Wichita is familiar with the tent city that springs up south of Charles Koch arena each basketball season. Students brave sometimes frigid overnight temperatures and celebrate the Shocker spirit with energy and enthusiasm.

Now Marshallville, the group responsible for the campouts, has received the title of registered student organization (RSO) by Wichita State University, a recognition of its three years of promoting student involvement in basketball games.

This designation gives the group access to university facilities and eligibility for funding from the Student Government Association.

The idea for Marshallville, a play on the name of WSU Head Men’s Basketball Coach Gregg Marshall, was formed by junior Max Runyon, who decided that the environment surrounding basketball games could be improved. In 2013 he began organizing events for students to congregate before basketball games and boost enthusiasm among fans.

“It’s a culture that gets energy going,” Runyon says.

The group was initially called “Students for Marshallville,” and the main objective was to raise student involvement and get the university community on board. Junior Sam Belsan heard about the group from some friends his freshman year and looked up the Facebook page.

“Max and I hit it off, and when I realized he was leading the push for Marshallville to become a big thing, I let him know I wanted to help,” Belsan says.

Belsan is now vice president of Marshallville and produces most of the advertisements and social media content for the group. He said the recognition as an RSO will allow the group to invest more time into building community support, hopefully leading to bigger pre-game crowds.

Although the group was started as a way to promote the athletics at Wichita State, it has grown into a community for students to meet and socialize.

Sophomore Haley Turner says camping out in Marshallville was the first time she truly felt like a college student. She was able to spend a weekend with students she had never met before, many of whom she still calls friends.

“We all had our love for our Shockers, and that was what brought us together,” Turner says.

She now serves as secretary of Marshallville, helping create and promote events for students. She helps run campouts and monitor student lines for basketball games.

“I want to give other students that sense of community and family atmosphere that I felt that weekend,” says Turner. “It made me so much more grateful and excited to be a Shocker.”

The group is hoping to build on the events of previous years and gain more student participation. Runyon plans to step down as president following this season and looks forward to allowing others to continue the tradition and bring fresh ideas to the organization.