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Post by paulkris on Dec 1, 2016 10:12:10 GMT -5
These are very good and helpful comments. The AD does read the message board but sending these suggestions directly to the Athletic Department would be a positive thing to do.
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Post by BasketBallJones on Dec 1, 2016 11:15:27 GMT -5
Drop Said:
I have noticed the same thing. I went to the Coaches Show on Monday and it hit me as I looked around nearly everyone there were us aging Baby Boomers. The same is true at the games. Here are a few suggestions that may help attendance.
1. Consolidate the season ticket holders parking into Lot #1. Right now, only those premium tickets holders park in Lot 1, and it's only about 1/3 full for each game. This would free up Lot # 2 for the casual fan/walk up ticket buyer to park next to the arena so they wouldn't have to park out past the pond. Anytime I talk to people about going to a WSU game, the first objection I hear is the parking problem.
2. I like Drop's proposal on the Student tickets. Pass them out on campus and get the students involved in the program. Most of our graduates are from the area so interest as a student hopefully will get them to come to games after the graduate.
3. Open up additional concession stands, especially when the Athletic Department knows or anticipates a good crowd. I've seen lines snaking all around the concourse with people waiting to get some food & drinks during a big game.
4. Blacking out home game streaming to people within a 25-50 mile radius of the Nutter Center. I'm not sure this is possible, but the fact that anyone with an ESPN account can sit at home and watch the game live seems counterproductive. I have to believe that is hurting attendance, especially the younger crowd. They stream nearly everything now, so why drive out to the area, hassle with the parking, and pay for a ticket when you can watch it for free from the comfort of your living room. Another option would be that those in the blackout area have to pay to watch. At least that would generate funds for the Athletic Department.
5. Name the Court the Ralph Underhill Court. He built the program and this should have been done years ago.
Of course, winning the HL and getting a bid to the NCAA on somewhat of a consistent basis will cure a lot of ills. That falls directly on the shoulders of the new coaching staff.
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Post by hhgreen on Dec 1, 2016 12:21:05 GMT -5
There is hardly anyone parking around the pond any more. Every game so far that lot is pretty empty. That says the casual fan is no longer going to the games. The reserved lots are not even half full. I agree the streaming has gotten some fans to stay at home but also recruits can see the Raiders streaming online and that means a lot as well.
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Post by ohiopirate on Dec 1, 2016 13:03:33 GMT -5
Students used to be able to pick up their tickets from a Box office window in the Student Union when I was in school. Is that not the case anymore? It would be nice if we could do some things to get the crowd more involved in the games somehow. I know UD has a similar problem with an older crowd sitting on their hands but the reason fans come to the game instead of streaming it online is the atmosphere in person. When there is no atmosphere in the arena there is less reason to come out. People don't want to come and be bored when they can be doing other things watching the game at home. - I notice the dance team is back to standing in the isles in the crowd until we hit our first field goal - think they stopped last year. I don't know how to make it happen (jumbotron prompts?) but would be a neat visual for the entire crowd to stand until that point as well. - Some fans do it already but raising your first during free throws as the cheerleaders yell Raider Up... - Have the crowd scream when the other team has the ball at the start of the 2nd half until they score on us. Go quiet when we have the ball for a contrast effect (or vice versa). Get the energy immediately back in the arena after halftime and get our team going. I'm just brainstorming top of my mind here but little things like that to get the fans more engaged during the actual game. Not just entertainment during dead periods. It would be great if we had a more active student presence to start these things and others and then have the rest of crowd join in. Also fully agree with these two suggestions...Lot 2 and Lot 1 are both sitting mostly empty just before tipoff. 1. Consolidate the season ticket holders parking into Lot #1. Right now, only those premium tickets holders park in Lot 1, and it's only about 1/3 full for each game. This would free up Lot # 2 for the casual fan/walk up ticket buyer to park next to the arena so they wouldn't have to park out past the pond. Anytime I talk to people about going to a WSU game, the first objection I hear is the parking problem. 2. I like Drop's proposal on the Student tickets. Pass them out on campus and get the students involved in the program. Most of our graduates are from the area so interest as a student hopefully will get them to come to games after the graduate. |
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Post by CincyDrummer on Dec 1, 2016 18:09:59 GMT -5
While I do agree that there are opportunities to do more in order to increase attendance, I think that the problem mostly comes down to two issues. Winning (and lack thereof) and the targeted generation. Someone commented a while back that WSU has to undo years of mediocre basketball/success, which naturally is going to take years of winning to fix. If we want people to think of us as a winning program when they hear the words "Wright State", then we need to win and get noticed for it. Losing to Georgia State does not help us achieve this goal, but hiring Coach Nagy was a good start in my opinion.
Cultivating a dedicated younger generation of fans is really hard to do, especially when you aren't winning big games. I'm 28, and even if I were still living in the Ohio/Cincinnati/Dayton area it would still be difficult for me to get to games considering where I'm at in my life. I think it's safe to assume that most 20-somethings are focused on careers, home-ownership, starting a family etc which doesn't leave a whole lot of time for many other things.
Now in regards to turning current students into life-long fans? We need to do at least 4 things: Get their butt in the seat (the most difficult part here, but we can definitely do better that what we're doing now), give them an experience that they will remember (any WSU-Butler game I went to as a student), win the game, and follow up with them to get them back. Athletics Dept could send follow-up emails to students who attended a game with short surveys about the game experience, give them a voucher for a free beer after completing the survey and a game ticket that can be scanned from their mobile phone. Don't even need to bother with printing it off and bringing it with you. It's already right there on your phone.
Millenials demand ease-of-use and convenience and the department has got to adjust and deliver. I agree that the above parking and ticketing problems do not make it easy nor convenient to get to a game and could be relatively easy and cheap fixes to begin with.
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Post by raidergrad98 on Dec 1, 2016 19:56:01 GMT -5
Just win.
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Post by Big D on Dec 2, 2016 10:23:17 GMT -5
If we play good competition, win games, and play an exciting brand of basketball, fans will come see us play. The problem with that in recent years is we were only winning. We played as weak of a schedule that Donlon could put together, especially at home and our style of play was like watching paint dry. The Dayton area is a great area for basketball fans. They have supported us in the past when they respected what we were doing as a program. They come out to see UD play. They come out for the first 4 tournament at UD arena. They come out and watch the women's NCAA tournament at UD arena. They sell out for flying to the hoops hs tournament. This community likes to watch good basketball. They are used to seeing it. They aren't going to pay money to see us fake our way to a winning record vs a cupcake schedule.
Fans aren't coming out this year because anyone that has a clue knows we are in a rebuilding process with Nagy. Die hard fans like us on this board are happy to see this team. We like to see the difference in style of play under Nagy. We are excited to see the growth in our players since last year. If you ask a casual fan why they aren't coming to games this year they will tell you that we are struggling to beat bad teams this year. I love that we have fans here that are excited about this year but the truth is we aren't playing good basketball vs good teams by any stretch of the imagination. If we play like we have been playing we are going to finish in the bottom 1/2 of the HL. The intelligent casual basketball fans in the Dayton area we are trying to attract know this. They aren't going to come out until we prove them otherwise. It doesn't matter how cheap we make tickets or how much crap we try to give away at games to get people to come to games. Until we play start winning vs good teams, we aren't going to bring in the fans.
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Post by Dr J on Dec 2, 2016 11:40:51 GMT -5
Is the sky falling? This problem developed over a number of years. It escalated in the past 2-3 years. Why does everyone think the return will be quick. Winning is a key part but playing exciting basketball is a key part also. I noticed in the Georgia State game that their players were more consistent in how they played. They have been coached by Ron Hunter and learned how he wants them to play. Some of our players at times had a relapse into some bad habits. This will change with them learning what Coach Nagy wants them to learn. We will get better and be competitive. Right now we have a thin bench and they need to know the difference between aggressive play and out of control play. I noticed with Grant in this game. When he let the game come to him and played aggressive basketball he scored easily. When he tried to force the game it didn't work out well.
I would promote to the community if you cannot get to the game watch on computer or tablet on ESPN3. If it is exiting game they will want to be there in person. It is always more exciting in person.
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Post by twizman on Dec 2, 2016 12:28:21 GMT -5
If we play good competition, win games, and play an exciting brand of basketball, fans will come see us play. The problem with that in recent years is we were only winning. We played as weak of a schedule that Donlon could put together, especially at home and our style of play was like watching paint dry. The Dayton area is a great area for basketball fans. They have supported us in the past when they respected what we were doing as a program. They come out to see UD play. They come out for the first 4 tournament at UD arena. They come out and watch the women's NCAA tournament at UD arena. They sell out for flying to the hoops hs tournament. This community likes to watch good basketball. They are used to seeing it. They aren't going to pay money to see us fake our way to a winning record vs a cupcake schedule. Fans aren't coming out this year because anyone that has a clue knows we are in a rebuilding process with Nagy. Die hard fans like us on this board are happy to see this team. We like to see the difference in style of play under Nagy. We are excited to see the growth in our players since last year. If you ask a casual fan why they aren't coming to games this year they will tell you that we are struggling to beat bad teams this year. I love that we have fans here that are excited about this year but the truth is we aren't playing good basketball vs good teams by any stretch of the imagination. If we play like we have been playing we are going to finish in the bottom 1/2 of the HL. The intelligent casual basketball fans in the Dayton area we are trying to attract know this. They aren't going to come out until we prove them otherwise. It doesn't matter how cheap we make tickets or how much crap we try to give away at games to get people to come to games. Until we play start winning vs good teams, we aren't going to bring in the fans. Big D is on point here, but I agree with those that say WSU can be more creative with the student tickets. Either finding ways to get more students to come by making their free tickets even more assessable (and perhaps giving them incentives to come like a free hot dog and drink or something like that), or giving the students the tickets and letting them give them away to family members or friends if they so please. The bottom line is getting more butts in the seats and increasing the fan base in general, so I don't see how any of those ideas could hurt. They could only help, and I would argue they would help. That being said, there is no question winning is the biggest thing. Especially now that we have a fun style of basketball to sell with a good head coach who appears to be here for the long haul (I get the feeling this is Nagy's last job and he plans on being here for at least a decade). Winning + fun basketball will draw more fans for sure, but I still think the Athletic Department can be more creative with student tickets (and other promotions). Be innovative. Sell the brand, especially since there is a new brand to sell. Even during a rebuilding year, we're sitting here at 6-2 playing some quality basketball. Imagine how bright the future will be. |
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Post by dauber on Dec 3, 2016 9:01:41 GMT -5
I think a positive way to increase attendance would be to contact local churches that have choirs and good singers to perform the national anthem. Give the entire congregation a free ticket to support their singer. This would stir interest in the little kids and parents that get to go to a free game. Maybe even a future recruit. And I'm talking about a very stirring and uplifting performance, not just an ordinary performance. I know there are great singers out there that could really stir the crowd up. Wouldn't the extra concessions that are sold offset the free tickets somewhat. Do it every game not just once. At this point even an extra 500 people would be a great improvement. Mega churches have too large of a congregation. But there are plenty of smaller congregations that have some great singers.
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Post by twizman on Dec 3, 2016 10:48:24 GMT -5
I think a positive way to increase attendance would be to contact local churches that have choirs and good singers to perform the national anthem. Give the entire congregation a free ticket to support their singer. This would stir interest in the little kids and parents that get to go to a free game. Maybe even a future recruit. And I'm talking about a very stirring and uplifting performance, not just an ordinary performance. I know there are great singers out there that could really stir the crowd up. Wouldn't the extra concessions that are sold offset the free tickets somewhat. Do it every game not just once. At this point even an extra 500 people would be a great improvement. Mega churches have too large of a congregation. But there are plenty of smaller congregations that have some great singers. This is yet another idea that has zero downside and definitely some upside. These are the type of innovative, outside-the-box ideas our AD needs to be coming up with. I will say hiring Nagy was the best idea Bob Grant had. Everything else is small compared to that excellent move, but those small things need to be done too. |
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Post by BasketBallJones on Dec 3, 2016 11:20:56 GMT -5
Twizman Wrote:
Actually it wasn't Grant's idea for a new coach. A very wealthy donor put up $5 Million Dollars to dump Billy and get a new coach. Yes, Grant made the hire but without the big donation Nagy wouldn't be here.
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Post by keithfromxenia on Dec 3, 2016 13:10:54 GMT -5
was that donor you, bbj??? i must say that is a ton of dough but the change needed to be made. grant does deserve credit for zeroing in on Nagy and doing what needed to be done. coach is operating at a serious disadvantage with our lack of size. i am really looking forward to seeing what coach nagy can do with this program.
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Post by paulkris on Dec 3, 2016 16:28:24 GMT -5
The old AD, Mike Cusack, seemed to be much more approachable than Grant. Grant always has this look on his face that says please don't say anything to me, leave me alone, i don't want to talk to you. I could be wrong, but Grant seems better suited for a behind the scenes role, an effective AD should be schmoozing and glad-handing like a politician, a bigger than life take charge attitude. Grant may unfortunately be a classic example of the peter principle. Before BG became AD he was pretty much the assistant who dealt with donors. He did a great job of it. Cusack was the opposite as AD. He was difficult to approach and gave the impression that he didn't really want to talk to anyone he wasn't close to. After he retired we became very close friends but I'm not sure I ever spoke to him in the 10+ years he was AD. If you see BG at a game, and you have a suggestion for him, go up to him and tell him. He usually is found toward the end line of the home bench for a good part of the games. |
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Post by Big D on Dec 3, 2016 22:33:42 GMT -5
Bob Grant is 1000% more approachable than our last AD
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