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OK -- I might be beating a dead horse, and everyone might be tired of discussing this but . . .
I am starting a new thread to discuss the issue of student attendance at Shocker Men's Basketball games. The reason I am starting a new thread is that I want to move the discussion away from an angry, tantrum based discussion where angry insults are hurled at the students; and move the discussion to a rational, market based discussion on the issues. I would especially like to hear the opinions of the students and maybe non-students in the traditional college age range. If there's any chance of them honestly posting their opinions on this forum, it's going to require that the rest of us respect their opinions AND NOT lash out at them with insults if they say things we don't like or agree with. Can we be respectful of opinions that we may not agree with?
Regardless of how you think of Shocker basketball, it is ultimately a sports entertainment product that is marketed by the Wichita State Athletic Department to the Wichita metro area. It is in competition with our disposable income dollars with many other entertainment options both locally, on the internet, and, of course, TV.
Even though students don't technically purchase tickets, the Shocker basketball product is still competing with other entertainment products at least for their time (to attend the games), and attention (are they interested in Shocker basketball?).
So, why does there seem to be a steady decline in students attending the game? Here are a few thoughts:
1. Shift in consumer preferences for this demographic - For many of us, when we were college students, attending Shocker basketball games was a highlight of our collegiate experience. We looked forward to going to the games. However, maybe attending sporting events is not as high of a priority with millennials as it was for previous generations. This article would indicate that this is very much a factor, and the shift for this demographic might be the driving factor in the decreased student attendance at Shocker games:
2. The competition - How excited will the casual fan get about going to numerous games against no-name opponents where the outcome of the game is pretty much decided within a few minutes of the opening tip off? Then there are our MVC opponents that do little to interest our fan base because it's more of the same (beating up on no name opponents). With the exception of some years that UNI has fielded very competitive teams, the overall quality of the MVC basketball product has continued on a trend of steady decline for around a decade now. We don't even have a true rival in our conference any more like we did in the days of Creighton, and before that Tulsa.
3. The non-basketball aspects of our basketball game product - I don't know about the rest of you, but I often find going to the games to be stale and uninspiring. It's the same promotions every game every year. Usually the dance team does a little routine during half time, and the same videos and promotions on the jumbotron. Same old, same old, blah, blah. I wish our athletic department would take a cue from the University, at large, and become more innovative in their approach to the in-game productions. Change things up, be innovative, bring something fresh every now and then. Couple this with another blow out victory of a no name opponent, and I don't always get a whole lot of charge out of attending a game (yawn). Sorry if I have offended some of you with this.
So how can we get millennials to come to Shocker basketball games? How can we keep the product fresh and interesting to draw more interest?
Students, I would really love to hear from you. Would love to have an open, respectful dialogue where we might come up with some pretty good ideas on how to improve the product.
I am starting a new thread to discuss the issue of student attendance at Shocker Men's Basketball games. The reason I am starting a new thread is that I want to move the discussion away from an angry, tantrum based discussion where angry insults are hurled at the students; and move the discussion to a rational, market based discussion on the issues. I would especially like to hear the opinions of the students and maybe non-students in the traditional college age range. If there's any chance of them honestly posting their opinions on this forum, it's going to require that the rest of us respect their opinions AND NOT lash out at them with insults if they say things we don't like or agree with. Can we be respectful of opinions that we may not agree with?
Regardless of how you think of Shocker basketball, it is ultimately a sports entertainment product that is marketed by the Wichita State Athletic Department to the Wichita metro area. It is in competition with our disposable income dollars with many other entertainment options both locally, on the internet, and, of course, TV.
Even though students don't technically purchase tickets, the Shocker basketball product is still competing with other entertainment products at least for their time (to attend the games), and attention (are they interested in Shocker basketball?).
So, why does there seem to be a steady decline in students attending the game? Here are a few thoughts:
1. Shift in consumer preferences for this demographic - For many of us, when we were college students, attending Shocker basketball games was a highlight of our collegiate experience. We looked forward to going to the games. However, maybe attending sporting events is not as high of a priority with millennials as it was for previous generations. This article would indicate that this is very much a factor, and the shift for this demographic might be the driving factor in the decreased student attendance at Shocker games:
2. The competition - How excited will the casual fan get about going to numerous games against no-name opponents where the outcome of the game is pretty much decided within a few minutes of the opening tip off? Then there are our MVC opponents that do little to interest our fan base because it's more of the same (beating up on no name opponents). With the exception of some years that UNI has fielded very competitive teams, the overall quality of the MVC basketball product has continued on a trend of steady decline for around a decade now. We don't even have a true rival in our conference any more like we did in the days of Creighton, and before that Tulsa.
3. The non-basketball aspects of our basketball game product - I don't know about the rest of you, but I often find going to the games to be stale and uninspiring. It's the same promotions every game every year. Usually the dance team does a little routine during half time, and the same videos and promotions on the jumbotron. Same old, same old, blah, blah. I wish our athletic department would take a cue from the University, at large, and become more innovative in their approach to the in-game productions. Change things up, be innovative, bring something fresh every now and then. Couple this with another blow out victory of a no name opponent, and I don't always get a whole lot of charge out of attending a game (yawn). Sorry if I have offended some of you with this.
So how can we get millennials to come to Shocker basketball games? How can we keep the product fresh and interesting to draw more interest?
Students, I would really love to hear from you. Would love to have an open, respectful dialogue where we might come up with some pretty good ideas on how to improve the product.
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