ORUJason Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 I heard on an OU coaches show (I think it was the Bob Stoops show on AM 1430?) earlier tonight that OU is trying a new strategy to get students to their men's basketball games. I only caught part of the interview (with someone from the athletic department) but he said that OU students who pay the $ to get OU student section season tickets will have all their $ refunded to them if they attend every game, based upon the electronic scanning of their specific ticket. If they miss a few games, then a pro-rated amount will be refunded to them. I assume that would be in one lump-sum at the end of the season. He also said that all that mattered is that someone used that ticket to attend the game, it did not have to be the specific person who purchased the ticket package. They have never tried this before, and he said that he had never heard of any other school trying this before. He also mentioned that they have sold 1100 student ticket packages so far and their goal is 1400, although he thought that they should have 3 times that many students at their games. For the size of ORU, maybe 700+ students for a big game (Tulsa, homecoming, etc.) is a pretty decent response compared to OU's student attendance vs. the size of their student body. I'm not sure how this could be applied to ORU, because I assume ORU will not want to refund any part of the student activity fee, but maybe this concept could somehow be applied. It is an interesting idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Just because the University may incent students to come to a game and get their ticket/ID scanned may not equate to a "butt in the seat" during the game. Many OU students take advantage of a local casino's promotion on Friday nights. The casino will give a student with an OU ID $10 to play the slots and blackjack in hopes that the student will play (and spend) more than the $10 that was given away. Many of the students, usually in full carloads, take the $10, walk through the casino and exit out a side door. I could see ORU students doing a similar thing by having their ticket or ID scanned, go up the escalators and head out the glass doors at the top of the escalator in hopes of getting their ticket price back at the end of the semester. Yes, it's a lot of work for the students to get a few bucks back, but sometimes 18 years olds do irrational things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Minyard Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 I think we are at least two years away from being in a position to do it. Right now students don't really pay for tickets. We would have do some major policy change to do it, but I'm going to try to do it while I'm at ORU. But you all already know that I'd like to change our seating chart. I'd also like to see us go to a donation per seat program with our season ticket holders and move away from our current way of business. It's all been discussed, but is probably not going to happen. However, we are working with the Maniacs right now to get them back up on their feet. We made it a top priority. Membership dues ranging from $15 to $25 per student. The basic membership benefits ($15 level) includes club t-shirt, pregame parties, and priority seating. The $25 level includes the basic benefits plus a $19 ticket to the TU game. Nearly 30 students paid at Club Rush about 10 days ago. We also got the contact info on over a 100 students who are interested in joining. A Maniacs membership drive will take place in the recently renovated Fish Bowl on Tues., Oct. 7, at 10 p.m. Door prizes will be given away. Coach Sutton and Fink will also be there to meet students. We are hoping to get 60 or so memberships that night so we could have close to 100 paid members before fall break. Feel free to contact me if you would like to get involved with the event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU Eli Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Just because the University may incent students to come to a game and get their ticket/ID scanned may not equate to a "butt in the seat" during the game. Many OU students take advantage of a local casino's promotion on Friday nights. The casino will give a student with an OU ID $10 to play the slots and blackjack in hopes that the student will play (and spend) more than the $10 that was given away. Many of the students, usually in full carloads, take the $10, walk through the casino and exit out a side door. I could see ORU students doing a similar thing by having their ticket or ID scanned, go up the escalators and head out the glass doors at the top of the escalator in hopes of getting their ticket price back at the end of the semester. Yes, it's a lot of work for the students to get a few bucks back, but sometimes 18 years olds do irrational things. I don't know if they still do it but whatchamacallit casino on 81st and Riverside used to do this on Tuesdays...we'd show up and get our $5 and go out for dinner... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryL Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 I would hate to see ORU reach the place where students are in effect paid to attend games. There is a difference between rewarding high wing attendance, or perfect attendance, etc, and refunding $$ just for attending (or going through the gate). If $$ were the main factor, then volleyball would attract thousands. I still think the three main factors in attendance for students are: 1)Fun, 2) an exciting Social Experience, and 3) Endorphins (the hormone released that causes a euphoric feeling, when our team WINS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttowncount Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 I could see ORU students doing a similar thing... They do it now for chapel. Why wouldn't they do it for ball games? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 i just don't think the typical ORU student cares enough about athletics to attend most of the games. they will show up for homecoming and maybe TU at home. there just isn't a large enough student population to have hundreds, much less thousands, of rabid sports fans that will show up every time the doors open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Minyard Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 They do it now for chapel. Why wouldn't they do it for ball games? I can't say I didn't do it more than a couple times in five years as a student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Minyard Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 i just don't think the typical ORU student cares enough about athletics to attend most of the games. they will show up for homecoming and maybe TU at home. there just isn't a large enough student population to have hundreds, much less thousands, of rabid sports fans that will show up every time the doors open. But you could also argue that the athletic department isn't maximizing the potential of student support. We do a lot of things to try to get kids to the games, but there is room for improvement. We're getting better each year. I think my user rating took a -2 hit today for my posts... I wonder why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 you are right that more can always be done. it just seems like you guys are doing everything short of paying students to show up and still most students are indifferent. i'm not sure they realize how lucky they are to be at school during this time of success for ORU basketball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Minyard Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 The Maniacs event on Tuesday has been moved to Fireside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 To keep this in perspective, ORU is not the only school to wrestle with this issue. For some reason, today's college students are not as enthusiastic about college athletics. The Maniacs are good avenue to foster student involvement and interaction. I appreciate the Athletic Department's efforts to encourage student involvement. Winning on the court (or ball field, etc) will help - as will a packed arena or stadium. The key is to make it a place to be.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryL Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 ie, "success breeds success, which breeds success, . . .". We're on the right path - let's just stay on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYC Golden Eagle Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Honestly, one dumb reason I didn’t go to more games is because I would often forget that it was a game night simply because of everyday busyness. Maybe the athletics department could setup a twitter account that sends reminders on game days and an hour before the start of the game. It could also be used to send final and half time scores. This way even if students couldn’t make it to the game they can still follow the team and keep it on their minds for the next game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryL Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Couldn't the RAs and Social Chairpersons on each wing be given the responsibility of getting the word out on GameDays, and rallying support? On my old wing in Shakarian, virtually everyone knew when there was a game, and all went except a handful of eggheads. We all know it was going to be fun, a chance to snuggle up next to our sister wing(s) and have a good time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 To keep this in perspective, ORU is not the only school to wrestle with this issue. For some reason, today's college students are not as enthusiastic about college athletics. I'll make sure to remind my kids about this the next time I'm at a game!! Seriously, though, it is all about the "experience" that kids have. Using my kids as an example, they are excited about Sooner football and ORU basketball (not as excited as me and the Mrs., of course). They won't attend an OU basketball game - even if the tickets are given to them. However, if OU has a Top Ten basketball team this season (with Griffen and Warren), they will probably be attending - and winning becomes the name of that game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttowncount Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Honestly, one dumb reason I didn’t go to more games is because I would often forget that it was a game night simply because of everyday busyness... How about making good use of the new plasma screens mounted throughout the LRC/GC complex... big "GAME DAY" lettering -- maybe on front and back -- to catch students' attention as they are passing by?? And another idea: "GAME DAY" t-shirts ... for students AND faculty and be encouraged to wear them ... proudly!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 How about 10% tuition discounts for all students with perfect attendence at basketball games...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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