Since the 2023 season, Section 114 of Bender Arena has been home to the unofficial fan group of the American University men’s basketball team known as the “Suit Mafia.” They’re known on campus for dressing in fancy attire and cheering for all 40 minutes of regulation.
Every game with the Suit Mafia is electric and loud. No matter the score, they are always standing, loudly cheering and reciting their unique chants and heckles, trying to get the away team off of their A-game.
The Eagles, who currently own an 10-1 record in Bender Arena, have been thriving off of the energy of the Suit Mafia and the rest of the crowd, and have built the strongest home court advantage so far in the Patriot League this season.
Shane Gardner, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, started the group in his sophomore year. When he first came to American, he noticed a lack of school spirit and weak student-section crowd sizes at the Eagles’ home games, which was a big change from his spirit-filled high school.
“I went to Bishop O’Connell High School in northern Virginia where we would do suit days, toga days, stuff like that,” Gardner said.
“I was like, you know what? Why not just go for suits?” Gardner added.
Surrounded by other students wearing the red, white and blue colors of the Eagles, what makes the Suit Mafia stand out is their formal attire and frenzied behavior while consistently cheering on their feet.
Gardner recalls the moment when he realized how important the Suit Mafia’s support was to the men’s basketball team.
“After we won against Colgate, coach [Duane] Simpkins came over and dapped us up,” Gardner said. “It was really special.”
Eagles graduate forward Matt Rogers who has been on an offensive tear this season appreciates the love and support that the Suit Mafia show him every game.
“It’s amazing having the students behind us, especially here at Bender. Knowing that we have that home crowd. It’s great. I feel the energy every time we step in there,” Rogers said.
Ariel Plevan, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs, joined the Suit Mafia his freshman year. For Plevan, it has been integral to finding a strong community at American and building stronger school spirit around athletics.
“Suit Mafia is really important to me just because it’s a great group of guys who love watching basketball, love cheering and love school spirit, and sometimes that’s missing at AU,” Plevan said. “I always really appreciate that we have a group of people who want to show up to games on their own volition and cheer for our sports teams.”
Though Plevan has been to many home games with the group, one recent memory with the Suit Mafia when the Eagles took on Lehigh stands out to him.
Down by 1 with 5.2 seconds remaining in the game, the Eagles left a timeout with the Suit Mafia as rowdy as ever holding up their giant American University flag. The ball got to the hands of graduate student guard Lincoln Ball who hit a midrange buzzer-beater to win the game, sending the Suit Mafia into a frenzy.
“Being there for something so incredible and seeing the players enjoy it that much too. It was crazy,” Plevan said.
Kenneth Mulvihill, a CAS junior, said his favorite part about the Suit Mafia is their creative chants when heckling the away team.
Mulvihill’s favorite memories were the chants the Suit Mafia came up with when the Eagles played against George Washington University on Dec. 4 in a tense and chirpy cross town rivalry game.
“I just loved that we had this chant, ‘Where’s your campus.’ That had to be the greatest chant,” Mulvihill said. “It was just so much fun chirping the opponents.”
Though Gardner acknowledged that American University isn’t a sports oriented school compared to a Big Ten or Atlantic Coast Conference school like Purdue University or Duke University, respectively, he argued the importance of having pride in the University.
“You’re paying this much tuition to go here. Why the hell not? Why not have a little school spirit, is what I’m saying,” Gardner said.
Gardner has put a lot of time and energy into being a part of and organizing the Suit Mafia and has loved every second of it.
“You can get more of a sense of community by coming to these basketball games. I think that’s why I love it so much. Because of the people I’ve met and being able to interact with the players and coaches,” Gardner said. “It’s something special. I really just don’t think you're going to get that quality anywhere else.”
Gardner believes that cheering loudly can also have positive effects on the team’s performance.
“If you get loud enough and you get hype enough, you’re going to actually make a difference,” Gardner said.
Though Gardner and many other members of the Suit Mafia are graduating in the spring, he hopes that the group and his legacy will continue in Bender Arena for many years to come.
“We definitely got like a lot of guys in the club that would definitely be willing to continue it. It’s just a matter of how well we can sustain that pipeline,” Gardner said.
Gardner’s last hope as a member of the Suit Mafia is to see the Eagles hoist a Patriot League championship trophy for the first time since the 2013-14 season, and he’s hopeful that they can pull it off.
In an effort to keep the tradition and the roaring crowd continuing, Plevan urges anyone to come out to the game, ready to cheer, in formal clothing to join the Suit Mafia.
“Just show up with us if you’re around. If you want to join, see us at a game, talk to us and we’d love to have you,” Plevan said.
This article was edited by Jack Stashower, Penelope Jennings and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Olivia Citarella, Emma Brown and Sabine Kanter-Huchting.
