Why cant the student ISU body do something like this?

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Just think, we'd have double that amount if they didn't attend Ivy Tech or Vincennes JUNIOR College for their 1st couple years...
 
It's time to let up on the students when it comes to attendance. They came out in droves when it counted last year. Case in point with the video below. The majority of the crowd in the video below are students....and like Jason said, the student section is broken up and fragmented.

 
Boy if I was a Rogaine salesman, I'd make some big bucks from THOSE students...

Letup? They "came out in droves?" Give me a break and parachute off that cloud you're riding on.

How many OTHER MVC games was this atmosphere duplicated?
 

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Numbers do not necessarily mean atmosphere. I would rather have 100 students who are into the game than 1,000 sitting on their hands. Ideally we would have thousands into the game, but you got to start somewhere. The crowd in this video, as it was at a few games was very good. We just need to build on this--not blast those who were there.
 
And where did they go after that ? I was in St Louis I saw the 15-20 students there along with the band in the student section. Even in the Championship although improved was very saddening to see.
 
We've had two winning season in the past 10 years. And five winning seasons since 1979. I don't blame the students for having a history of being lethargic towards our basketball teams.

And I believe that the trend that started this past season with bigger student turnouts will continue and thrive in 2011/2012 and beyond.
 
Why rag on the students in July? And why be so in awe of a synchronized student dance? You don't get extra points for dancing pretty in the stands. I'd be fine with fans chanting, screaming and simply filling the seats consistently. Maybe they will this year. The tournament championship will likely drum up some new interest. But again, it's July and far too soon to tell.
 

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i really feel that this past sports year was huge as far as students going to games and taking pride in their team. 2 years ago i was a freshman living in the dorms (blumberg) new to indiana state. and while our programs were turning around i didn't feel that the students in the dorms really cared about our sports that much. but this last year i still lived in the dorms (mills) and i could feel much more pride with the students and engaging in our athletics. trust me there was a lot more "are you going to the game tonight"" "did you hear about the basketball team?" that kind of stuff. i'd also like to point out that it couldn't of came at a better time, with that huge freshman. if we get another big class believing in our teams it should snowball from there.
 
Here's my thought on the student apathy. If you surveyed students at Indiana State 4-5 years ago, would they be the same as the students there today? Probably not. Like weather, gas prices, and politics, the "State of State" is cyclical. When Dr. Bradley arrived at ISU, things began to change. As involved as I have been with alumni over four decades I’ve seen good times AND bad times. My guess is that Sycamore nation was at an all-time low five years ago. Although Benjy did accomplish things during his administration, the general consensus was that the school was floundering on many levels. Faculty/administration relations was a disaster, our athletic teams were mediocre at best and football and basketball were pretty bad.

Then things started to happen. Ron Prettyman was hired, Benjy left and in comes our white knight, Dan Bradley (and as I always say, his wife too), the faculty began to feel the love from an administrator that actually cared how they felt, basketball started to improve and some of our sports came out of hibernation including track, CC, and baseball, "March On" got alumni at least thinking about their alma mater again, homecoming started getting bigger once again, and some of the stodgy old administrators that hadn't had a new idea in decades, started to leave.

It is a sum total of all those parts but let's face it, although some of you will never think that it's true, the "culture" of Indiana State all of a sudden is a totally new ball game. ISU became more aggressive in their pursuit of better students, the laptop program was born, recruiting of incoming freshmen began to be more selective, long-standing embarrassments like football, became a "story" of perseverance, the Master Plan was implemented with some great ideas being thrown out and guess what? We have a University with an entirely different perception. Enrollment went from 9,000 and change to 12,500 and with prospects of increasing that number once again for 2011-12.

My point? The students will improve as the culture returns to where it has been. This is a different time than when I was in college in the 60's and 70's and many things from my years may never return to a modern-day campus, but let's face it, the students from five years ago, were not part of the atmosphere that Indiana State NOW has.

A football team not too long ago was something like 1-53. Basketball was struggling for respectability and sports in general were a disaster. Bring in RP and all of a sudden, football becomes the talk of the town, hoops wins a conference championship, track and field and CC win three championships and baseball is back as well.

I know I am being over-winded on this subject but bottom line, the students will eventually find a reason to attend a game or two and more, and they will be more active with extracurricular activities because it will be the thing to do just like it was when I was in school. Academics will continue to improve because the professors are HAPPY for a change and underperforming academic programs have been eliminated.

Yes, campus culture is cyclical. The good news is that we are only beginning to climb. There's a lot of improvement and good will to come. It started with Ron Prettyman and it took a giant leap forward when Dr. Bradley came to town, and the way I see it, it is only going to continue for some time to come. So I would try to overlook the students of the past and focus in on the NEW student at ISU. They are still in the learning phase of how to be a well-rounded and non-apathetic student. It will take time but damn, we are sure heading in the right direction. It’s a great time to be TREE~
 

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I am in a writing mood today, I guess. I did send copies to Dan and Ron. I figured there were enough poisitive things in there to get some brownie points.
 
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I have said it time and time again, until the student section becomes an administered program through either athletics or student organizations, it will not be "good". Students can't administer it because the turnover is to great. The administration has to take it over and plan it, of course with student input! But without administrative support of full time staff it will never reach the level we all would like to see.
 
Sack, I agree 100%. Not too sure how it could be done but if say the Cheer/Dance teams could spearhead it, or SGA or IFC/ Panhel, something might stick. Frankly the cheer teams have so much work to do with themselves they shouldn't have time to do it. I truly think with the teams on such an upswing that more will come anyway but you're right, from year to year, any momentum gained usually is lost.
 
As much as I take pride in Indiana State, maybe we should look at how Wichita State, UNI, and Missouri State get such great student turnouts to their sporting events.

I helped out with the ISU Volleyball team a few years back. While traveling to other MVC schools on weekends, I was amazed at the turnout for even the smaller sports. Whether it is just school pride or they are given incentives, I have no idea.

Where would we rank our student turnout in basketball games to other schools in the conference?

From the games I've either traveled to or watched on TV, I can rank six or seven of them. They could be different now, but this was over my four years at ISU (2006-December 2010)

1. Wichita State
2. UNI
3. Southern Illinois (went their Sweet 16 year. 2007, I believe)
4. Missouri State


This is where I see us falling in. I have not seen Creighton, Drake, or Illinois State. When promoted, we have had great turnouts. But this was the first year that promoting Sycamore sporting events became a priority (Thank you Megan McKenna). Bradley always seems to have really strong student support. But I went to Peoria the year they went to the CIT and ended going something like 21-15. Evansville is just plain embarrassing. The most entertainment I had was watching some band nerd dance during halftime.

You are probably wondering where this is going. But I want to know how these schools continue, year-in and year-out, to have great student turnout and support.

I've always wondered if you offered some way for students to use on-campus meal plans at the games to get food or drink, or even offer a free hotdog or nachos and a drink at halftime if you are there for the start of the game. Have the ushers get a very simple ticket printed out or even old raffle tickets. Change the color every game of the tickets and pass them out. This would give students an incentive for going. Also, once u are given these raffle tickets, draw tickets every game. Pick five tickets and those five tickets get a $20 gift card from Applebees, the Bally, or 7th and Elm. There are tons of other ideas you could come up with too. If you could have a local car dealership donate a car, raffle off a car at the end of the year. Every time you go to turn in your raffle ticket to claim your food, you can write your name on the back of it and drop it into a HUGE bin. The senior day game, you draw the name BUT, you MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN! Could you imagine how many people would be there for the last game of the year, especially students to see if they won a car?

I ramble. Maybe I am too optimistic. Hope to gain some thoughts from it.
 
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