Attendance, Marketing to fans.

[E.T.]

The discussion from the Julmiste starting thread went to this subject.

Just a quick footnote about the 16,000 season tickets.  I heard that the estimate is there are only about 3 or 4 thousand actual season ticket buyers.  And that those buyers purchase multiple season tickets bringing the number up to the 16,000 that we are currently at.  In a city the size of Tampa Bay, and with the alumni that USF has put out over the year, I am still surprised that season ticket sales havent increased that much over the past few seasons, especially with the move to the Big East.  Overall attendence has been good lately, but in large part due to traveling UCF, FAMU, UofL, Pitt fans and so on.  

There are several million people in the Tampa Bay area, we need to start marketing this team.

It does really make you wonder about it ... but I disagree about Marketing. How do you m,arket to someone that obviously does not want to go ...

It will take a few seasons of winning consistantly against the teams we need to win.

When the games are on TV, the market share is nothing to brag about.

It is taking longer than I thought, but we are in good shape looking at other teams that have been around for over 50 years.

Go BULLS !!!

[Bullpride08]

ET is right on, how do you sell it to a guy that doesn't want to go, or for the timebeing would rather go to a Bucs game.  It will take lots of winning.

However, the word I heard was season tickets were well ahead of where we were this time last year, and they expect to do far more this year.

Last year I thought there was 3,600 season tix holders and over 16,000 tix sold, but that was all football.  There are nearly 1000 hoops holders, a few scatter in other sports.  Support of the University isn't ground down exclusively to hoops.  The bigger schools can do it better and have more because they've got several more generations of fans and alum that USF has yet to achieve or create.  It all comes with time and winning.

You want a fine example, Memphis, here's a school with a fair amount of tradition in hoops and some in football.  They've been around for nearly 100 years, been playing hoops and football for almost that entire time.  USF has been around for nearly 50 years (half the time), and been playing hoops for 25 (nearly a quarter of the time), and football for almost 10 years (a tenth of the time).

In those 100 years Memphis has built a decent following.  They had over 30k attendance for every football game, and hoops sold out every game.  Give USF 50 years of pure 1-A athletics and you can't help but build a solid foundation, fan base, and following.  Have more winning then losing seasons in those years in hoops and football in the BE and you'll see those #'s double or triple.

[Bullpride08]

ET is right on, how do you sell it to a guy that doesn't want to go, or for the timebeing would rather go to a Bucs game.  It will take lots of winning.

However, the word I heard was season tickets were well ahead of where we were this time last year, and they expect to do far more this year.

Last year I thought there was 3,600 season tix holders and over 16,000 tixs solid, but that was all football.  There are nearly 1000 hoops holders, a few scatter in other sports.  Support of the University isn't ground down exclusively to hoops.  The bigger schools can do it better and have more because they've got several more generations of fans and alum that USF has yet to achieve or create.  It all comes with time and winning.

You want a fine example, Memphis, here's a school with a fair amount of tradition in hoops and some in football.  They've been around for nearly 100 years, been playing hoops and football for almost that entire time.  USF has been around for nearly 50 years (half the time), and been playing hoops for 25 (nearly a quarter of the time), and football for almost 10 years (a tenth of the time).

In those 100 years Memphis has built a decent following.  They had over 30k attendance for every football game, and hoops sold out every game.  Give USF 50 years of pure 1-A athletics and you can't help but build a solid foundation, fan base, and following.  Have more winning then losing seasons in those years in hoops and football in the BE and you'll see those #'s double or triple.

[lotsofbull99]

we need to hire some fraternity thugs to clear the dormitories and campus apartments of students about 4 hours prior to kickoff and suggest to the students in the strongest terms that it is their best interest to hang out at RJS

[Joe]

we need to hire some fraternity thugs to clear the dormitories and campus apartments of students about 4 hours prior to kickoff and suggest to the students in the strongest terms that it is their best interest to hang out at RJS

The apartments and dorms empty because they all went home for the weekend.

I agree with Bein, there are only a limited number of alumni that after vested in USF football right now. That is why I feel marketing should focus on current students, because they are the ones that will be buying the season tickets down the line. Any USF alumni who isn't on board yet probably isn't going to every fully be on the wagon.

[turkeysoup]

from my view point...non-student, non-alum...USF has never marketed itself to the community....Creativity is lacking at 4202 E Fowler when it comes to sports marketing.

[BDYZR]

I agree with turkeysoup on this one. I don't think the USF marketing group does a very good job.

We live in Country Way, on the west side of the county.

ZERO advertisement in the community, VERY LITTLE in print from the Trib. In defense of the Trib, USF pays VERY LITTLE for advertisement anywhere!

Maybe the marketing department hopes word-of-mouth will sell season tickets.

[Bullpride08]

It looks like the new posters need to be enlightened about the fact advertising costs money, something USF athletics has precious little of.  You just don't throw a few banners, and a newspaper ad or two and suddenly we've got 55k in the stadium.  Also, let's not get into this skewed existential argument about you've got to make money to spend money...sorry, that hasn't proven to be the case.  Casual fans don't come to college games because of a few well placed billboards and timely ads.  It comes from years of feeling a sense of interest, or belonging.  The best bet is to stick to marketing to those that immediately have a connection with USF, students and alumni.  Then hope along the way you can catch a few casual fans.

By the way they do advertise in the newspaper and Tampa Tribune.  I am not sure if we should say shame on you for not looking if you were so concerned about it.

[BDYZR]

I look, am concerned, never missed a home game, own five season tickets, went to Charlotte, Bham, Miami, and South Carolina, will be at any bowl game played and at least one away game every year and read the Trib daily. The casual fan will know more about UF than USF. I see what's in print and I didn't say never, I said not enough. That's MY opinion.

Can't shame me, I'm to old. Yes, older than USF.

[Ricky the Bull]

How many non-fans have we invited to go with us to USF sporting events?

.........   ?

If you want effective marketing then you can't beat word of mouth.

An example would be to offer unpurchased tickets in your donor block to friends or family to buy to allow them access to better seats and amenities at RayJay.  You don't need to have seats adjacent to yours available in order to do this.