DETROIT (12/17/2020) -- A new edition with Titan Athletics is a chance to talk with the loyal fans of the program. 

This week's edition features longtime Titan supporter Rick Neaton.

How Far Back Does Your Love Of The Titans Go Back?
RN: For me, it goes back to 1968 when I was a student there, but even before that because as a kid, my father was a season ticket holder for football and basketball so he would take me to Titan games in the 50's. When I went to school, I was always at the basketball games and that was Spencer Haywood's first year. We went to Calihan, it was called the Memorial Building back then, to see the Dave DeBusschere teams, Dorie Murray, Lou Hyatt teams. It was part of our family. My grandfather graduated from U-D in 1898 and played in the very first basketball game ever played on campus. It was just a pick-up game on the Jefferson campus on the handball courts that are now in the middle of the law school library. He didn't like it because someone had to be on a ladder to take the ball out of the basket so he went back to playing baseball. There were like 22 guys in his class and they had heard about this strange game on the east coast. Someone had come back from the east coast and said this is how you play it and they nailed a couple of baskets on the walls in the handball courts in 1897 and tried their luck at it. 

What Was It Like Watching Spencer Haywood?
RN: He was awesome and when he broke the backboard against Aquinas was awesome because dunking was illegal then. We didn't know what to do, but we thought it was great. There was a group of guys that I was with and we went to all the games and in those days, we would sit in the bleachers behind the visiting team and harass the visitors. That is what you did on a Saturday afternoon. I remember we harassed Al McGuire one game because the year before, he got into a fight in the hall. Every time Marquette called a timeout, we would go down and take a chair or two off their bench and fold them up and slide them under the bleachers and in the second half, there weren't enough seats for their guys to sit. With about four or five minutes left, he turned around and waved a towel at us, they knew what we were doing. Maybe that's the reason they don't allow visiting fans behind the bench anymore is because of us. 

What Are Some Of The Games You Really Remember As A Fan?
RN: It probably would be the game against Marquette when we had over 9,000 fans in Calihan Hall and I had to sit on the steps in the upper west side of the arena when we beat them. I remember it was so hot, there were so many people and we were violating all the fire codes. That was a great game. Beating Memphis State in the 80's was great. Another great time was the 1988 MCC Tournament as Archie Tullos led the 7-21 Titans to the finals of the tournament and we almost won. We would have made history if we beat Xavier by having the worst record as a team to make the NCAA Tournament. Watching some of the great Perry Watson teams in the 90's and watching on TV as they beat St. John's and UCLA in the NCAA Tournament was fantastic. It was great to watch the Titans pull away from Valpo in 2012 and win it and seeing Ray hug his dad on television live was so great.

What Does Calihan Hall Mean To You?
RN: It means a lot to me. I hung out a lot there, played intramural sports and have seen so many great games. The last time I was there must have been in 2017 on the weekend of the Milwaukee-Green Bay series. I remember the days when it was packed and it was so much fun. The St. Bonaventure game in 1968 was amazing, Spencer Haywood against Bob Lanier. It is great to go to Calihan Hall and enjoy a great game and then go to Buddy's Pizza afterward on 6 and Conant. That was always fun. 

If You Had To Put Your All-Time Titan Team, Who Would It Be?
RN: Well Dave DeBusschere would be number one and obviously Haywood. Guys that I feel don't get enough recognition are Dorie Murray, who I saw play in high school, and Lou Hyatt. The great Vitale teams, I would take John Long and Terry Tyler and maybe for some more recent teams, Archie Tullos was just a fantastic shooter, Joe Kopicki, and the great games from the 90's. I mean Rashad Phillips, Willie Green, Jermaine Jackson. The greatness of Perry Watson was that he had a lot of great players and they all blended on the team and a lot of those guys didn't stand out. Antoine Davis ranks up there and Ray McCallum Jr., Jason Calliste, Eli Holman, Nick Minnerath, were some great players. 

What Do You Remember About The Football Team?
RN: We had a good football team. I remember as a kid, I would follow the Titans as much as kids would follow Michigan and Michigan State now. We had Jerry Gross at quarterback, who was really good. We had Steve Stonebreaker, Larry Vargo and Grady Alderman. My dad would tell me stories about Lloyd Brazil and watching him. He would walk over, he lived on Tuller, just south of McNichols and he would walk over before he was drafted into the Army and he would watch a game. I went to a lot of night games when I was a kid and it was fun. 

What Did You Major In And Do After College?
RN: I majored in history and law and practiced law and then I switched careers and became an investment analyst and I have done that for some 25 years, a long time. I still have my own business and I could retire, but it's too much fun. As long as it doesn't interfere with watching the Titans, or playing golf or taking care of my wife, then I am good.