Student Game Attendance – Root Cause Problem Solving

[JohnFSilver]

why wouldn't the bus drop off be at/near the student tailgate lot?

The entire problem with The Rent isn’t that it is off campus. It is that all the stakeholders - state police, town officials, residents, other businesses…they look at these games as an absolute hassle.

So, the students and pickup and drop off is a hassle.

I just am down on our state and people in this regard. Everything we try to do, from a festival, concerts, parades, games, people complain about anything that interrupts their day or makes it less convenient.

Hell, people whine about outside dining in west Hartford and the traffic blue back square causes.

The fact neither Hartford nor east hartford has figured out a way to make these weekends an economic benefit to them is astounding.

Off my soap box.

 

[Kembafan]

Tailgate area for students: burgers, kegs, very loose id-checking policy. Problem solved.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Tailgate area for students: burgers, kegs, very loose id-checking policy. Problem solved.

Like, don't check IDs, unless the kid is super obnoxious .

 

[Rdkid]

At the big time schools, fraternity and sorority scene sets the tone for the student environment with lots of partying and mingling. Many of the GDIs these days aren’t big partiers and are showing up for a winner or novel entertainment. Also, I’m assuming we have a student point system that leverages basketball tickets for attendance at all sports.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Tailgate area for students: burgers, kegs, very loose id-checking policy. Problem solved.

Like, don't check IDs, unless the kid is super obnoxious .

It's one thing looking the other way while a large number (thousands) of kids drink in an open, public spot where many are underage (student tailgating at its height circa 2008). It's another entirely if the venue is providing the alcohol and intentionally avoiding verification that those who are drinking are of age.

Personally this is one situation (they won't be driving) where it would be preferable if the drinking age was what it was when I was an undergrad (18), but that hasn't been the case for more than four decades.

 

[Khal Drogo]

Student Game Attendance – Root Cause Problem Solving

Rather than toss the same comments back and forth about student attendance, I figured I’d try a different approach. At work, we use “Root Cause Problem Solving” that identifies the problems, then drills down to the root causes….then brainstorms potential solutions.

Why don’t more students attend UConn football games?

Problem: Transportation.

• North Garage to the Rent is 30 minutes per Google Maps.
• Students without cars rely on bus transportation – poor travel experience, not fun.
• Students with cars have to pay for parking and it’s not easy to tailgate with friends.

Solutions:

• Make the bus ride a better experience. Music (picked by students). Merch giveaways that are worth winning (TV’s, coolers, etc). Police escort like the team bus. Athlete ambassadors on the bus (mens/women’s basketball, alums of all sports). Make the ride not “seem” as long or boring.
• One complaint is the bus leaving and students potentially missing the ride. Maybe extend the departure time and allow for more post-game stuff? Or have early buses and later buses?
• Section off an area right next to the stadium for free student parking. Call the student tailgate lot something like “The Pound” and let them have their own communal area. Show your ID and get access in with your car.
• What about this? What about a camping area with a Friday night huge bonfire? Make a tent city like they do outside Gampel again, with a DJ or players/coaches bringing food. Maybe even extend the camping to RVs and trailers for non-students to make it a “weekend” type event like other schools.

Problem: Tailgating.

• If you are on the bus, you can’t bring a cooler or grill or cornhole set.
• If you drive yourself, you are still a student, likely don’t have a grill and it’d be lame to have 4-8 students hanging around with nothing to really eat or do.

Solutions:

• Assemble a tailgate or “football gameday entertainment” council to specifically address this issue.
• Sponsored food in tailgate area for students. Leverage local companies and business (Big Y, Moe’s, Bears BBQ). Minimal cost to get in ($5.00 or less), use Husky Bucks, free food if alumni or other donors can cover some/all costs. Make it good enough to be worth while.
• Leverage matchups with food – Wings vs Buffalo, Cheesesteaks vs Temple, etc.
• Offer eating contests for fun/prizes.
• Come up with our own version of ESPN College Gameday.
• Tailgate game area – cornhole, washers, etc. Offer tournaments to those interested.
• DJ or live music acts.
• Leverage local bars like Teds or Huskies to maybe have “Teds South” trailers or RV’s. Use their brand to generate buzz.
• Important: Get a student council with representation from all classes, Greek life, backgrounds, ethnicities to what THEY want or would think is worth it.
  
  9/28 – The student section at the Rent was 85-90% empty. The men’s soccer game at 7 pm had 4400 in attendance vs a 5100 capacity at Morrone Stadium. They’re GOING to events. If the only issue is being off-campus, work with them to make it worth making the trip because right now, they clearly don’t think that it is.
  
  
• The elephant in the room is alcohol, obviously. Alcohol in general and underage drinking (with the problems that come with all that). You’re not getting them down to games without drinking (for legal students) so that’s an item that needs to be figured out.

They should run a train from Eagleville to East Hartford. Party train.

 

[mymustang]

It's one thing looking the other way while a large number (thousands) of kids drink in an open, public spot where many are underage (student tailgating at its height circa 2008). It's another entirely if the venue is providing the alcohol and intentionally avoiding verification that those who are drinking are of age.

Personally this is one situation (they won't be driving) where it would be preferable if the drinking age was what it was when I was an undergrad (18), but that hasn't been the case for more than four decades.

I'm thinking that most of the kids have some sort of ID that says they are 21 anyways. I know at 19 I had one

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I'm thinking that most of the kids have some sort of ID that says they are 21 anyways. I know at 19 I had one

Yeah, but there will be some suspicion once they come across the 45th student named McLovin.

 

[JohnFSilver]

They should run a train from Eagleville to East Hartford. Party train.

God forbid peole have fun, especially young people .

 

[JohnFSilver]

It's one thing looking the other way while a large number (thousands) of kids drink in an open, public spot where many are underage (student tailgating at its height circa 2008). It's another entirely if the venue is providing the alcohol and intentionally avoiding verification that those who are drinking are of age.

Personally this is one situation (they won't be driving) where it would be preferable if the drinking age was what it was when I was an undergrad (18), but that hasn't been the case for more than four decades.

Venue cant provide alcohol. But I can, and their friends.

The dance we do around alcohol in this country is ridiculous. Maybe you have to be 21 to buy and go to a bar, but 19 to be in possession. Who knows.

I dont know answer. Sociologically, we encourage binge drinking with our laws.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Venue cant provide alcohol. But I can, and their friends.

The dance we do around alcohol in this country is ridiculous. Maybe you have to be 21 to buy and go to a bar, but 19 to be in possession. Who knows.

I dont know answer. Sociologically, we encourage binge drinking with our laws.

You offerinig alcohol to underaged students may not be the best idea.

In the spring of I believe 2007 (I could be off by a year) I was working in Westchester county and a very big story broke. The parents of a HS senior, being the cool parents that they were, hosted a pre-prom party for their son, his date, and a number of their HS friends who were attending the prom. They served alcohol to the kids (from their story, very little, just to show they were treating them as adults) and later that evening a handful of things that could go wrong when kids drink went wrong, leading to a number of lawsuits.

The parents who hosted the party stated that if there was any overdrinking, it had to have occurred after the kijds left their house. As a) there was the on record admission that they did willingly serve alcohol to minors and b) nobody was able to provide proof (or get anyone to admit) that the kids did overindulge on their own later in the evening, they ended up needing to sell their home to help settle damages and the father was required to spend some time in jail.

Be careful as to what situations you put yourself in. If you hand one eighteen year old a beer and later on he binge drinks and causes damage to himself or someone else, you may have no way out of the responsibility even if the beer you gave him on its own would not have caused any problems.