College Football ~ Will next generation of fans show up?

[huskymedic]

Interesting read:

darrenrovell5:46pm via Tweetbot for iOS
Are schools neglecting the future donors, the student section? I explore
http://espn.go.com/college-football...-concern-students-show-college-football-games

 

[BlueMAB]

This kills the "we need a stadium on campus" argument/excuse. The students get some of the better seats for a fraction of the cost, and they don't seem to care.

The entitlement attitude plays a part. Tickets are being sold and going unused. Which means it isn't the cost of the ticket, they don't mind wasting the money buying season tickets, and then not showing up.

One potential solution for UConn? Don't allow any of the buses back to campus to leave until the game is over.

 

[huskysupporter]

I guess I just don't understand why students wouldn't want to go to these games. Is it the fact they can't booze while they are tailgating?

 

[nelsonmuntz]

younger people don't care about the traditional spectator sports the way Gen X and older people do. Just a fact.

Long term, football has some very serious challenges. I know lots of parents that won't let their kids play football because of concussions, and that reduced participation, which is happening across the country, will have an impact down the road.

 

[Waquoit]

One potential solution for UConn? Don't allow any of the buses back to campus to leave until the game is over.

That's not a solution, that's detention.

 

[BlueMAB]

There's an easy solution to parents removing their kids from football due to concussions. Play flag football until they get to junior high or high school.

 

[huskymedic]

Article like this sure gives some pause to the "mega-stadium size/mine his bigger than yours" arms race for all but a few schools. Why continue to add seats that won't have a chance to be filled in future years?

 

[Dooley]

One potential solution for UConn? Don't allow any of the buses back to campus to leave until the game is over.

The student sections really need to be addressed this season. Probably more than any other game day experience inside of the stadium. I have long wondered why buses run continuously back to campus during the game. The student sections are the lifeblood of any collegiate venue and ours falls ridiculously short time and time again. It does not help the team, the stadium atmosphere, or the perception surrounding UCONN football when the stadium clears out at halftime and there are only a few rows of students left inside the stadium...regardless of score or opponent.

My bus schedule would be to lock all buses during the game. 1 early bus leaves the Rent at the end of the 3rd quarter. Emergency transport fleet (2 or 3 smaller passenger vans that can only hold 8-10 students) would be available a few times during the game. Allow them to text a number requesting an emergency ride and those who text would get a reply text whenever the emergency van is at the stadium and loading up back to campus. The rest of the buses and vans begin to depart 45 mins after the game ends. If the student misses an early bus/van, they are allowed back into the stadium with their ticket stub and ID.

Bus tickets should also be distributed with the season tickets so that the students don't have to go and wait in line the day before a game. If they lose their pass, they can get on a bus with an ID, game ticket and a $5 charge (something small but enough to encourage students to not lose their passes). If a student wants to go to the game without a ticket, they can get on a bus with an ID and $10 charge.

The point is that our stadium needs much more student involvement. It's embarrassing as a fan when, at the overtime coin flip, opponents choose to go towards the student section side of the stadium because the kids all left and there is no crowd noise. I want that end to be the loud end and there is no reason it shouldn't be (it even has a second deck!). Do some fun things on the scoreboard - challenge the student section to cause false starts when opponents start drives on that side of the field. If they can cause 5 false starts in a game, they get a free sub on campus with a ticket stub. Each false start post a "-5" on the scoreboard and have a sub meter bar that grows with each penalty. Heck, make it false starts and delay of games for all I care.

I also would love to see a tradition where the students line up by the Burton Complex when the players leave for the stadium. Have a Husky "Drive" similar to Husky Walk on campus for the student community. Let the students help load the buses. Line up by the buses and high five the players before they get on the bus. Let the band and cheerleaders send them off with the fight song. After the team, band and cheerleaders leave, the student bus fleet follows them. Show video of each departure on the scoreboard before kickoff and early in the 1st quarter. Enthusiasm is contagious and having video of fired up students and players on campus might get the stadium fired up a little bit more. Plus it connects alumni back with campus.

 

[BlueMAB]

Re-admitting anyone is probably a bad idea. The students will complain but increasing the ticket price could help. I think they pay $7 per game. That's cheap enough where they'll skip the game if they aren't interested. at $20/ticket they might not choose to waste that ticket.

Yes, they'll be less willing to buy season tickets, but I think they should sell the students individual game seats until they sell out, or until a week before the game, then open that section up to anyone at $20/ticket.

 

[DoctorWho85]

I personally love going to the games. The excitement in the air shared with the thousands of other fans like yourself cannot be equaled.

My greatest memory of a UConn football game came in 2010. It was the Thursday night game against Pitt and the weather was unseasonably warm for that night. Pitt just scored a touchdown with a pass to the back of the end zone which many around me thought that the receiver was out of bounds. But it was reviewed and overturned to a TD. The crowd was dead silent, so silent you could hear a pin drop. You can almost feel the collective enthusiasm deflate. Then the kick of to Nick Williams happened. He caught it and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown, no penalties. The crowd went wild. Imeediately after the extra point, they played Sandstorm over the speakers and not a single person wasn't jumping up and down. That right there is why I go to UCONN football games and when I have kids they will too.

 

[Dooley]

The more I've thought about it, the more I think UCONN was ahead of the game with their bar/lounge area near the scoreboard. I'd still like to see a second deck over there (when we're ready to expand the stadium) but perhaps it can be elevated (above the scoreboard) so that there can be a covered bar/lounge area for fans to watch the game. Use the underside of the second deck to install some HDTVs with scoreboard feeds so nobody misses anything (if they don't want to). Set up some tables over there and bring in a few vendor food trucks. But I think the game day stadium experience is something that is going to be addressed in every venue across the country. Fans are staying home in droves because of HDTV and more available content. Put a third deck on the sunny side of the stadium and throw a Quest Field type of cover over it to trap in crowd noise. Throw an elevated second deck on the scoreboard side and leave the bar/lounge area in tact as previously mentioned. Add a smaller video board over the second deck of the student section side. Get the stadium capacity to 55,000-60,000 and freeze it there. As long as it is constructed with Quest Field-esque acoustics, we can keep the stadium loud and different to attract fans away from their homes and to the stadium. Throw up a few hotels around the stadium too for out of town fans. And for the love of all things Holy, open up the tailgates MUCH earlier. RV park opens on Friday mornings for Saturday games. Regular gates open at 6am for Noon games and 8am for 3:30 and night games.

 

[Dooley]

I personally love going to the games. The excitement in the air shared with the thousands of other fans like yourself cannot be equaled.

My greatest memory of a UConn football game came in 2010. It was the Thursday night game against Pitt and the weather was unseasonably warm for that night. Pitt just scored a touchdown with a pass to the back of the end zone which many around me thought that the receiver was out of bounds. But it was reviewed and overturned to a TD. The crowd was dead silent, so silent you could hear a pin drop. You can almost feel the collective enthusiasm deflate. Then the kick of to Nick Williams happened. He caught it and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown, no penalties. The crowd went wild. Imeediately after the extra point, they played Sandstorm over the speakers and not a single person wasn't jumping up and down. That right there is why I go to UCONN football games and when I have kids they will too.

I remember that game vividly too. I think it was Baldwin who was the Pitt receiver. I too thought he was out of bounds when they showed replays on the old board. My favorite memories from that game were UCONN recovering a Pitt fumble on a punt/kickoff when Jerome Junior lit up the Pitt player so that Lutrus could recover the loose ball (think it was Lutrus) and, of course, Randy "Chip Kelly" Edsall summoning up the most courageous set of stones by running Todman off left tackle on 4th and 1 from their own 20 yard line. Great game.

 

[uconndogs]

younger people don't care about the traditional spectator sports the way Gen X and older people do. Just a fact.

Long term, football has some very serious challenges. I know lots of parents that won't let their kids play football because of concussions, and that reduced participation, which is happening across the country, will have an impact down the road.

Agree with all that. Couple that with CR which has narrowed, not broadened, the market and I think folks wake up in 10-20 years to something much different.

The comment about concussions is dead on. U.S. football as we currently know it may be extinct in the next couple of decades. The NFL could be a rugby league.

 

[uconndogs]

..... and, of course, Randy "Chip Kelly" Edsall summoning up the most courageous set of stones by running Todman off left tackle on 4th and 1 from their own 20 yard line. Great game.

It was brilliant to go on a quick count, because I think Pitt expected an attempt to draw them off sides with a long count. Todman waltzed to that first down. I always thought Pitt was consistently the most talented team in the Big East and we always seemed to handle them just fine.

 

[Dooley]

Re-admitting anyone is probably a bad idea. The students will complain but increasing the ticket price could help. I think they pay $7 per game. That's cheap enough where they'll skip the game if they aren't interested. at $20/ticket they might not choose to waste that ticket.

Yes, they'll be less willing to buy season tickets, but I think they should sell the students individual game seats until they sell out, or until a week before the game, then open that section up to anyone at $20/ticket.

Just readmit students with a game ticket and a UCONN ID. They obviously wouldn't re-admit me with my male pattern baldness, baggy 38 year old eyes and stinking of brews and sausage. Just students. I want more students at games, not less. Raising their prices will only encourage more and more to stay back on campus and sleep through games (quite literally, I'm guessing). Keep the tickets cheap for them. Incent them to buy season tickets so keep those dirt cheap with bus passes. Students without season tickets can buy tickets at a campus box office for something like $15 and bus pass for $5-$10.

 

[SubbaBub]

It's about the product, the entire product. Access, tailgate, pregame, schedule, W/L, concessions/merch, in-game entertainment, PA, post game, postgame tailgate, and traffic control.

Am I missing anything? There is not one area listed that could not be improved.

It's the #1 sport behind the NFL, it sells itself. Any lag in expected customer satisfaction is operational.

Detaining people or making it less accessible will only drive people away. The kid who buys a $7 ticket and skips the game isn't even buying a $20 ticket and still doesn't show up.

When we started this journey we acknowledged that it would take a generation of alums going to the Rent as students (and having a good time) to fill the place regularly. We had a terrific start. CR and PP have dampened the mojo and the school needs a larger alumni base in general, but the generational time line still applies.

Schools like PSU and Michigan get the attendance equivalent of 1/6 to 1/4 of their living alumni base to show up every week. That is the truest measuring stick.

IHNI, how many living alumni UConn has but if it's 200k, then 1/5th of that is 40k, which sounds about right and is a pretty strong fan base for a ten year old program.

 

[Dooley]

Another thought I had a while ago was for UCONN to construct some on-field suite boxes on the scoreboard side of the stadium. They have enough room to put in a few boxes, maybe 6-10 total, keeping the height the same as the current wall to not block any views from people in the front row over there. Make them luxury - climate controlled, HDTV, wait staff, private bathrooms, sliding door to come out in the elements if they want to...the works. Each box can hold up to around 8-12 fans. Charge premium prices. If a box isn't used, donate them to military or emergency first responders.

It's all about game day experience.

 

[DoctorWho85]

I remember that game vividly too. I think it was Baldwin who was the Pitt receiver. I too thought he was out of bounds when they showed replays on the old board. My favorite memories from that game were UCONN recovering a Pitt fumble on a punt/kickoff when Jerome Junior lit up the Pitt player so that Lutrus could recover the loose ball (think it was Lutrus) and, of course, Randy "Chip Kelly" Edsall summoning up the most courageous set of stones by running Todman off left tackle on 4th and 1 from their own 20 yard line. Great game.

It was Baldwin. It was probably the best football game I have ever attended. I'm not a big Pitt fan, never liked the much (always fell on the WVU side of the Backyard Brawl), but that Pitt team will always have a special place in my heart because of how we beat them that day.

 

[DoctorWho85]

To me, I think the biggest problem with attendance is the fair weather fan. They are happy to go to games in September and early October, but when it gets to late October and Novemeber it's just too cold for these people. To me, these people are there to update there Facebook status or twitter accounts. THey're not there to root for the team, they're there because it makes them "look cool" to all of their friends. So once they get their 15 or 20 likes, they feel no need to stay at the game anymore. Just my opinion.

 

[NickyNewark]

Agree with all that. Couple that with CR which has narrowed, not broadened, the market and I think folks wake up in 10-20 years to something much different.

The comment about concussions is dead on. U.S. football as we currently know it may be extinct in the next couple of decades. The NFL could be a rugby league.

Funny thing about Rugby is they wear very little protective gear esp no helmet...I wonder if Rugby is any safer? I'm a little concerned about our society when everybody thinks we should live in a "bubble"? Maybe next parents will keep there kids out of military service to insure no one hurts themselves !?!

 

[uconndogs]

Funny thing about Rugby is they wear very little protective gear esp no helmet...I wonder if Rugby is any safer? I'm a little concerned about our society when everybody thinks we should live in a "bubble"? Maybe next parents will keep there kids out of military service to insure no one hurts themselves !?!

I'm no expert in rugby, although my son played. I have to believe the incidents of concussions are significantly less and there is essentially no tackling or blocking below the waste, so knee injuries are far less as well.

As for the bubble comment. We're still learning what these concussions mean for folks later in life and it's pretty scary. Knowing what I know now, I probably would have discouraged my son from playing football.....although I probably would not have forbid it.

 

[NickyNewark]

I'm no expert in rugby, although my son played. I have to believe the incidents of concussions are significantly less and there is essentially no tackling or blocking below the waste, so knee injuries are far less as well.

As for the bubble comment. We're still learning what these concussions mean for folks later in life and it's pretty scary. Knowing what I know now, I probably would have discouraged my son from playing football.....although I probably would not have forbid it.

Yes I understand you're view and I think we have to protect our children but at the same time allow them to gradully make tough decisions on there own as they approach legal age weighted with the best education we can give them because we can only do so much! When I see boxing and MMA sports I wonder what kind of condition their brain will be in at 35 let alone 50 but these are "sports" where head contact is encouraged. I really outside of flag FB don't know the answer but some want to jump from planes or race cars....what can we do but guide them?

 

[huskymedic]

Interesting comment from the side-bar:

>>Thomas Doochin, University of North Carolina: "People would rather stay at fraternity houses with unlimited food, booze and a big-screen TV than make the trek to the stadium... Phone service is terrible during games and it's hard to stay in touch with the world for the three hours you're in the stadium."<<

Significant shift in thinking over the past few decades... I go to games to get away from the world for three plus hours!

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Yes I understand you're view and I think we have to protect our children but at the same time allow them to gradully make tough decisions on there own as they approach legal age weighted with the best education we can give them because we can only do so much! When I see boxing and MMA sports I wonder what kind of condition their brain will be in at 35 let alone 50 but these are "sports" where head contact is encouraged. I really outside of flag FB don't know the answer but some want to jump from planes or race cars....what can we do but guide them?

The difference between now and before is that in the old days parents had no idea that they were scrambling their sons' brains by letting them play football, and that the damage would be permanent.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

younger people don't care about the traditional spectator sports the way Gen X and older people do. Just a fact.
I think this is a major part of it and very misunderstood by many.

Millennials have very different motivations, interests, and options than previous generations.

The line in the article I found most interesting was the young man who mentioned the lack of wi-fi during the hour long wait to enter the stadium. None of us enjoys waiting in line, but Millennials have no concept of down-time or what we used to call "calm". I am only 40, but I worked in student affairs for many years. One of the things I learned is this group is very uncomfortable with two formerly common conditions: calm/quiet and not being connected. Give them an internet connection and they are fine. Life without is not one they are willing to endure for very long. Those are gross generalizations, but they are closer to the rule than the exception.

Add great high def televisions, with many students having their own LED/LCD sets....going to a stadium to wait and sit isn't that strong of an option.

I applauded our Athletic Dept for trying the DJ at the stadium (which many other programs now have, including L'ville). Marching bands and stale traditions alone won't get you much traction with the typical college sophmore.