Mascot/logo news?

[filbert]

Re: Mascot/logo news?

Unfortunately, vocal or active student sections seem to be a thing of the past at Frost arena these days.

Not just SDSU . . . I saw an article a while back that Duke was having trouble getting students to come to basketball games.

"The attendance last year was pathetic in terms of fan support, and that's something we're trying to rectify this year," said Roberto Bazzani, a Duke senior who serves as head line monitor.


The new ticketing system allows students to reserve seats online for games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Student attendance has been slipping over the past five years, and when the men's team finished 22-11 last year, more than half the home games were played before empty seats in the student sections.


"It was minimal at first, and then last year, it was a dramatic decrease," Bazzani said. "Last year, you could walk in 15 minutes after tipoff and still get great seats."

Duke, having trouble filling the bleachers with the Cameron Crazies.

Let that sink in . . .

[RodentiaX1]

Re: Mascot/logo news?

It sounds like allowing the students to reserve seats let students who might not actually go take up good seats, and removed the incentive for students to show up early to get good seats. I've observed that the students who arrive early are themost enthusiastic, while those who stagger in late tend to be less enthusiastic, and more inclined to leave early. Take away that incentive, and you take away a lot of the enthusiasm.

[thebluehatman]

Re: Mascot/logo news?

It sounds like allowing the students to reserve seats let students who might not actually go take up good seats, and removed the incentive for students to show up early to get good seats. I've observed that the students who arrive early are the most enthusiastic, while those who stagger in late tend to be less enthusiastic, and more inclined to leave early. Take away that incentive, and you take away a lot of the enthusiasm.

I think the students that the come the earliest to the games like us superfans are the fans that have a passion for SDSU athletics and want to have fun. It's a shame a lot of kids on campus these days care more about themselves and less about the college experience besides the drinking. Yes it's true the student section is dead these days, and I don't think we can figure out how to revive life into students. I think passionate die hard student fans are starting to become a thing of the past.

[Grizzled_Jack]

Re: Mascot/logo news?

Sad. I didn't consider my self out of the ordinary as an undergraduate. I'm sure I missed games, but I don't remember missing many. I think it's really sad that crowds are down by about 50% since the DII days. The transition is over, time to get the crowds back.

[Nidaros]

Re: Mascot/logo news?

Sad. I didn't consider my self out of the ordinary as an undergraduate. I'm sure I missed games, but I don't remember missing many. I think it's really sad that crowds are down by about 50% since the DII days. The transition is over, time to get the crowds back.

Grizzled Jack:

You need to take a week off and spend it on campus during BB season. The changes will shock you to no end. You can not begin to compare student life to what we experienced in the 1960's. About the only common denominator is Jims Tap and Nicks Hamburger. Enrollment is triple or more and the students are more independent maybe more mobile so they dont hang around campus that much. Parking has gotten much worse for the mobile ones who include just about everyone. Plus Frost even with back chair seating is about double that of the barn. Dorms are close to Frost, but that does mean every student rushes over to Frost. Too many other things going on. I cant figure it out either. Some times student government elections to not include more than a 1000 votes with maybe 8500 eligible on compus. I think most are thinking about going anywhere from Brookings just as the ad slogan has suggested. Its only fair to say that something like the WNIT packed the students and fans in. So its about the product that we put on the court and thats what is needed to bring back the crowds, fans and students a like. Saturday night nearly 1800 for men's game, and the close game at U of M might have picked up the attendence some. I think December games the past four years have drawn no more than 1300. SDSU is still a great place to be educated and I sure you would agree.

[filbert]

Re: Mascot/logo news?

I think the simple fact is that students will turn out for a winning team. Put more W's than L's in the record books, and you'll see attendance pick up, especially when the team starts demonstrating the improved athleticism it's starting to show.

D-I level basketball is a good show, even if it isn't two top-25 teams going at it.

Another thing that will improve in the coming years will be the conference attendance, as the students get to know our conference-mates and understand it's a pretty good brand of basketball, at least at the top end of the conference. But once again, we need to win to draw fans--that's the bottom line.

If we string together a couple of 20-win seasons and are still drawing 1,800 a game, I'll be very, very, very, very surprised.

[Nidaros]

Re: Mascot/logo news?

I think the simple fact is that students will turn out for a winning team. Put more W's than L's in the record books, and you'll see attendance pick up, especially when the team starts demonstrating the improved athleticism it's starting to show.

D-I level basketball is a good show, even if it isn't two top-25 teams going at it.

Another thing that will improve in the coming years will be the conference attendance, as the students get to know our conference-mates and understand it's a pretty good brand of basketball, at least at the top end of the conference. But once again, we need to win to draw fans--that's the bottom line.

If we string together a couple of 20-win seasons and are still drawing 1,800 a game, I'll be very, very, very, very surprised.

I agree 100%. Maybe we should hold off on the unveiling the logo until we do have bigger student crowds. I know for this aged alum, the new logo is not going to be any where near my conception of a rabbit, but its going to be one I can adapt too. The current and future students will no doubt find these more modern concepts to their liking and we should get them to Frost for the unvailing. The NDSU game might work.

There were some lean years in terms of basketball wins in the 1960's but it was so different in terms of student attendence. Can you imagine puting on a business suit, with white shirt and tie, plus a dress top coat to attend a bb game in a dirty old fieldhouse? It was common and maybe not as many bars back then, but I do not want to say there were no drinkers, there were. There was also a big after game dance at the Union. Also male to female ratio was about 5:1 in favor of the ladies. I think this was what Grizzled Jack was refering to but maybe not. Not as much going on and the bb game was always a big social thing especially on Saturday Night and the student section was often filled.

[HoboD]

Re: Mascot/logo news?

I went to visit my freshman daughter Saturday. I asked her if she was going to the mens BB game. She said "what game". She said they should put something up in the dorms when there were games. The dorms were full this past weekend and yet the student section had plenty of room at the game. I think her idea is not a bad one. Get some signage up for the games to get some interest going in the dorms.

[WestSideRabbit]

Re: Mascot/logo news?

I live in the dorms and I agree... quite often it is hard to find out about the games and unless you are a die hard sports fan most students don't go. A lot of them say they don't feel like its their team. They don't know the players like they did in high school so its just harder to cheer. I think this is BS personally. I think the dorms night at the game needs to be sooner in the year. Draw more of the freshman crowd in and get them interested in the team right at the start. Also, the exhibition games hurt the students confidence in the team. People are still talking about our near loss to Mary. But this is a good team and as the W's start pileing up frost will be what I remember when I was little.

[JimmyJack]

Re: Mascot/logo news?

I went to visit my freshman daughter Saturday. I asked her if she was going to the mens BB game. She said "what game".

I live in the dorms and I agree... quite often it is hard to find out about the games and unless you are a die hard sports fan most students don't go.

Again, I think this is an issue that should be of interest to the academic side of the university. We know that getting students connected to organizations and events on campus improves their chances of remaining in school. Why hasn't attendance at athletic events been a focus of those efforts? To me, creating a connection to athletic teams is simply one more way to connect students to school and would contribute to student retention efforts.

[Nidaros]

Re: Mascot/logo news?

I think getting the word out is very difficult when there are nearly 12000 students. In College on the Hill, there is a photo of the entire student body and faculty assembled in what we know as the Barn to listen to President Roosvelts declaration of War speech on December 8, 1941. I mentioned this as a contrast to what appears to a big problem on campus today. It seems eveyone is kind of absorbed in their little world. Granted they came to SDSU to get an education, but they need to leave with some sort of connection. I don't how the HPER staff should tackle this problem but there has to be a way to get the word out.
Or even big posters in Dorms and the Union and any where else students assemble. I dont know what goes on in freshman orientation, but that seems to be the best place to try and connect. Maybe our coaches need to be a part of these programs. I think they can start to put a face in connection with the teams.

[Jack4Life]

Re: Mascot/logo news?

Again, I think this is an issue that should be of interest to the academic side of the university. We know that getting students connected to organizations and events on campus improves their chances of remaining in school. Why hasn't attendance at athletic events been a focus of those efforts? To me, creating a connection to athletic teams is simply one more way to connect students to school and would contribute to student retention efforts.

I was listening to ESPN the other day and I don't remember who said it, but he said that the athletic program is the door mat to the university. That is how many schools are identified and use the athletics for recruiting all potential students. Duke-basketball; USC-football and on and on.

[UWMandSDSU]

Re: Mascot/logo news?

I don't how the HPER staff should tackle this problem but there has to be a way to get the word out.
Or even big posters in Dorms and the Union and any where else students assemble. I dont know what goes on in freshman orientation, but that seems to be the best place to try and connect. Maybe our coaches need to be a part of these programs. I think they can start to put a face in connection with the teams.

I know when I was attending UWM, when Bruce Pearl (now head coach at Tennessee) arrived the amount of students at the games was not very high and so he made an effort to increase the amount of students at the games. He would go to the dorms on a weekly basis (I believe the day of a home game) and talk with students about attending the games. Bruce Pearl was definetly a student motivator and the students really connected with him.

[Grizzled_Jack]

Re: Mascot/logo news?

I took a few courses at UWM in the early seventies. At that time they were just getting into dorms. I'll always think of UWM like another school I attended-- Georgia State. Places like that have some problems attracting a student base. SIUE, another school I attended, will also have transition problems. I just can't imagine that SDSU has regressed to those levels. When I attended OU in Norman in the late sixties, SDSU regularly outdrew them in basketball. That, of course, was well before the Lloyd Noble center.