Mike Anthony: UConn men’s basketball season ticket changes puts school at risk of losing some longtime fans

[Ozone21]

Now we know why there will be metal detectors placed in Gampel.

Now they need to sell beer

 

[UConnJim]

This is what most schools do. It does make sense in the long run, but it could be painful this year for some. Still, the whole upper level in the XL Center is $25 to $50 per ticket which doesn't seem excessive. But, if you are asking for more money, then they should schedule some better OOC opponents at home.

The big benefit is keeping your seats every year. Remember how people used to complain about moving every year?

 

[CL82]

Combined this with the high likelyhood of tolls and a shrinking/aging population future attendance isn’t looking good. The future of Uconn hoops concerns me. Hopefully we start winning, winning cures a lot of ills.

Can't see tolls effecting behavior much, unless they price them ridiculously high.

 

[gampelcrazies]

Can't see tolls effecting behavior much, unless they price them ridiculously high.

Front page of the Courant tomorrow:
"Ned Lemont requiring CT residents to pay an annual donation to the state to get an Ez pass"

 

[zls44]

I wonder what would fans say if we had started this when we were winning?

"Oh, the team is really good so they're hiking prices, which stinks but makes sense since that's how price increases work literally everywhere"

 

[RF79]

that's great except the AAC is not a major conference. UConn has got to start realizing that, even if Hurley turns it around, we're still in a second tier conference situation.

Totally agree! As much as it hurts me to say this uconn is a mid major.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Combined this with the high likelyhood of tolls and a shrinking/aging population future attendance isn’t looking good. The future of Uconn hoops concerns me. Hopefully we start winning, winning cures a lot of ills.

These are the takes I come here for

 

[starpka]

Love how they announced this after the football season ticket renewal. Really only renewed my tickets to get the points. Now that doesn't matter. Would've rather put the money towards the donation + ticket price increase.

Aren’t priority points still relevant in terms of when you pick your seats online, giving you a shot at better seats at your current seat donation level, and also if someone wants to upgrade outright, say from $400 to $800 level?

 

[Chief00]

The Scholarship Seating Program replaces an antiquated points-based system, is more in line with what most major university athletic programs utilize and will benefit UConn athletics in the long run. But its implementation will not be pain-free, hurting some fans who have been in attendance in Storrs and Hartford since coach Dan Hurley was a kid in Jersey City, even earlier.

Mike Anthony: UConn men’s basketball season ticket changes puts school at risk of losing some longtime fans

There is no more effective way to irritate or alienate fans than to muck up the way they follow their favorite team while simultaneously trying to siphon money from their wallet. And that is what U…

www.courant.com

Just doing what most schools are doing. Change is always hard.

The Courant has a way of missing the key point. Priority Points are basically worthless now. Remember all the UConn AD marketing material about the value of priority points and fan loyalty that were published for decades? Well it was all a sham. Some people, who had supported the program and donated for decades, gave less or not at all after they retired. That should be expected as part of the normal cycle of life and not punished. Anthony’s article missed the mark by characterizing these people as not donating but having good seats - basically ignoring the $100k they cumulatively gave to get lower level seats. I guess he’s a sportswriter and not a business reporter and even some empty suit in the UConn AD can sell him a bill of goods.

This is grounds for a class action lawsuit.

 

[gampelcrazies]

The Courant has a way of missing the key point. Priority Points are basically worthless now. Remember all the UConn AD marketing material about the value of priority points and fan loyalty that were published for decades? Well it was all a sham. Some people, who had supported the program and donated for decades, gave less or not at all after they retired. That should be expected as kart if the normal cycle of life and not punished. Anthony’s article missed the mark by characterizing these people as not donating but having good seats - basically ignoring the $100k they cumulatively gave to get lower level seats. I guess he’s a sportswriter and not a business reporter and even some empty suit in the UConn AD can sell him a bill of goods.
This is futile ground for a class action lawsuit.

While they aren’t worth what they use to. They do have some value

Away tickets
Ncaa tickets
Seat relocation (if someone gives up tickets you will be the advantage to grab them)

 

[Chief00]

While they aren’t worth what they use to. They do have some value

Away tickets
Ncaa tickets
Seat relocation (if someone gives up tickets you will be the advantage to grab them)

So these people in the lower bowl who have donated cumulatively in excess of $100k are suppose to be happy with more hallow promises? ? And you must have missed the Women’s F4 e-mail this year where UConn said they did NOT have tickets to sell to most categories of donors.
Away tickets - Usually very limited and used by athletic dept employees. Have you tried that to a marque game?
I sense you don’t have a clue how these things work or don’t work. Don’t you realize they are making these meaningless misrepresentations to avoid a lawsuit, which will likely be coming anyways? If they admitted priority points had no value they would be admitting the plaintiff’s point. What the school should have done is changed the program to seat donations but grandfathered people who gave for decades based on the promises and rules made by the school. That would have been fair but Greedy Dave and his clueless consultants thought they could make more by screwing people over. That approach always backfires where people have choices and will prove to be a dumb decision that will cost the school money and fans.
Another missed the mark milestone in Anthony's article was the lack of explanation about how other programs transitioned.

 

[gampelcrazies]

So these people in the lower bowl who have donated cumulatively in excess of $100k are suppose to be happy with more hallow promises? ? And you must have missed the Women’s F4 e-mail this year where UConn said they did NOT have tickets to sell to most categories of donors.
Away tickets - Usually very limited and used by athletic dept employees. Have you tried that to a marque game?
I sense you don’t have a clue how these things work or don’t work. Don’t you realize they are making these meaningless misrepresentations to avoid a lawsuit, which will likely be coming anyways? If they admitted priority points had no value they would be admitting the plaintiff’s point. What the school should have done is changed the program to seat donations but grandfathered people who gave for decades based on the promises and rules made by the school. That would have been fair but Greedy Dave and his clueless consultants thought they could make more by screwing people over. That approach always backfires where people have choices and will prove to be a dumb decision that will cost the school money and fans.
Another missed the mark milestone in Anthony's article was the lack of explanation about how other programs transitioned.

We have 500 points, which isn’t as much as the big donors have. Never been shut out of Men’s final fours, away tickets, etc. Even before we had this many points.

The women's final four should not be brought into this. This has been the issue for the last couple seasons due to the NCAA taking away seats and making them NCAA experience packages. Not UConn cutting back on who gets tickets.

You can’t grandfather seats. Like I’ve said about 100x before. Previous administration allowed people to skip priority point system and get better seats because they knew someone in the athletic department. I’ve been told this from someone who was the head of seat selection years ago. So you would have people who donated nothing or not as much in better seats. Over someone who has more priority points.

 

[zls44]

While they aren’t worth what they use to. They do have some value

Away tickets

Oh, yeah, I mean, how else are you gonna be able to get tickets for a game at ECU, Tulsa, Tulane, Memphis (NBA arena), UCF, USF, etc.

Jeez guys, pay freaking attention. That's like pimping the ability to buy headphones on an airplane.

 

[John]

Oh, yeah, I mean, how else are you gonna be able to get tickets for a game at ECU, Tulsa, Tulane, Memphis (NBA arena), UCF, USF, etc.

Jeez guys, pay freaking attention. That's like pimping the ability to buy headphones on an airplane.

it's like the entire athletic department is living in 2004 and MBB and football is still relevant.