STrib: Ski-U-Meh: U ticket sales sag

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I wouldn't expect the tour guides to be over the top optimistic or whatever, but just flat out ripping on the program is not right. I don't understand the lack of pride.
 


BleedGopher said:
The Big Lead chimes in with some shots at us:

Minnesota Football’s Popularity is Fading Faster Than Lindsay Lohan’s Looks

Bright side? There won’t be very many fans to riot if they lose to New Hampshire.

http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php...y-is-fading-faster-than-lindsay-lohans-looks/

Go Gophers!!
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I just don't get. In this article and the strib article, how difficult is it to add........'it should be noted that most student tickets are sold when the students arrive on campus....last year at this time X amount of student season tickets were sold'? Why can't writers tell the whole story?

Is it sad that the U is selling small amount of student tickets? Yes, but sales have not gone 10k to 2k.
 


Anger at the tour guide(s) seems overdone. Not that big of a deal. Tour guides at universities are like most RAs (and other groups of people I stereotype) -- big time geekwads/dorks.

Nonetheless, if I'm the President, AD or a coach (or anyone at the school), I'm telling whoever is training the tour guides to teach all their people to do this:

Take the visiting prospective students to TC Bank and tell them how wonderful it is. Emphasize that if you're a football fan, it's big time Big Ten football, etc.. list the teams that come to visit and some of the rivalries - it's impressive. Then, tell them that if you're not a football fan, when they get on campus they should still make sure to buy the incredibly inexpensive student season tickets and come to games because it's a great way to get acclimated socially - you don't need to be a football fan. Get that message across.. "have $xx ready when you move in so you can get season tickets! Go to ____ or show up at the first game to buy them!"

Wasn't it two years ago when there were a couple of ugly incidents that happened at parties and the U altered some rules temporarily for frat row, etc? Not sure that helped lift the mood before games. Kaler loves the idea of being one of the few schools in the nation to have beer available for everyone at an on campus football stadium, so he might recognize the "importance" of getting the party started right...
 

It's not accurate to say that student ticket demand has dropped by 80%. Only 2,000 are currently sold, but more student tickets will be sold by the time of the home opener. Student tickets will not be sold out, but it is going to be more than 2,000.

It is also unfair and misleading to compare student ticket sales at Minnesota to that of Michigan. Michigan isn't exactly typical.
 

Gopher Warrior said:
Anger at the tour guide(s) seems overdone. Not that big of a deal. Tour guides at universities are like most RAs (and other groups of people I stereotype) -- big time geekwads/dorks.
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What the tour guides are are employees. When you're on the job and bad-mouth that company and their product to potential customers, expect to be shown the door really quickly. If someone gave tours of a Coca-Cola bottling plant, and bad-mouthed their product, they wouldn't last long. I don't think they need to sell the football team, but they should be given some information that they can give interested people.

Kaler loves the idea of being one of the few schools in the nation to have beer available for everyone at an on campus football stadium, so he might recognize the "importance" of getting the party started right...
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I don't think he loves the idea, it was just a compromise to get beer in the suites.
 

These guides are representing the University and should be selling the football program. The football program is a big part of the University and should be sold as such.
We lose out on money because of the piss poor attitude displayed by University employees and even some "fans".
 



Gopher Warrior said:
Wasn't it two years ago when there were a couple of ugly incidents that happened at parties and the altered some rules temporarily for frat row, etc?
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During the first few weeks of my freshman year in 09, frat row was wild. The place was so packed that you had to walk on University Ave instead of down the sidewalk. After the win against Air Force, it was especially crazy. Then some people got pissed off because of the loud music and just killed it. I haven't seen frat row the same since.

During the fall of 2010, there were some really bad incidents that really sealed the clamp shut.
 

glovedgopher said:
These guides are representing the University and should be selling the football program. The football program is a big part of the University and should be sold as such.
We lose out on money because of the piss poor attitude displayed by University employees and even some "fans".
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They don't necessarily have to 'sell the program', but they sure as hell should not be putting it down and discouraging fans.

Are the tour guides and welcome week hosts paid employees or volunteers?
 

station19 said:
They don't necessarily have to 'sell the program', but they sure as hell should not be putting it down and discouraging fans.

Are the tour guides and welcome week hosts paid employees or volunteers?
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tour guides are paid employees of the admissions department. I worked in admissions for 3 years as an undergrad and I will say you are supposed to always try to show the University in a positive light without lying (i.e., "well, the team hasn't been that good lately but the games are a lot of fun!" sort of thing). This could have been an isolated incident but it does speak to student attitudes.
 





Look at the cost of BB or FB student season tickets at other BT schools. ($240 for each sport) You have 3 choices 1) BB/FB season tickets for $199, 2) Hockey/FB for $199 3) FB for $90
 


BleedGopher said:
Marcus blog: Gophers football student season tickets sold close to 2011 pace

The University of Minnesota sold 2,170 student tickets for football at this time last year and is at 1,992 this year

http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers...udent-season-tickets-sold-close-to-2011-pace/

Go Gophers!!
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Student season tickets sold in football last four years

2008 — 5,600
2009 — 10,000
2010 — 8,200
2011 — 6,000

Last year, there were about 6,000 student tickets sold. Listing what the current sales and treating that as what sales will be by the time the season starts is highly misleading. Student tickets sales are at about 92% of what they were last year, and if that ratio holds up, we could project student ticket sales at about 5,500. Not great, but not the 2,000 that some throw around. In 2008, the last year in the dome, student ticket sales were 5,600.

Most of the coverage the Gophers are getting is positive. Most of today's front page of the Star Tribune Sports section is about the Gophers football team. I think a good showing against UNLV will restore a degree of faith in the Gophers. There is reason for optimism, but until the season actually starts, people are going to be wondering if we're going to see another performance like we saw against New Mexico State. I'm optimistic that we will see something quite different this season, but it does remain to be seen.

Bundling student football and basketball tickets would work, but one of the two teams has to be a sufficient draw to pull people in. I know Indiana has good sales results by bundling football and basketball, but how is the student attendance at Indiana football games? Does the fact that they already have tickets to football games get them to show up for the games?
 


RodentRampage said:
Last year, there were about 6,000 student tickets sold. Listing what the current sales and treating that as what sales will be by the time the season starts is highly misleading. Student tickets sales are at about 92% of what they were last year, and if that ratio holds up, we could project student ticket sales at about 5,500. Not great, but not the 2,000 that some throw around. In 2008, the last year in the dome, student ticket sales were 5,600.
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At least the ability to sell some of the unused student section every other year to Nebraska/Iowa/Wisconsin fans (at higher prices than student prices) compensates somewhat for the lost revenue.
 

GopherVotary said:
At least the ability to sell some of the unused student section every other year to Nebraska/Iowa/Wisconsin fans (at higher prices than student prices) compensates somewhat for the lost revenue.
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lame guy......why do you always have to try and be the sarcastic, cynical jerk in almost all of your commentary? gets pretty old, pretty quick. get a life.
 

The U is less concerned about the revenue generated by selling student tickets and more concerned about the added value a completely full student section brings in.

The U already takes a hit by selling a ticket with a $15 face value, students are most likely not parking anywhere for the game, and perhaps some money is brought in through concessions. By bringing in 10,000 students every game, the U would be doing its part to create a game day experience to entice recruits, thus improving the program, leading to more winning seasons, then donations, etc......

Point is: there is a reason some schools in the South offer free student tickets for every sporting event on campus. Not saying that is the route the U should take. Just pointing out revenue isn't really that big of a concern here. If it was, they would cut the section in half and sell the remaining seats in packages or as single game tickets.
 

You want to fill up the student section make tickets $5, sell beer and win some games.
 

Another reason for low student attendance

A freshman comes to the U and joins a Frat or moves in to a Dorm. Very few of the Jrs and Seniors are football attendees. So the freshman want to join the the social crowd and they end end up the same way. If the upper classmen were going to the games, the freshmen would also. So to break the cycle we have to get the upper classmen to go to the games (the freshmen will follow). The upper classmen like to party so make it a party and not a football game. How? thats the big question. Ideas?
 



For those that weren't at USC, here's kind of the set-up right on campus, which was cool. They wheel in their coolers & bring their stuff & tailgate right there. I don't know if Northrop Mall would be the only place as I could see IT row having some tents up & different student clubs doing things.

Open up the campus & let the frats do their thing, which is letting sorority girls do what they do best on a porch. Forget about the impression that's given. Just a few thoughts....
 




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