We're on a mission: brainstorm

[PantherU]

All right, we have a job to do. We have to figure out a way to boost student attendance into the 1,000 range. UW-Madison is a given, but I believe we can get 1,000 students to Central Michigan on Wednesday, December 19th - 3 days before the end of the semester.

Read my Sporting News blog entitled "Come on out, please?" The online blog editor was very interested in it, and thinks I could expand it to an article for the Post. Once you're done reading it, continue reading this thread.

www.sportingnews.com/blog/JLemke

So, the gist of the experiment was that students will come when they're held by the hand and shown the bus. But the question I post to you now, is this: how do we change the attitude toward basketball in the student body?

Not the same question of just getting students to games, but how do we get them excited to go to men's basketball?

All right. I'm going to give you guys hypothetical resources, and you tell me what we can do with them. The basketball team itself has nothing to do with this. I don't want a "just win" answer, we already know winning draws more. I want other answers.

1. Rob Jeter, assistants, and players. If you think them doing something will get more students at the games, add it to the thread.

2. 5 students, all crazy enthusiastic like me (or as close as you can get), with the ability to recruit more.

3. You can work with the athletic department.

Now, consider the facts:

1. The dorms and union are the highest-traffic sites.

2. The athletic department does not have a lot of money. In fact, consider your monetary resources low.

Come up with some innovative ideas we might be able to use!

[muwarrior2007]

I know you all aren't big fans of Tom Crean, but I think one of the best things he did to boost student attendance when he first arrived at MU was doing things like having a juice and donuts in each of the dorms and then when people would come, he'd talk about the team and get kids excited for the season/team. I know I've heard stories where he has said that they started out with like 14 students and moved up rapidly. Just an idea of something that's worked.

[nighthawk]

Thanks for the constructive comment. I've heard the same stories about his ability to engage the students and get them excited.

The only thing I miss about BP was this very thing. BP was/is a one man marketing department. His presence covered a lot of inaction in the AD (and that comes from a very highly placed former member of the AD staff).

Unfortunately, Jeter is not naturally disposed to this type of marketing and promotion.

I really wish Rob would loosen up, and realize that this isn't Madison. the program doesn't sell itself like it does there. Bo never needs to rally the students. That's all been done already. He just needs to be a great coach.

Rob seems to have that same state of mind here, and that isn't going to work. He needs to be willing to engage the students at their level.

Rob is a very funny and engaging guy in person and one on one. He has the ability to be the BP type of guy, but it isn't a natural tendency for him.

As I'm sure he tells his players all the time, there is always something you can improve. That goes for him and the coaches, too.

He needs to get out there. Get on the radio. Get in the public. Be approachable, be engaging, be enthusiastic. NEVER EVER turn down an interview request. Walk the campus and talk to people. Go to the Union and stand on a table and make people pay attention.

The one thing that remains a constant at UWM will be the staff (until he gets another offer from a high major, that is). The roster will constantly be changing. He needs to realize that he is the face of the program, whether he wants to be or not.

As the face of the program, he needs to be positive, exciting, and even be willing to make a bit of a fool of himself. If the students think he's fun, they will WANT to be a part of things.

Look at BP's methods. Rob may not be able to do all of that, but there are lessons to be learned there.

I KNOW Rob can do this, but he has to make the decision to do it himself. No one can force it. It has to be genuine. I'm hoping that someone shows him this thread, and that he takes it as it's intended.

Rob's a good coach (and will get better every year), a great recruiter, and an upstanding and great man. All of that is fine, but none of that will get the students involved.

[spreaditon]

i agree, i think that the students now dont feel any personal connection to the team. i remember a few years back when numerous times throughout the year BP and the players would have free cookouts by the dorms for students and himself along with the players would serve food and talk to students. it made the students feel a connection between themselves and the team. i really think exposure on a face to face level with the students will get them to the game.

also, although the bus from the dorms and union are nice, there is a large number of students that dont live in/ directly next to the dorms or union. i, for one, live a few blocks from campus, and no longer feel safe to walk to and from the dorms that late at night with the crime the way it is. i know it would be a long shot, but but if there was a shuttle leaving from somewhere off campus (like from the north ave bar area) that would be helpful in getting the older students who dont live on campus down there...i dont know, just throwing a few ideas out there.

[uwmfutbol]

I agree with muwarrior2007. It would be great to see Rob going out there and "getting to know" his fans. BP did it. I saw him at several soccer games talking to the fans, both about the soccer team and the upcoming basketball season.

Obviously, there's no way for us to tell him to do that, but it's just an idea.

Beyond that, there really isn't too much more that can be done. If people go to the dorms and tell the students about the games, that's a good start.

The biggest problem is that most people at UWM just don't care about our athletics program. It sickens me that the VAST majority don't even seem to have a little pride in their school and their team.

[milwsport]

I have a few suggestions.

1) Target your approaches. Concentrate on the students who are mostly likely to be interested in attending a game. For example, the guys who work out or play intramural sports are more likely to enjoy college BB than people going to the UWM Fine Arts productions.

2) Do a survey. (Any marketing students who can do this as a class project?) Find out what works and what doesn't by finding out why people aren't coming now. Include questions like "Would you be more interested in attending if" Ask what if anything they know about Panther BB. Identify misconceptions and things that are getting in the way. So ask questions like "Do you know how to get in for free" etc. But keep the survey short. No more than 10 questions so it can be done quickly.

And keep track of where your responses are coming from. The Union, the Pavilion, the dorms? Your answers might provide clues for how to market the games in those areas.

Sure for some people no matter what, they won't come but you might find out things like "I don't know how to get tickets." or "It's too expensive" which would tell you that a campaign letting students know it's free and how they can get in for free might be worthwhile.

3) Be enthused. You won't get anyone to be enthusiastic about something you're not enthused about. Understand you're trying to change attitudes here. That's a long process and means working hard for a long period of time.

[Deleted]

Well I think we can stop trying to compare Coach Jeter to Coach Pearl because they are way two different personalities. Bruce is very outgoing and Rob is much more reserved. I agree that in our state of affairs we probably need a coach that is willing to reach out and help grow the fan base but we all must understand that with our short-lived success recently the fan base will be very fickle for years to come.

[PantherU]

I think you're giving up on Rob opening up to the students.

[DunneDeal]

Coach Jeter is no Pearl..but whats to say he wont/cant open up. He is a coach and does his job, he does not have to be the 1 man marketing zoo that Pearl was. On that note. Gamedays, we need those that want more people at the games to stand up before class starts and just remind people of the game...be loud and proud about it, remind them it's free, about the busses.

[PantherU]

Sounds good to me...well, I already have been doing it.

Of course, we all need to be wearing black and gold on game day, and if you see someone you recognize on campus, like me, yell "HEY JIMMY, GAME DAY! WHOOO!" I'll yell back, and some freshmen will be, "what? I didn't know. Sweet, game tonight!"

[franklinthefuture]

the reason that many students dont care or have pride in uwm atheltics is because the school doesnt either. Im sorry but its bushleague. we are a mid major that is trying to get over the hump. they have to get signs everywhere they possibly can, give away cheap merchandise..... just try to decorate the campus and other areas around campus with uwm athletic gear so much that you cant go anywhere without seeing "panther basketball......". the school needs to create a buzz.

[PantherU]

Good idea Franklin...would you be willing to offer some of your time to decorating the campus on game days?

I'm already up for it, and I know others here are as well. PM me

[mujivitz06]

Without a doubt, the "Coffee, Crean, and Donuts" campaign was a resounding success, one that started often with less than 20 students. The important thing to remember is that it didn't end there, and marketing a program is a neverending process. The right way about it is to approach it with the attitude that it will be a labor of love. With that out of the way, there is potential anywhere.

[PantherU]

I'll make a note of Crean's campaign.

As for student section articles, my "Building the Klotsche Krazies" will be my piece in the basketball season review issue.

[milwsport]

Feeding of the "juice and doughnuts idea, what about a "weekly lunch (or breakfast) with the Coach?" in the Student Union? and a "weekly dinner" in the dorms?