Division I athletes see face time everywhere from billboards to ESPN, and now the St. Thomas men’s basketball team is taking some cues from the big universities with larger-than-life cutouts of its varsity players’ faces.

The Tommie “Big Heads” first appeared at the Feb. 13 men’s basketball game, when the mothers of the team’s five seniors held up large posters of their sons’ faces for Senior Night.

Sue Hannon, senior Tommy Hannon and junior Kevin Hannon’s mother, and Mary Webber, senior Noah Kaiser’s mother, created the basketball team’s Big Heads. The two had seen the fad on ESPN’s televised games, as well as at road games versus other Division III opponents.

“Last year when we were in the NCAA playoffs in Whitewater, the Whitewater fans had a few (Big Heads) in their crowd,” Sue Hannon said. “We thought that we wanted to do that too.”

The Warhawks aren’t the Tommies’ only competition using Big Heads. Junior Paige Brimeyer, a volleyball player and men’s basketball fan, said St. John’s University fans also sport these posters.

“When the men’s basketball team played St. John’s a few months ago, we noticed that the Johnnie fans had a few (Big Heads) in their crowd,” Brimeyer said. “I think that’s another place where the senior moms got the idea from.”

The posters are homemade, and the basketball parents pay for them. While it costs more than $60 to purchase a Big Head online, the moms were able to make replicas at Sam’s Club with poster paper and foam board for only $10.

Senior Night was the beginning of the Big Heads at St. Thomas, but they were such a hit that the fad grew quickly.

“For Senior Night, we made (Big Heads) of just the five seniors,” Sue Hannon said. “And then we got more people involved and asked them if they would be interested in making (Big Heads) of the entire team. Everyone said ‘yes,’ so we made one of all 19 players on varsity.”

Outside of the five starters, every other varsity player had their Big Head debut at the MIAC tournament semifinals. The mothers showed the posters to the players at a team dinner before the first tipoff of the MIAC tournament.

“We didn’t want them to be a distraction the next day during the game when they saw the posters and thought, ‘Oh my, there’s my big head,’” Sue Hannon said.

Junior Nicole Potts, a volleyball player and the Hannon brothers’ cousin, supports the big head concept.

“My aunt, Sue Hannon, asked me if I could find students to hold up the (Big Heads) during playoffs if she made one of every player, and of course, our fans jumped all over it,” Potts said. “The players think they’re funny. Everyone is obsessed with them.”

The mothers weren’t sure how the team would feel about the posters, so they were relieved to find out that the players enjoy the Big Heads.

“At first, we didn’t know what the players would think when they looked into the crowd and all of a sudden there were these big heads everywhere,” Sue Hannon said. “But the players really like the (Big Heads) because they get the students excited.”

Kevin Hannon said he has enjoyed his mother’s efforts.

“The Big Heads have added a really fun and unique element to our crowd throughout the playoffs this year,” Kevin Hannon said. “It’s funny to look into the crowd and see all of our faces being waved around.”

Some fans seem to like the idea so much that they almost fight over who gets to hold which Big Head.

“People try to call dibs on whose head they’re going to hold,” Brimeyer said. “They always try to get their roommates, friends and people in their grade.”

Senior Matt Haag finds humor in the posters, but he doesn’t want to be involved with them.

“I personally wouldn’t hold one,” Haag said. “I think they are funny.”

However, senior Nick Henderson doesn’t find the Big Heads humorous.

“I find them to be somewhat annoying,” Henderson said. “I know that they were made to pump up the Tommie fan section and basketball team, but I think the (Big Heads) are overkill.”

Brimeyer said the heads have elevated the Schoenecker Arena atmosphere.

“I think that there have been more fans in attendance since the Big Heads started,” Brimeyer said. “The posters are creating tons of enthusiasm. People are getting more into the games.”

Even Henderson, who said the (Big Heads) to be excessive, said that they are the “start of a new tradition.”

Kevin Hannon, Brimeyer and Potts all agreed that they would enjoy seeing other sports pick up on the Big Head fad.

“It would be awesome if this were to spread to other sports,” Potts said. “Students might be more excited to come to sporting events if they could hold a Big Head.”

Brimeyer said the volleyball team could be next.

“My mom watched one of the men’s basketball games online and thought that the Big Heads were too funny,” Brimeyer said. “The volleyball moms are already thinking of making them for volleyball season.”

Maggie Whitacre can be reached at whit0467@stthomas.edu.