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Satisfied with Basketball Attendance and the Student Section?
- Thread starter BatBuff
- Start date
I've been to four games this year, and my take is that the students are showing up but the general fan base isn't.
I guess the students could be louder, but hard to tell when they're the only one's cheering and there's 5000 empty seats being totally silent.
CU hoops is still the best entertainment value in the city of Boulder, IMO. The product is good. I wish CU marketed it better.
I guess the students could be louder, but hard to tell when they're the only one's cheering and there's 5000 empty seats being totally silent.
CU hoops is still the best entertainment value in the city of Boulder, IMO. The product is good. I wish CU marketed it better.
Nope. Not happy. the changes to general seating a few years back made the locker room side of the Keg a quiet zone. Even in the CSU game it wasn't full because the students that made that game a sell out didn't go over there. It's, frankly, a disaster for game experience.
Student section died a slow death after Bohn left (thanks RG), then COVID, then came back a bit. As far as I can tell the organization is hit or miss there this year but I've seen better signs of life this year than in a while. But it seems to be dying down again as the team has struggled. Which is a bummer.
Basketball was not marketed whatsoever when I was a student a few years ago. Couldn’t even tell you when the games were. Wouldn’t be surprised if we haven’t improved that aspect
Season ticket holder 12 years. Been to every game this season.
The student section is good for marquee games. Just okay for lesser opponents. There real issue is there is absolutely ZERO coordination within the section. No real chants, no real distraction methods, no real understanding of the game, game flow or situational awareness. So, the impact they could/should have is limited. It's like the C-Unit has a foggy memory of it's heyday and how it should act, but it gets further diluted every year.
The regular fan base has been pretty poor this year. Lack of attendance, excitement, noise, everything. Crowds have been pretty dead from the tip and I do think that has an effect on the team. I've been in the building numerous times when you can literally feel the crowd propel the team. That has yet to happen this year. Some possible factors: Entirely empty sections (bring back the $10 GA tickets, gdammit!), weird start times, zero/nada/nyet/nein/null marketing, boomers.
The student section is good for marquee games. Just okay for lesser opponents. There real issue is there is absolutely ZERO coordination within the section. No real chants, no real distraction methods, no real understanding of the game, game flow or situational awareness. So, the impact they could/should have is limited. It's like the C-Unit has a foggy memory of it's heyday and how it should act, but it gets further diluted every year.
The regular fan base has been pretty poor this year. Lack of attendance, excitement, noise, everything. Crowds have been pretty dead from the tip and I do think that has an effect on the team. I've been in the building numerous times when you can literally feel the crowd propel the team. That has yet to happen this year. Some possible factors: Entirely empty sections (bring back the $10 GA tickets, gdammit!), weird start times, zero/nada/nyet/nein/null marketing, boomers.
I agree with this. The general public attendance is much more of an issue than the students. Outside of the weeks they are break, student attendance has generally been good. The general public seats are rarely more than half full. I frequently am sitting in a row entirely by myself. And the former GA seats are a disaster. Essentially completely empty for every game.
Rick is a terrible basketball admin. I just don't think he understands the game nor the gameday nuances. We have lame game sponsorships, zero promos, lousy crowd engagement, and poor marketing. A simple promotion for $10 GA tickets on social media and maybe radio would add another 1,000 fans every game, guaranteed. Give the C-Unit new shirts, solicit and choose new C-Unit leaders, put some damn pompoms on seats once in a while, blackout/whiteout/dress like Star wars character nights, bring back the independent food vendors, and on and on and on...
Are you Rick George?
The last back end of a home stand and the next two back ends are all on Sunday. They've only played one Saturday home game this year. Yes you do have to market it.
I think so.
I lived in Raleigh, NC for six years before moving here. North Carolina, NC State and Wake certainly had marketing campaigns for men's basketball. billboards, promos with radio stations, email campaigns (this one CU does... somewhat), signage at multipurpose venues -- were all ubiquitous. Duke was the exception, creating demand with a venue seating capacity far below public interest.
Very few businesses can survive without marketing.
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This
For those of us not in the metro area any game not on Saturday is a non starter for in person attendance.
Petition to invite @StormTrooper @Goose and a few others and rename this "Rick George Roast" thread.
What about disco demolition night? While i agree that something should be done to get butts in the seats, this isn't independent league baseball.
at some point, people have to give a f*** about their school. i love bball (especially college) and I've a been a CU fan and been going to CU bball games since i could walk, so i'm probably not the right person to provide a solution because. hell, i don't even get why you wouldn't want to watch a college basketball game for cheap (or whatever GA or student tix costs). I go to dePaul games because it's $8 and i can watch Providence or Nova or UCONN ... its a no-brainer.
Promos might work for a few games. But you can't give out free Crocs every game. People have to care about their school's teams. That's the problem you need to fix and i don't necessarily think winning is the only solution. Bball in CO (in general) has to already fight an uphill battle.
I got to USF games for similar reasons. However, I just looked at the Cal vs CU game on Feb 2 and the cheapest ticket available from the AD is $32.50. That is not a good value to see two mediocre teams on a Thursday night at 8pm. It's no wonder to me why the games are not well attended.
I raised this issue years ago about RG and basketball, the lack of investment in the student section has been an issue since Rick started. The CUnit needs a budget. They need leaders. They need swag. They need a loyalty tracking system, and on and on. You can't expect a student section to be organically great year in and year out.
The student section feeds the rest of the building once you accept that you have to invest in it.
Over break, when the students are not there, the school should organize local promos like $5 tickets for BVSD kids could be an idea, anything really, to get more people into the gym. If the schedule dealt you a game where attendance will be light, then its promo time. If you know ahead of time it is going to be light, let an extra 250 students in, etc etc.
A lot of needed structural things have come to Coors over the years, upgraded video, sound, beer, increased food options. The product on the floor has been steady, and the price increases consistent, what has been going the wrong way is admin support.
The student section feeds the rest of the building once you accept that you have to invest in it.
Over break, when the students are not there, the school should organize local promos like $5 tickets for BVSD kids could be an idea, anything really, to get more people into the gym. If the schedule dealt you a game where attendance will be light, then its promo time. If you know ahead of time it is going to be light, let an extra 250 students in, etc etc.
A lot of needed structural things have come to Coors over the years, upgraded video, sound, beer, increased food options. The product on the floor has been steady, and the price increases consistent, what has been going the wrong way is admin support.
Same reason i don't go to Northwestern games ... they charge an arm and a leg for those tickets and (generally) they're not very good. I get it, it's Chicago and the B1G, and they're in Evanston, but that place is NEVER at capacity ... not even when they play Illinois.
If CU is charging $32 that's just dumb. God i hope that's not the case. My dad still goes regularly but usually gets tickets from friends ... what's the resale market like? Especially when you're competing for entertainment with skiing, Nuggets, etc., you have to make this affordable. We used to make the hike up from Denver on Saturdays for the 4 tix, 4 pizzas, 4 pepsis deal.
'99
Well-Known Member
Exactly. RG doesn't seem to realize that you create interest in the program by getting people in the arena. Bring back cheaper tickets behind the first 10 rows in sections 2-4, run more $10-$20 promotions to fill unsold seats, advertise family friendly for pre-game or on the concourse for the weekend games, engage student leaders to re-establish interaction in the student section during the games, implement deals for ticket/meal, etc. There are a million things that can be done but RG and the AD aren't making any effort.
I have season tickets and rarely go anymore. I am bored with the product, tired of the lack of upside from Tad Boyle’s teams, and this year’s team is uninteresting and not fun to watch. The PAC 12 is extremely mediocre, except Arizona and UCLA.
Boyle is lucky - if he rolled-out this ****ty team in the Big 12, he would lucky to win a third of the league games.
Boyle is lucky - if he rolled-out this ****ty team in the Big 12, he would lucky to win a third of the league games.
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Yea, but CU would be ranked bc its the Big 12 and maybe with the better officiating we win a couple of more games
My thoughts are known.
1.) Make Prime happy
2.) Hire a damn good deputy who can handle the little things that would build fan support and the next generation of CU fans.
3.) Drain the world's oceans so we can find and kill God.
This!
My kid is a freshman up there. He went to 100% of the football games, but hasn't been to a single basketball game yet this year. I asked him why over winter break, and he had two responses:
1) "Dad, I don't even know how to get tickets for the games LOL". Okay, this is probably 100% on him not reading anything the athletic department sends, but its clear that they are also not promoting the program well to the student body (or at leas the freshmen). I get that they have a limited number of basketball tickets available for students, but I find it hard to believe they would overrun the student section if they let in 100% of those that wanted to go to most games.
2) "Even if I knew how to get tickets, I heard the Keg is a dump". Partly true, but the experience should outweigh the environment.
Overall assessment - the department needs to do more to get the student body engaged in that program.
FYI, I went to a Northwestern game a few years ago and bought tix on StubHub well under face value
At the beginning of the year if you had asked me if I thought the team would be 12-10 overall and 4-7 in conference at this point I would have said no way. Unfortunately that's where we are and why students and other potential supporters are not showing up. The fans will show up when the team improves. I have season tickets so I'll be there regardless.
I was out of the country and just saw that I had been summoned here.
The lack of student section coordination/chants/etc. is real, real concerning to me. But at least there are warm bodies in that part of the arena most nights, unlike the rest of it. There has been exactly one good crowd all season. The team hasn't been good, but general public support was already weak before we knew that.
I have no idea why the former GA section opposite the students has been turned into reserved seating, but no one wants to sit there anymore and it sucks. Hopefully next year the Cody Williams hype helps season ticket sales and the team actually wins. As far as trying to get the C-Unit back on track, I would love to teach them a few of the traditions that we've lost, but I doubt they would want to listen to a28 35 year old telling them how to pose during free throws, when to sing the fight song, or how the f*** the rollercoaster goes.
The lack of student section coordination/chants/etc. is real, real concerning to me. But at least there are warm bodies in that part of the arena most nights, unlike the rest of it. There has been exactly one good crowd all season. The team hasn't been good, but general public support was already weak before we knew that.
I have no idea why the former GA section opposite the students has been turned into reserved seating, but no one wants to sit there anymore and it sucks. Hopefully next year the Cody Williams hype helps season ticket sales and the team actually wins. As far as trying to get the C-Unit back on track, I would love to teach them a few of the traditions that we've lost, but I doubt they would want to listen to a
You know what would be great to get started? A young alum C-Unit group. Maybe take over the old GA section with it.
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