16,612

[CalallenStang]

based upon the song the band is playing, that video was taken in the 2nd half after the lightning had come through the area.

[LAPonyAir]

Why don't they sell general admission tickets? $30 for sideline seats, $18 for endzone seats? Nobody in the stadium checks, at least on the East side (for obvious reasons). Do they check on the West side? I just graduated so I got the cheapest ticket and went straight to the student section.

[ponyte]

It will take a while to build a larger audience. Losing for so long has long term affects. The crowd was small but more engaged. In my section, the weather scared off a fair amount. Folks with small children and very old. There was an older gentleman near me that had his entire family, including two grandsons that was more engaged in the game than anyone else in the section (this analysis excludes the Special Delivery guys as they are by far the most engaged at all time fans in the stadium). Talk about fans, this older gentlemen calmly explained the game to his grandsons and encouraged them to be active (and sportsmanlike). Nothing creates a fan like an older relative setting an example.

What I witnessed last night was progress. Not overnight SEC enthusiasm but genuine progress. The Vard is a great social environment and adds to the attraction of the game. I wish many on the Vard would come to the game but the atmosphere outside makes a great impression on future students, fans and supporters.

I attended SMU games as a kid and loved getting into the game with other fans. Last night was the first time I have felt fans involved in the game at all levels since I was a kid.

Last night wasn't perfect and I really don't expect the crowd to be better against WSU. What I hope is the atmosphere will continue to develop and improve.

[Pony_Fan]

I am going to guess that there are 3K in the suites on both decks and corners.

Like many have said, a ticket booth on the Blvd would help a little, not a whole lot.
I know a bunch of people who just show up on the blvd and then leave, its crazy to me.
Maybe if we beat A&M next year ?

[Charleston Pony]

SMU today is not unlike the expansion Cowboys when they arrived in Dallas...trying to attract fans. For games like UAB where you know we are going to have a half empty stadium, we should have an extremely attractive end zone package for parents with young kids. The Cowboys used to allow every adult buying an end zone seat to bring in 5 kids free. Why not price any child or student ticket at $1 for games like this? We need to work a lot harder to at least get 20k plus in for every game.

TCU and Houston are the only 2 home games this year that will draw well

[skyscraper]

Not quite sure how anyone on this board could say last night showed progress attendance wise except for the student section (which was great).

There has been passing mention made to the 'lost generation' of SMU alums in this thread, and that is the issue with attendance.
The real question is, are the people who graduated from SMU b/w 1995 and 2005 'lost in the desert' and can be brought back? Or are they gone for good no matter what?
Not quite sure how you go after that group (which is the key group IMO).
But this has to be some type of wake up call for the athletic department to find $$ to restart some type of marketing campaign.

Final thought: as I was sitting in the stands during the first quarter the Houston/UTEP game from Friday popped into my mind. That was a game of no real importance or significance to the Houston fan base, yet that run down stadium was packed and crazy. How long until we get to that point?

[davidpaul123]

The boulevard was packed and fun. We need a better way to translate this into getting people in the stadium. I second the need for a blvd ticket booth. ATHLETICS DEPT ARE YOU LISTENING TO US????

[ponyte]

The lost generation began when we got the DP. Many kids left the school because there was no football environment. And at least one I know is a very wealthy Arkansas supporter now (left SMU because of lack of FB, now very wealthy in investments and supports the Beloved Razorbacks) Another DP casualty is the SMU women. They have no SMU football experience. They now have young kids but married spouses from other successful programs. Guest which school those young minds support?

The opposite is true. I know one woman that was here during the glory days. She married a successful man from another successful university (football wise with at least 2 national championships fairly recently) and guess where her young boys went? SMU! Not athletes but certainly good students that will amke this university proud.

Volume increases with wins. Enthusiasm begins before wins. There has been a core group (albeit much older) that has supported what little success we have had over 2 generations. An older group generally doesn't attract new younger supporters in the short term. Winning attracts the short term fans. We win, we will gather support. We win next week, and turn the TCU game into a possible big game, and we attract attention. It may not equal fans but it equals attention. And we need attention to attract interest that will hopefully mean new folks attending.

Increase the adrenaline factor at a game will also attract more 'casual' fans. nothing is more addictive than the natural endorphins and enkephalins generated by the natural high of a winning team in a great atmosphere.

[docabel]

Cheaper, easier access to general admission tickets.

95% of games, all 6 of my season tickets are spoken for by some combination of family/kids. Problem is like last night when 3 of kids wanted to bring along friends. Don't need seats with mine as kids are never in the seats for any extended period of time (usually just as a pit stop for food and money). Just can't see ponying up another $60, plus ?20 mins? in line for them.

Ditto to the students staying and cheering throughout the game.

Also had a group of young kids in section next to us (didn't pick up exact name, but looked like 30 odd kids from a youth center). If half these kids grow up to be Mustang fans, we will be in good shape. Cheered at appropriate times, loudly, and even brought a large handmade banner they pulled out in 3rd quarter. Two Thumbs Up!

[Alaric]

yeah I got a good laugh out of that too. We need to quit complaining about Dallas. The problem is our own alumni, family and university friends.

You got it.

Absolutely. I took two friends who weren't smu alum. All my smu friends went to the Dave Matthews concert, out of town, had parties, etc., yet they claim to be fans

[stc9]

Does anyone on this site have contacts in the ticket office or th AD's Office? It would be helpful to know what their plans are to expand ticket sales. Though I no longer live in Dallas, it seems, from reading ponyfans.com, that there is a core group of diehard fans (who go to all home games) and no effort to increase the fan base. Reviewing this thread showed 5 or 6 really easy ways to increase ticket sales - even if they only produce marginal increases that would be an improvement. Does the school have any plans to be more proactive or a long-term strategic plan they want to implement to increase the fan base?

[RGV Pony]

Does anyone on this site have contacts in the ticket office or th AD's Office? It would be helpful to know what their plans are to expand ticket sales. Though I no longer live in Dallas, it seems, from reading ponyfans.com, thjbat there is a core group of diehard fans (who go to all home games) and no effort to increase the fan base. Reviewing this thread showed 5 or 6 really easy ways to increase ticket sales - even if they only produce marginal increases that would be an improvement. Does the school have any plans to be more proactive or a long-term strategic plan they want to implement to increase the fan base?

They were on the right track when they hired the guy from Southwest. Then he went back after less than a year, they hired someone from the museum to take his place, then they eliminated marketing altogether. SMU may not have $ for marketing, but you have to think a successful minor league marketer..say the guy who runs marketing for the grand prairie airhogs..would be an upgrade and relatively inexpensive

[stc9]

It just strikes me that there are so many small things they can do with little effort to increase the size of the footprint.

I got to SMU a couple years after we started playing again. Most of my classmates were SMU fans from their childhoods. Winning and/or being exciting will bring more adults in, but getting kids in the stadium will keep it full for generations.

As far as marketing goes, head over to the Cox School and get MBA students to put a plan together. Make it an academic contest for a grade and have the current staff implement it. There is a ton of intellectual talent already on campus - go use it.

[theapache]

New season ticket holder here. Looking forward to a great year of SMU football. I've been following SMU football since the late 90's when my brother played. Have attend at least one game each year since then and always followed the Mustangs closely, hoping one day they would get over the hump. Growing up my family had season tickets to UT and still do, and typically go to several games each year, until now. With the family competition for UT tickets high, two young kids who can't stand up the entire game and a 2 hour drive versus 5 hours, i've decided that SMU games are where we'll be.
Last night was great!! SMU has a great team and the future is bright. The only thing that will solve attendance problems is winning consistently and beating teams we shouldn't beat. The best marketing tool is beating someone like TCU or Tech on national TV. Hopefully, we get a win like this soon.

[MrMustang1965]

Baylor played Buffalo last night in Waco and brought in more than 40,000 to Floyd Casey Stadium! In...WACO!!! I think it was Parents' Weekend, though. Still....