CONSTITUTION of CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY BLUE CREW (Revised September 2017) ARTICLE I. NAME The name of this organization shall be the Blue Crew. ARTICLE II. OBJECT The object of the Blue Crew is to: 1. Provide an unmistakable atmosphere at games that our team comes to recognize and the opposing teams come to fear at women s volleyball, women s basketball and men s basketball games. 2. Work with the student section and fans to encourage greater participation. 3. Help the Creighton Athletics Marketing department run promotional events before, during and after games. 4. Support the greater Creighton and Omaha community with our positivity and spirit for our Bluejays. ARTICLE III. OFFICERS There are four officers who lead the Blue Crew. They are the President, Vice President, Scheduler and the Public Relations Executive. The President is responsible for being the liaison between the Blue Crew team and the athletic department. The Vice President is responsible for upholding our policies and distributing disciplinary action if necessary. The Scheduler is responsible for sending out a survey every month with all the game times for the upcoming month. The schedule for the next month will come out the first weekend of the previous month. Members will have one week, until the second weekend of the month, to fill out the survey. Then the Scheduler will be responsible for putting together the schedule based on who is available and distributing it by the third weekend of the month. The Public Relations Executive is responsible for advertising our Blue Crew team when we are recruiting new members, as well as is responsible throughout the seasons for advertising the Creighton home games. The Public Relations Executive will also oversee all Blue Crew Birdcage interactions and promotions (See Amendment I). The commitment of the officers goes as follows: 1. Officers are elected after the final men s and women s basketball seasons are completely over (i.e post NCAA tournament). 2. Officers serve for one full year, starting from the day they are elected and ending when a new officer is elected. 3. At least one officer is required at each game that the team attends. This also includes when we travel with the teams.
4. All officers must be full-time Creighton students. The Election Process goes as follows: 1. Before an election, potential candidates for the positions submit an application for the various positions stating their 1-2 sentence interest and intent. These statements are sent out to all of the team for review prior to the election night, so all members have time to review and reflect on those running for office. All running for an officer position must prepare a short speech to present to the team at the election meeting. a. If a member is planning on running for the president position, they must schedule a meeting with our athletics advisor to speak about their ideas before elections. Failure to do so will result in ineligibility to run for the position. 2. The order of voting starts with President, then Vice President, then Scheduler and finally the PR Executive. 3. All the candidates running for that position will leave the room while each of the other candidates present their platform. After the candidate's short speech, the floor will be opened to questions from the team. 4. Following all the speeches and questions for that position, the team will be able to have a discussion without the candidates present. 5. The officers are chosen based on a majority vote and only those who are present are allowed to vote. 6. If a candidate does not win their desired position, they are allowed to run for any of the next positions that the team votes on (i.e. if the person is running for President and doesn t win, they have the opportunity to run for Vice President, Scheduler and/or PR). ARTICLE IV. MEMBERSHIP Membership to the Blue Crew is determined by annual tryouts which require potential interested new members to perform various acts that we may do during athletic events as well as sing the first verse of the Creighton University fight song. 1. Membership is capped at a certain number depending on the year of the tryouts. This number is determined solely by Creighton University Athletics. 2. All potential new members are judged equally and fairly by the executive team and voted on and discussed by any other current member who chooses to attend tryouts. In order to remain a full member on the team, members are required to abide by the following rules: 1. All members must fill out monthly availability surveys. Failure to do so will result in secondary status (being put on the substitution list) for that month and the next month. For the second offense members will have a meeting with exec member to determine further consequences. 2. All members must be available for at least 50% of the games per month. This does not mean that members have to be at every one of that 50%, however they are required to at
least agree on the survey to that commitment. Failure to adhere to this requirement will result in a meeting with the executive team. Special status, meaning that these members do not have to adhere to 50% availability, can be determined on a case by case basis as long as members are upfront with the executive team and explain the situation before the season begins. For example, if you are a pharmacy student, athlete on another team, president of another organization, or studying abroad, special status. Members on special status still must fill out the surveys, regardless of their availability. 3. All members assigned to either women s volleyball and basketball games must arrive to DJ Sokol Arena at least one hour before game time. All members assigned to men s basketball games must arrive to DJ Sokol Arena at least an hour and a half before game time. If anything last minute prevents a member from being at games at these times, they must contact the executive member in charge of that game as soon as possible. Consistent lateness to games will deem a meeting with the executive team. 4. Members unable to attend a game they are scheduled for, they must find a substitute MUST get a sub. Failure to do so will result in secondary status for the next month s survey. Second offense will result in probation and a meeting with an exec member to determine further consequences. 5. No one, except the one executive member scheduled on the game, is allowed to have their phones on the court. First offense will warrant a warning, however the second offense will result in that member being put on secondary substitution status. Failure to meet these requirements may result in punishment that could include retraction of membership in the organization. ARTICLE V. RULES, AND POLICIES General Respect for Athletics: 1. We are representations of the University. When in stripes or appearing as a member of Blue Crew do not bash Creighton athletic teams, be under the influence, or act in a manner negative to our organization. 2. School is the most important. If your grades are suffering and you need to take a break from Blue Crew please contact exec. We are all students and grades are more important than Blue Crew. 3. All members attending Creighton Athletic events, whether in stripes or not, must act in an appropriate manner. 4. Refrain from cursing on the sidelines. TV cameras can pick it up, fans can hear it, and the entire Ryan Center can hear it. We need to behave in a suitable manner. 5. When traveling for Blue Crew it is essential that all members understand that their behavior reflects directly on Creighton University. Therefore, any behavior that is deemed inappropriate by an exec member or by the athletic department will be subjected to disciplinary action. 6. Respect yourselves. Respect the team. Respect the university. Uniform Requirements: 1. Stripes are not to be worn any other time then for Creighton events, nor should they ever leave the possession of the athletic department. The only exception to this rule is that
each executive member may keep a pair of pants in their personal possession in case of last minute events. 2. Stripes are not to be loaned to any person not a member of Blue Crew. 3. Any member caught intoxicated or drinking in stripes will be subject to meeting with the executive team to determine their status on the team. Suspension or removal is possible. 4. Dress appropriately for games. Full uniform, including the team shirt and shoes (either team Nike s or blue, grey, white or black shoes) is required for all games. No overalls. Members may wear accessories if they do not depict any alcohol related or offensive logos. This also applies to the designs painted on any member's faces. ARTICLE VI. CONSEQUENCES Any violation of our rules and constitution, will result in a meeting with the President of the organization as well as the rest of the executive board if deemed appropriate. Course of action and potential punishment will be determined on a case by case basis. In the rare situation of a very serious violation, that member will also be asked to meet with Creighton Athletics to determine their standing in the organization. ARTICLE VII. MEETINGS Meetings will occur monthly in the academic year, as well as a special of the Blue Crew may be called by the President when necessary. 1. Meetings are mandatory unless proof of valid explanation of non attendance. 2. In addition to monthly meetings, there is the one election meeting that occurs annually. There is no exception for missing the final election meeting and no excuses will be accepted unless there is a family or medical emergency. ARTICLE VIII. AMENDMENTS This Constitution may be amended by a majority vote of the voting members of the Blue Crew, provided notice of the proposed amendment has been given in writing at the preceding regular meeting.
AMENDMENT I: Blue Crew Birdcage The Blue Crew Birdcage is a new addition to Blue Crew to help us increase game attendance. The Birdcage is an organization in which its members promote student involvement at basketball, volleyball, soccer, softball and baseball games. In doing this, their goal as members is to bring enthusiasm, unity and school spirit to these games and set a precedence for all at various athletic events. We seek to intensify Creighton's spirit of competition, as well as complete the collegiate experience that Creighton offers. The Birdcage will be managed mainly by the Blue Crew Public Relations Executive and the athletic department. Members of The Birdcage will initially come from those who tryout for Blue Crew. They will make up the first new class of The Birdcage.