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Post by Yotes on Dec 8, 2017 23:55:27 GMT -6
What's everyone's thoughts on continuing to stream the games but have a charge? At least in this scenario there is income coming in. I'm not sure what's right, but has to be frustrating as an AD not to sell some seats, and equally frustrating to the coaches and teams to have a really really good team and not have big time home court advantage. Might as well charge for the stream that the university puts out there, but the people who are staying home because they can watch from home are watching the Midco broadcasts.. Midco covers nearly every (real) game for us and I'm guessing they have their own contract with ESPN3. Every football game and all but two of the men's D1 games are carried by Midco this year. If someone is willing to pay to see the Mount Marty and other non-D1 games online then we might as well make a buck. As a fan though, I'd prefer the university stream be free. I hate when we are on the road and I run into a pay wall. My opinion on being broadcast in general is that it does far more good than harm. I'm guilty of staying home and watching a few basketball games on TV over the years, simply because I could. But the exposure and potential for new fans greatly outweighs existing fans staying home. I don't think anyone would disagree with that. If you can be on TV, you get on TV.
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Post by Yotes on Dec 9, 2017 0:01:39 GMT -6
For what it's worth, I have a great time going to the basketball games. I'm a passionate alum and avid college basketball fan so it's a perfect match for me. I do believe that a USD basketball game is a great piece of entertainment even if you aren't in my position though. I believe that if the AD could draw new fans to enjoy the experience that some of them will come back on their own. This might mean giving out some free tickets and upsetting a few season ticket holders, but I think it would be worth it in the long run.
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Post by elcoyote on Dec 9, 2017 0:36:09 GMT -6
For what it's worth, I have a great time going to the basketball games. I'm a passionate alum and avid college basketball fan so it's a perfect match for me. I do believe that a USD basketball game is a great piece of entertainment even if you aren't in my position though. I believe that if the AD could draw new fans to enjoy the experience that some of them will come back on their own. This might mean giving out some free tickets and upsetting a few season ticket holders, but I think it would be worth it in the long run. I guess I don't see where giving out free tickets to potential fans would or should upset a season ticket holder. I have season tickets and it wouldn't bother me one bit. How would I know or why would I care? Maybe for certain games Vermillion students could get in for free with student ID. Potential to be loud and obnoxious and possibly drag a paying parent along with them.
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Post by Coyote Fan on Dec 9, 2017 1:02:58 GMT -6
Ever since I saw my first Coyote basketball game in the early 90's I was hooked on it after the first game. Luckily that night we played North Dakota on a Friday night and I was able to go the very next night to see the Bison as well. I thought the quality of the game was really good and I can't imagine anyone not being hooked but of course not everyone is a sports freak like many of us on the board. There is no internet, cell phone, HD TV broadcast or any other entertainment option that could compare with the atmosphere and energy of actually being at a game. That stands to this very day. Back in the day of Rosie and the gang the students and the crowd in general was way more into the game than they are now, even in an arena that is meant for a better atmosphere than the dome was. I still think the Summit doesn't have the pull of the old NCC. Everything was predictable back then. It was always a Friday and Saturday men's & women's double header for every game. 6PM and 8PM starts as predictable as the sun rises and sets. The rivalries of the old NCC were second to none. The game is more athletic and better now but the familiarity with the opponent trumped that.
For the newer fans the travel partners were UNC/UNO, USD/Morningside, Augie/SDSU, UND/NDSU and St. Cloud/Mankato. It worked like a charm and each half of the conference schedule each team would travel or host with their travel parter another pair of teams. The only time the Coyotes wouldn't play Friday and Saturday is when they played Morningside and in that case the game would usually or always been on saturday. The vast majority of those games would be at night but occasionally there would be a Saturday afternoon game. The regular season did mean something because for the D2 NCAA tourney there were at large teams and the NCC champ at the least would generally get an at large bid.
People like predictability and the NCC was exactly that. The Summit has no travel partners, few double headers and way too many games not falling on Friday's or Saturday's. The scheduling for Summit League basketball is pathetic. I think we have a league office that has a vision that is different than many of the schools in it.
The Summit could learn a lot from the old NCC. First of all we need to get back to at least a 10 team conference and get back to travel partners with men's and women's double headers for all schools that want them. I know this might cause a few issues but it would also be nice to go to a Friday Saturday schedule again. It would make the travel a bit tougher but if there is a will there is a way.
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Post by kiyoat on Dec 9, 2017 5:45:50 GMT -6
CF, your post brings up another topic: the success of the SLT. In essence the tournament is a giant doubleheader for the men/women's teams.
The traditions of the NCC could also point to the reasons why WBB is actually a big deal here as opposed to most other mid-major programs. Who knows?
Here's a compromise for the free online stream: make the watcher register with a free account. Then you have an email or address to use in targeted marketing. I'm not an expert in advertising, but wouldn't that have value?
In the words of Lloyd Christmas: "That's as good as money, sir. Those are I.O.U.s"
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Post by gopheryote on Dec 9, 2017 6:40:20 GMT -6
We all know a journey of 1000 miles starts with the first step. If the first phase is getting 250 more non-student butts in seats (just made that up), what do we think is the lowest-hanging fruit?
I would suggest we start with an obvious-but-invisible group: USD staff. There are what, 750 employees at the university? Most of those jobs don't pay particularly well, but seems like running promos for staff could be a place to start.
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Post by yodayote on Dec 9, 2017 7:04:34 GMT -6
Ok, inspired....going to the womens game today.
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Post by Yotes on Dec 9, 2017 8:07:29 GMT -6
We all know a journey of 1000 miles starts with the first step. If the first phase is getting 250 more non-student butts in seats (just made that up), what do we think is the lowest-hanging fruit? I would suggest we start with an obvious-but-invisible group: USD staff. There are what, 750 employees at the university? Most of those jobs don't pay particularly well, but seems like running promos for staff could be a place to start. I don't remember any real advertising toward staff when I worked at USD. Maybe we should give out ticket vouchers for a game or two, track who actually used theirs, then send them an email 1-2 months before the following season starts with a schedule and reminder that they are able to get that staff discount on season tickets.
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Post by yote14 on Dec 12, 2017 14:44:00 GMT -6
I like the $5 tickets for older people (55+). Dirt cheap tickets or a ticket package which excludes the XDSU and other big games which can be included in the USD faculty benefits package. Getting all of them there first may help getting students there similar to theatre teachers pushing the plays when I was in school.
Also, maybe give out ticket packages to local high schools. For example 200 tickets to Beresford HS for the next game. Those 200 tickets will hopefully turn into purchased tickets as parents of a kid who got a free ticket will hopefully purchase some to go with their kid. Kids friends from another town will maybe go with them. Entire basketball teams for the HS can go with their coach. put them up on the big board during time outs or media breaks with a short bio of how they are doing for the year. It also markets USD and what it has to offer to future students.
If we all agree that travel is always be an issue hit Vermillion hard. Give out free or dirt cheap ticket packages to local business to give to employees etc. Maybe expand that to Sioux City and Yankton. I grew up going to Yankton shopping a lot and I never remember seeing Coyote marketing in Yankton. Every business should have schedule posters up in Yankton. Give some of those businesses free or discounted ticket packages to work as free marketing. Yankton should essentially be an extension of the USD campus.
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Post by yote14 on Dec 12, 2017 14:46:06 GMT -6
Also,
I remember there being a USD blimp at one time. What happened to that? Can we bring it back out or buy one again. I loved that thing dropping coupons for stuff during games. Also makes the game day experience better. People loved that thing.
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Post by Yote 53 on Dec 12, 2017 16:40:52 GMT -6
So funny you brought up the blimp. We were at the Gopher/Badger hockey game two weeks ago and they had a blimp dropping free stuff. My kid asks me if USD still has their blimp because he hadn't remember seeing that thing in a while.
BTW, Marriucci Arena is an awesome setup. You want to talk about a great arena with steep seating that puts you right on top of the action.
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Post by Coyote Fan on Dec 12, 2017 17:55:01 GMT -6
Thinking back USD has definitely eliminated many of the side gigs with basketball games. Good halftime shows, inflatables, hot tubs, blimps, etc. I am sure cost has much to do with it but there were a handful of ideas that people seemed to like that no longer exist. One thing has been proven and that is a brand spanking new shiny arena and winning basketball teams seem to do little to nothing to excite the fan base. I really don't know what else USD can do. They have done their job now with the facility and the quality winnning basketball. No more excuses as the onus is now on the fans to do their part which they are not doing in good numbers.
With the product, the arena and the winning I cannot believe that the Yotes cannot even average 1500 per game. There is really no reason at all that the average isn't well above 2,000 and for the better game there should be 3 or 4K every time. People are so into the major teams like Minnesota, Iowa or whatever but these Coyotes are pretty much as good as both of them, people just need to realize it.
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Post by kiyoat on Dec 12, 2017 18:20:43 GMT -6
#FakeAttendance ^^^
Last year the men averaged over 2100 per game, and they seem to be doing about that or slightly better this year. Sure, that likely is a sold ticket count that includes some no-show season ticket holders, but it is the number we have. And that number is very gradually getting better.
CF no matter how many times you post with fake numbers from your "estimates" it won't make you correct.
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Post by Coyote Fan on Dec 13, 2017 1:52:24 GMT -6
#FakeAttendance ^^^ Last year the men averaged over 2100 per game, and they seem to be doing about that or slightly better this year. Sure, that likely is a sold ticket count that includes some no-show season ticket holders, but it is the number we have. And that number is very gradually getting better. CF no matter how many times you post with fake numbers from your "estimates" it won't make you correct. I am not referring to paid attendance but instead actually attendance which is a very different thing. The men are not averaging 2100 per game in butts in seats. BTW, give me an example of how my estimates and fake numbers are or somehow misguided??? With the football estimates I showed my work and I don't know what else needs to be done. I won't apologize for seeking out the truth.
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Post by kiyoat on Dec 13, 2017 5:02:37 GMT -6
#FakeAttendance ^^^ Last year the men averaged over 2100 per game, and they seem to be doing about that or slightly better this year. Sure, that likely is a sold ticket count that includes some no-show season ticket holders, but it is the number we have. And that number is very gradually getting better. CF no matter how many times you post with fake numbers from your "estimates" it won't make you correct. I am not referring to paid attendance but instead actually attendance which is a very different thing. The men are not averaging 2100 per game in butts in seats. BTW, give me an example of how my estimates and fake numbers are or somehow misguided??? With the football estimates I showed my work and I don't know what else needs to be done. I won't apologize for seeking out the truth. Seek the truth all you want. I'm a big fan of seeking truth. That's the basis of scientific research, which I'm also a big fan of. Conducting research with shoddy methodology and speculative estimates, and then using those numbers repeatedly as if they are fact is called propaganda. I'm not a fan of propaganda.
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