Rent improvements

[epark88]

Well the athletic director is a rock star and all, so we'll see how it plays out.

But the kids do need to be placed closer to the action somehow. Give them a section in the lower bowl facing the TV cameras or something, anything. Throw them a bone here...

 

[huskymedic]

Don't know what we should expect but here's a nice overview of Perimeter LED Systems:

http://www.prodisplay.com/download/pro-display-led-perimeter-systems.pdf

More likely... http://www.daktronics.com/ProductsServices/Products/Video/Permanent/RBX/15mm/Pages/default.aspx

 

[Husky25]

... Loge seating? More indifferent bigwigs up front? Pffffffft.

This is the kids' school. It's their time to enjoy the college experience. The AD needs to cater to them as much as possible, because it will pay off in spades in the future. Just like the state just pumped $1.5 billion into UConn's future, UConn should do the same for it's athletic future and put these kids as close to the court as possible. And when they become the bigwigs, UConn athletics will never have to fret over money or fan support ever again...

One really does not have anything to do with the other. Typically, loge boxes are above the lower bowl, but below the second deck. That is, in fact, the best vantage point from where to watch a game (e.g. that is why the cameras are situtated at mid court on the concourse). I agree by the way. The students sections should surround the court for the first 4-5 rows. At least the very least, the rows within the hockey dasher boards.

Incidently, UConn pays $50k a game rent to use the XL Center. Right or wrong, they can't directly stop Global Spectrum from installing loge seats. I have a hard time imagining how it will be done without gutting the place, but it will be fun to observe from afar...

 

[hthusky74]

Damnit.

Who do we have to maim or torture in the UConn marketing department to get them to realize that COLLEGIATE sports are successful because of the COLLEGIATE atsmophere? How hard is this to grasp? Loge seating? More indifferent bigwigs up front? Pffffffft.

Another memo to Warde:

Forget about making more money for a second: UConn needs to make more DIEHARD FANS, and right now. And those potential diehard fans - the ones who buy lifelong season tickets, make donations forever and will become the hardcore Huskies fanbase of the future - have been sitting right under your nose all the time. Check that, they've been sitting behind you and above you in the nosebleeds, expending double the energy they should have to: both cheering their heads off for their Huskies and exhorting the bigwigs down in front (the ones that actually show up to the games, that is) to at least try to get involved in the action.

This is wrong. Dead wrong.

This is the kids' school. It's their time to enjoy the college experience. The AD needs to cater to them as much as possible, because it will pay off in spades in the future. Just like the state just pumped $1.5 billion into UConn's future, UConn should do the same for it's athletic future and put these kids as close to the court as possible. And when they become the bigwigs, UConn athletics will never have to fret over money or fan support ever again.

Look, if we're talking about the Better Bedding Huskies sponsored by Dunkin' Donuts, then sure, add the loge boxes and all that priority seating crap. But last time I checked the jerseys still say 'UCONN', and the best sponsors that UConn can ever hope to have are currently up in those nosebleed seats - every season, every game, cheering their heads off.

UConn Athletics needs to invest in itself for once, and do it before it's too late...

Explain to me why there are so many empty student seats at the XL games. Lower Bowl seats. I for one am disgusted with the poor student attendance at the XL games. It really irks me to hear people say the students should get more tix when they aren't using the ones they have. They do a better job of showing up at Gampel, but even there they could do a lot better. The sad thing is those XL tix are all sold, but some of those gung ho students apparently have better things to do than hop on the bus to Hartford. You'd think they'd at least give up the tix to another student. Those seat donors are going to be more important than ever now that we are going to be receiving mid-major tv money.

 

[minidarren]

The student attendance at the last game of the year vs. Providence was extremely suspect. One end zone section was full, the other NOTTTTTTTTTTTT so much.

 

[Chief00]

The fans in the good seats at XL actually did a nice job this year. The facts don't square with what you guys are saying.

Quite frankly I agree. Why don't the students ever get called out for bad attendance? The students were the poster childern for bad attendance at XL last season; for a team that was easy to watch and root for. The school could have also done a better job on marketing the noise bleed seats to youth groups, etc.

 

[WestHartHusk]

Quite frankly I agree. Why don't the students ever get called out for bad attendance? The students were the poster childern for bad attendance at XL last season; for a team that was easy to watch and root for. The school could have also done a better job on marketing the noise bleed seats to youth groups, etc.

The school needs to be called out for a horrible student ticket policy. Back in my day, you had to camp out for a day or two to get tickets - and when you got them you used them. Now, it is a lottery so students scoop up season tickets to sell the big games, then sit on the other games.

 

[BoatShow]

Quite frankly the students were awful at the Rent, Gampel, and XL this year. They can give all the excuses they want but their attendance and enthusiasm was piss-poor. At the USF game on Super Bowl Sunday the only open seats were students. When they don't show up it makes their school look bad and they just don't care.

Used to be you could at least count on the students at the Rent to be in the stadium by kick-off but this year not even that was true.

 

[Doggie Style]

Quite frankly I agree. Why don't the students ever get called out for bad attendance? The students were the poster childern for bad attendance at XL last season; for a team that was easy to watch and root for. The school could have also done a better job on marketing the noise bleed seats to youth groups, etc.

About 4 years ago, the decline of student enthusiasm for our major sports teams began. The last three years have sucked!! They show up late, leave early and aside from a few diehards, they generally suck! These kids have no idea what they have compared to 20 years ago where you just played video games in your dorm room all weekend! The atmosphere at every game starts and stops with the students and they seem to just not give a $h*t anymore.

 

[UCFBfan]

Quite frankly I agree. Why don't the students ever get called out for bad attendance? The students were the poster childern for bad attendance at XL last season; for a team that was easy to watch and root for. The school could have also done a better job on marketing the noise bleed seats to youth groups, etc.

Not trying to defend the students here but when I was at UConn (10 yrs ago, god I can't believe it's been that long!) it was a pain to get to the XL from campus. They offered three buses, THREE!, for students. You had to get a ticket (free) at the student union in order to catch the bus. The bus usually left two hours before the game so you had to hang around before the game with not much to do and then the bus left about 45 min to an hour after the game. It was not ideal for anyone. At the time there was a Wendy's still and McDonalds was still across the street at the civic center but it was a real pain. Not trying to give students excuses but it wasn't easy to ge to these games and I must admit, some games I skipped because of this (mostly non-BE games).

Dunno what the deal is now or what the policy is for kids to have cars on campus but it used to be that you couldn't have a car until you had the equivalent of a Junior's worth of credits...I can imagine this plays a role into getting to the Rent as well (cue HFD rant on moving football stadium to campus)

 

[Husky25]

Dunno what the deal is now or what the policy is for kids to have cars on campus but it used to be that you couldn't have a car until you had the equivalent of a Junior's worth of credits...I can imagine this plays a role into getting to the Rent as well (cue HFD rant on moving football stadium to campus)

Or a friend in Student Services with access to the temp parking passes.


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[hthusky74]

Not trying to defend the students here but when I was at UConn (10 yrs ago, god I can't believe it's been that long!) it was a pain to get to the XL from campus. They offered three buses, THREE!, for students. You had to get a ticket (free) at the student union in order to catch the bus. The bus usually left two hours before the game so you had to hang around before the game with not much to do and then the bus left about 45 min to an hour after the game. It was not ideal for anyone. At the time there was a Wendy's still and McDonalds was still across the street at the civic center but it was a real pain. Not trying to give students excuses but it wasn't easy to ge to these games and I must admit, some games I skipped because of this (mostly non-BE games).

Dunno what the deal is now or what the policy is for kids to have cars on campus but it used to be that you couldn't have a car until you had the equivalent of a Junior's worth of credits...I can imagine this plays a role into getting to the Rent as well (cue HFD rant on moving football stadium to campus)

Obviously, the students are not the die hard fans that some on this site make them out to be. How will giving them more tickets around the lower bowl alleviate these "problems". All it will do is deprive those who would make donations from getting tickets, and showing a lot of empty seats to the lesser games and the winter break games. Bottom line is there is no point in allotting more/better tickets to students, especially in the XL.

 

[BoatShow]

I don't get the people that make excuses for students not showing up to games during winter break ESPECIALLY at the XL. Gotta figure a lot of kids (enough to fill a few thousand seats) live closer to Hartford and have easier access to rides. And I mean for 21+ students what's not appealing about getting out of a game at 930 during winter break and hitting some bars downtown?

 

[HuskyFan16]

I agree whole heartedly with the camp out being the problem... The die hards get punished or priced out completely and those that do win the lottery have put no "sweat equity" into their acquisition so they don't feel obligated to go to the lesser games.

The defense of the lottery (that it is too cold or dangerous for the camp out, or that kids start the camp out too early) is preposterous. If it really is dangerous, do the camp out in the field house. And if we really are trying to breed husky pride, there should be no such thing as "too early."

 

[UCFBfan]

Obviously, the students are not the die hard fans that some on this site make them out to be. How will giving them more tickets around the lower bowl alleviate these "problems". All it will do is deprive those who would make donations from getting tickets, and showing a lot of empty seats to the lesser games and the winter break games. Bottom line is there is no point in allotting more/better tickets to students, especially in the XL.

I agree wholeheartedly in regards to the XL Center. However, at Gampel I don't see why they can't change the seating.

 

[SubbaBub]

Game on campus = greater opportunity to get drunk pre-game.

Game at XL or Rent = not so much + responsibly shouldn't.

To a college student this is important and all you need to know about student attendance. The venues are apples and oranges and shouldn't be compared.

Try to maximize off campus attendance even if it means deemphasizing students.

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[CL82]

This is the best DJ Booth upgrade we could pray for....

View attachment 3076

Post of the day.

 

[babysheep]

I was at UConn 2008-2012. Fan-wise, I've seen the good (while Donald Brown was around, FF with Hash) and the bad (recent football and basketball). I thought about this at the bar today. There are many factors that go in to our poor fan showing.

In general, we play way too many games off-campus, and dorm cable makes it reeeeeeally easy to chill in your room and get drunk there and not worry about a ride, paying for parking, tailgating, getting caught doing whatever you do, bad weather, etc. There isn't any way to tailgate for the XL games; it's drink as much before/on the bus as you can. Not to mention there aren't many buses that go there. Getting rides is hard because you can't have a car until you have 54 credits.

With basketball, the student sections are awful. I don't need to go in to this one.

The lottery system is a joke. The best way to not get freshmen in to UConn basketball is to make it nearly impossible for them to get tickets without shelling out. A lot of people at UConn are douchey as hell and just keep the tickets to sell

Our teams have not been great these last couple years. Nothing kills interest worse or faster than losing. And we've been losing to some bad teams lately. Our fan base is used to winning. I'm not saying that excuses them from showing up and supporting if they got the tickets, but it is what it is. Unfortunately, our fan base is not comprised completely of 'yarders.

In the end, it's all about students. They set the tone, and they make the atmosphere. Our players don't feed off of grampy and grammie sitting quietly eating their pretzels. They feed off the kids in the front row beating on the endzone padding during kickoffs. Pitt doesn't take down ranked teams at Peterson because a lot of people came from off campus. And the students are the ones who keep UConn pride strong and ongoing. I don't think they deserve to drive their broke asses 30 minutes in to Hartford and back half the time they want to see their team play.

 

[formerlurker]

I was at UConn 2008-2012. Fan-wise, I've seen the good (while Donald Brown was around, FF with Hash) and the bad (recent football and basketball). I thought about this at the bar today. There are many factors that go in to our poor fan showing.

In general, we play way too many games off-campus, and dorm cable makes it reeeeeeally easy to chill in your room and get drunk there and not worry about a ride, paying for parking, tailgating, getting caught doing whatever you do, bad weather, etc. There isn't any way to tailgate for the XL games; it's drink as much before/on the bus as you can. Not to mention there aren't many buses that go there. Getting rides is hard because you can't have a car until you have 54 credits.

With basketball, the student sections are awful. I don't need to go in to this one.

The lottery system is a joke. The best way to not get freshmen in to UConn basketball is to make it nearly impossible for them to get tickets without shelling out. A lot of people at UConn are douchey as hell and just keep the tickets to sell

Our teams have not been great these last couple years. Nothing kills interest worse or faster than losing. And we've been losing to some bad teams lately. Our fan base is used to winning. I'm not saying that excuses them from showing up and supporting if they got the tickets, but it is what it is. Unfortunately, our fan base is not comprised completely of 'yarders.

In the end, it's all about students. They set the tone, and they make the atmosphere. Our players don't feed off of grampy and grammie sitting quietly eating their pretzels. They feed off the kids in the front row beating on the endzone padding during kickoffs. Pitt doesn't take down ranked teams at Peterson because a lot of people came from off campus.

Well written and not much I can disagree with. You make great points but not much in way of solutions.

As a recent grad, aside from the obvious winning and more buses to XL games, any ideas of what can be done to get the entire student body to buy in?

 

[BoatShow]

I was at UConn 2008-2012. Fan-wise, I've seen the good (while Donald Brown was around, FF with Hash) and the bad (recent football and basketball). I thought about this at the bar today. There are many factors that go in to our poor fan showing.

In general, we play way too many games off-campus, and dorm cable makes it reeeeeeally easy to chill in your room and get drunk there and not worry about a ride, paying for parking, tailgating, getting caught doing whatever you do, bad weather, etc. There isn't any way to tailgate for the XL games; it's drink as much before/on the bus as you can. Not to mention there aren't many buses that go there. Getting rides is hard because you can't have a car until you have 54 credits.

With basketball, the student sections are awful. I don't need to go in to this one.

The lottery system is a joke. The best way to not get freshmen in to UConn basketball is to make it nearly impossible for them to get tickets without shelling out. A lot of people at UConn are douchey as hell and just keep the tickets to sell

Our teams have not been great these last couple years. Nothing kills interest worse or faster than losing. And we've been losing to some bad teams lately. Our fan base is used to winning. I'm not saying that excuses them from showing up and supporting if they got the tickets, but it is what it is. Unfortunately, our fan base is not comprised completely of 'yarders.

In the end, it's all about students. They set the tone, and they make the atmosphere. Our players don't feed off of grampy and grammie sitting quietly eating their pretzels. They feed off the kids in the front row beating on the endzone padding during kickoffs. Pitt doesn't take down ranked teams at Peterson because a lot of people came from off campus. And the students are the ones who keep UConn pride strong and ongoing. I don't think they deserve to drive their broke asses 30 minutes in to Hartford and back half the time they want to see their team play.

So the problem is UConn students need to be drunk to do anything?

 

[BoatShow]

I think cell phones should be banned from the student sections. Not sure how to do it, but it should be done.

 

[UCFBfan]

I think cell phones should be banned from the student sections. Not sure how to do it, but it should be done.

Good luck. As a teacher, if you figure this out let me know so I can use it in my school. Cell phones are the downfall of our society!

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[formerlurker]

So the problem is UConn students need to be drunk to do anything?

I was thinking the same thing until I realized I can't remember the last time I went to a sporting event where I didn't have a few pops.

Hell, I don't recall watching one on TV without suckin back on Grandpa's old cough medicine.

 

[BoatShow]

Good luck. As a teacher, if you figure this out let me know so I can use it in my school. Cell phones are the downfall of our society!

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Haha, same here. You can get portable signal breakers that block out wifi/4G. (a colleague used one) So many times this year kids just buried their faces in cell phones at games. Probably tweeting "at the rent go uconn #huskiesbiggestfan" without ever cheering.

 

[formerlurker]

I think cell phones should be banned from the student sections. Not sure how to do it, but it should be done.

Any chance you live in the Middle East?