Baxter Burke showed up to Coleman Coliseum at 5:15 p.m. on Jan. 15 for a gymnastics meet that started at 7:30 p.m. Two weeks later, he walked up at 4:30 p.m., because he knew seats would be in high demand, and he wanted to make sure he had a good spot.

Burke is part of a raucous student crowd that has shown up in droves this season to support the Alabama gymnastics team.

“It’s another championship tradition we have here,” Burke, a junior majoring in biology, said. “And it’s the one thing that fills up Coleman. Men’s basketball can’t, but gymnastics can.”

Alabama students have swarmed to gymnastics meets this season in massive numbers. According to data provided by the University, 4,885 students attended the first two gymnastics meets this season, the highest two-meet total since the 2010 season. Both meets have also overflowed the 1,800-seat designated student section.

The Crimson Tide’s home opener against Missouri drew 2,705 students, the most for a single meet since the 2010 home opener against Georgia.

No. 7 Alabama will face the No. 5 Bulldogs Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Coleman Coliseum.

“It’s awesome, because no other college in the nation, especially college gymnastics, has that support like we do,” senior gymnast Sarah DeMeo said. “That’s one reason why I came here, just thinking that we can fill the whole Coliseum. Especially with the students, those are your classmates and professors that you interact with each week. It’s really cool.”

If Alabama’s current season average of 2,443.5 fans per meet continues, it would be the highest by nearly 800 over the last five seasons, the length for which The Crimson White requested attendance data.

But that’s unlikely to continue. The first two meets of the season are typically the most attended, as classes, jobs and other obligations ramp into high gear for students later in the spring semester. Still, 1,273 students need to attend each meet to surpass the 2010 season’s average of nearly 1,663 students per meet.

“Our students and just all our fans are so awesome,” freshman Aja Sims said. “They help us. Their energy brings so much to the team. It just helps us really be more confident in ourselves. All that support is just great to have.”

More than other campuses, UA gymnasts attain a certain amount of celebrity among their classmates. Six NCAA championships give the team more than any other on campus besides football. And winning it all in 2011 and 2012 adds the recency factor for students currently at school.

“Sometimes when I’m walking to class, people will see me and be like, ‘Oh, you’re a gymnast, right? We went to the meet, and we’re going to the next one, rooting you guys on. You’re doing really good,’” Sims said. “And hearing that is awesome.”

It helps, too, that coach Sarah Patterson has pushed for giveaways like iPads and gift cards that are geared toward students.

And the seats aren’t half bad, either. The first group of students to show up gets a group of risers next to the floor exercise mat. And when the student section hits capacity – which it did both times this season – students overflow into empty seats throughout the arena.

The proximity to the floor is especially helpful for the gymnasts during the last rotation.

“Oh yeah,” Patterson said. “It makes a difference.”