Copeland: Getting Students/Fans in the Seats + 5pm Kick-off

[Water Pony]

Latest AD Update on steps to Understand the Issues in boosting Attendance. Combined with Phil's Team coming on stronger, bigger, younger (?), this looks like a plan.

April 30, 2004
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It is hard to imagine, but we are just four short months away from the start of the 2004 football season. As Coach Bennett and his staff are busy getting the team prepared for the fall, our marketing and sales staff is focused on its plans for filling the stadium and enhancing the atmosphere at games. As part of this effort, we enlisted the help of a volunteer committee to examine filling Ford Stadium to capacity each home game.

We broke the group off into subcommittees to examine generating attendance from the following groups: SMU students, SMU Alumni, current season ticket holders, Park Cities residents, and the Dallas community as a whole. The members of the committee have not only brought some great ideas to the table, but they have also been honest in what it will take to get more people to Ford Stadium. I can promise that we are being very aggressive in our approach to the upcoming season, and I want to share some of the plans that we have.

One of the main issues has been that we need to communicate more - not just in terms of content, but also spreading our message to a larger group. We don’t always have the coverage that we want in the media, so we have to take alternate measures to promote all that is going on at SMU. One of the initiatives that we will be undertaking is a new e-mail system that will be able to deliver more targeted information to an increased number of people.

Student attendance has been another major item. A focus group coordinated with the help of Cox professor Dr. Marion Sobol was conducted to gather more information on this matter. We have been working with student leaders, as well as the fraternities and sororities, to address some of the issues, which include making sure that our football players are more visible on campus and creating more awareness on campus for our games.

Another key issue is The Boulevard, which has been one of our greatest assets since we opened Ford Stadium. The issue is with people that stay on The Boulevard and don’t come into the stadium for kickoff. The committee discussed several ideas including closing The Boulevard entirely at kickoff and putting a "countdown clock" by the tents so that everyone on The Boulevard would be reminded how much time was left until kickoff.

Needless to say, the committee has helped to create some interesting ideas, many of which you will see implemented this year.

As for season tickets, I have been pleased with the renewal rate to this point. I always like to compare where we are right now to where we were at the same point a year ago. Despite the disappointment of last season, we are slightly ahead of last year’s season ticket pace. I hope that those of you that have been season ticket holders will stick with us. Last season’s addition of the Kids’ Corral at football games was very positive, and this season we will be adding an enclosed tent for season ticket holders in the south end zone area that we will call "Mustang Stables." We will have more details on this in the weeks to come, but among the benefits of the tent will be alternate food options, big-screen televisions to view other games and a pre-game "chalk talk" from a member of the coaching staff.

A resounding number of season ticket holders and students wanted to see us play all of our games in the evening. While we have always played our first two games of the season at 7 p.m. to battle the heat, the 2 p.m. kickoffs made it difficult for parents with children that had soccer games and other activities in the afternoon. As a result, we pushed back our start times from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. with the exception of the Homecoming game.

Our marketing staff is working very hard to ensure a wonderful experience for all of our fans, and I sincerely hope that you will choose to be a part of it. You can renew your season tickets online at smumustangs.com or by calling 214-SMU-GAME.

September 4 is right around the corner. It will be here before we know it. The next four months are critical to us as we prepare for the season opener against Texas Tech. We look forward to seeing you on The Boulevard and in the stands at kick off.

Go Mustangs!

Jim

[Water Pony]

. . . smumustangs.com or by calling 214-SMU-GAME.

September 4 is right around the corner. It will be here before we know it. The next four months are critical to us as we prepare for the season opener against Texas Tech. We look forward to seeing you on The Boulevard and in the stands at kick off.

Go Mustangs!

Jim

[BUS]

Will there be adult beverages available in the Mustang Stables?

Will it stay open for an hour or two after the game with a band or something?

[Stallion]

the 5:00 p.m kickoffs will serve to spur even more participation in the Boulevard but it sure wastes some nice fall afternoon weather which often can turn out to be rather cool in the shadows and the dark of the early evening. I just hope all the drunks on the Boulevard who get a couple of extra hours to booze it up remember to come to the games.

[BUS]

How about cLosing the Boulevard and drive that crowd to the Mustang Stables and use it as a profit center.

If only cost about 50 cents to make a drink... sell them for 3 and make some money for the athetic budget.

Win Win and with a Win on the field, everyones happy.

[Water Pony]

Isn't booze prohibited in Ford?

[LA_Mustang]

I was thinking the same thing. It would be nice if they changed that.

[couch 'em]

Never going to happen.

[RE Tycoon]

Yeah, alcohol is prohibited in Ford unless you schill out the money to sit in the club area. This is 2004, people need to get over this whole alcohol is evil thing. It would be a GREAT revenue generator, not only from sales but also through an "exclusive contract" with one of the beer companies. I would also gurarntee that attendance would increase around 2,000 people a game from students alone.

[LA_Mustang]

Tell me about it. The whole wet/dry issue in the Dallas area is laughable. Dallas is the only major city I have ever been to that regulates alcohol zoning so strictly. I used to live near the Dallas/Richardson border and I had to drive 5 miles just to get some beer?? Its a joke. And the funny this is that no one can give a good reason why its that way. Dallas=zoning=joke!!!!! Houston has it right, build and sale whatever, wherever. Sorry, but that has always bugged the hell outta me.

[SMUstang]

Those of us who live out of town and drive in for the games prefer the 2 PM kickoff so we have time after the game to return home and don't have to spend the night in a Dallas hotel. (and pay for Jerry Jones' new football stadium)

[WreckEm16]

You think 5 miles to get a beer is bad? I have to drive a good 20 minutes - on an interstate, mind you - to get beer.

Thanks Lubbock City Council. As if a fat man wouldn't cross a room to get a donut.

[DickerJames]

Thinking of ways to MAKE people leave the Boulevard and go watch a winless team is a very bad idea in my opinion. If and when this team starts winning and is in contention for SOMETHING, butts will be in the seats. Trying to force someone to watch bad product will only foster bad will.

[Boston Pony]

Isn't there rules against stadium selling alcohol at NCAA events? "blind eye" to bringing it in, however it used to be schools couldn't openly sell in the stadium (remember Cotton Bowl).

[Mike Damone]

Thinking of ways to MAKE people leave the Boulevard and go watch a winless team is a very bad idea in my opinion. If and when this team starts winning and is in contention for SOMETHING, butts will be in the seats. Trying to force someone to watch bad product will only foster bad will.

I agree. Winning cures all ills.