Rob Jeter Radio Show - Mondays @ 7 in Gasthaus

[bball30]

Schweaty you just don't get it. Have you ever heard of the concept of a budget? What should the athletic department be doing different? There is not an infinite amount of money to be spent on advertising for athletics, I'm sure other programs are receiving the majority of finances. Keep in mind, this is a "academic research" institution.

[pantherpanther]

schweaty said:

bball30 said:

They advertise on 920, 620, ESPN Radio, Fox Sports net, Channel 12 and CBS 58 as well as WMLW. I know people want to keep putting the blame on someone else, but I think the members of this board need to step it up a bit. Everyone's a critic, and hardly anyone's a part of the solution

I listen to WTMJ all the time and have never heard an ad. I watch FSN and never saw an ad. I don't watch 12 or 58, nor listen to espn radio or 920. The blame should be put on someone. I don't have anything to back this, but I assume there's some group of people who are getting paid to promote games. Whoever is doing this is doing a lousy job plain and simple. The fans must do their part to get people to go to games thats for sure. Word of mouth is the best. But the athletic department is who needs to "step it up". Spend more money on advertising. Make banners. Hand out sh*t. Raise awareness for sh*ts sake.

You can make a donation to the Athletic Department and earmark it for advertising...that would be a way to step up and help. Right now, resources are stretched to the limit, so take a stand and help out if you are that unhappy with how they are promoting so far. Not trying to upset you...just making a suggestion.

[pantherdon]

bball30 said:

I gotta think that AVO has worked his way into a solidified role in the lineup, he is one of the only people on the team who has shown the scoring presence this team needs.

I agree, Avo really seems to be stepping up.
I'd like to see a Charlie, Ricky, Avo, Paige, Sam line up.

[brewtownbrian]

I've heard ads on WSSP, ESPN and WISN radio. I know from experience that AM 620 WTMJ is outrageously expensive.

WSSP and ESPN radio are not nearly as expensive and the WISN ads were probably no-charge throw-ins b/c of the relationship with WOKY-AM 920.

[milwsport]

Exactly. As noted in previous posts, part of the radio deal included ads on all of the Clear Channel stations. WTMJ is not a Clear Channel station.

[schweaty]

I guess I don't get it then. It's my understanding that the US Cellular arena is our permanent home because the Klotsche center doesn't meet Horizon League capacity limits (how high could this possibly be they can't average >3000 a game?). It's also my understanding that noone is going to the games and the program is probably losing money from paying the Mecca rent money. But in any case, if there's one money maker at UWM right now it's this men's basketball team. I "don't get" how the university doesn't see growing this program as a huge priority. I mean they sold out of Sweet Sixteen shirts for cripes sake. People actually wanted to sport UWM gear. I really thought the money would be pouring in after that.

Look at all the attention those NCAA tournaments gave the university. Now I'm sure that athletics are no way related to academics and that you can have the worst basketball team yet have a great school, but I can't help but think that name recognition created by the athletics are going to do anything but help get more money from multiple sources.

[bball30]

A lot of the shirts were bookstore shirts, having nothing to do with UWM's athletics department. It's not that the University doesn't see growing the school as a large priority, they just simply don't have the money/resources to do it.

[dutchpthr]

bball is right on there the money that was brought in by the bookstore selling out of the "sweet sixteen" shirts is moeny that the the bookstore gets to operate with not the athletic department. another reason that you might feel that the advertising for the radio show is up to snuff for you is that the first night of the radio show we had someone walk off with one of the a-frames that had an ad on it, so you tell me how it is our fault that we dont advertise when it seems to go for not when we do advertise.

same thing happened last year we started the year with many a-frames for game day and throughout the year they were ALL STOLEN...and since we are not able to lock them up to a tree or able to keep someone watching them 24 hours a day i'd like to know what else is it that we can do please enlighten me on this and let me know just the right way to go about it.....

don';t mean to sound overly like a dick but its gets pretty tiring hearing day after day about how marketing isnt doing their jobs by some of those here....ok rant over

[milwsport]

bball30 said:

A lot of the shirts were bookstore shirts, having nothing to do with UWM's athletics department. It's not that the University doesn't see growing the school as a large priority, they just simply don't have the money/resources to do it.

It's also worth noting that the U has more sports than just Basketball. I'm sure there are requirements on the minimum number of sports you can have.

Those other sports don't produce much if any revenue. Therein lies part of the problem. We all want a champagne budget but we have a beer pocketbook. If you look on the web site you will see a fairly small staff.

That staff has managed to keep our Men's BB program going, win the Mc Cafferty trophy four years running, retain a dam good coaching staff, turn women's soccer into a national powerhouse, produce a women's team that's a perennial contender in the HL and was actually tied with Michigan (a 2005 final four participant) midway through the second half of the NCAA), maintain a high level men's soccer team and put up and manage a brand new facility in the Pavillion. (Among other things)

Our Atheltic Department is stretched so thin that the VB game preceded Panther Madness because they don't have enough staff to hold two events in different places.

In reality our teams compare favorably overall with some Universities that have budgets way in excess of what we can afford. Marquette is an example of that. Except for Men's BB, UWM holds the series lead in every sport where we go head to head against them and in most sports it isn't even close.

They've really done an amazing job.

Does that mean everything is going to right? Of course not. They need more money, and more help especially in promotions. We are talking about forming a booster club to provide that help.

Meanwhile let's all try to be a bit more understanding.

[schweaty]

The reference to the t-shirt sales wasn't about how much money they made off of it, it was to demonstrate that people actually cared about sports at UWM. The other sports are on the backburner. The men's basketball program is our bread and butter. My point is that they should use the momentum gained from the past few years to their advantage.

And to the guy who's whining about people stealing the a-frames: the a-frames are a waste of money. Get those plastic banners made that say something real simple to read while passing by, like, I don't know, "GAME TODAY. 730 AT THE US CELLULAR ARENA. ALL STUDENTS GET IN FREE WITH SCHOOL ID. FREE SHUTTLE BUS AT UNION. FREE PANTHER SHIRTS." Hang them in highly visible areas. Those can't be that expensive. $25/banner maybe? Put the exact same thing on posters and tape them to entrances all over. Keep it simple, no fine print, it has to be something people can read while walking by. Noone is goin to stop and read small print. Just black letters on a gold background.

Look, people don't even know when the games are. They don't even know they can get in free. This isn't common knowledge. Go ask some random students about when the next game is or how much it costs. They'll say "I don't know". How you don't understand this I don't know.

[milwsport]

Our perspectives are all shaped by our environment. If everyone you know, knows when the games are, the tickets are free etc. you would think that all students have that information. Fact is they all don't know. The schedule is accessible on the web, the rest is not.

[PantherU]

Maybe you could all show a little support by showing up at the Gasthaus tonight at 7.

[hoops]

schweaty - put your money where your mouth is. as p^2 said, you can make a difference and give money to the cause.