REIVIEIVIBERIN6 DAMELEY
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 1,2D16
Kl
Tommy Hamzik
Executive Director
@T Hanizik
The moment was coming, no
matter if senior Luke Eddy want
ed it to or not. He was dreading
it, knowing how that time was
usually reserved for one man, and
i that man wouldn’t be around to
experience it.
“That media timeout will be
extremely difficult,” said Eddy,
the guard for Elon University’s
men’s basketball team.
The under-eight media tim
eout of the second half, that is,
when the student section cranks
up its “Doctor Danieley” chant
in honor of President Emeritus}.
Earl Danieley, the team’s biggest
fan and the most transformational
figure in the university’s history.
“Somebody’s going to have to
do something,” Eddy said. “That’s
his time. He’s the only person I’ve
ever heard get their name individ
ually chanted at Alumni Gym.
And so, a day after Danieley
died at 92, the time came during
Elon’s game against Florida
International University. And
with palpable emotion, and his
seat clad with flowers, the fans
chanted.
The band started it. The stu
dents and fans joined in. And
the cheerleaders and dance team
stood on the floor, waving the
towels.
A video of Danieley appeared
on the video board, and cheers
erupted. Then, after the silence,
the chant started back up.
His presence was prominent.
“I waveris oui-
external symbol of what he did,”
said Adam Constantine ’10, social
media manager and former bas
ketball player. “But everything
that this place stands for is who
he was.”
It was fitting, in a way, that the
first true gathering of the Elon
community after Danieley’s death
came at a basketball game. He
was a mainstay at basketball and
volleyball games throughout his
75 years at Elon, and had a heavy
hand in the formation of both the
women’s athletic program and the
Elon College Sports Hall of Fame.
There’s a painting of Danieley
at the entrance of Alumni Gym.
Elon players wore a Dr. D patch
on their jerseys, as they’ll do the
rest of the year.
And each seat was donned with
a white towel before the game, a
symbol of the rally towel Danieley
would wave when the students
chanted his name.
“There’s a yearning for us all to
be in the same room because we
lost an icon,” said head men’s bas
ketball coach Matt Matheny. “We
lost our guy. ... I’m sure there’s a
lot of people who would come to
our games, and part of their ritual
was to come by and talk to Dr. D.”
.'-'- After, each game, that’s-exactly
what the men’s basketball team
would do. They circle the court,
shaking fans’ hands.
But they’d stop for a little lon
ger by Danieley’s chair.
Eddy first met Danieley his
freshman year because then-se
nior Jack Isenbarger ’14 was close
to Danieley. Isenbarger was one
of a number of basketball players
who lived with Danieley at times
during the last few years.
Eddy shared meals with
Danieley many times, and even
went to his house to help move
furniture.
But nothing compared to those
moments after games, moments
that Eddy and others cherished.
“After the game, that’s some
thing we always look forward to,”
he said. “A firm handshake and a
sloppy kiss.”
On Wednesday, a 30-second
DlfGO PINEDA I Photo Editor
Danieley’s daughter, Jane Shutt waves a rally towel in honor of her father at the men's
basketball game against Florida International University Wednesday, Nov. 30.
video tribute to Danieley played
before the game, and a moment
of silence was observed. Those in
attendance wore stickers that read
Dr. D, and the game’s program
had a photo of Danieley waving
his towel.
Afterward, both the men’s and
women’s basketball teams and
the volleyball team walked over
to Danieley’s chair together and
placed their towels on the seat.
And with that, it was clear.
Danieley’s memory will hang
over those teams for days, years,
decades to come.
“He was one of us,” Eddy said.
“We’re going to go out there and
fight in the same ways we have
been. But he’ll be in the back of
our heads the whole time.”
Kailey Tracy, senior reporter,
contributed reporting.
Danieley towel wave will be absent from Elon basketball games
Alex Hager
Contributor
Played within the intimate confines of
historic Alumni Gym, the Elon University
men’s basketball games tend to be an excit
ing affair. Although players and opponents
have changed from year to year, one tradi
tion has cemented itself as an unmissable
part of any Elon game in the last decade.
Without fail, after the under-eight media
timeout in the second half, students begin
to chant, “Dr. Danieley”.
And without fail, in response. President
Emeritus J. Earl Danieley stood up and
waved a towel to appease the crowd.
It’s a tradition that started in 2005, ac
cording to a Pendulum article from 2008.
Although the chant has become an iconic
part of every game in Alumni Gym, nobody
quite knows why students first called Dan
ieley’s name.
Danieley was one of Elon Basketball’s
most dedicated fans. His Elon pride was
a part of his personality every day, but his
passion for Elon athletics was unmatched
on game nights inside Alumni Gym.
While Danieley was a fan favorite in the
stands, his presence was also felt by players
on the court.
“For me, it was a reminder that some
body was there that cares about you, cares
about the team, and cares about the uni
versity in general,” said Adam Constantine,
who played on the men’s basketball team
from 2006 to 2010.
Head coach Matt Matheny, who has
been at the helm since 2009, watched Dan
ieley build relationships with generations of
Elon basketball players.
“To sit courtside, to have the towel in his
hand, to be there after games, to give our
guys a hug and a handshake, it’s really really
special,” said Matheny. “He’s been to prac
tices, you know, for us to practice and have
Dr. D on the sideline watching us practice, I
think, wow, how fortunate are we to be able
to share time with Mr. Elon.”
The chant and ensuing towel wave be
came so legendary that they were com
memorated on multiple occasions when
fans attending an Elon game received rally
towels bearing a silhouette of Danieley wav
ing his own.
On Wednesday night, as Elon took on
Florida International University in Alumni,
Danieley was not there to watch, and was
not there to hear students chant his name.
But his legacy was celebrated.
At the game against Florida Internation
al University , Danieley was honored with
a moment of silence before the game and a
moment of silence and a chant during the
under-eight media timeout. Fans in atten
dance, as well as athletes from various Elon
sports teams, left rally towels on Danieley’s
favorite seat.
With Danieley’s death, Elon basketball
has lost one of its most vocal supporters,
and the second row of seats in Alumni Gym
will be missing a familiar face.