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Very nice article Brian with a lot of valid points. First of all, Va. Tech used to be a basketball 1st, football second. You know what changed WINNING! I live up in NoVa so it is very hard to commit to season tickets for B-ball games. My wife is a GMU grad, so we invested in season tickets there since it was only 5 minutes from our house (28 years ago). They used to average 1500 people a game for years with no shows from the alumni and the student body. Fast forward, 2006. Mason goes to the final four. That year they were packing the place on their journey to Indy. You want to know why WINNING. You can cut it, slice it or dice it but if you don't win, no one will come. I don't care how many tee shirts you give away!
It actually only happened once this year and that was the opening day that had both basketball teams and the volleyball team play in one day. They typically try not to schedule any games on the same day together, but during nonconference they tend to overlap with volleyball, thus all of the day games that happened early in the season. Since volleyball is in ACC play during that time (and it's easier for us to go from basketball to volleyball instead of the otherway around) they have priority for the evening.
Kind of combining a couple ideas from earlier. Announce to the students that the best costume/group painted chests/sign/etc. will win a prize of some sort. It will not only serve the purpose of getting more students to the game, but will also get the students more into the spirit of being a fan because they'll be putting more effort into it. I could easily see more Leonidas, Hokie Joker, Hokie Trooper, and Super Hokie type costumes popping up along with people painting their faces, and stuff like that. Possibly pick finalists out of the crowd and choose winners by applause.
I agree with the idea of having the football coaches do autograph sessions at the games being a big draw, but even getting them to be a regular presence at the games in a viable and possibly accessible location would be good. Or maybe have a prize where the winning fan gets to sit court side with one of the football coaches during the 2nd half. While this kind of stuff would be less workable for football coaches early in the season, it should be doable starting sometime in January. And there would be other options that would work earlier in the season such as former players, local celebrities, etc.
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12 years 4 months
# | Bitter blog - QB Mark Leal sets out to win back Hokies’ hearts, starting job Max Power, he's the man, whose name you'd love to touch, but you mustn't touch. His name sounds good in your ear, but when you say it, you mustn't fear, cause his name can be said, by any one.
Fair enough on playing the same song several times. I know with the Fall Out Boy and Macklemore songs, they were probably playing them so much because they were brand new for this year. One problem the MVs have is an outdated music selection. Much of that has to do with the fact that it gets rather expensive to procure the rights to play the songs. So it was a big step to add those songs seeing as how they are the first set of songs from the 21st century that we've had in a while.
If we recognize that we are a "football school" than take advantage of it and arrange for a couple Football Signing nights, where Beamer, Foster, etc come out to support the team by signing autographs.
I think Marketing needs to hire you as a consultant or something. Seriously, I've seen at least one member of the coaching staff at every single game and yet no one has even remotely thought about that. Shane is at just about every game with his family, Cornell is there a couple times a year as is Bud. It's crazy to think there hasn't been at least one autograph night all season.
Milk was a bad choice.
Third game should be maroon vs. orange game where random ticket holders are given a chance to join either team and play one quarter each. That way the audience stays for the whole game to see if they get chosen to play for the 4th quarter. Players can be the coaches.
As far as making basketball an all-day event, maybe we should try to schedule women's games right before or after the men's games so you can buy a ticket that gets you in for the day and you can watch both games.
I think they already do this.
The all day event needs to be something social. Tailgating is awesome because of the people your with. No disrespect to the women's team, but we need a social situation that will poor into the coliseum, not an additional 3 hours inside.
The pep band definitely does a good job and you guys are lights years better than what we are saddled with for women's games, but a suggestion I have would be to not play Fall Out Boy and Macklemore 10 times a game. It's bad enough we use that song as the intro for the team.
And getting you guys closer to the action and fans is something we have tried to get the ADs to think about before, it just gets nixed at that level. Hopefully Whit has something to say about that and it actually happens soon.
Here is the thing about giving away freebies. Students don't care about basketball right now plain and simple. If marketing gives away stuff before a game students come and get it all and then leave before tipoff. If they come and realize they have to wait to get stuff, they either leave or wait and complain the whole time. When they were giving away the Nike socks for a women's game against a top 25 NC State team, that in the end, Tech should have pulled out the win, students showed up, complained they had to wait until halftime and left then either came back at half time then left again or just didn't come back which left all the regular fans without the vouchers to redeem the socks.
This year the men had 18 home games and the women had 16. To the away teams, the majority of those probably felt like neutral site games because of the lack of support and the amount of away fans that traveled or are local and were more vocal than our own fans.
From what I've heard about Whit so far, he has some ideas and I think he is the guy that can help get butts back in the seats, but for now, count me as one of the ones thankful the season is over (basically).
Radford went 21-12 this season unfortunately, so they might actually ask Tech the same question. Yes, there is a dramatic talent difference between the Big South Conference and ACC play but they have a good shot of going to the NIT this year.
Wilson averaged 9.2 PPG this season. The other thing to take into account on his selection is the limited number of freshmen that play significant roles on their teams because most ACC teams have depth which prevents too many freshmen from seeing the floor for 30 minutes or more a game. He gets a big boost due to Tech's lack of depth.
As far as making basketball an all-day event, maybe we should try to schedule women's games right before or after the men's games so you can buy a ticket that gets you in for the day and you can watch both games.
Hell, why not host some games from nearby schools, too? Let Radford or whoever rent it out for when they play somebody, make that a third game that day. Basketball all day, wohoo!
Radford does play basketball, right?
We do, but when you see one and bite into it and get a mouth full of microchips you start to question all the decisions you've made in your life.
I'm not sure if it was mentioned, but a student trend I have heard mentioned, is how people choose to spend their leisure time. We have so much better quality entertainment in our own homes, and in our hands than ever before. I know there is no way I would spend the money and effort to go to a Redskin game when I can enjoy it on my big screen TV. My kids are still teens, and it is a challenge to get them out of the basement as they have so many options at their fingertips. I have heard that Administrators have noticed that trend in overall student attendance (across the nation). I'm not sure how to solve that challenge.
6.Hire a new band director to revamp/revive the band - VCU Pep Band to be used as the model
Sorry, but I take offense to this one. The pep band director does a damn fine job trying to add energy to an often lifeless environment. And providing VCU as the model to emulate is a poor comparison. VCU's band is comprised of students and non-students at a school where Basketball is the only major sport. Our pep band is only students, plays a larger variety of music than the MVs, often containing many current popular songs, and is in a horrible spot to actually engage with the fans. They are placed up high so that the students, who rarely attend games, have an opportunity to get prime seating rather than having the band right up front. What specifically is it you think needs "revamped/revived?" Also, if your basis for comparison was when we played VCU earlier this year, you should know that what we provided was not our pep band. That was a rag-tag group of students and alumni in the area that were willing to sacrifice their time during winter break to play at the game. VCU's pep band had a better showing because a majority of their students live in close proximity to Richmond where the game was held.
Especially if they are going after someone like Pearl. They won't have problems keeping these kids that are coming in.
669TH MEMBER OF TKPC
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12 years 4 months
# | Bitter blog - QB Mark Leal sets out to win back Hokies’ hearts, starting job Great name, you must have stolen it from a hair dryer.
I agree that the program has an identity crisis, from the coach, to the players and now to the fans. The fans certainly need the most incentive to be at the games so the most work needs to be done to get them there. Other threads on here have discussed the need for Partial Season tickets, adjusted ticket pricing based on game circumstances (Weekend vs Weekday) , and many changes that either need to be made to Cassell or if they cant should ultimately lead to its demise.
My suggestion for the Basketball Sandman: TerrorDome by Dubstep. Its kind of creepy but its got an easy rhythm that the fans could get with and it opens up after a minute with a bit faster tempo and it connects with fans as the TERRORDOME.
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I don't foresee James Johnson being fired after the ACC Tournament, and if we are being honest, we might make it to the second game (We are playing Miami in the first round, who we have beaten twice this season). Beyond that game will likely take intervention from unseen powers. Do I think that JJ will do enough with the off season and with the players he has next year to be retained for the last year of his deal? I lean towards no, but you are talking about essentially having half a new team next season, between the three recruits and the two players that didn't play this season in Mueller and Kirby along with hopefully a healthy Emelogu and Smith. Anything could happen.
Do I think that with all that there will be a lot of excitement in the fan base strictly from the team? Not at all, so I agree that there need to be much more in terms of sponsored events. Give a T-Shirt or other Hokie gear item away every night, find a company to sponsor it for every home game. There may not be a ton of major companies down in Blacksburg, although its growing, but there are enough to make this happen. Make it free to the first 5000 through the door.
Allow their big wigs to do something special as part of the game, designate an employee to compete in a halftime competition, offer the company 250 general admission tickets as part of the deal. I can tell you that free T-shirts got me to more events than anything else because another T-shirt meant one day more I could put off doing laundry.
Concessions need to be drastically improved. Almost anywhere you go these days you can order food with your phone so you don't miss the game but that wasn't happening in Cassell last time I checked. You want to make it family friendly, make it so the parents don't have to try to corral two or three kids while waiting in line for concessions.
Alternatively, for those parents that want their kids to burn off some energy at halftime, create some kid participation events in the back corridor area of Cassell, such as mini ball free throw shooting or a skills zone challenge. Controlled chaos but worth it if the kids are able to sit still for the second half. At these events have volunteers taking memberships for the Hokie Kids Club. Nothing says marketing than getting the next generation hooked on gear and garb than fun entertaining stuff. (Side note, I wasn't a member of the Hokie Club before my daughter (8 months old) was a member of the Hokie Kids Club)
Create a multi-game challenge for fans. Have tickets for these X number of games and get access to a special fan event. Make different levels of potential attendance. This would help encourage people to come to those wacky weekday games if you had some of the events be for attending only a certain number of weekday games. Season ticket holders would then get access to all of these special events etc which makes having season tickets much more than just a way into every game. Sell people on the value of the extra events they can attend with a season ticket automatically. 10 special events at $30 a person ($300 value as a part of the Season ticket)
If we recognize that we are a "football school" than take advantage of it and arrange for a couple Football Signing nights, where Beamer, Foster, etc come out to support the team by signing autographs. Give away a Spring Game Program to fans that night to pump people up for the upcoming football events. Introduce the new players that have come to campus early (Ford, Williams, etc) and allow them to feel the Hokie Spotlight and hear the fans roar for them. (All events of course NCAA compliant)
Make a connection with the businesses in Blacksburg again, I recall that my tickets used to get me food discounts downtown. I don't know if they still do that but it was always a big plus to get 20% off my Hokie House breakfast at two in the morning by showing my ticket from a basketball game.
The HokieClub needs to get engaged here as well. It cant just be a football only organization. It needs to credit members for buying season tickets, and even single game tickets. Make that organization have a much more in depth measurement of the different ways that fans contribute to Tech than just football tickets. Have them get some credit for any merchandise purchased at the concessions, the memorabilia shop, etc. All the purchases would be weighed differently but it would still count for something.
Have nights where the Spring sports are in the corridors before, halftime, and after the games to drive excitement to their events, handing out schedules for their teams, Photo booths that are Tech themed, Softball player with a big picture of their field behind her with the two kids. Create memories not just around basketball like you referenced above. Make it a mini circus type environment. Create more photo type opportunities regardless. Make something with a Tech basketball player body with the hole for a face. Have a few at different heights so you can look like JVZ if you are only 5' tall.
Improve Parking and traffic flow for fans, especially those coming from off campus. The harder it is for people to park close, the less likely they are to attend. I can remember it being a nightmare to cross the road to Cassell in the late 90's with Ace Custis and crew because of all the people fighting over parking spaces.
I hope Whit has taken notice and is working to improve. I don't see him making a move with the coach until he has made some major strides in fundraising though as a whole. If he can bring in the kind of money he raised early at Cincinnati than all of our sports programs should see a huge boost.
Obviously a better product on the floor will bring students to the Cassell, but that is not as easy to control so the athletic department needs to look at other ideas to help revamp the basketball atmosphere at VT. In my opinion that all begins with a overhaul of getting the students more involved. The bottom line is that students are not going to waste 3 hours going to support the current product unless it benefits them somehow. Students love free clothes and free food, so here are Some ideas to get the students more involved:
- Establish a Student Loyalty program - see below*
- Freebies at door for students - free shirts/koozies/etc
- Have a prize giveaway each game for students - Win gift cards to bookstore/local restaurants and trips to away games (hotel+ticket)
- Make student tickets easier - no more ticket system, make it first come first serve again
- Allow students to use dining plan for food - this may be possible now?
- Hire a new band director to revamp/revive the band - VCU Pep Band to be used as the model
- Create a small student section (~50?) with priority seats on the floor
*This should be implemented across all VT sports except for football. Any athletic event that a student goes to they gain 1 point for going and then 1 point at the end of the event. This can be done by scanning their hokie passport. There can also be other things at the event that allow them to gain additional points: Such as buying food at the concession, signing up for a VT mailing list, registering for away tickets, signing up for the hokie club, etc. These points can then be used to gain exclusive merchandise (hoodies, beanies, backpacks, etc) that only certain point levels can get. Local merchants can also sponsor an event and allow students to redeem some points for a gift card.
I mean, some of our alternate uniforms have been amateurish...but at least Nike hasn't tried to Zubaz us up.
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12 years 4 months
# | Bitter blog - QB Mark Leal sets out to win back Hokies’ hearts, starting job This guy has done everything you could ask a QB recruit to do: 1) be a team player 2) put in years of work and not bail on the team when it became clear there was a starting QB in front of you 3) acknowledge that he played poorly in the bowl game.
This kid said VT was his 'dream school'. I really hope he gets a fair shot at being the next starting QB. Its no picnic to follow the lineage of QB's we have had going back to Vick (Grant Noel is exempt from this list). I hope he succeeds and the byproduct is a good VT year.
Some good points/ideas. Unfortunately, I see the football experience starting to go down the same path. Instead of the FB experience bleeding over to the BB program, the BB experience has infected FB.
As for the new BB intro song, I suggest "Bodies"
I was a member of Hokies on Fire, the student-led committee for basketball promotions during my years at VT. I am the only 4-year member of HoF and was on the committee since it's inception in 2008. Hopefully I can add a little insight into this topic based on what I've seen.
I have never joined the online discussions here but this post has compelled me to comment. Be easy on me.
Brian's points in this post are all valid and should be strongly considered by Athletics. The brand of Hokie Basketball has been fading. And to those on the outside, it seems crazy that we can't replicate 1/7th of the atmosphere of Lane Stadium inside Cassell. You can't expect people to show up for an event without entertainment, and if the team is struggling, the entertainment may not be on the court.
We, in HoF, tried to change this.
We wanted to create an opening entrance sequence that was Enter Sandman-esque but Athletics didn't want to change something that wasn't broken - deciding to stick with football branding because "it worked." We pitched a list of songs to replace Sandman, all falling short.
Frankly, it was almost worse to tarnish Sandman by playing it in a half-filled Cassell. Something unique to the basketball team/s would have helped drive the brand of VT Basketball. Not having a uniqueness hindered the true identity of the basketball culture. We seemingly try to feed off the success of the football team and inject the feel of Lane into Cassell. It just doesn't work.
One of the areas where we found Athletics willing to listen was with respect to the Cassell Guard section. The twelve or so craziest students (as selected by HoF/Athletics) helped establish the student section. Fans loved these guys and gals. Kids and families want to get their pictures taken with the Orangeman and the Maroon and Orange Gene Simmons from KISS. To Athletic's credit they did a fair job promoting these individuals. What they didn't do was provide a crowd of students for them to lead. Imagine if the coordinated cheers were followed by the voices of 2500+ students. That would be something.
A few of the big games, or ones tied to Blackout or Maroon Monsoon, had this crazed environment, but attendance was neither consistent nor impressive.
Instead, students were left ticketless and the seats empty. Often the most engaging student-fans were left without tickets. Stupid lottery.
At other schools, like UNC, students earn loyalty points for attending various events and competitions, which later gives them too priority for hard to come by basketball tickets. When we pitched the idea of loyalist points to Athletics it was quickly shot down.
How can giving preference to the fans that want to be at the games (while simultaneously attending other less popular events to earn points) be a bad thing?
I will say that opening up unfilled seats to students on standby(as Brian touched on) was a welcomed change they made. This really only mattered during some of the bigger games, however.
The biggest reason for the lack of change was how tightly Athletics held onto their relationship with the boosters/season ticket holders.
We fought, hard, to get the student section switched to behind the media row. Nothing is more intimidating than students 10 feet from the court. Nothing is less intimidating than students up a flight of stairs, hidden behind a basket, and only a factor for half the game.
We pitched the idea to move the section. The atmosphere would change for the better - greater home court advantage, more attendance from students knowing they could be on tv, an air of excitement in Cassell, and other fans would come to see the student section go crazy. Ultimately a few tenured season tickets would be forced to move seats, but they would get more entertainment for their dollar. Televised home games would seem more filled. Maybe a crowd mentality would take over and people would see the games and say "hey, it looks pretty full/fun/exciting, I should buy tickets to the next game."
Unfortunately Athletics was too concerned that shifting sections would upset the season ticket holders. As if the on-court product wasn't upsetting enough.
I'll leave things at that. I could touch on the actual play of the team but that is something that will inevitably shift and change regardless of the atmosphere produced in Cassell. The ideas have been pitched, it was just a matter of who can say it with the most dollars backing their voice. Sadly we fell a little short.