Kudos to the 29

[NEforceUConn]

Jeez, answer is easy. Have a CT company sponsor a “Hottie Huskies (yes female) for FB” bus and a dedicated open student tailgate.

Hot chicks always draw a crowd. Just ask the SEC sororities.

Y’all can thank me later. This isn’t a sexist post, rather the reality of FB being a violent sport.

Ps. Looking forward to meeting anybody in Greensboro at the woman’s bb game vs UNC on 11/15. Go Huskies!

 

[huskymedic]

Why don't UConn give points to students who attend football games for basketball games? Create some kind of husky fandom point system. If they stay until end of the game, you get a bonus etc.

Students and fans can use points to get priority seating at basketball games, get discount for UConn merchandise, and get freebies etc.

It can't be that hard to put this kind of system together. Kids get scanned when they coming in, and when they leave. They can even get scanned when they get on the bus etc.

Top Dogs Rewards is forgotten

It’s still active and being utilized this season… whether it moves the needle is another story:

Top Dogs

Top Dogs

uconnhuskies.com

 

[cellocgg]

It’s still active and being utilized this season… whether it moves the needle is another story:

Top Dogs

Top Dogs

uconnhuskies.com

I am a current student and have never used it nor have I seen another student using it. It doesn't help that the school barely advertises it and it's practically hidden in the UConn Athletics app

 

[UCFBfan]

I also think its the social media age too even Alabama has had trouble filling up their student section.

I was going to add this as well. The world in our glory days of football is nothing like the world now in terms of technology and it's influence in students' lives

 

[psilotic]

Thread title made me think this was gonna be about remaining season tix holders from 2003

 

[Scrutineer]

Why focus so much on the students?
The adults in the room need to look in the mirror. Here we have a winning team, a team that could well be 8-1 right now, and the final home game of the year was poorly attended.
If you want to reflect on why all these other teams (that win nothing of significance but put more fans in the seats for football games) get invited to the major conferences, go back and look at attendance the past dozen years. And even this year with a much improved team.
Attendance is pathetic and a real blight on the image of UConn sports.

 

[cellocgg]

Why focus so much on the students?
The adults in the room need to look in the mirror. Here we have a winning team, a team that could well be 8-1 right now, and the final home game of the year was poorly attended.
If you want to reflect on why all these other teams (that win nothing of significance but put more fans in the seats for football games) get invited to the major conferences, go back and look at attendance the past dozen years. And even this year with a much improved team.
Attendance is pathetic and a real blight on the image of UConn sports.

I know we're basing our expectations on stadium capacity but remember UConn is G5 and has been historically bad. The average G5 is averaging like 15-20k per game. We are averaging about the same as Memphis, everyone's darling to enter the P5 and they have a 50k stadium lol. We are both getting around 25k

 

[UConnDan97]

Why focus so much on the students?
The adults in the room need to look in the mirror. Here we have a winning team, a team that could well be 8-1 right now, and the final home game of the year was poorly attended.
If you want to reflect on why all these other teams (that win nothing of significance but put more fans in the seats for football games) get invited to the major conferences, go back and look at attendance the past dozen years. And even this year with a much improved team.
Attendance is pathetic and a real blight on the image of UConn sports.

It's because when Wright picks up the ball and scores a 99-yard TD on a goal line stand in the final seconds of a game, he celebrates in the end zone in front of 12 people...

 

[cellocgg]

I know we're basing our expectations on stadium capacity but remember UConn is G5 and has been historically bad. The average G5 is averaging like 15-20k per game. We are averaging about the same as Memphis, everyone's darling to enter the P5 and they have a 50k stadium lol. We are both getting around 25k

hell ranked Army is right there with us as well

 

[ScottVib]

Why focus so much on the students?

I think in part because when we have the weekly on-campus stadium thread (or other topic that devolves into that) one of the reasons that on-campus stadium enthusiasts promote is it'll help student attendance. Others think that the issue is more of a the students don't care so while making it more convenient for them to show up has a theoretical benefit, it also makes it easier to bail out early. (It also becomes an easy thing to blame, when you know the entire end zone is reserved for students and the entire end zone is empty)

Ultimately it's a student engagement issue, they've got to do more to build football into an event a student wants to be and stay at, regardless of location. They have a similar issue with non-students, building the attendance base back up and ultimately getting those fans to make it in at the start, and keep them there to the end of the game. Football (and even basketball) games often feel like a race to leave when people feel like the game has been decided with people wanting to "beat the traffic" to get out of the lot.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

It’s still active and being utilized this season… whether it moves the needle is another story:

Top Dogs

Top Dogs

uconnhuskies.com

It is nice they have this already. However, they need to make it public and have a weekly or daily top 25 standing. Put names of all the students with highest scores on social media and websites along with prizes. Gamify the thing and spread it on social media.

 

[JohnFSilver]

I'm so tired of hearing excuses for students. They're not interested. They don't want to go. It's not a bus issue or a holiday issue or a Friday isse. It's a "they have absolutely no interest in football issue." When I was there I don't remember anybody complaining about the bus ride and we used to pack the student section every week, as did the classes that came after me. If you hated the bus, you found someone with a car which wasn't hard to do, because everybody was going to the game.

All season.. "well what did you expect, are you really gonna wake up early on a Saturday to get on a bus for a noon kickoff?" Yes, be still my heart, it's been done before.

"What do you expect? It's a Saturday night on campus?" Well, I remember being out til 2 or 3 in the morning in college. The party will still be there.

"What do you expect? It's a Friday night after Halloween on campus?" So wear an ephing costume.

Apparently, it has to be a 3:30 kickoff during a non-holiday month with 70* weather for them to show up ... and then vacate at halftime.

Agree.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

This isn't a UConn issue. It is a reality for 80% of college football programs. Stadium location is not the issue. Time of kickoff is not the issue. Students have multiple entertainment options, and most don't require them to leave their room. Most of our current students came of age during the worst period of our program. There is no momentum for young fan support. We need to string several good years together. Even then, student support won't be what some think it should.

 

[giddyup]

What surprises me is that many fans at games don’t seem to be enjoying the experience or know when to make noise. When watching on TV, the cameraman often pans the crowd, and I notice that a significant number of fans are sitting down, not cheering or standing during critical moments like third downs. I recently watched the replay of Brinson’s interception, and in the background, several people in the front row had zero reaction—it was as if they weren’t even watching the game. Unlike other parts of the country, we don’t grow up with the Friday night lights culture here in New England, which contributes to fans leaving early and a general lack of support.

We used to have one of loudest venues in college football. We know how to do it. The crap has been kicked out of program for over a decade…enthusiasm wanes. We will get it back once we hit P4. The Rent used to be pretty nuts.

 

[RioDog]

I think in part because when we have the weekly on-campus stadium thread (or other topic that devolves into that) one of the reasons that on-campus stadium enthusiasts promote is it'll help student attendance. Others think that the issue is more of a the students don't care so while making it more convenient for them to show up has a theoretical benefit, it also makes it easier to bail out early. (It also becomes an easy thing to blame, when you know the entire end zone is reserved for students and the entire end zone is empty)

Ultimately it's a student engagement issue, they've got to do more to build football into an event a student wants to be and stay at, regardless of location. They have a similar issue with non-students, building the attendance base back up and ultimately getting those fans to make it in at the start, and keep them there to the end of the game. Football (and even basketball) games often feel like a race to leave when people feel like the game has been decided with people wanting to "beat the traffic" to get out of the lot.

Hence my previous post.

 

[Scoe]

This isn't a UConn issue. It is a reality for 80% of college football programs. Stadium location is not the issue. Time of kickoff is not the issue. Students have multiple entertainment options, and most don't require them to leave their room. Most of our current students came of age during the worst period of our program. There is no momentum for young fan support. We need to string several good years together. Even then, student support won't be what some think it should.

The times have changed from even 10-20 years ago, people have shorter attention spans now. Basketball games your in and out. Understood it will have its challenges getting students to games but one thing that is very doable is filling up the student section let fans sit there. Maybe you hand out a free ticket to a basketball game of that fans choice do something.

 

[Scrutineer]

This isn't a UConn issue. It is a reality for 80% of college football programs. Stadium location is not the issue. Time of kickoff is not the issue. Students have multiple entertainment options, and most don't require them to leave their room. Most of our current students came of age during the worst period of our program. There is no momentum for young fan support. We need to string several good years together. Even then, student support won't be what some think it should.

Good points.
And you're right about it being somewhat universal (while maybe not as bad as our students), as I've noticed empty seats in major conferences' games over the last decade. Even the SEC and even at Florida where friends who are alums always boasted about the passion of their fans.

 

[ZooCougar]

I don't know what is worse. The weekly on campus stadium thread, or the weekly "where are the students" thread.

 

[Scoe]

I don't know what is worse. The weekly on campus stadium thread, or the weekly "where are the students" thread.

Or the weekly if we had a better qb comments in a post game thread after Evers plays well.

 

[BlueandOG]

I give the students a pass this season. They have been pretty good considering the football that has been played over the past 10+years. I know they will come back when we break into the top 25 again.

 

[CL82]

I'm so tired of hearing excuses for students. They're not interested. They don't want to go. It's not a bus issue or a holiday issue or a Friday isse. It's a "they have absolutely no interest in football issue." When I was there I don't remember anybody complaining about the bus ride and we used to pack the student section every week, as did the classes that came after me. If you hated the bus, you found someone with a car which wasn't hard to do, because everybody was going to the game.

All season.. "well what did you expect, are you really gonna wake up early on a Saturday to get on a bus for a noon kickoff?" Yes, be still my heart, it's been done before.

"What do you expect? It's a Saturday night on campus?" Well, I remember being out til 2 or 3 in the morning in college. The party will still be there.

"What do you expect? It's a Friday night after Halloween on campus?" So wear an ephing costume.

Apparently, it has to be a 3:30 kickoff during a non-holiday month with 70* weather for them to show up ... and then vacate at halftime.

I love posts that are critical of college kids wanting to climb them to a bus and take a 30 minute ride to a stadium to watch a midling football team. But God forbid you suggest to those same fans that they drive an extra 30 minutes to Storrs six times a year. Then that half hour drive becomes the equivalent of the Iditarod.

 

[Kolumbo]

I love posts that are critical of college kids wanting to climb them to a bus and take a 30 minute ride to a stadium to watch a midling football team. But God forbid you suggest to those same fans that they drive an extra 30 minutes to Storrs six times a year. Then that half hour drive becomes the equivalent of the Iditarod.

Exactly. People also have to understand that not all students who go to games are sports fanatics. Case in point: duke basketball. Most of those nitwits you see on tv probably have no clue what is happening outside of their scripted chants.

Yes, some students plan to spend their entire saturday partying and watching football. Other students may want to spend 2-3 hours supporting their team with their friends and getting right back to studying or other campus life activities. Those students aren't going to spend an additional couple of hours getting to a bus to get to a game.

 

[UConnDan97]

I love posts that are critical of college kids wanting to climb them to a bus and take a 30 minute ride to a stadium to watch a midling football team. But God forbid you suggest to those same fans that they drive an extra 30 minutes to Storrs six times a year. Then that half hour drive becomes the equivalent of the Iditarod.

It's the difference between getting 2K people out on 195, or getting 30K people in on 195, but that's not the issue.

The issue, for all the reasons that have already been stated and beaten to death, are that they don't care that much about football. There isn't much problem getting them to the XL center in Hartford for big matchups in b-ball. And it feeds the notion that we "aren't a football school", which keeps us out of big conferences, which will eventually hurt our b-ball.

But hey... find the millions of dollars to build the on-campus stadium, and I'll still be there, even if the students aren't...

 

[CL82]

It's the difference between getting 2K people out on 195, or getting 30K people in on 195, ...

...because, as you know, every person going to a football game must arrive at exactly the same moment, which, of course will overwhelm the existing road system...

Oh, wait, no, they don't! They have hours before the game to arrive. They can get there early and enjoy a meal and some beverages hanging out, socializing, and talking about the game. This is some thing that I call "tailgating". Remember that concept, I think it's going to catch on.

The issue, for all the reasons that have already been stated and beaten to death, are that they don't care that much about football.

Of course, the biggest reason why they don't care about football, in all likelihood, is because the football games are played 30 minutes off-campus, rather than on campus as they were when you and I attended UConn. I will respectfully point out that saying all games should be located in East Hartford, Connecticut because the students don't come to games in East Hartford, Connecticut is circular reasoning, and really bad circular reasoning at that. There is a reason why virtually every other university in the country doesn't have its football stadium 30 minutes off campus. All of them manage to get people in and out of campus six weekends a year without causing a world ending cataclysm. I suspect we could as well.

 

[Palatine]

Win and they will be in. It really is that simple. The football team has been losing for a decade plus. It's going to take a bit of sustained success to win them back. There are other things like making the game convenient, etc. But none of it works very well without Ws.

 

[UConnDan97]

...because, as you know, every person going to a football game must arrive at exactly the same moment, which, of course will overwhelm the existing road system...

Oh, wait, no, they don't! They have hours before the game to arrive. They can get there early and enjoy a meal and some beverages hanging out, socializing, and talking about the game. This is some thing that I call "tailgating". Remember that concept, I think it's going to catch on.


Of course, the biggest reason why they don't care about football, in all likelihood, is because the football games are played 30 minutes off-campus, rather than on campus as they were when you and I attended UConn. I will respectfully pointed out that saying all games should be located in East Hartford, Connecticut because the students don't come to games in East Hartford, Connecticut is circular reasoning, and really bad circular reasoning at that. There is a reason why virtually every other university in the country doesn't have its football stadium 30 minutes off campus. All of them manage to get people in and out of campus six weekends a year without causing a world ending cataclysm. I suspect we could as well.

1) the majority of people for any football game show up within 1 hour of each other. If you don't know that, then you're not going to the games.

2) we've already talked ad nauseum about the reasons they don't go and very little of it is related to where. Even when they go, THEY DON'T STAY! I hate seeing the 3rd quarter of every game whereby 1K+ people have turned into Blue White Kid and about 12 apostles... (I appreciate the hell out of Dale, keep up the great work bro! )

 

[LBird33]

We need students who can kick a field goal during the TV Timeouts. All year I watched pitiful kicks dribble on the ground. Where do they get these guys lol

 

[CL82]

1) the majority of people for any football game show up within 1 hour of each other. If you don't know that, then you're not going to the games.

2) we've already talked ad nauseum about the reasons they don't go and very little of it is related to where. Even when they go, THEY DON'T STAY! I hate seeing the 3rd quarter of every game whereby 1K+ people have turned into Blue White Kid and about 12 apostles... (I appreciate the hell out of Dale, keep up the great work bro! )

People show up when they show up, but that doesn't mean we can't build a stadium on campus because of that. Come on.

The reasons they leave early have been talked about ad nauseum. The predominant one is their lining up to get on the bus to drive 30 minutes back to campus.

Again, I think the whole on campus stadium discussion is silly until we're actually facing that decision. That said, every time I hear people making up a mythology that suggests that "we can't" build a stadium on campus because we are the only place in the world where fans can't get to a stadium without building a super highway up to the front gate, or because our students are somehow undeserving, I will point out the fallacies in those statements.

 

[UConnDan97]

People show up when they show up, but that doesn't mean we can't build a stadium on campus because of that. Come on.

The reason they leave early have been talked about Anna. The predominant one is their lining up to get on the bus to drive 30 minutes back to campus.

Again, I think the whole on campus stadium discussion is silly until we're actually facing that decision. That said, every time I hear people making up a mythology that suggests that "we can't" build a stadium on campus because we are the only place in the world where fans can't get to a stadium without building a super highway up to the front gate, or because our students are somehow undeserving, I will point out the fallacies in those statements.

I'm going to ask you a rhetorical question, followed by an honest question:

1) Would a big time conference take us if we only filled 10% of our total seats? (Rhetorical)

2) Since the answer is no, why would you honestly think there's a chance in hell of the state building a stadium on campus for students that fill 10% of their seats currently???

 

[CL82]

I'm going to ask you a rhetorical question, followed by an honest question:

1) Would a big time conference take us if we only filled 10% of our total seats? (Rhetorical)

2) Since the answer is no, why would you honestly think there's a chance in hell of the state building a stadium on campus for students that fill 10% of their seats currently???

Well, the answer to your first question is no, because no big-time conference is clamoring for us now. Most P4 schools average about 20 to 25,000 people at their football games. We're right at that mark now. So unless you're envisioning a 200 to 250,000 seat arena, we're going to do better than 10%. And that's today, without a P4 affiliation.

So now that we've blown up your "rhetorical" question, your second question is, well, equally meaningless.

I'm at a loss why so many people are so adamant about being opposed to an on-campus stadium when it's not even being discussed. I have to ask myself. What is the motivating fear that makes people manufacture reasons why it can't happen. Heck I can give you a good reason right now. Today, we have a perfectly serviceable stadium that happens to be 30 miles too far west. It makes no sense to build on campus given that circumstance. So, it makes me wonder why people try to manufacture things like a traffic Armageddon heading into Storrs or empty 200,000 seats stadiums. I mean, those are just silly nonsensical arguments about something that isn't even on the table.

I will say, if there comes a time when we are putting a nine figure investment into an aging stadium rapidly approaching the end of its useful life in East Hartford, the university and the state should absolutely consider whether that money is better spent as part of a new stadium built on campus. It would be malfeasance not to do that analysis.