Prescott Deckinger | Multimedia Journalist

The Baker University cheer and dance teams rove through the crimson and blue rows of Allen Fieldhouse’s seats, picking up the leftover trash left by the 15,300 fans who watched the Jayhawks defeat UNC-Wilmington 84-66 on Tuesday.

They’d prepared for a long and tiring night, responsible for cleaning up the entirety of the arena, which is filled with half-eaten nachos, spilled soft drinks, and torn-up newspaper pages. 

“On a scale of one to ten, the difficulty of cleaning up the whole arena is probably at about an eight,” Berlynn Pennock, a sophomore member of the Baker dance team said. 

This is not the first time members of the Baker cheer and dance teams have endured the exhausting process of cleaning Allen. 

“We’ve done this about six times already this year,” Pennock said. “It takes forever.”

Pennock and Baker are not alone in their wearisome yet crucial task. 

KU Athletics enlists the help of any group or organization interested in earning money by cleaning the Fieldhouse through a post-game clean-up program. 

Plenty of groups sign up for the duty, eager for the chance to finance club equipment, travel, and other resources. 

For men’s games, groups can earn up to $3,000, and for women’s, $1,000. 

Men’s games commonly garner more trash and a bigger workload than women’s, and the compensation difference reflects the amount of cleaning groups complete. 

If groups fail to properly clean the arena, their compensation reduces based on the extent of their missed maintenance, and the janitorial staff addresses any neglected areas.

“We’re able to pay for trips to big tournaments, which includes expenses like gas, food, and hotels,” Melissa Shipman, the head coach of Baker University’s cheer team said. 

Cleaning the arena is a monumental job, and it takes groups an average of eight hours to complete.

Whisking away trash into garbage bags, sweeping up pounds of popcorn and ripped newspapers, mopping the concourse, and discarding all recycling in the 180,000-square-foot dimensions of the arena is no easy task. 

“I’m pretty good at spacing out and dissociating, so once we’re done, I look at the clock and see that it’s 4 a.m.” Kendalyn VanCamp, a junior member of the Baker cheerleader team said.

“It’s tough to walk into an 8 a.m. class on 3 hours of sleep the next day,” VanCamp said. 

Cleaning up the newspaper in the student section is the least favorite part for several Baker cheerleaders. 

“The student section has so much newspaper and you can’t sweep it up because it flies everywhere when you try to get it with a broom,” Graci Bono, a junior member of the Baker cheerleader team said. 

Even though the cleaning process takes a toll on all groups who take the opportunity to tidy up Allen, they don’t regret their decision. 

As long as organizations are willing to undertake the monumental chore of cleaning the Fieldhouse’s massive interior, Jayhawk fans will always enter on gameday to a clean atmosphere.