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Post by milwsport on Feb 6, 2010 9:43:06 GMT -6
As Sunday's game made abundantly clear, the effort to draw more students needs a new approach.
I suggest using the MPP, Most Popular People, approach. I've seen and used this strategy myself and it really does work.
It changes the approach from recruiting from the outside in, to recruiting from the inside out. Basically here's how it works.
You recruit people who other people listen to, trend setters. The people who can say "On Monday we're all wearing red," and come Monday everyone wears red.
It's hard to ID everyone like that on a campus as large as UWM but it can at least be done in the dorms. You can also try the frats and soroities.
Through the Housefellows and dorm staff, find out who these people are, try to get one or two from every house and work with them. Invite them to a meeting without even telling them what's it about. (Secrecy and surprise is really key in this situation)
Tell them because their peers have said they are important, you need to talk to them. Hold the meeting in the dorms. The best way would be to get the Chancellor involved and let his office send the invites.
He should certainly understand that successful sports programs breed more donations and hardly anyone will say "no" to him.
Make them feel special at the meeting. Give them some UWM merchandise and good food. Tell them they're important (cuz they are). Have the coaches there too.
Assign a coach or AD staffer they can call or email with suggestions and feedback. Meet with them once every couple of weeks (in the dorms) to give them some insights into upcoming games and get their feedback on what the AD needs to do to get more students to come.
Put them on a special e-mail list and send messages of encouragement and thanks on a regular basis as well as news they can get before everyone else reads it in the paper the next day. For example after a game "You and our students made a difference and helped to propel us to a win."
All of this leads to them feeling special and a sense of responsibility. They will feel flattered and they will be eager to show that they really are popular by getting others out to the games.
Show them how much fun the games can be here and at other schools.
Tell them you need their help and what larger attendance will do for the school (more atmosphere means better recruits, a better team, more prestige for the school and a degree that's worth a bit more). Talk to them about how they can create a fuller college experience.
Get them to start talking up going to the games, to go to the other suites in their house on game day (or the day before) and get people to come. "We're all leaving at 6:00" etc.
Will they all do it? No, but I bet if the approach is done properly quite a few will. You will be creating a cadre of students people listen to who will be out there selling the program.
I guarantee you, that if this done properly you will see MUCH larger numbers of students coming. You will be changing the approach from recruiting from the outside in to the recruiting from the inside out.
What I'm laying out is not a theory but an actual academic approach. I've used it with great success in several situations. It has a snowball effect, the people you recruit, recruit others who start telling people they know etc. etc.
I guarantee that if this done properly you will see a dramatic increase in student attendance. I used this to build attendance at Milwaukee's Gay Pride event. We went from an attendance of about 500 to over 5,000 in just one year.
It's too late for this year but it's not too late to start planning how do this next year. I know an academic researcher who refined this approach and successfully uses it to develop anti-AIDS programs around the world. I can ask him if he's willing to meet with the appropriate person and help.
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Post by PantherU on Feb 6, 2010 13:31:43 GMT -6
Believe me, I'm all for increased student attendance - obviously - and as always, you've got great ideas.
My concern is, how the hell do we identify the student leaders that we need to find? I never lived in the dorms, so the people we're talking about may not be living there.
I'm all for it, I just am concerned as to where to begin. How do we find out who are the most influential students in the dorms?
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Post by Pounce Needs Pals on Feb 6, 2010 13:45:43 GMT -6
The AD and coaches need to talk to students. When they are walking for building to building, go up to students and shake their hands and say hey, hope to see you at our next home game.
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Post by milwsport on Feb 6, 2010 22:05:11 GMT -6
It's not that hard to id the students who others follow. Ask the Housefellows. They know who has influence and who doesn't. The dorm staff often knows too. Observe in the cafeteria and see who people want to eat with and then get their names (quietly).
Keep in mind that no one person will influence everyone. Some people keep to themselves, some people just hate sports and you'll never reach them. What you're talking about here is getting the opinion leaders on board and encouraging them to lead the opinions of others.
You can also ask around among the students who do live there and who go to games and/or are supportive now. The officers of the residents council SHAC if I remember correctly are elected in popularity contests.
The bottom line is that the strategy is simple. The keys are:
1) Identify the key people. 2) Make them feel important (cuz they are) 3) Explain how their help benefits them and the U 4) Offer continued encouragement and support.
I really do believe that the Chancellor's help especially on points 2 and 3 is very important. If Santiago says "I need you, your school needs you to do this," most of them will find it difficult to say no.
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Post by DunneDeal on Feb 7, 2010 14:15:41 GMT -6
The RA's can find those kids in the dorms.
Im the Key to the Fraternities on Campus seeing as I am a TKE. But don't think I haven't tried to get people to games.
People don't care about it, Freshman and the like would rather drink their lives away.
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Post by milwsport on Feb 7, 2010 15:01:33 GMT -6
I'm sure there are students who don't care and won't care no matter what you do. But again one of the keys here is showing opinion leaders why it's in their best interests to help.
They'll have fun They have a chance to be a leader The U gets prestigious from a better sports program and that makes their degree worth more
From the U's point of view, students who have a good time identify with the school more and that leads to more donations further down the road.
I've seen and used this strategy in other situations and written about it's results in situations and every time people thought that no one cared and it wouldn't work.
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Post by milwsport on Feb 7, 2010 15:05:53 GMT -6
Below is an article I wrote a few years back about how this approach was used in a low income housing development. I've edited it down some but I think you can see the point on how this approach can work.
Women In Study Lead Effective Response to HIV
What do bingo, Thanksgiving Day dinner, Valentine’s Day gift packages, and Father’s Day cards have to do with HIV prevention? Nothing to the average person, but everything to women participating in a Center for AIDS Intervention Research, CAIR, study conducted in 18 Housing projects in Milwaukee, WI, Roanoke, VA, Cleveland, OH, Rochester, NY and Tacoma, WA.
The research showed that small groups of popular women could organize an effective community response to the dangers posed by HIV infections. The 3-year study, which was funded by the National Institute for Mental Health, is one of the first randomized trials of a community –level HIV prevention intervention for low-income minority women.
The study was aimed at women living in the housing developments because low income, minority women are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS. The participants reported a 50% increase in condom use and a 33 % decrease in unprotected sex.
The key to the success these numbers show was the leadership shown by the women, who were organized into health councils. “The women took it upon themselves to educate their neighbors about HIV and in the end became their communities’ single most effective defense against AIDS,” said Dr. Jeffery Kelly, Ph.D., Director of CAIR and Principal Investigator of the research study.
Women living in the developments were surveyed to identify women whose opinions they trusted. Researchers trained the 12 most nominated women to be HIV risk reduction advocates and helped them to form “Women’s Health Councils.” The councils organized special community events to focus attention on HIV. Their members went door to door inviting their neighbors to participate in the special activities and talk about HIV.
These activities included a Thanksgiving Day dinner, the distribution of Valentine’s Day gift bags that included condoms and safe sex messages, a Bingo Night and Father’s Day cards that contained a loving message and a condom.
“The intervention’s strong impact was likely due to the combination of HIV risk reduction workshops and community events planned and carried out by well liked and trusted women,” said Dr. Kelly. “The women helped create and reinforce community-wide norms that supported HIV risk reduction.”
Denise Crumble, a CAIR Program Coordinator, believes the influence of the health council members was far reaching. “At first many of the women attended the public events because of who was inviting them. Later other women went to the small group sessions because they wanted to find out what their friends and neighbors learned at them,” she said.
The project has ended, but its effects continue to be felt. The women’s health councils remain active in many of the developments. Researchers also noted an increase in self-esteem among the women. “We had to replace some of the women in the Health Councils. The increase in self-esteem that this project brought them prompted some of the women to either get jobs or go back to school,” said Crumble.
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Post by DunneDeal on Feb 8, 2010 11:57:58 GMT -6
I guess i feel that no one person or select few people control the masses. IMO
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Post by PantherU on Feb 8, 2010 13:10:31 GMT -6
Maybe they don't need to "control the masses," maybe they just need to control some masses.
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Post by DunneDeal on Feb 8, 2010 21:53:20 GMT -6
But who really can do that. This is college, and I've been thinking about this, they only reason some kids have a following is just the fact that they know where every party is, and kids want to party.
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Post by milwsport on Feb 10, 2010 20:15:25 GMT -6
No one controls, but people can lead. Furthermore, they can lead for a variety of reasons, how they act, what they do, knowing the latest trends, being interesting to talk to etc. etc. etc AND/OR being good party hardy types.
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dutchpthr
Junior
ain't much if it ain't dutch
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Post by dutchpthr on Feb 11, 2010 10:08:56 GMT -6
As Sunday's game made abundantly clear, the effort to draw more students needs a new approach. I suggest using the MPP, Most Popular People, approach. I've seen and used this strategy myself and it really does work. It changes the approach from recruiting from the outside in, to recruiting from the inside out. Basically here's how it works. You recruit people who other people listen to, trend setters. The people who can say "On Monday we're all wearing red," and come Monday everyone wears red. It's hard to ID everyone like that on a campus as large as UWM but it can at least be done in the dorms. You can also try the frats and soroities. Through the Housefellows and dorm staff, find out who these people are, try to get one or two from every house and work with them. Invite them to a meeting without even telling them what's it about. (Secrecy and surprise is really key in this situation) Tell them because their peers have said they are important, you need to talk to them. Hold the meeting in the dorms. The best way would be to get the Chancellor involved and let his office send the invites. He should certainly understand that successful sports programs breed more donations and hardly anyone will say "no" to him. Make them feel special at the meeting. Give them some UWM merchandise and good food. Tell them they're important (cuz they are). Have the coaches there too. Assign a coach or AD staffer they can call or email with suggestions and feedback. Meet with them once every couple of weeks (in the dorms) to give them some insights into upcoming games and get their feedback on what the AD needs to do to get more students to come. Put them on a special e-mail list and send messages of encouragement and thanks on a regular basis as well as news they can get before everyone else reads it in the paper the next day. For example after a game "You and our students made a difference and helped to propel us to a win." All of this leads to them feeling special and a sense of responsibility. They will feel flattered and they will be eager to show that they really are popular by getting others out to the games. Show them how much fun the games can be here and at other schools. Tell them you need their help and what larger attendance will do for the school (more atmosphere means better recruits, a better team, more prestige for the school and a degree that's worth a bit more). Talk to them about how they can create a fuller college experience. Get them to start talking up going to the games, to go to the other suites in their house on game day (or the day before) and get people to come. "We're all leaving at 6:00" etc. Will they all do it? No, but I bet if the approach is done properly quite a few will. You will be creating a cadre of students people listen to who will be out there selling the program. I guarantee you, that if this done properly you will see MUCH larger numbers of students coming. You will be changing the approach from recruiting from the outside in to the recruiting from the inside out. What I'm laying out is not a theory but an actual academic approach. I've used it with great success in several situations. It has a snowball effect, the people you recruit, recruit others who start telling people they know etc. etc. I guarantee that if this done properly you will see a dramatic increase in student attendance. I used this to build attendance at Milwaukee's Gay Pride event. We went from an attendance of about 500 to over 5,000 in just one year.It's too late for this year but it's not too late to start planning how do this next year. I know an academic researcher who refined this approach and successfully uses it to develop anti-AIDS programs around the world. I can ask him if he's willing to meet with the appropriate person and help. ok here is what i am gonna say and i am not trying to stir the pot or whatever or look down at anyone this is just my opinion and observation form my time in school and on campus... what you just outlined is what the SBGC did when i was a freshman and sophomore, those guys ran thru the dorms and ran thru the union and ran around campus and talked to kids and pulled them in to go to games, and it worked, i went and so did most of my friends, but we had no idea who any of them were and we didn't see it as tagging onto the most popular person, since after all we are not in high school anymore and i think that notion of what are the popular kids doing or being liked by the popular kids goes out the window. we went because it/they were fun guys they made the event fun, plus it didn't hurt that we were winning, and that was the biggest thing... You win people will follow and go to games, but really when was the last time that people supported a non successful team of any kind (except Cubs fans, weirdos) thats how it is, when the student body is disconnected from athletics winning will always bring in a crowd.
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Post by DunneDeal on Feb 11, 2010 10:21:39 GMT -6
the current SBGC, although less effective as the past members, we still run around we have with Pounce in the dorms, we tabled in the dorms, we flyered campus.
I agree with dutch, this isn't high school. No one follows like in HS.
I don't mean to sound mean but, Milwaukee is more disconnected from it Students then ever before. If your not going to games on your own because you want to, your not going to go until there is a reason to go.
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Post by milwsport on Feb 15, 2010 21:39:33 GMT -6
The places this approach was tried in weren't high schools either abut it worked. I could go on but why bother.
An optimist says the glass is half full. A pessimist says "It's half empty." But we have people here who would argue that there's no water in the glass at all and no hope of ever getting any water in it.
It's not that it was my idea that bothers me. It's that EVERY idea gets shot down by someone. It's part of the reason why so few people even bother anymore. You don't like an idea? Fine, but let someone who may like it try it without having all kinds of water thrown on it from the get go.
Sure a winning team with a dynamic coach would solve some of the problems, but we don't have either so we have to look at what we can do with what we do have.
The woe is us, nothing will help, no one cares attitude takes negativism to new levels. This is a fan board. Yes, it's a place to bi*** about stuff, but it should also be place to build excitement and interest.
Sadly, there has been little of the latter and way too much of the former. Quite frankly it's sickening.
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Post by pantherdon on Feb 15, 2010 23:08:31 GMT -6
There are many students organizations that have offices in the Union, at least they did when I was there. It would be easy to talk to presidents or officers and try to organize official events at games. Obviously, Frats and Sororities would be another place try.
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