How does CU fix attendance for basketball?

[absinthe]

I know he was AD, but I don't think he was the mastermind behind it.

I honestly think he has been so busy with the football facilities project and lining up donors that he has been letting someone else handle basketball.

Ah I get what you are saying, sorry about that. I had always assumed it was his idea since Bohn never did anything like that and once RG showed up we tried, could very well be someone had always been pushing the ide a but Bohn shot it down, and when RG came on board he didnt know enough yet to shoot it down.

 

[sackman]

Getting the student section full would go a long way towards improving the atmosphere at the keg. I remember the CSU game three years ago. I walked into the CEC thirty minutes before tipoff and the student section was jammed. It was very impressive. If you can get back to that, you are on to something.

 

[Darth Snow]

I know he was AD, but I don't think he was the mastermind behind it.

I honestly think he has been so busy with the football facilities project and lining up donors that he has been letting someone else handle basketball.

buck stops where, exactly?

 

[4thGenBuff]

#1 thought that is unmentioned...........Ask Mike Bohn

 

[Shldr2Shldr]

buck stops where, exactly?

No doubt its at the top. It was a poor decision and an idea that should have never been approved. I just don't think a lot of the basketball choices were his during the first 8 months or so after he was hired.

 

[Darth Snow]

No doubt its at the top. It was a poor decision and an idea that should have never been approved. I just don't think a lot of the basketball choices were his during the first 8 months or so after he was hired.

I don't think that's an excuse.

 

[Shldr2Shldr]

I don't think that's an excuse.

Wasn't trying to use it as an excuse. I think RG has done a poor job with basketball since he has gotten here. I feel like he has passed the responsibilities on to an assistant so he can focus on fixing football. That kind of hands off approach has led to some issues and some head scratching decisions.

 

[4thGenBuff]

I have had season tickets for about 7 years. I never went once as a student or growing up, then I married a Kentucky Fan and now go all the time. To me what has changed is the attitude of the university toward its fans. In the Big12 year and into the first season of Pac 12 play there was a ton of engagement with fans. There were multiple games where players would hang out after a game and sign posters and things. There were free t-shirts, and a slew of rewards for the CUnit. This engagement combined with great play built up a lot of good will. Since that time though the university has pulled back on the engagement and hoped to coast on those first few years. All else aside Bohn was a better AD when it came to BBall he had a heavy focus on it.
I don't have to go back very far in my memory to remember days of an almost empty Coors. We don't have a ton of tradition here to rely upon, and if we want to pull record crowds we need to be in the NCAAs or aggressively engaging the fan base. CU is not a program that can surf.

 

[whatthebuff]

While the NBA is not the same product as college basketball, I think a lot of Mark Cuban's ideas can still still apply. There are a ton of different variables that will need to be improved to make CU basketball a better overall experience.

“It was heresy to sit in a meeting to say, ‘We don’t sell basketball. Basketball’s not our product. We sell fun. We sell good times.’”

Cuban wanted to prove that smarter marketing could help the league fill its gyms with more fans. “It’s not about the sound of sneakers,” he says. “The hardcore fan is not who fills our arena, not even close. The people that listen to sports talk radio aren’t the people paying our bills. It’s the signal versus the noise. They’re the noise, they’re not the signal.”

He wanted to prove to himself, and to the rest of the league, that pro hoops was a hot ticket, even in places like Dallas. He sensed that a lot of his fellow owners were apathetic about ticket sales. They “didn’t care if there were 6,000 people in the stands.”

Cuban set out to reimagine the NBA fan experience. His first project was selling out his arena by getting people in the cheap seats. “I wanted to fill [our arena] up because (a) I wanted to see if I could do it, and (b) when you have a full arena, your team plays better. It was part of winning.”

He recalls appealing to fans’ frugality. “I remember the first pitch when I came in was like, ‘Look, we have $8 tickets. It’s cheaper to go to a Mavs game than it is to go to dinner or a movie.’ You tell me you can’t get somebody out there to pay $8? I don’t care if we have nobody in the lower seats.”

It worked. Soon the Mavs were filling the top rung of the arena, but that wasn’t all — Cuban started to generate more revenue from the courtside seats, as well.

“I just jacked up the price so high, and in Dallas my center court seats immediately went from $200 to $2,000. Boom, like that,” he remembers. “Because those were the TV seats. You got free food, and you got to walk across the court.”

Go to a Mavericks game now, and you see Cuban’s imprint everywhere. The nosebleeds are packed, the courtside seats are filled with Dallas bigwigs, and the rims are miked up so that when Dirk hits a 19-footer, you can hear the sound of the swish, no matter how much you paid for your seat.

Those fans who hate the constant JumboTronning and everybody-clap-your-hands-ing that have become part and parcel of the live NBA experience have Cuban — at least partially — to blame. Eighteen months after he purchased the franchise, the team moved into the brand-new American Airlines Center. This was Cuban’s canvas.

“I didn’t design the arena, but when I bought the team, I immediately made changes. They didn’t want to have any video boards; it was all old school. I was like, **** that,” he recalls, colorfully. “In 2009, we had our JumboTron specially designed and made for us. At the time, it was the largest indoor screen in the world, the highest-resolution screen in the world. And that wasn’t because the first one broke. It was because we wanted to stay ahead, and the video was how we wanted to entertain people.”

http://grantland.com/features/dallas-mavericks-mark-cuban-nba-playoffs/

 

[Colobuffs21]

Does anyone think that the lack of a true star like dinwiddie/burks/higgins has contributed to the attendance? I know Josh is incredible and actually in the same league as those others, but his game and fan support is not nearly as flashy for the average fan.

 

[Buffnik]

@absinthe made a point about promoting who is going to be on the poster ahead of the game. It's a small thing, but a piece to the puzzle. My son was so excited to get a Dom poster on Saturday. I had no idea he was going to be the athlete spotlighted ahead of seeing it at the arena. Such a little thing to email and tweet out the poster and some bio stuff on the player 1-3 days ahead of the game. But those are the things that connects fans to the program and might just put an extra 100 butts in the seats.

 

[BuffaloSoldier76]

With regard to a Mile High/Colorado Classic revival, Tad Boyle addressed that issue directly recently here: http://milehighsports.com/its-time-to-revive-the-mile-high-classic/

“The idea of the Colorado Classic is absolutely fantastic and I would be more than willing to partake in it. Putting it together is another story, because there are so many moving parts. The one thing about college basketball since that time is that the landscape of scheduling has changed dramatically because now you have ‘exempt tournaments.’ We can play 27 regular season games, plus an exempt tournament. Or, we can play 29 regular season games. Take the Maui Invitational for example – you go over there, you play three games and it counts as one. This year, we’ll play an exempt tournament in Las Vegas; we’ll get four games out of that … You could get an exempt status (and you’d need more games), but the University of Colorado or Colorado State would not be the promoters or the organizers of the event. It would be a third party. Take ESPN for example, ESPN runs the Old Spice Classic, the Puerto Rico Challenge, the Charleston Classic. So, you’d have to get someone to run the Mile High Classic – it’s a great name. If North Carolina comes out, are they going to want to play Colorado in Denver? Is that more of a road game or a home game? What are they going to want in return? A home game. That’s not a true neutral court game for them … That’s where the rubber meets the road. I’ll tell you this; if anyone can get Duke or Indiana or Carolina – you name the marquee program – to come to Denver, I’ll do it in a heartbeat, 100 percent, no questions asked. Now, if they want a return game, that’s where I call a timeout. I’m not going to play a game in Denver and then have to return a game in Bloomington or Chapel Hill. I’d play KU at Pepsi Center, and then return a game in Sprint Center in Kansas City. That’s fair. But not Pepsi Center and Allen Fieldhouse. Mark’s article sounds fun, and if it’s reality, I’m all for it. I’m not saying it can’t happen, and I would love to see it happen (but the way scheduling is now makes it tough). Anything that is good for college basketball in this state, I am all for.”

 

[Shldr2Shldr]

Tad will not be anyone's whipping boy.

Love the attitude, hate that it locks us out of some big time matchups.

 

[Buffnik]

Tad will not be anyone's whipping boy.

Love the attitude, hate that it locks us out of some big time matchups.

I get his point and love his attitude that he won't take a back seat to anybody.

But, honestly, some things that aren't "fair" in his mind are actually pretty damn "fair" when you consider that the other program is Duke and we're Colorado. They're the ones driving the national television interest and attendance, after all.

 

[Shldr2Shldr]

I get his point and love his attitude that he won't take a back seat to anybody.

But, honestly, some things that aren't "fair" in his mind are actually pretty damn "fair" when you consider that the other program is Duke and we're Colorado. They're the ones driving the national television interest and attendance, after all.

I bet if he put his pride to the side for a moment, he could get a 2-1 deal with a game in Boulder, Chapel Hill, and a neutral site game in Charlotte. That kind of deal would be pretty promising I would think.

 

[BuffaloSoldier76]

I bet if he put his pride to the side for a moment, he could get a 2-1 deal with a game in Boulder, Chapel Hill, and a neutral site game in Charlotte. That kind of deal would be pretty promising I would think.

I get that, but if you're being realistic about where we are and where UNC is as a program, you're essentially committing yourself to 3 Ls spread across 3 seasons if you make that 2-1 deal (unless you play a practically perfect game at home), not to mention that University of Colorado isn't really going to make anybody in the state of North Carolina decide they are more likely to attend a game in Charlotte. We aren't that caliber of program.

There isn't really even that much upside for us financially for making that happen either. At the end of the day, you're still only talking about needing to sell a couple thousand tickets in the CEC for each game...and the people you are trying to reach with those tickets are going to complain that you set the ticket prices obscenely high for that one game.

 

[unionbuff]

I bet if he put his pride to the side for a moment, he could get a 2-1 deal with a game in Boulder, Durham, and a neutral site game in Charlotte. That kind of deal would be pretty promising I would think.

FIFY.

 

[Shldr2Shldr]

FIFY.

Whichever.

The point is that from a ticket standpoint, those kinds of games on the schedule sell season tickets and they make season tickets worth while IMO. They increase brand exposure and drive casual interest by making the program more visible locally.

I don't think anyone would complain about hosting Kansas here again. Even with the obnoxious ticket prices of that kind of opponent. I don't think anyone would complain about having ESPN College GameDay in Boulder again, despite the early morning.

Scheduling teams like that are more than just wins and losses for a program in our position that is trying to establish a national identity.

 

[Buffenuf]

Do we think that it will help next season when the Hwy 36 project is complete? I actually think that will give an incremental bump to both football and basketball.[/QUOTE]
Oh gee! Where have I sai---I meant read that before? Only about a hundred times!

Actually the 36 project is about 95% complete. For BYU, I cruised at about 70 mph most of the way, up AND back. Traffic is no longer an excuse, so its up to the AD to let those lazy bums in Denver know about that. Parking hasn't been an issue either. Traffic control is much improved from the old days when a CU Junior cop drew a gun on me for driving over a sidewalk!

Expense is an excuse! I got a whole season's package of general admission seats for less than $200 per seat and have made all but two games. I sit in the same seatbacks until someone kicks me out, which hasn't happened yet.

All comes down to marketing by the AD! My daughter (who attends games with me) just moved back from the Coast. When she was looking for a job in Marketing (her CU degree) CU had just advertised a marketing position in the AD. Only problem was the salary offered was half that she obtained from a Denver MKTG firm!

You get what you pay for!

 

[BuffaloSoldier76]

#1 - Start working closely with Drew Litton again and produce t-shirts with him for giveaways that fans actually might wear out in public. Thank you to Honey Smoked Fish for sponsoring the T's for 3's at this weekend's game, but after seeing the t-shirts they were throwing out I know I would only use it for washing the car/dogs or something. Back in the old days, they had sponsor logos emblazoned on the backs of the shirts, but a lot of them also had a pretty sweet Drew Litton cartoon on the front.

#2 - Have something going on after the game that you don't want to miss. It drives me nuts that with 2 or 3 minutes left in even the closest games, a lot of fans are vacating their seats to get up to the top of the arena to try to be the first out the building and into the parking lot because the most pressing thing on their mind is getting home. Have a 50/50 drawing at the conclusion of the game, or some sort of raffle or auction or something where the results get announced at the end of the game. Have a raffle for a signed Chauncey Billups basketball with the winner announced after the alma mater, and I'm going to stay to see if I won. Keep butts in the seats via the promise of something "free" to fans who are still in their seats at the conclusion of the game.

#3 - Work with Levy to get F&B things right in the stadium. During one of our lower attended games of the year (Portland or Omaha), the upper level beer gardens had 4 beer stations open. Those games were poorly attended, so they didn't sell much in the tents that game. That must have led to the decision to decrease the number of purchase points, so at the best attended game of the year (BYU) they only had 2 stations. This led to people not being able to get a beer until 2 minutes before tipoff. I would have had at least 2 beers during halftime, but because of their lack of appropriate staffing, they lost out on additional revenue. Not smart. Also, they should really be stepping up their food offerings in the stadium, not just in the club room. There is always going to be a lot of people who want hot dogs or pizza, but the underwhelming lack of choices for in game snacking kind of sucks...and whoever made the decision to replace M&Ms and Reeses Pieces with Whoppers, Hot Tamales, and Mike & Ike's as the candy choices should be drug out into the street and shot.

#4 - More student based competitions on court. Have a half-court shot attempt every game for a gift certificate to the bookstore, and the like. Make it more likely for students who actually attend these games to be walking away with something of worth to them, and you're going to make it more likely that they'll come.

#5 - Thanks for upgrading the lighting, now throw an extra coat of lipstick on this old pig of an arena. Repaint the restrooms so they don't feel like you stepped into a 70s prison/elementary school every time you have to take a leak. The new-ish murals are great, and have helped significantly, but the whole place still needs a lot of cosmetic work at the very least.

#6 - If you're going to try to handle the secondary market tickets, try marketing to the surrounding seat ticket holders first. If the people who sit next to (or in front/behind) me list their tickets on your ticket exchange, send me an email letting me know they are available if I want to bring some extra friends to the game. Doesn't seem like it should be too difficult, and in a lot of circumstances it might be an easier way to make sure those seats are used since I don't want to buy tickets for my friends just so they can sit across the stadium from me.

Just some of the things off the top of my head that are quicker fixes.

 

[Buffenuf]

The team is marketed poorly. The performance last year let the air out of the fan support, and now the mindshare has moved elsewhere. I don't hear any talk in the media about the Buffs either. There is no hype.

1+++ on this! Where's Big Al on this? I'll bet Sandy Clough or that Vince guy would even do some Buffs talk if anybody called about that. Haven't heard anybody call, including Tad, to give a boost to the Buffs. Now is the time, why are they so quiet up there?

 

[Chautauqua]

Tad will not be anyone's whipping boy.

Love the attitude, hate that it locks us out of some big time matchups.

I thought the Iowa State game was pretty one-sided. Sioux Falls was a psuedo home game for them and the attendance reflected that. With that being said, I am a big fan of scheduling games like that to get more national exposure. Even though we lost that game it is benefiting our resume.

 

[Shldr2Shldr]

I thought the Iowa State game was pretty one-sided. Sioux Falls was a psuedo home game for them and the attendance reflected that. With that being said, I am a big fan of scheduling games like that to get more national exposure. Even though we lost that game it is benefiting our resume.

Tad has shown he is more than willing to go play a big name team on a neutral floor. He will not do 1 off home games or 2 for 1 series. Few years ago we played OSU in Vegas and **** Baylor in Dallas.

 

[Chautauqua]

Tad has shown he is more than willing to go play a big name team on a neutral floor. He will not do 1 off home games or 2 for 1 series. Few years ago we played OSU in Vegas and **** Baylor in Dallas.

I get what you are saying but the "neutral" courts have been partial to our opponents with the exception of the OSU game.

 

[Goose]

#6 - If you're going to try to handle the secondary market tickets, try marketing to the surrounding seat ticket holders first. If the people who sit next to (or in front/behind) me list their tickets on your ticket exchange, send me an email letting me know they are available if I want to bring some extra friends to the game. Doesn't seem like it should be too difficult, and in a lot of circumstances it might be an easier way to make sure those seats are used since I don't want to buy tickets for my friends just so they can sit across the stadium from me.

This is the best thing in this thread. Someone has had season tickets for the seats next to mine for 3 years. They have only been filled for the CSU, Arizona and Kansas games. Every other game they've been empty. I'd LOVE to be able to get those seats (and, in fact, have asked CU if they'll let me bribe them to have them at one point).

 

[Darth Snow]

This is the best thing in this thread. Someone has had season tickets for the seats next to mine for 3 years. They have only been filled for the CSU, Arizona and Kansas games. Every other game they've been empty. I'd LOVE to be able to get those seats (and, in fact, have asked CU if they'll let me bribe them to have them at one point).

Plus 1. please god let this happen.

 

[BuffaloSoldier76]

This is the best thing in this thread. Someone has had season tickets for the seats next to mine for 3 years. They have only been filled for the CSU, Arizona and Kansas games. Every other game they've been empty. I'd LOVE to be able to get those seats (and, in fact, have asked CU if they'll let me bribe them to have them at one point).

Same situation. The guy who has the seats behind me has 4 seats, but has only been to maybe 10 games in the past 5 years, and those seats rarely get used. Makes me irrationally angry. I'd be able to fill those seats for plenty of games if I was made aware they were available.

 

[Shldr2Shldr]

Actually wouldn't be that hard.

Send a text the day before games.

"Are you planning on joining us at the coors event center to watch your Colorado Buffaloes take on (insert team name)? Please respond with yes or no."
You hit yes and no more texts, you hit no and "Would you allow Colorado to market your unused seats in order to maintain the best home court advantage in the pac12? Please respond with yes or no."

So at most you receive two text messages and have to send two words.

 

[Gary Indiana]

Tad will not be anyone's whipping boy.

Love the attitude, hate that it locks us out of some big time matchups.

Completely disagree with your take on this.

Tad is putting the cart before the horse and needs to realize that CU basketball is not in the same stratosphere as those other programs. Schedule the games, earn the respect, and then schedule the home-and-home.

 

[StormTrooper]

Getting the student section full would go a long way towards improving the atmosphere at the keg. I remember the CSU game three years ago. I walked into the CEC thirty minutes before tipoff and the student section was jammed. It was very impressive. If you can get back to that, you are on to something.

Same was true of the Auburn game last year, which was 11PM on a Monday night. The opener against Drexel was packed as well. After the CSU loss things really took a turn for the worse for the rest of the year. Even Arizona was only 90% full in the student section (which was at least better than the pitiful showing by the general public).