Duke basketball games hosted in Cameron Indoor Stadium — a venue more akin to a “glamorized high school gymnasium” than the arena of a nationally acclaimed basketball program — need little extra glitz and glamor to attract a large crowd. But the story is different for Duke football, a program that has less national recognition compared to its powerhouse SEC neighbors.
Keohane Quad Communications Coordinator Austin Brown, a junior, said it himself: “Sometimes it's hard to engage people when it comes to Duke football.”
In an effort by Duke Athletics to excite the Duke football fan base, the program introduced the Devil’s Deck.
The new addition to the gameday experience consists of an all-inclusive tiered deck spanning seven sections and offering guests free non-alcoholic beverages and food, as well as alcoholic beverages for purchase. Access to the deck must be purchased in addition to a ticket, which costs $45 in advance and $55 on gameday, though students receive a discounted rate of $35.
The 2024 addition, designed to introduce a luxury alternative to the traditional stadium experience, has largely been viewed as a success by Duke community members — alumni, parents and students alike.
A QuadEx and Duke Athletics collaboration
Many students’ first encounter with the Devil’s Deck resulted from one of two initiatives: Devil’s Deck quad takeovers and the East Campus Olympics.
According to junior Tara Singh, Keohane Quad Council co-president, the Devil’s Deck quad takeovers are based in a collaboration between Housing and Residence Life and Duke Athletics with the aim of integrating QuadEx into the athletics experience.
For the Sept. 28 homecoming game against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Keohane Quad residents were entered into a raffle to win one of 110 bands to the Devil’s Deck in the middle section near the DJ. Brown shared that quad councils purchase the tickets at a discounted cost — $2000 for 110 seats —- to distribute to their residents.
He also spoke positively about the “double service” the event made for both the football team and Keohane residents, sharing that “it provided a lot of hype for Duke football and also allowed people in Keohane to connect” with each other.
To allow first-year students access to the enhanced experience as well, HRL hosted the East Campus Olympics Sept. 20 in Brodie Gym, where East Campus dorms competed in various athletic competitions and trivia. The winners, Southgate and Gilbert-Addoms, were granted access to the Devil’s Deck for the Sept. 28 game against UNC or Friday’s match-up against Florida State.
The fan experience
Other Devil’s Deck attendees — including other students, parents and alumni — said that they heard about the experience through social media or word of mouth.
Ryan Price, a second-year graduate student in the Divinity School, said that he and 49 other graduate students were selected to represent Duke’s professional schools on the Devil’s Deck. He was thankful for the opportunity and noted in particular the convenience of having unlimited drinks and food to enjoy.
Kristy Ellenberg, a parent of a first-year student, shared that as someone who goes to many Clemson football games, she found sitting in the Devil’s Deck to be a “fun [different] way to gather.”
“We’ve been able to socialize with different people who are Duke fans and even some of [UNC’s] fans as well,” she said, noting that she was “… able to connect, socialize and watch the game at the same time.”
Brown identified the deck’s success early in the season, noting his optimism for increased student engagement in the future.
“This is the first year, and they've done a great job,” Brown said. “I think [in future] years … the ability to kind of engage students will increase, and I think it's definitely something worth keeping.”
Friday marks the next opportunity to enter the Devil’s Deck when the Blue Devils take on the Florida State Seminoles at 7 p.m.
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Martin Heintzelman is a Trinity junior and Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.