since leavitt's contract extension

[Joe]

Trip, that is true, but college sport fan is MUCH harder to convert. You ahve to look at it this way, in most cases an NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL team will have a down time in which a fan will lose interest or become disgusted and turned off. See the Bucs/Lightning as prime examples.

However in college football/basketball regular top 25 teams might have down years, but a down year is still a winning season in 90% of the cases. UF/FSU/Miami are not going to tank and not make a bowl game anytime soon unless by some reason they have a Tennessee meltdown. In which case they will be back to winning the next season. Teams like this stockpile talent and are able to consistently win.

I am not saying that some fans won't jump, but I don't expect THAT many to do so. The current students are where it is at. Feed them the Bulls, have them feed their kids the Bulls, and you have a growing number of fans. You must remember that a lot of the current students still put one of the Big 3 over USF in many cases (I.E. - During the Uconn game a lot of the students were more focused on UF/FSU at the bar I was at)

Just my two cents.

[BullAdrian]

Today, do those young student stay in their apt/dorm on saturday surfing porn or doing cyber?  LOL

How about free party bus including providing drinks, etc to the stadium for the student? instead of hartline or bullrunner bus.. $1.00 extra in tution fee would be enough for 5 or 6 games.

[Guest BullsFans]

And when that doesn't work...what's next... lap dancers on the party bus???

[WoolyBully]

A wee bit of truth squeaking through there, isn't there.

You have said as much as "the key to getting students to go is to turn it into a party".  Which means - by it's very structure - that it is not "the game" which draws students. It's the periphery. It's the hook-up. It's not the sport. So we need to stop talking about marketing a football game and talk about putting together a party, where a football game is the backdrop.

Which also begs the question: just how dumb are the students? See...here's the thing....you keep talking about "marketing to students". Well...what does that mean? Do we have to start stapling football schedules to undergrads foreheads the first day of classes?  How can you possibly NOT KNOW about USF football if you're a student?  How? Please explain it to me, because I just do not see it as marketing's problem that Heather & Tiffany didn't know there was a game this weekend.

15,000 people who didn't buy season tickets come to RayJ almost every home game. Those people didn't have any trouble finding out about the game.

[dabull80]

Please explain it to me, because I just do not see it as marketing's problem that Heather & Tiffany didn't know there was a game this weekend.

Please do not pick on Heather & Tiffany.  They both work late hours at 2001 and it is tough for them to keep their days straight.