Let's get winning out of the way first, since we know that is likely the biggest single factor in student attendance. I still contest, however, that you can create a culture and atmosphere that can thrive even in tough times. With the plethora of entertainment options out there, you've got to find a way to get folks behind your programs and get them in the seats. Since I'm simply looking at getting students involved, I'm going to look at two things: developing a sense of ownership among students and developing and promoting a brand, in this case a thriving student booster group.
1) Developing A Sense of Ownership
One of the most overlooked factors is also one of the easiest to fix in my opinion. In terms of what I mean by ownership, I'm talking about building a bond between the basketball (or any sports) team and the general student population. This bond makes them feel more connected to the program. Right now, I'd imagine typical student-athlete interactions are minimal as most athletes live with other athletes, eat with other athletes and party with other athletes. If they're spending all of their time with each other, how do you expect students to identify with people that really have no clue about?
Make It Personal - Assemble a group of several players along with Coach and have them visit individual student organizations such as fraternities and sororities as well as making rounds within the residence halls during RA floor meetings. You can spend 5-10 minutes selling the program and then another 5-10 minutes answering any questions the groups may have. Ask students to get out to the games, get loud and provide support.
Encourage players to join student organizations - Obviously there is going to be a big disconnect between the students and athletes is they never encounter each other around campus -- and no, classes don't count. I fully believe players should be involved in Greek letter organizations, educational clubs and they should be members of the student fan group attending other athletic program sporting events, rubbing elbows with fellow students.
I'm sure you could come up with many more ideas on how to further mix the athletes into the general student population and get more interactions. The same goes for the coaches, too. Maybe there could be some sort of on-campus "Coaches Show" every couple weeks where the coach could meet in a Dede and give a brief state of the union address, some basketball education (explain an offensive set we run, etc) and then take some questions from the students that show up. You could also have a player or two there to get involved.
2) Developing and Promoting The Brand
When I was at State, we had the Sycamore Psychos. However, without it being developed by the University, it fizzled. I've heard there have been several other reiterations of similar student groups, with different names and all have suffered a similar fate. No stability. No loyalty. No tradition. First off, this program needs to be owned by a marketing employee within the athletics department. If they don't have someone, hire them. Without a stabilizing force, student organizations always seem to slowly rot away -- it's why fraternities and sororities have multiple alumnus and campus advisors -- to keep them alive, active and focused.
The initial development of a student fan group should strive to include as many folks as possible and like I mentioned above, try to make it personal. The group advisor should follow the idea provided in the make it personal section above and recruit 15-20 students to serve on the group's advisory committee. That group should brainstorm and come up with initial group names and then take it to the general student population to get a vote. Once they have a name, brainstorm again to come up with an official student shirt and follow suit to let the students vote. When people graduate or leave the advisory committee, replace them so the organization doesn't tail off.
Student Loyalty Program
Once you have your group, it is time to mobilize student and get them to the games. One of the ways to build a brand and increase brand loyalty is through a rewards program. I have a cousin of mine that goes to the University of Texas and they have a rewards program called the Texas Varsity Rewards. The gist is just like any rewards program, you attend a game, you get points for doing so. Attend enough games and you can get swag, win stuff at games, as well as other bigger giveaways. I did a quick web search to see what my cousin was talking about and it actually looks like quite a few other colleges and universities are doing similar programs.
- Texas: http://www.texassports.com/ot/varsity-rewards.html
- Texas Tech: http://www.texastech.com/marketing/raider-rewards-prizes.html
- Colgate: http://www.gocolgateraiders.com/sports/2008/1/23/RowdyRaiders.aspx?
- Oklahoma State: http://www.okstate.com/orangerewards/okst-orangerewards.html
- Miami (OH): http://www.muredhawks.com/ot/redalert-rewards.html
Those are just a few that popped up when I Googled. Obviously, the more appealing you make the program and rewards, the bigger buzz surrounding the program. The sky is the limit if the marketing and promotions people work hard at soliciting giveaway items and think outside the box in terms of the school swap or experiences (Texas Tech's experiences are pretty damn cool) they can come up with to give away.
One of the reasons I think this can work is because the student only has one outlay: their time in exchange for tangible goods/experiences. I was a poor college student once and I would have loved getting a Sycamore hoodie, a free Bally pizza coupon or the ability to take BP with the Sycamores baseball team.
Outside of internal things that you do for the students, the single biggest thing that can be done is to schedule rival or big name opponents. I know some folks won't trip to Indiana State, but if you can get a Purdue, Butler or other bigger Indiana school to come to campus, you do it. Getting Ball State back on the schedule is a good thing -- those games I attended always seem to be better attended compared to a game against Drake, for instance.
In addition, try to get a high major squad that may not have the ability to snub thier noses at State and need what they may look at as a gimme game -- maybe a middle tier ACC or Big East team. I know there are a helluva lot of factors that go into scheduling and that isn't my area of expertise, but I think that could also draw student interest. I think the players would like this, too, and it would be a good thing for recruiting.
1) Developing A Sense of Ownership
One of the most overlooked factors is also one of the easiest to fix in my opinion. In terms of what I mean by ownership, I'm talking about building a bond between the basketball (or any sports) team and the general student population. This bond makes them feel more connected to the program. Right now, I'd imagine typical student-athlete interactions are minimal as most athletes live with other athletes, eat with other athletes and party with other athletes. If they're spending all of their time with each other, how do you expect students to identify with people that really have no clue about?
Make It Personal - Assemble a group of several players along with Coach and have them visit individual student organizations such as fraternities and sororities as well as making rounds within the residence halls during RA floor meetings. You can spend 5-10 minutes selling the program and then another 5-10 minutes answering any questions the groups may have. Ask students to get out to the games, get loud and provide support.
Encourage players to join student organizations - Obviously there is going to be a big disconnect between the students and athletes is they never encounter each other around campus -- and no, classes don't count. I fully believe players should be involved in Greek letter organizations, educational clubs and they should be members of the student fan group attending other athletic program sporting events, rubbing elbows with fellow students.
I'm sure you could come up with many more ideas on how to further mix the athletes into the general student population and get more interactions. The same goes for the coaches, too. Maybe there could be some sort of on-campus "Coaches Show" every couple weeks where the coach could meet in a Dede and give a brief state of the union address, some basketball education (explain an offensive set we run, etc) and then take some questions from the students that show up. You could also have a player or two there to get involved.
2) Developing and Promoting The Brand
When I was at State, we had the Sycamore Psychos. However, without it being developed by the University, it fizzled. I've heard there have been several other reiterations of similar student groups, with different names and all have suffered a similar fate. No stability. No loyalty. No tradition. First off, this program needs to be owned by a marketing employee within the athletics department. If they don't have someone, hire them. Without a stabilizing force, student organizations always seem to slowly rot away -- it's why fraternities and sororities have multiple alumnus and campus advisors -- to keep them alive, active and focused.
The initial development of a student fan group should strive to include as many folks as possible and like I mentioned above, try to make it personal. The group advisor should follow the idea provided in the make it personal section above and recruit 15-20 students to serve on the group's advisory committee. That group should brainstorm and come up with initial group names and then take it to the general student population to get a vote. Once they have a name, brainstorm again to come up with an official student shirt and follow suit to let the students vote. When people graduate or leave the advisory committee, replace them so the organization doesn't tail off.
Student Loyalty Program
Once you have your group, it is time to mobilize student and get them to the games. One of the ways to build a brand and increase brand loyalty is through a rewards program. I have a cousin of mine that goes to the University of Texas and they have a rewards program called the Texas Varsity Rewards. The gist is just like any rewards program, you attend a game, you get points for doing so. Attend enough games and you can get swag, win stuff at games, as well as other bigger giveaways. I did a quick web search to see what my cousin was talking about and it actually looks like quite a few other colleges and universities are doing similar programs.
- Texas: http://www.texassports.com/ot/varsity-rewards.html
- Texas Tech: http://www.texastech.com/marketing/raider-rewards-prizes.html
- Colgate: http://www.gocolgateraiders.com/sports/2008/1/23/RowdyRaiders.aspx?
- Oklahoma State: http://www.okstate.com/orangerewards/okst-orangerewards.html
- Miami (OH): http://www.muredhawks.com/ot/redalert-rewards.html
Those are just a few that popped up when I Googled. Obviously, the more appealing you make the program and rewards, the bigger buzz surrounding the program. The sky is the limit if the marketing and promotions people work hard at soliciting giveaway items and think outside the box in terms of the school swap or experiences (Texas Tech's experiences are pretty damn cool) they can come up with to give away.
One of the reasons I think this can work is because the student only has one outlay: their time in exchange for tangible goods/experiences. I was a poor college student once and I would have loved getting a Sycamore hoodie, a free Bally pizza coupon or the ability to take BP with the Sycamores baseball team.
Outside of internal things that you do for the students, the single biggest thing that can be done is to schedule rival or big name opponents. I know some folks won't trip to Indiana State, but if you can get a Purdue, Butler or other bigger Indiana school to come to campus, you do it. Getting Ball State back on the schedule is a good thing -- those games I attended always seem to be better attended compared to a game against Drake, for instance.
In addition, try to get a high major squad that may not have the ability to snub thier noses at State and need what they may look at as a gimme game -- maybe a middle tier ACC or Big East team. I know there are a helluva lot of factors that go into scheduling and that isn't my area of expertise, but I think that could also draw student interest. I think the players would like this, too, and it would be a good thing for recruiting.
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