Times Changing for TTU Basketball

[p230]

Now don't yell at me this is just a bit in the larger discussion we have had about attendance. I will just bottom line it for you and you can follow the link if you want and read the specifics. TTU drastically reducing season ticket prices (by 50% or more). Lowering the prices for ANY seat and eliminating their "Private Seat License" option since no one was buying them and the seats sat empty. The men averaged about 5400 per game last year and the women less than that.



http://lubbockonline.com/sports-/-r...010-07-18/selling-tech-basketball-psliminated

 

[BigTime]

Good read thanks for posting. We should really do something similar because it will be the only way that we could consistently have decent looking and sounding crowds on a yearly basis. I know it's going to ruffle some feathers, but would really like to see us get the fans that actually show up on the camera side of the arena. Kstate has done that for years and it looks so much better on tv.

Perception is everything when it comes to recruiting and national exposure for your program.

 

[coolm]

I agree with you guys 1000%.

At some point Joe C's crap just starts to wear thin. Sure, I can understand the "in the black" logic about paid attendance ... but if it's not translating to cheeks in the seats then we're NOT growing...and if any of the programs around us are then we're falling behind.

Make a bottom line for the department, cover it with football windfalls, and get those butts in the seats. We need the fan support and just having some gray-haireds buy tix and never show up isn't providing a long term solution. The only true long term solution is MORE FAN ATTENDANCE.

 

[Capel's Mustache]

Good read. Thanks for posting

 

[BoulderSooner]

we are not close to being in the same situation as tech ..

we have all the "donor" seats sold .. and most of the building sold for that matter ..

 

[coolm]

we are not close to being in the same situation as tech ..

we have all the "donor" seats sold .. and most of the building sold for that matter ..

ur missing the point entirely.

 

[DFWHoopster]

interesting article... In reference to OU basketball, I think most schools with decent entertainment options nearby have their struggles filling the arena with season ticket no-shows. I bet OU has a high percentage of no-shows the nights the Thunder are at home and possibly run into problems with Maverick games from DFW alumni. Baylor, A&M and Texas have this problem with the Mavs, Spurs and Rockets. Alumni from these cities buy season tickets but they also own season tickets to the pro teams.

There has to be a more effective system for having season ticket holders letting the school know in advance when they aren't showing and then have those tickets reprinted and distributed for free to locals who would love to come to the game and root for the home team.

 

[campbest]

There has to be a more effective system for having season ticket holders letting the school know in advance when they aren't showing and then have those tickets reprinted and distributed for free to locals who would love to come to the game and root for the home team.

Here is your answer, there is inefficiency somewhere which needs to be addressed without giving up donations tied to lower level seats.

 

[p230]

Here is part two: Some interesting figures on how much was made in attendance and payouts to other teams etc:

http://lubbockonline.com/sports-/-r...010-07-19/knight-tech-has-get-little-creative

 

[coolm]

I like this plan a lot.

Don't care if it means not having bigger names for buy ins ... if it gives more of our fans a chance to get their butts in the stands then it's a win-win for OU.

Hope someone in Norman is paying attention.

 

[MsProudSooner]

Last spring he watched carefully as fans filed in when the men’s and women’s teams played NIT games on their home court. The NIT mandates all tickets be general admission and sold for the same price. When the doors

opened, the first seats filled were the PSL sections that had largely sat empty all season.

“It was just a more rowdy crowd,” men’s basketball coach Pat Knight said of the 5,465 people who bought tickets to his team’s 69-64 win against Jacksonville on March 20. Seven home games earlier in the season drew higher attendance figures, although usually the crowds spilled into the balcony and left court-side seats open.

“People were really into that game from the start,” Knight said. “I think anyone who went to that game could see that. The other crowds were good, but there was just something different about this one.”

This is the same thing we noticed when we played in the NIT several years ago.

 

[p230]

I will try to remember to post a link to part three tomorrow.

 

[p230]

Not much new in the final installment. It does talk about how student managers went around nocking on dorm rooms trying to get students out to the game and some other things.

http://lubbockonline.com/sports-/-r...s-draw-crowds-back-united-spirit?v=1279605371

 

[Sam]

So they have a bigger alloted seats for Students and last year had better attendence in student comparison. Gotta give Tech props for that move to get the students invovled.

An average of 517 students attended each of Tech’s first six games, meaning nearly 2,900 lower-bowl seats reserved for them remained empty. Hoping to rally their peers, team managers went door-to-door in the dorms the night before Tech hosted 12th-ranked Washington on Dec. 3, 2009.

Whether because of their efforts or the high-profile opponent, more than 2,900 students were there to storm the court after the Red Raiders won 99-92 in overtime, a victory that propelled them into the Associated Press Top 25.

After seeing that turnout, the managers distributed 1,000 flyers before all but one Big 12 Conference home game.

There’s no way to measure the effect of their efforts, but student attendance at conference games was 2,089 last season, up from 932 a year earlier and 1,760 when Tech hosted the same teams in 2007-08.

Coach Pat Knight said it showed that legwork could bring bodies to the gym.

“Our managers took it upon themselves to do something and they made a difference,” Knight said. “So much of everything is done on the computer, e-mail, texting, but this has to be done in person.”

With about 20 percent of United Spirit Arena stands reserved for students, Tech’s marketing department and ticket office are focused on filling the other 80 percent when the 2010-11 season begins in four months.