Nicholls State student body retires traveling bus Big Red I

Nicholls State University is finally saying goodbye to its longtime athletic traveling bus, Big Red I. The university felt it was time to give the 40-year-old full-sized bus a rest.

Beginning this fall, athletes will have two new, smaller-sized traveling buses in addition to the other full-sized bus the university uses. When available, other school groups will be able to use the buses, too.

“Big Red was more than 35 years old,” NSU’s Athletic Director Rob Bernardi said. “It was becoming unreliable. In previous years, the two full-sized buses have traveled thousands of miles carrying more than 300 student athletes from 15 different sports a year.”

Each of the new buses has rear cargo areas and a restroom. The exterior is customized with the university’s name and logo.

“We wanted to show the students what we were traveling in before and what we are traveling in now,” Bernardi said.

The student body at Nicholls State played an important role in purchasing the two new buses. Using student fees collected in the spring and fall of 2007, the university was able to purchase the buses for $217,000.

These fees are similar to semester funds being collected for the upcoming student recreation center. The athletic director said it is standard policy to seek student approval for any fees outside of tuition and room and board.

“The students had to be in favor of the fee before we took it to our Board of Supervisors, which governs the university’s actions,” said University President Dr. Stephen Hulbert.

The growing need for additional transportation was one point the student athletes tried to communicate to their peers. Bernardi said at the end of the day, students – athletes and non-athletes – shared a common bond: Nicholls pride.

“It’s important that the students have an appreciation for what the student athletes have to go through,” Hulbert commented.

Nicholls football player Broderick Cole said, “It was hard work for the student athletes to get the student body to realize that we needed the new buses.”

A senior, Cole rode Big Red for the first two years of his collegiate career. By his junior year, the football team started riding the newer full-sized traveling bus, which is now five years old.

Cole said the traveling conditions for the past few years have been horrible for the student athletes who still had to ride Big Red. Buying the new buses illustrates to the students that the university is trying to better the athletic department and upgrade the

facilities, he said.

Nicholls State University student athletes board one of two new buses the university purchased for use by traveling student athletes and other university groups. Students and administrators took an inaugural tour of the campus on the buses, which replace the retiring Big Red I. * Photo by SOPHIA RUFFIN