Student attendance

[LIHoosier 25,641]

Watch the band if you're at a game. They do a lot of this sort of thing. When we make a 3 pointer, you have to high five every single person around you. We cheer loudly with the cheerleaders. Unified cheer after every made FT. If you get every single person doing the same thing, it will pretty much always look good. Even if it's singing Jingle Bells to distract FT shooters.
I think it's on he Student Athletic Board to get this started. Get them on the students behind the basket and then work on the GA section.

This is just my experience from long ago, but the SAB is just a group of people that are more concerned with making their resume look good and wearing a red blazer at the Hall and only showing some sign of life when the fight song is played. I had the same major and classes as most of the Directors at the time and that's all they seemed to care about.

If anyone wants to really start something that's creative and gets students interested, go rogue and start your own group. Then the athletic dept. may catch on and help you out; kind of how the Hoosier Army in soccer came to being.

[OliviaPope40 6,377]

The last game I attended was 12-13 when we beat Purdue at home. 

[Alford Bailey 12,339]

Were the students able to attend today or was the sun too bright?

[drock161 586]

This is just my experience from long ago, but the SAB is just a group of people that are more concerned with making their resume look good and wearing a red blazer at the Hall and only showing some sign of life when the fight song is played. I had the same major and classes as most of the Directors at the time and that's all they seemed to care about.
If anyone wants to really start something that's creative and gets students interested, go rogue and start your own group. Then the athletic dept. may catch on and help you out; kind of how the Hoosier Army in soccer came to being.

I'm not a student anymore, I was just shooting out some ideas. But that also makes sense. Either way, some sort of organization in he student section could help make the experience much more engaging for a lot of students.

[KB0 827]

This is just my experience from long ago, but the SAB is just a group of people that are more concerned with making their resume look good and wearing a red blazer at the Hall and only showing some sign of life when the fight song is played. I had the same major and classes as most of the Directors at the time and that's all they seemed to care about.

If anyone wants to really start something that's creative and gets students interested, go rogue and start your own group. Then the athletic dept. may catch on and help you out; kind of how the Hoosier Army in soccer came to being.

 

The Hoosier Army was created by the IU Athletics Marketing Department.

[Yogi'sBicep 1,048]

Just checked MSU's boards, they're having problems with the Izzone. Weird, this is national?

[Yogi'sBicep 1,048]

Michigan Boards have a thread on low attendance too.

All of this is happening with lack of attendance & UK is planning on building $310 million worth of renovations to make Rupp larger amongst other things.

[Tom White 1,435]

Just checked MSU's boards, they're having problems with the Izzone. Weird, this is national?

Did you watch the MS vs Maryland game? The whole lower bowl was filled with students going nuts! All of them wearing "day-glo" green t-shirts that look like they glow in the dark.

The team wore a similar green. Looked like a bunch of ninja-turtles running around out there.

[Yogi'sBicep 1,048]

Did you watch the MS vs Maryland game? The whole lower bowl was filled with students going nuts! AL of them wearing "day-glo" green t-shirts that look like they glow in the dark.

The team wore a similar green. Looked like a bunch of ninja-turtles running around out there.

I didn't catch it, idk why the board would be comparing then?

[NoahW35 459]

Did you watch the MS vs Maryland game? The whole lower bowl was filled with students going nuts! AL of them wearing "day-glo" green t-shirts that look like they glow in the dark.

The team wore a similar green. Looked like a bunch of ninja-turtles running around out there.

They were playing Maryland. Ours will be full for Maryland and Purdue too.

The T-shirts were likely passed out to them.

Also, our main GA student section is always full. It's the upper section and the balcony that we are having trouble with

[BlueDevil 8,655]

Fisch stating on Dan Dakich show student support for the program has been awful for the last 10 years. Brought up empty balcony and attendance.

[Alford Bailey 12,339]

I guess its just a generational thing. Kids are interested in other things. I was talking to a drivers ed. instructor the other day and he talked about how kids weren't as interested in getting their license compared to when I was 16 and everybody took drivers ed. as soon as they were eligible..

 

Still don't know why you buy the tix. if you aren't gonna attend. Mommy and Daddy's money?

[Brass Cannon 24,191]

I guess its just a generational thing. Kids are interested in other things. I was talking to a drivers ed. instructor the other day and he talked about how kids weren't as interested in getting their license compared to when I was 16 and everybody took drivers ed. as soon as they were eligible..

Still don't know why you buy the tix. if you aren't gonna attend. Mommy and Daddy's money?

I would assume. Or just ease of putting it on the bursar and loans paying for it

[Alford Bailey 12,339]

My dad woulda made it a requirement I appear on tv once per game if he bought me tickets.

[Uwe Robb 1,072]

Michigan Boards have a thread on low attendance too.

All of this is happening with lack of attendance & UK is planning on building $310 million worth of renovations to make Rupp larger amongst other things.

UK is a different breed. I would guess most of their tickets are going to the general public. Unforunately I lived in KY for the better half of a decade and I knew several people that didn't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of, but they sure did come up with several thousands of dollars every year to purchase sesaon ticket for the Cats.

 

Lots of Wal-Mart UK fans in the state. Although I can't say much because I am a Wal-Mart IU fan.

[MartintheMopMan 7,765]

All right, I feel like I've read a good chunk of the posts in this particular circlejerk and am ready to weigh in.

 

I guess to bolster my credibility, I'll first point out that in my years at Indiana over the tenure of three different coaches, I never missed a game I had a ticket to and actively hounded out tickets for any additional game I could afford. I have stayed until the final buzzer of 40 point blowouts while friends asked if we could leave yet (because I was driving). My policy was if I could attend a game in any seat for the same price of the beer I would drink watching at home, I was obligated to attend that game. I miss live college basketball so much I entered the waitlist for University of Oregon tickets because a 2 hour drive for a team I have no current attachment to outside of geography seems reasonable.

 

I think it's been universally overlooked the number of viewing options that exist now. Someone just posted their three screen set-up for recent games (mamasa maybe?) with the 50" inch screen not even being the largest. You can watch games without sneaking in booze pockets, with a nice cold beer of your choice, on the comfortable couch. If you haven't been to a game or have only been to games against cupcakes, you may think watching the game is all there is to it. Maybe you're just the type to prefer to sit the whole time and know you can't sustain the necessary excitement to go to the game.

 

So, students can already watch on their massive 4k TVs and soon can watch as if they're there in virtual reality. It's hard to convince them to trek across campus in the snow to watch a game from the balcony (or worse, partially on a screen because you're under the balcony) given the alternatives.

 

For a better idea of how different the situation is from even just the pre-TC era...

 

When Class of '66 graduated, fewer than 10% of Americans had a color TV.

When we last hung a banner, Digital TV hadn't been invented yet.

When Coach Knight was fired, there were no stations transitioned to Digital output and to watch a digital broadcast event you had to go to a special viewing location.

When Coach Davis was fired, most homes still had CRT screens with a maximum size of 40 inches.

By the time Crean was hired, LCD screens were no longer a novelty but HD meant 720p and a 24" screen cost upwards of $500-600.

 

As a specific timeline note, I bought a secondhand 22" 720p LCD screen in 2008 for $200 and it was a total steal. I've since watched basketball on this TV and it's garbage (it was my extra TV for March Madness until we got a new main TV). I would never choose watching on this TV over watching in the Hall.

 

That's why it's so tough to say "well, back in my day students..." because we can't compare the current experience of students to our experience. I never once had the opportunity to hang back and watch the game on my 60" 4K television, so I can't even compare how I think of the experience to how they do. I think we all need to do a better job of considering this in our complaints about students. 

 

All of that having been said, anyone who is not scanning in with 80% or more of their season tickets should be ineligible to receive future tickets for a season. This goes for everyone. A lot of people have been talking as if giving the spots to the general public would make a significant difference in attendance and I don't know they're right. There are still tons of open seats when tickets are open to the public (see the pictures from the OSU game below and even just start to try and count the empty seats. There are so many I can't even highlight them. This was announced as 16,000.). This is because the public has those same viewing options at home and 2 hours of traffic to deal with most of the time. 

 

I want every seat full and everyone on their feet for every game. Quiet passive observation can be left with your 60" TV, if you're in the Hall you better stand up and be loud. And, if you can't be bothered to show up to at least 80% of your ticketed games (or find a replacement for yourself) then you should lose that ticket. If it's a student losing the ticket maybe the opportunity passes to someone in the general public, I think that would be better determined by someone with hard numbers of who is attending and how often.

 

If we cut student tickets too far, we lose a huge part of the atmosphere of the Hall since students are the rowdy ones. If we give them too many, games stop being a novelty and they feel free to blow them off. It's a tough line to walk. All I want is a solution that has the Hall rocking and other teams afraid.

 

And don't even get me started on our total lack of organized chants, songs, or literally anything to increase student pride. A member of Timbers Army would never miss a game they had tickets to because they know how important their individual voice is due to incredible organization. Maybe if the student ticket organizers could do literally anything to organize the student section, more people would show up to participate.

 

Courtesy of RBB89:

[attachment=3294:post-2944-145248018835.jpg]

[attachment=3295:post-2944-145248020003.jpg]

[RBB89 3,497]

Fisch stating on Dan Dakich show student support for the program has been awful for the last 10 years. Brought up empty balcony and attendance.

I can vouch for that. My one year in BTown was 2007-08 and (before the crap hit the fan with Sampson) there were a ton of student empties even with all the Gordon hype. It was just less noticeable because seats were assigned.

[RBB89 3,497]

Michigan Boards have a thread on low attendance too.

All of this is happening with lack of attendance & UK is planning on building $310 million worth of renovations to make Rupp larger amongst other things.

UK has a tiny student allotment compared to us. I'm sure Jim Bob Joe from the hills is dying to get tickets.

[Naturalhoosier 15,404]

Damn Marty. That just might be the best thought out post I've seen this year. Nicely done sir!!!!

[Class of '66 Old Fart 83,519]

[Martin @ #116]  And don't even get me started on our total lack of organized chants, songs, or literally anything to increase student pride. A member of Timbers Army would never miss a game they had tickets to because they know how important their individual voice is due to incredible organization. Maybe if the student ticket organizers could do literally anything to organize the student section, more people would show up to participate.

 

Yesterday I was in Mackey Arena for the PUke vs Iowa women's game.  The PUke band is located behind one of the baskets and they literally never shut up except between quarters and halftime.  They were organized and yelling something every second and they were loud.  This was for a women's game and the arena around 50% full.  It was impressive. 

 

And for those who are concerned, I was careful to be sure that all of my inoculations were up to date before going to the game and I underwent a HazMat decontamination after leaving Mackey.