To fill our stadium with a capacity crowd? Has it ever happened? Will it ever happen? What opponent would it take? What kind of promotion would help? Should we even worry about it?
To fill our stadium with a capacity crowd? Has it ever happened? Will it ever happen? What opponent would it take? What kind of promotion would help? Should we even worry about it?
1. No, never happened.
2. I doubt it since JAS is 50 years old and is still looking for a sellout. With the current athletic administration, it's obviously not a priority anyway.
3. It would take a Texas A&M, LSU type opponent. Those two would sell out in a heartbeat, but that ain't gonna happen in my lifetime anyway.
97 nlu game came closest.
just sayin ...
Better in the field product. Meaningful game (ala USU in 2012). MUCH better game day management.
I was in New Orleans for the Rams game last week and it was a glimpse of what happens when all those factors are in place.
Most of all, if we want this type of thing to happen, we have to take incremental steps toward it. There are certainly things we can control that need to be managed more effectively.
He probably is too busy, but I would love to hear Martie Cordaro’s take on this.
I used to think that winning was enough. Of course winning at home is more important than just winning. Losses like UAB will burn attendance. Evidently our fan base, whoever or whatever that is, just needs any old excuse to not show up. Right now the only two teams I know of that would fill our stadium would be LSU or TAMU. LSU because there are more LSU fans in and around Ruston/Shreveport/Monroe than Tech fans. TAMU because they are real fans and go to watch their team. I can't think of any other P5 team that might fill our stadium, not even Alabama. We have a better chance to get TAMU than LSU to come to Ruston.
It is gimmicky, but I maintain that a competition or drawing during the final tv timeout of the game would hold a good portion of the students til the end. And if the game is good or close, they might actual be there to sing the alma mater. Have to give away a minimum of $250-$500 prize or item equal to that.
I don't think there's a quick fix. Gimmicks could help, but I think a one time gimmick will not. I'm likely headed to Hattiesburg for the USM game. The last time I was there, we won. I don't know how their recent doldrums have effected things, but their game day atmosphere was WORLDS better than ours. Sure, they have a bigger population, but their budget isn't huge. That said, the game was an event. I'll report after that game and let you know if it's changed.
Time is your friend. Impulse is your enemy. -John Bogle
Half my life ago, there used to be a giveaway after of the 3rd quarter of a used car.
Usually some sad old hooptie that a local dealer couldn't unload so he donated it to Tech. But still … it was a freeeee caaaaarrr. You better believe we stayed thru the 3rd quarter to find out if we won.
I agree that gimmicks would not be a good fix. But it might boost individual game attendance a time or 2 per season. Maybe do this type of promotion 1 time for home games 1-4(5 or 6). Do not disclose which game it will happen for so students feel compelled to come to all or most of them. Then do one final giveaway at the last home game.
I hear today's kids aren't so big on driving themselves, though.
So maybe an Uber giftcard? Free iPad or Surface tablet? Xbox?
There are three ways to do it, I think. This is probably the simplest one to actually plan for and would have the best chances (because it would have the most factors you could control - nothing you can do about weather, etc.)
To maximize your chances, you'd want to make sure it's game 1 in the series (because it'd have to be a one and one, just hold out for game 1 in Ruston). Play in in 2020 for a nice round 20 year gap in play. Play early, preferably before either team has been beat down in a money game (but not too early before we start classes and it's still a thousand degrees out). Ideally they'd have had an early conference game and won, and we managed a winnable P5 road $ game and won plus maybe an early conference win. Maybe an FCS win for both schools. Hype the crap out of it, make it a night game, don't gouge on the tickets (but don't make them so cheap that they lose their value). Maybe use DFM's old plan of tying the payout to visiting team tickets sold.
Work every angle when marketing - from the Tech side it's Their OC played at Tech! Their best ever coach played at Tech! They're sooooo close by! Let's smack them back into their place!
On their side it's Hey, remember the 80s?!? Etc.
This would be another option. But there are a lot of factors out of your control. But sure, a late season, well-marketed game against a good USM (say) with big stakes (New Years 6/CUSA championship) might do it. It would take a great season with an exciting brand on our side and a good opponent (that people have heard of - probably USM maybe Marshall). We'd also need all the stars to align on things like weather, time of day, etc. And yeah, for sure - make the game day itself the best experience you can leading up to this game all season so people want to come.
A third way would be the big name OOC opponent that either travels well or will draw casual fans (or preferably both). We'd probably have to choose to play the odds on giving up money by playing in JAS instead of Shreveport and probably on ticket prices. It wouldn't have to be A&M or LSU. I think if an attendance record was really the overall goal one of the MSU games could have got there.