JUPITER, Fla. — Even though they have far fewer students at the Florida Atlantic University Jupiter campus than at the main campus in Boca Raton, students are just as excited.
At the Wilkes Honors College, the burrow is not the basketball arena, but the student center.
WPTV gathered a group of students at the McArthur Campus in Jupiter who are excited about the Owls run to Houston.
“When I watch them, I’m like this team is amazing,” Mark Sadek said, “but I didn’t expect them to get this far.”
Sadek is a student at FAU. He has already seen FAU play hoops in Texas. He was there when the Owls won the Conference USA Championship.
“It was exciting,” Sadek said. “FAU sponsored it, they flew us out. It was the time of my life.”
Many of the students have been able to see the Owls down in Boca Raton, but even if they don’t make the 40-mile drive, they still keep tabs on the team.
“We have watch parties. We watch out on the rec lawn and we go down there,” Westin Johnson said. “We celebrate and we support from Jupiter.”
“I think we’re getting a lot more recognition from a national standpoint,” student Anthony Tulip said. “No one thought we were going to make it this far, now look where we are. I’m glad people are finally realizing our school and what we do.”
And despite not being in Boca Raton, students said they still feel they are part of Boca Raton and FAU.
“School spirit goes all around,” Tulip said. “None of us are on the basketball team, but we share the same level of confidence and feeling and anxiety during the game that the players do, so it’s been great.”
The Final Four matchup is the same night as the spring prom for these students, so they’ll be wearing their best as they root on the Owls to do their best.