Attendance figures

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69MG
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Attendance figures

Post by 69MG » Sat Dec 25, 2021 12:14 pm

Merry Christmas to all board members.

I tried to find the lowest attended game in the DK/MM eras but it would take a lot of work. I was able to pretty easily find average game attendance by year. The trend is not encouraging.
2008 - DK - 4,900
2009 - DK - 5,065
2010 - DK - 3,987
2011 - DK - 3,300
2012 - DK - 4,279
2013 - DK - 5,255
2014 - DK - 6,544
2015 - DK - 4,553
2016 - DK - 3,365
2017 - MM - 3,296
2018 - MM - 2,994
2019 - MM - 2,792
2020 - MM - no attendance
2021 - MM - 2,159 (6 games) Probably affected somewhat by Covid concerns.

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Old Cage
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Re: Attendance figures

Post by Old Cage » Sat Dec 25, 2021 1:17 pm

^ Since Carvy came onboard, hockey has gone from 2300 to 4600 (through 19-20).
"Jack didn’t have any envy in him," Calipari said. "He was the greatest coach to ever coach here."

minutefanjsf
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Re: Attendance figures

Post by minutefanjsf » Sat Dec 25, 2021 8:20 pm

The school has to do more to get students to student events. The student population has skyrocketed as attendance at athletic events has plummeted. The school needs to find a way to make going to events an expectation, especially athletic events. It is the only way to get numbers up. With bad teams people with no stake in the school will not show up.

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Re: Attendance figures

Post by Juice Stand » Sun Dec 26, 2021 8:03 am

Low attendance at UMass games is the result of the dreaded double whammy, which we are currently in the firm grasp of.

1. We all know that winning cures all. When you win, people come to the Mullins Center. When you don't, they go to the movies or out to eat instead.
2. Fan engagement and marketing for this team is almost nonexistent. I listen to sports radio and never hear a promo for the team. I used to see billboards along I-91, no more. The radio show is kaput. I'd like to know what other people see for marketing to the general public. I get plenty of emails from the department, but that's because I'm registered to their list. What are they doing to entice people that aren't invested in the department like us diehards? McCall made a nice gesture early on to pay for a student's spring break flight if 2,000 students showed up, but I haven't heard a peep about that since.

To be honest, I don't actually care too much about attendance. My interest is going to the game and seeing the team win, and that's been a success regardless of how empty the place is. It's just kind of a bummer that attendance continues to fall and they don't seem to be doing much about it.

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Re: Attendance figures

Post by Floyd » Sun Dec 26, 2021 9:35 am

I agree Juice. Gimmicks and giveaways are only temporary bandaids. Only way to increase attendance is winning.
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Re: Attendance figures

Post by minutefanjsf » Sun Dec 26, 2021 9:56 am

Juice Stand wrote: Sun Dec 26, 2021 8:03 am Low attendance at UMass games is the result of the dreaded double whammy, which we are currently in the firm grasp of.

1. We all know that winning cures all. When you win, people come to the Mullins Center. When you don't, they go to the movies or out to eat instead.
2. Fan engagement and marketing for this team is almost nonexistent. I listen to sports radio and never hear a promo for the team. I used to see billboards along I-91, no more. The radio show is kaput. I'd like to know what other people see for marketing to the general public. I get plenty of emails from the department, but that's because I'm registered to their list. What are they doing to entice people that aren't invested in the department like us diehards? McCall made a nice gesture early on to pay for a student's spring break flight if 2,000 students showed up, but I haven't heard a peep about that since.

To be honest, I don't actually care too much about attendance. My interest is going to the game and seeing the team win, and that's been a success regardless of how empty the place is. It's just kind of a bummer that attendance continues to fall and they don't seem to be doing much about it.
I have a friend/coworker who lives in Amherst. Their college aged (not enrolled at UMass) child asked him about going to a hoops game. My friend asked how much it cost to a attend a game. His kid had a wildly inflated idea of the cost. So, you had someone who wants to go to a game and someone who would go living in Amherst, with no clue about cost or upcoming events. That in a nutshell is the result of marketing to the public. Again, my guess is UMass students also have the same level of ambiguity about it. Based on my experience, UMass assumes the product will sell itself and expects people to search for themselves for tickets, etc. This is not unique to UMass and athletics. The school function similarly in residential life and academics. If one is not actively looking for things at UMass, one will miss out.

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Re: Attendance figures

Post by minutefanjsf » Sun Dec 26, 2021 10:03 am

Floyd wrote: Sun Dec 26, 2021 9:35 am I agree Juice. Gimmicks and giveaways are only temporary bandaids. Only way to increase attendance is winning.
I disagree. There are many mediocre and even some losing athletic ventures across the country that attract more than 20% capacity at their venues. We all know that there is a supply of fans that have not been reached. The game day experience needs to be more than the game. Parking, concessions, etc. all need to be improved. People who are about the game only, accept and deal with the shortcomings in these areas. People who want a good time by attending a game do not put up with crappy parking rules and $14 beers, etc. gimmicks and giveaways are a band aid, yes. They will not cure the ills until the experience is better. Getting people in the door once to experience a crappy event does the opposite IMO and will drive them away.

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Re: Attendance figures

Post by harbo » Sun Dec 26, 2021 10:22 am

Obviously, a winning team and an exciting product are the major factors.

But to me, there is too much dead time during the games. A necessary evil to pay the bills, but media timeouts (three or four minutes at a time) create multiple vacuums. Throw in the strategy to start fouling with five minutes left to try to reduce the double-digit deficit and get back into the game. When I was a student and the dinosaurs roamed the campus, the games rarely went past an hour and forty minutes, and if they did, it was probably an exciting OT game. Today, the rarity is to complete the game in less than two hours.

At least the band provides some excellent entertainment.

Just an observation.

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Re: Attendance figures

Post by Uminuteman » Sun Dec 26, 2021 10:32 am

"Based on my experience, UMass assumes the product will sell itself "

Why would they assume this? The product has been sub-par for many, many years.

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Re: Attendance figures

Post by Floyd » Sun Dec 26, 2021 11:01 am

minutefanjsf wrote: Sun Dec 26, 2021 10:03 am
Floyd wrote: Sun Dec 26, 2021 9:35 am I agree Juice. Gimmicks and giveaways are only temporary bandaids. Only way to increase attendance is winning.
Getting people in the door once to experience a crappy event does the opposite IMO and will drive them away.
Thats my point. If the team is exciting and fun to watch & wins games, people leave feeling good and want to go again. Giving away stuff gets them there, but if the game sucks or they get blown out, they don't return. Also agree with harbo's point about flow/time of games.
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Carl Spackler
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Re: Attendance figures

Post by Carl Spackler » Sun Dec 26, 2021 11:01 am

We’ve all watched games at St. Bonaventure....that’s a student atmosphere. It’s loud, it’s rowdy. Kids are basically on the court...almost part of the action. UMass has the students 30 feet behind the baseline, away from the action, mediocre at best seats. Create that Bonnies atmosphere by seating the students right along the court...I think word would spread quickly around campus how much fun it is to get rowdy and crazy at a basketball game.

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Re: Attendance figures

Post by PreecherJenkins » Sun Dec 26, 2021 11:07 am

69MG wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 12:14 pm Merry Christmas to all board members.

I tried to find the lowest attended game in the DK/MM eras but it would take a lot of work. I was able to pretty easily find average game attendance by year. The trend is not encouraging.
2008 - DK - 4,900
2009 - DK - 5,065
2010 - DK - 3,987
2011 - DK - 3,300
2012 - DK - 4,279
2013 - DK - 5,255
2014 - DK - 6,544
2015 - DK - 4,553
2016 - DK - 3,365
2017 - MM - 3,296
2018 - MM - 2,994
2019 - MM - 2,792
2020 - MM - no attendance
2021 - MM - 2,159 (6 games) Probably affected somewhat by Covid concerns.
Do you know what the most amazing thing is? They hired a company to sell their tickets and attendance went down. Everyone loved the people in athletic marketing but they did a pretty porous job in terms of basketball and football attendance since fall 2015. Lastly, they did them selves no favors with the schedule having Penn State on a Monday night, and Rutgers when the students were on break.

Here is the preecher's 3 step approach:

1. Since there are so few season ticket holders, move everyone to the padded seat side. Students are now behind the benches. If we have to swap the benches due to some NCAA/A10 rules so be it.

2. Every night the students are the stars, music that they want to listen to, giveaways that they want. IT has to be more than the Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Josh Brown, and other six students who show up regularly. Listen to the students who do not show up and give them what they want, but bottom line it has to be fun...

3. Reduce the capacity to 5,500. Yes, it will look like a Jacksonville Jaguars game but we need to give the Bill some atmosphere. Unf, Mullins was built with a hockey team in mind, but we need a more compact environment.

Think you have a huge issue with McCall's connection to the community which seems to be very little, if he spent the past couple of years cultivating some relationships attendance would not be this bad.

I know some people said Covid, and Covid is having an effect on attendance, but not a -20% drop, and certainly not a 36% drop in his five seasons.
"You are what your record says you are" Coach Bill P.

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Re: Attendance figures

Post by minutefanjsf » Sun Dec 26, 2021 11:26 am

Uminuteman wrote: Sun Dec 26, 2021 10:32 am "Based on my experience, UMass assumes the product will sell itself "

Why would they assume this? The product has been sub-par for many, many years.
The resulting lack of sales is part of my evidence. The other is that people living and working in Amherst have seen little to no outreach to attend games. Therefore the school is not selling/marketing the program. I have worked in Amherst for over 20 years. In the last few years, maybe all McCall, no print advertising/posters in local sub shops etc. Nothing in schools that I’ve seen. (I work in a school). My point is many do not even know the team exists unless they get it online. online advertising, etc is not targeted or received well.

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Re: Attendance figures

Post by LS71 » Sun Dec 26, 2021 11:29 am

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Last edited by LS71 on Sun Dec 26, 2021 11:39 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: Attendance figures

Post by JoleonLescottsHair » Sun Dec 26, 2021 11:31 am

PreecherJenkins wrote: Sun Dec 26, 2021 11:07 am Think you have a huge issue with McCall's connection to the community which seems to be very little, if he spent the past couple of years cultivating some relationships attendance would not be this bad.
Maybe. Maybe not. I tend to think a lot of this is sports fan wiring and regional/cultural, but program outreach is a fair discussion to be had. But for a guy who constantly makes his coaching critique personal and thinks using the Coach’s full name is some clever, little insult, or comes on here to tell fans not to enjoy a win, you are one to talk about cultivating relationships. Yes, “connecting to the community.” You could teach a master class.
Last edited by JoleonLescottsHair on Sun Dec 26, 2021 12:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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