UPDATED: Feb. 9, 2015 at 10:04 p.m.

Otto’s Army is postponing its campout for the Duke vs. Syracuse men’s basketball game until Monday at 5 p.m. due to the impending snowstorm.

The group was scheduled to begin its campout Sunday at 5 p.m., but because of the current weather and the forecasted snowstorm, Otto’s Army decided to push the start of the campout back a day, said Otto’s Army president Sean Fernandez.

SU (15-8, 6-4 Atlantic Coast) will play No. 4 Duke (20-3, 7-3 ACC) on Saturday at 6 p.m. SU recently announced a self-imposed one-year postseason ban for this year’s men’s basketball season. Saturday will be the team’s first home game since the ban was announced.

Fernandez said he doesn’t expect the postseason ban and the lack of success recently to affect the turnout for the campout. He added that the “passion that SU students have is tough to find elsewhere,” which will lead to a solid turnout.

For logistics for the campout, the outside of the Dome will be expected to host a few hundred students setting up tents beginning Monday. When Gate E begins to overflow, Gate D will be used as necessary, Fernandez said.

“I’d hope that the turnout doesn’t suffer due to the subpar season and the recent self imposed postseason ban,” said David Levitskiy, a sophomore bioengineering major. “The basketball team still deserves and has earned our support regardless of the rough year they’ve had on and off the court.”

Levitskiy camped out for the game last year and added that it was a rewarding experience.

A lottery system began last Thursday at the SU vs. North Carolina women’s basketball game in the Dome. The lottery order was announced at halftime of the game for the initial tent lineup of the Duke campout. Students had to arrive and sign up at the Dome by 7 p.m. on Thursday to be eligible in the lottery.

One person must remain in a group’s tent at all times from Monday at 5 p.m. through Saturday.

Drew Perdue, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he thinks turnout for the campout may be lower than last year. Perdue said it is not a result of the cold temperatures, but that the hype of the game isn’t as big this year as it was last season.

Fernandez said that those students who do campout are “really passionate and any time you have Duke in the Dome, they want to be as close to the action as possible so camping out is obviously the way to get closest.”

During the campout for last season’s game against Duke, Otto’s Army decided to suspend its campout for three nights due to cold temperatures. That campout lasted about two weeks total.

–Asst. news editor Justin Mattingly contributed reporting to this article

Published on February 8, 2015 at 6:42 pm

Contact Sarah: sbrichhe@syr.edu