LarryL Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 How about encourage students to wear blue and gold, and/or ORU logo shirts on Game Day? I don't know if all the students are on a text message system (like most schools have), but students could get an automatic text alert in the afternoon before a game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOLO_Gold Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Setting up a twitter account is genius - let's do that But then again the plasma screens and tshirts are also great ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYC Golden Eagle Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 well the nice thing about a twitter account is that its FREE and very easy. You can also measure how successful it is based upon how many people follow it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManiacVP Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 For some reason, today's college students are not as enthusiastic about college athletics. Well I think there are some things that make some students shy away form the whole thing. But hopefully Mike can get all that figured out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Minyard Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Well I think there are some things that make some students shy away form the whole thing. But hopefully Mike can get all that figured out. It's a lot bigger than just me. I think we have a great group of people involved this year. Unfortunately there were some missing pieces in the past. I think we have enough areas of the university involved now that we can really make something happen. I'm just involved with the Maniacs to help support them. They need some help getting back on their feet. They also need help coming from an operations and fundraising standpoint. Things are moving in a positive direction now. I just want to say that the success or failure of the Maniacs is not on one person this year. There is a group of students and school administrators involved that are working together to make this thing a success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 It's a lot bigger than just me. I think we have a great group of people involved this year. Unfortunately there were some missing pieces in the past. I think we have enough areas of the university involved now that we can really make something happen. I'm just involved with the Maniacs to help support them. They need some help getting back on their feet. They also need help coming from an operations and fundraising standpoint. Things are moving in a positive direction now. I just want to say that the success or failure of the Maniacs is not on one person this year. There is a group of students and school administrators involved that are working together to make this thing a success. That's great to hear! I know that some individuals put Herculean effort into keeping things rolling last year - it's great to hear that some of the burden will be shared by others this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Minyard Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I think everyone learned a valuable lesson last year with MVP. He busted his tail for the Maniacs, but he just didn't have enough support. Unfortunately he was an easy target for criticism, and none of us want to see that happen to a student. It was just a bad deal. So we've made some adjustments that should make things better for everyone involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU Big Brother Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 How about encourage students to wear blue and gold, and/or ORU logo shirts on Game Day? I don't know if all the students are on a text message system (like most schools have), but students could get an automatic text alert in the afternoon before a game. How 'bout our students just get off their butts and get to the game simply beacuase we're playing. Why do they have to be given any incentive at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU Eli Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 How 'bout our students just get off their butts and get to the game simply beacuase we're playing. Why do they have to be given any incentive at all? That's one way to look at it....... Or you can just face the fact that with time the tastes, preferences, culture, and trends of students change and your product, service, or attraction had better change in some way that's congruent with those trends. Terry said it best - college sports are still big but I don't think they're as big with the students as they used to be. There is a lot more technology, a lot more options and things going on day-to-day that begs of their attention. I have several friends that graduated from TCU...as far as their basketball program goes, forget-about-it b/c nobody seems to care. However their football program is GOOD...they don't have a problem getting students to go to the game; they have problems getting students to go in at kickoff or not just tailgating the entire game. So much of the game experience for students is now about sitting around outside with their friends and drinking. My alumni friends tailgate every game but usually don't go in til 3rd or 4th quarter, if at all, b/c their favorite thing is to sit around talk, eat, drink and check in on the game score every ten minutes. And I'd say of students and young alumni, they're in the majority. You take ORU where there is little to no fanfare before the game (definitely no drinking - and yes, I do think that's a good thing), no substantial campus life to suck people out of their dorm rooms and study halls, and a student population who has a considerable percentage of students who will just never really give a hoot about athletics...and I can honestly say I don't envy the job of Mike Carter and the rest of them that are trying to create a consistent attraction around ORU basketball/athletics. It's easy for us to sit around and say "why don't students just go?" b/c obviously we love ORU basketball, but you have to face the fact that not everyone sees it the way we do and sometimes you have to create incentive if you want to see something change. (instead of creeping around on the ORU message board injecting Scrooge-like sarcasm at every opportunity) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 That's one way to look at it....... Or you can just face the fact that with time the tastes, preferences, culture, and trends of students change and your product, service, or attraction had better change in some way that's congruent with those trends. Terry said it best - college sports are still big but I don't think they're as big with the students as they used to be. There is a lot more technology, a lot more options and things going on day-to-day that begs of their attention. I have several friends that graduated from TCU...as far as their basketball program goes, forget-about-it b/c nobody seems to care. However their football program is GOOD...they don't have a problem getting students to go to the game; they have problems getting students to go in at kickoff or not just tailgating the entire game. So much of the game experience for students is now about sitting around outside with their friends and drinking. My alumni friends tailgate every game but usually don't go in til 3rd or 4th quarter, if at all, b/c their favorite thing is to sit around talk, eat, drink and check in on the game score every ten minutes. And I'd say of students and young alumni, they're in the majority. You take ORU where there is little to no fanfare before the game (definitely no drinking - and yes, I do think that's a good thing), no substantial campus life to suck people out of their dorm rooms and study halls, and a student population who has a considerable percentage of students who will just never really give a hoot about athletics...and I can honestly say I don't envy the job of Mike Carter and the rest of them that are trying to create a consistent attraction around ORU basketball/athletics. It's easy for us to sit around and say "why don't students just go?" b/c obviously we love ORU basketball, but you have to face the fact that not everyone sees it the way we do and sometimes you have to create incentive if you want to see something change. (instead of creeping around on the ORU message board injecting Scrooge-like sarcasm at every opportunity) Which is all well and good, but I think it was Paul "Bear" Bryant who, when once asked by an academian why football should be bigger at Alabama than any other activity, said "Because it's kinda hard to rally 'round a math class." Outside of a particularly good chapel service (which in my day was rare), there is nothing on campus more uplifting and inspirational than a good ol' ORU basketball game. This is real stuff, people - not a TV show, or a video game, or your latest iPod download. This is genuine blood, sweat and tears, available for viewing up close and personal, from the climate-controlled comfort of an upholstered seat. It doesn't need bells and whistles - the bells and whistles are already built in to it. It simply requires an audience - student or otherwise - that can muster an attention span beyond the length of a YouTube video... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUIsbig Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Can i change the thread? How do we get more students/ people on the message board? Truth is the answer is the same. Most people have little interest in college basketball. We get 40,000 out to high school {Sorry, this should have been footbal] games. Our kids have so many soccer and football games that people just aren't all that interested. plus, in general, i am not sure Christian people are comfortable being "fanatics". Generally you think of the face painted, beer swilling, loud mouth when you think of a fan. I know it's tough to get the suburban class from our church to get real into a game. They are content to sit and spectate. Some of our biggest fans have never visited the site, but thats all they talkabout during the greeting times. Perhaps the students don't know what to do, and therefore don't know what they are missing. IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU Big Brother Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Can i change the thread? How do we get more students/ people on the message board? Truth is the answer is the same. Most people have little interest in college basketball. We get 40,000 out to high school basketball games. Our kids have so many soccer and football games that people just aren't all that interested. plus, in general, i am not sure Christian people are comfortable being "fanatics". Generally you think of the face painted, beer swilling, loud mouth when you think of a fan. I know it's tough to get the suburban class from our church to get real into a game. They are content to sit and spectate. Some of our biggest fans have never visited the site, but thats all they talkabout during the greeting times. Perhaps the students don't know what to do, and therefore don't know what they are missing. IMO I'll leave the bolded portion alone for now... How can you be a red-blooded American teenager and not enjoy sports? Is that possible? How lame are our students? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU Eli Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 How can you be a red-blooded American teenager and not enjoy sports? Is that possible? How lame are our students? That's what I'm trying to say. It's not the 70s and 80s anymore. Kids don't list Walter Payton and Michael Jordan as their ultimate heroes. Sure, there are several that do, but not like they used to. Times have changed. Plus, we have an even bigger dose at ORU b/c we have, excuse my generalization, tons of theology 'geek'/home school/foreign-born students who don't care about sports. Some people just don't get anything out of watching an athletic contest. I don't understand them either, but that's just the way it is. ORU has to find a way to reach out to the people in the middle who only go 2-3 games a year and grab their attention, but some students will just never care. My first few years out of school I would come back to visit and tell students in EMR about all the recruits and things going on with the team. THEY WERE A FIVE MINUTE WALK FROM THE MABEE AND *I* WAS GIVING THEM THE BIG SCOOP ON THE TEAM LIVING IN CHICAGO... Sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryL Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Sounds like the demographic of the ORU student has changed somewhat since the 1970's when many of us were students. But let's face it, ORU has never been the same since the succession of coaching changes due to firings, resignations, forced resignations, and its plummet into the NAIA Abyss, and its entrance into the Summit. We can't blame students if they don't get all raptured-out about playing the likes of Kangaroos, Jackrabbits and Gents. A lot of the enthusiasm goes back to the camaraderie of the wings. I remember a lot of students, especially girls, didn't know that much about basketball or the rules, etc. The students just wanted to be with the group. They new it was going to be a fun social experience, and for some, a chance to enjoy a vicarious victory by a great Titan Team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 At the risk of repeating myself, ORU is not the only school with this issue. It is symptomatic of our society and the culture our kids are in. Some say it is a result of the overabundance of entertainment choices or maybe the short attention span of the average young person. The bottom line is that it will take creativity and a marketing plan to draw students (and others) into the arena, stadium, field, etc. ORU has always done a good job of that - we just need to continue and use whatever resources we have to promote attendance. Just assuming that 'they' will show up will not work. No matter how much we think it will or should. That is why making maximum use of the video scoreboard (see other thread) is so important in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Minyard Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 A lot of the enthusiasm goes back to the camaraderie of the wings. I remember a lot of students, especially girls, didn't know that much about basketball or the rules, etc. The students just wanted to be with the group. They new it was going to be a fun social experience, and for some, a chance to enjoy a vicarious victory by a great Titan Team. That right there is the primary focus of the Maniacs now. I know a few years back when the Maniacs were in their prime that people thought they cared more about people looking at them than they did about the actual game... NEWS FLASH! SO WHAT? We just want bodies in the student section no matter what their motive. Basketball games have to become THE social event on campus. That's really how we are marketing this thing now. There's a chance that this thing may just flop, but I feel good about it this year. I think we'll have a student section that we will all enjoy this year. Well except for the people that don't like the Maniacs dressed up in themes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 What can we (the message board) do to help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Minyard Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 What can we (the message board) do to help? I don't know really. We're trying to find someone that can help sponsor t-shirts and energy drinks. The t-shirts are the easy thing to get done because we'll put the sponsor on the back of the shirts. These shirts won't be required or anything for the games. It's just a benefit of being a paid member. The energy drinks is something we'll figure out soon because the Maniacs need them for the pre-game parties. It would be a huge help if anyone on the board has some leads on a energy drink vendor even if they can just help out with a few games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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