Attendance Concerns Remain...

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

While those of us who follow SMU Football closely and care about the program will remain fired up and supportive and go to all the home games, I have a nasty feeling that come about game 7 next year, Ford Stadium is still going to be as sparsely populated as it ever was.

I think JJ's hire will be very much akin to the opening of the stadium...full stadium for game 1 of JJ's tenure, and then the numbers will dwindle rather quickly back to the miserable crowds we draw currently.

I know winning will bring more people, but I just think it is a shame that even with a nationally prominent hire and a new and exciting offensive scheme, our stands will still ultimatley be vacant. I just don't want the shine to wear off of the enthusiasm as quickly as I think it may.

I know everyone's response will be that winning will change that, and I hope yall are right. I am completely confident Jones can turn this thing around and bring some wins to the Hilltop...I just hope S.O. prepared Coach Jones for the bright glare of the sun he will see off of all the empty seats for a while.

[QuikSStang]

stop raining on our parade!

[Mustangs35SMU]

I'll worry about that in September. For now...yay!!

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

HAHAHA...sorry! Just bums me out.

[SMU_is_bowling]

True statements, and valid points . . . I hope this excites the students and alumni as much as it does those on this board. He would get a great tan off that glare though, much better than the Hawaii sun!!!!

[Rayburn]

Attendence has been a problem at SMU since the 1970s.

[QuikSStang]

Back to Celebrating!!!!

[Phxfan]

HAHAHA...sorry! Just bums me out.

From all the publicity this is getting around the country and I hope in Dallas, the crowds should be there and if SMU is winning they will continue to grow. There is a generation that remembers and will be back.

[Alaric]

IMO, the only way attendance problems can be fixed is by marketing aggressively to DFW and specifically to football fans who aren't necessarily affiliated with other college programs and/or people with kids who are impressionable and will support us through thick and thin. Become the school of Garland/Mesquite/Forney/McKinney/Dallas...Miami is an expensive, private school but loved by lots of non-Miami grads down there.

Too few SMU alumni in the Dallas area to give us consistent crowds plus too many other entertainment options for the well heeled. Go after football fans and turn them into SMU fans.

No reason to have done a program like this until we prove we can put a somewhat competent team on the field.

[Come and Take It]

Hey, the fat kid has a somewhat Hawaiian shirt on.

[papawasamustang]

I believe that Jedi Jones understands that.

I also believe that SO showed that he is committed to bringing quality big time college football back to big D meaning the Athletic Dept will step up marketing & all other means to promote SMU as Dallas' college team.
Jones is a great 1st step just as Robo Doh was for the BB team.

[SoCal_Pony]

A JJ coached team will be much more fun to watch than a PJ team, that is for sure.

Mustang Mania filled 65k Texas Stadium....no reason we cannot get 30k to Ford.

[docabel]

Hopefully this will fix the on field product.

What SO needs to concentrate on now is fixing the off-field product. The Boulevard is great, and we all love it, but think back to last year how many complaints were filed on this board about the game day experience (running out of food, drinks, in-out policy, etc.). JJ will get the fans (new, old, first time), but their experience at the game, as much as the product will get them to come back again.

Rome wasn't built in day, but we need to build on this positive momentum.

[Mustang1991]

I couldn't get a hooker to celebrate with at this hour, but this will work...and she's cheaper:

[SMUBob]

We have a base of roughly 10,000 fans. I believe June Jones' brand of football will cement that base to attend the games.

That leaves us 20,000 seats to sell, using creative marketing approaches to fill seats until the quality of the football product is sufficient to sell 30,000 seats. That would be nothing for Russ Potts and Brad Thomas. A few ideas:

1. post-game concerts set up in the south end zone, that ought to keep a higher percentage of the fans (and the students for sure) in their seats.

2. more aggressive marketing of Ford Stadium for high school playoff games in order to make more high schoolers comfortable with the SMU campus and game-day surroundings.

3. ratchet up the sponsorship and intensity levels on the boulevard. imagine if Potts and Thomas had had the boulevard to work with??

4. fill the north end zone of every game with high school students for dirt cheap prices. High school football players, cheerleaders and members of drill teams are admitted free of charge. Invite one area high school band per game to fill a section and add to the noise level.

5. corporate promotions that involve more giveaway tickets.

6. each game (and boulevard experience) has a theme. seems to me a luau would work nicely for the first game. I would think letting the world know that 3,000 SMU coeds will be there in various sarongs, grass skirts and bikini tops would work wonders to increase attendance.

7. marketing the SMU experience as a "babe fest" is not far from the truth and is something we uniquely have to offer relative to other metroplex sporting events. Sex appeal sells and we don't need to bring in Hooters girls to do it.

It's no big deal to create some "mania". Just gotta have a team that doesn't disappoint along the way. Potts had Mike Ford to Emanuel Tolbert, that was enough to create a .500 team that was exciting, but it brought in the fans. It can be done. it just takes a commitment.