WAC basketball attendance

[Charleston Pony]

With our home average of 3,805 per game, SMU is 7th among WAC schools in bball attendance. For what it's worth, here's what everyone is doing:

Fresno - 9,759
Tulsa - 8,268
Hawaii - 7,238
Nevada - 6,309
UTEP - 6,128 (not bad for a sorry team)
Boise - 4,043
Rice - 2,459
La Tech - 1,910
San Jose - 937

Sure would be nice to see SMU up around those Nevada/UTEP numbers. Says a lot about our lack of support in the DFW area. I'm a little surprised by the La Tech numbers. Really thought they'd be closer to us attendance wise. You would assume they are the ONLY game in town and would have more local support for the program.

I see the WAC Tourney returns to Fresno next year, and these numbers tell you all you need to know as to why. Nevada has a "tentative" deal to host the tourney for 2 yrs after that. Don't look for the tourney to be coming to Dallas anytime soon!

[Pony_Fan]

CP, I usually like your posts, but you harp on this point every other game. I truly wish it would change but I don't see that happening unless we win and get to the Dance. It is a shame not more people witnessed some good games this year. I took a SMU alum last night and she said "why haven't I been going to these games".

5 OT's is pretty fun bball. The 1200-1500 is unfortunately here to stay for a while. Last night seemed to be about the same as the TCU game to me. There were actually people in the seats in the end zone (baseline). 4000 official but probably 2000-2500 or so.

I agree, don't expect the WAC tourney to be in Dallas...they won't sell tickets. Big 12 tourney is in Dallas this year I think?

[The CPC]

CPC is also a bit surprised that La. Tech doesnt draw a little bit better. Their womens team draws about triple what their men do. If you want to see something amazing, go to the WAC tournament and watch the tech fans. Big crowds that come to see their womens team play will get up and walk out before the start of their mens game. They're already in the gym, but they walk out on their own team. CPC has never seen the like.

[Hoop Fan]

That La Tech thing is wild, but people follow winners, pure and simple. No amount of promotion is going to to make any real difference for a team with an average record. Promotion will help attendance only when you have a legit conference championship and NCAA contender. Speaking of promotions, anybody else think the SMU Idol thing is painful to watch? The singers are good, but the thing has failed: no effect on attendance, its melodramatic the way the format works, there is an awkward feeling between the crowd and performers and the schedule of the teams coming out to warm up has been botched more than once. I dont blame the marketing folks for trying, but wouldnt the money be better spent to refurbish the locker room or something this program needs?

[cowboypony]

Not that it really matters until our attendance is in the 6,000-7,000 range, but I was at the game last night with 5 other alums. We all took a stab at seeing who could most closely guess the actual attendance. I said 3,800. The other guesses ranged from 3,500 to 4,100. I believe the count in the DMN was about right. It was clearly more than the 2,000-2,500 posted earlier. Still pretty bad for a really good night of BB. Let's all get out to Moody.

[Charleston Pony]

Pony Fan: Yes, I will admit I harp on our attendance woes and that's because strong/weak attendance is the difference between the haves and have nots in the world of college athletics. Our lack of fan support is what has landed us in the mid-major position, and I'm afraid that if things don't improve SOON our fate might get even worse. Remember it wasn't long ago most SMU fans scoffed at being in the same conference as schools like Nevada. Then suddenly, you look up and see them beating us in football 2 yrs in a row and eliminating us from the WAC bball tourney last year. Does fan support help you attract better athletes? I think Nevada is a good case in point.

Let's face it: all the mid-majors are scrambling to align with the highest profile group of schools available, and it's all about getting better TV contracts. The TV networks clearly want to show schools like Marshall, who regularly packs their little 30,000 seat stadium, or Fresno, or even Boise. It's embarrasing to see SMU on TV playing in front of a handful of loyal fans.

Until we have a product worth paying for, SMU needs to make a much more aggressive effort to put butts in the seats at Moody and Ford. I don't know how well advertised the 4/4/4 for $15 was, but that's a start. Realistically, we need to start by doing more to get the student body involved and then reach out to Dallas area youth groups. I'd rather we practically GIVE the tickets away than continue seeing our guys play to a near empty house. Printing coupons on your web site or even putting them in the DMN isn't going to get it done. We have a good business school, don't we? Why aren't we enlisting the help of a marketing class to at least work on the student problem?

Scheduling Big XII opponents along with TCU is an excellent strategy for the non-conference games, but we have to deal with improving attendance for our WAC games.

[Pegasus]

the 4/4/4 was a GREAT deal, BUT WITH EXCEPTION OF THE FAN WEBSITES I DIDN'T SEE IT ADVERTISED. Oh and by the way at least 25% of those in attendance were free tickets, kids groups etc... The marketing dept. goes around campus and BEGS the students to come. Apathy still rules.

[Pony_Fan]

Unless you are a dork like most of us, you probably didn't know about the 4/4/4 - was it in the DMN?? Dallas Observer?? Radio Spot?

CP, thanks for the attendance numbers at the beginning of this post. Fresno and Tulsa are towns which college is the only game in town for the most part. La Tech is a mystery.

Speaking of Mid-majors ..how is the attendance for Butler, Weber State, Coll of Charleston, Gonzaga, Creighton etc?

Cowboy - there is no way that Moody was 1/2 full.

[cowboypony]

I completely agree that attendance is pathetic and it really concerns me as far as our future is concerned. I saw some really entertaining BB last night and it's ashame more of us didn't see it.

I'll stick by my number of around 3,800. Which, by the way, is not half of Moody's capacity. In any event, 2,000 or 3,800 is academic b/c they're both pathetic.

[Charleston Pony]

Pony Fan: there are plenty of "mid-majors" who draw very well for bball. Butler & Creighton both have solid programs and draw near capacity corowds in venues comparale to Moody. Creighton drew 9286 and Butler 7200 to their last home games. Bradley, SW Mo and other MVC teams draw well. Schools like Gonzaga and C of C are hard to figure. They play in cozy little arenas (under 4,000 capacity) but they pack those places to the rafters. C of C averages about 3,500 in a 3,600 seat arena. The debate here is what size arena do they need (they've just recently decided on a plan to renovate and expand to 5,000. Those who wanted 6,500 seats were out-voted by the majority that felt it was important to keep the place packed every night. I think that's the key to creating a great environment...having the place near full. I remember visiting Gallagher-Iba before it was renovated and thinking it would be perfect for SMU. It was a mini-Moody that seated 6,500. C of C played there a few years back and the administration has longed for a similar arena ever since. That's why I favor a remodeling of Moody that will add suites, club seating and improved press facilities even if we lose about 1,500 seats in the process. Give me 5-6,000 people in a 7,500 arena and that's a decent showing. Same thing for Ford Stadium. Give me 25,000 in Ford and it's very respectable. I'd like to think we can generate those numbers with an improved product on the court/field.

[OldPony]

It was obvios from watching on TV that our crowds aren't getting better even as this team improves. It falls back on the Dallas alumni who just don't care. I wonder if "class reunion" games with a little promotion might work. Design a little pep talk about how important attendance is within the promo efforts.
On the bright side, this was a good team effort. Q was outstanding, Simpson looks better each game, BHop is still learning and getting better and better, Castro and Isham both played hard and Lowe hit some huge baskets. This group can still be something special.

[EastStang]

I think the primary problem is competition. Hawaii has no competition to speak of, nor does Fresno. SMU has Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars, Arena Football, Dallas Cowboys (in the fall and through December). Personally our ad campaign ought to focus on affordability. Four tickets, food, etc. $25 vs. $500 to a Mavericks game. Same analogy to the Cowboys. As we learned in Marketing, if your product isn't great focus on the price.

[OldPony]

The primary problem is alums and students who don't care. Yes there are more things to do in DFW. There are also millions more people. We don't connect to Dallas and we don't get our own alumni out. Winning will help. Recruiting Dallas boys will help. Dallas must someday think of SMU as it's university or we'll never draw large crowds but, if we can't draw our own DFW alums back to campus for games, we get what we deserve for turning out (or bringing in) those who don't care about sports. My kids loved sports. They stopped considering SMU after attending some sporting events and seeing how few people cared- alum and student. They now support their schools with attendance and money.

[cowboypony]

It ALL starts with winning. We must have a winning product to even have a chance at increasing attendance. SMU has gone about it completely backwards for 15+ years. Also, creating a good non-conference with teams like Tech, A&M, Baylor, OK State, LSU, Arkansas, etc. would help fill up Moody. I like some of the strides we've made in that area lately.

However, the entire focus and direction or our marketing MUST take a different direction. I've seen too many posts about the inadequacies of our ticket office, promotions, marketing, etc. I believe that SMU must go out and hire (and, be prepared to pay) a cracker jack marketing person, give him/her a legitimate budget and some ability to actually produce some results. I could be wrong, but my strong presumption is that we spend a minimal amount on our marketing personnel and programs - with similar results. I've seen many posts on this board with really good, seeming simple, ideas, yet they are virtually never implemented by SMU. And, the ones that are implemented are done in a manner so as to not reach any of our target market. I usually don't know about any of our promotions except through this board and I am an ardent follower of SMU athletics. My point is simply this: we must effectively target our existing market with a top notch marketing budget and program. Then, with a winning team(s) we expand further into the DFW area. Yes, we have competition for our sports $$ but I talk to way too many non-SMU people who are eagerly looking for college sports and don't know anything about SMU. The administration, in my opinion, continues to expect people to "just show up" when it's not that simple. I, for one, am just not convinced that we cannot significantly increase our attendances if it is given the proper attention.

[Horseradish]

SMU thinks that they have hired a crackerjack marketing guy, and they're not paying him chicken feed. So far Woody Norris has brought us the following great ideas. 1.) The Mustang Maniac mascot. 2.) the postgame "Delirious" concert. 3.) Mustang Rocks. This last one seems like a fun idea, but it hasnt drawn a soul to the games, and the prize package is costing $15,000 (some of it was donated.) Even the 4,4,4, for $15 is a money loser, the food costs more than the price of the tickets.
So, the athletic deparment has hired whats supposed to be a marketing guru, and is pumping money into the effort, but so far they're not seeing any return on that.