Zoo changes logo for new season

The Oakland Zoo is back, and this year, it looks a little different.

The student group,… The Oakland Zoo is back, and this year, it looks a little different.

The student group, created by Matt Cohen, Zack Hale and Jon St. George, has a new logo and plans to hand out free T-shirts to any student season-ticket holders before both exhibition games this week.

“We want to have them all ready for Nov. 22 [the day of the first home game],” Cohen said. “We want them to bring their ticket or something that shows us they have season tickets. We’re not giving them away to people that aren’t going to wear them to the games.”

The first tailgate will take place from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. in the upstairs of Joe Mama’s, before Wednesday’s exhibition game against the 320 All-Stars. The group will return to the restaurant following the game, from 9 p.m. until 11 p.m. Season-ticket holders will also be able to pick-up a shirt at Qdoba between noon and game time on Nov. 9, when the Panthers play an exhibition game against the EA Sports All-Stars.

Cohen and St. George urge students to come to the tailgates because the group was unable to give out the T-shirts when students picked up their tickets because of the change in the system.

“Last year was a different story,” St. George said. “We sat [in the William Pitt Union] and signed everybody up. We couldn’t really do that this year.”

All students need to bring with them to get a shirt is some form of proof that they have season tickets. After that, the group will be taking students’ names and e-mail address.

“We don’t have their e-mail addresses [this year]. We need people to know,” Cohen said, encouraging students to get the shirts for free. “Don’t go to the stores and buy them. If you’re going to a Pitt game, you’ll get your free shirt.”

Having as many students as possible show up for games helps create a home court advantage for Pitt, according to Cohen.

“We want to have a dominant home court [advantage], and that starts with the fans and the students,” he said. “That’s a 10-point cushion right there, when the other team can’t hear themselves think. You can’t get any closer to the action when you’re right there and have an impact on the game.”