenora, how many people can you find to wear bacon today?’

“Now this year, I’m president, but I still adore doing the Fatheads when we go to games. That’s where I really like to be, just because I feel like I can interact with the students the most.”

James Hughes likes interacting with students as well, albeit in a different way. The junior from New Jersey serves as the vice president of marketing on the Cassell Guard executive board. A double major in marketing and management, Hughes puts his graphic design and social media marketing skills to use to promote both teams through Instagram and X, formerly Twitter.

Hughes oversees both accounts. In the months leading up to the season, he has unveiled a “Get to Know” player series on Instagram to spotlight the new faces. He’s also included meme videos and recorded messages from both men’s coach Mike Young and women’s coach Duffy, along with a season preview hype video.

Hughes views his role – and that of Cassell Guard – as to support the teams. But doing so requires investment from students, which means constant engagement with them to get them curious about game days at Cassell.

“We want to provide more of an interactive experience for students,” Hughes said. “Going to the games is fun for anyone that’s a sports fan, just to sit and watch the game, but we get that everyone is not like that, so we want to make it an emphasis to create a game day atmosphere for every student and not just the ones who understand basketball and love basketball. We can do that through promotions, giveaways, and themed nights, and we have a few coming this year. … We just want to get as many people there as we possibly can and get more people interested in coming to the games.”

Of late, the students’ strategies have been a slam dunk. Last season, the men’s and women’s teams combined to lose just three games at Cassell Coliseum, and both teams remain undefeated at home so far this season. Good players and good coaching obviously factor into that, but Cassell Guard deserves an assist.

“It’s definitely something that doesn’t go unnoticed, especially by lots of the announcers of the games,” Tate said. “I don’t think I really realized how scary of a place it is for opposing teams to come in and play, just because of how loud it can really get in Cassell. It’s a small college coliseum compared to a lot of other basketball arenas in the ACC, which could seem to be a negative, but it really does play to our advantage. It just gives us that six-man advantage to the team, and it’s an awesome atmosphere and something that is super unique.”

Fiel and Tate aspire to leave the executive board in the best possible position for Hughes and the remainder of the returning board members going forward. A new contingent of board members will join Cassell Guard once the board starts accepting new applications and convening interviews in late March.

For those with a love of basketball and a love of the Hokies, it’s the perfect opportunity to take a shot.

“It’s a competitive process, and a lot of people are getting more and more interested every year,” Hughes said. “But I definitely encourage everyone to apply if they’re interested, even if you’re going to be a senior next year. It doesn’t matter. Just apply if you’re interested. Who knows what you can bring to the table?”

To learn more about Cassell Guard, check out @cassellguardvt on X, Instagram, and YouTube.