This has been beaten on around the boards for ages, but I don't know if I've ever seen a concrete thread with suggestions for what steps Belmont can take. No suggestion is too outrageous. I know we have a lot of excuses - or reasons - for less than stellar attendance (although we do fairly well considering). This is not the thread for that. LEt's take Belmont's attendance to the next level.

How can we improve attendance among students, among alumni, and among the community?

- Form partnerships with area youth leagues. Kids come free, parents for half-price
- Sponsor youth leagues. Bruiser at all the games. Kids wear Belmont somewhere on all their jerseys. Get them invested young.
- Personal connections with students on campus. Make sure they know the team, players, and athletic staff. Make it known how important they are at games, and how much fun games can be. Keep in touch with them once they graduate.
- Keep young alumni in the know. Send out periodic emails from Coach Byrd or a player. Talk about how players are coming along; give out a lot of non-information posing as Insider info to those who sign up for discounted young alumni season tickets.
- Hold events on campus for those alumni returning to campus. Keep them wanting to return to campus.
- Hold networking events for young alumni with Bruin Club members. All new graduates are looking for jobs, right? Come to a networking event before the game, stay for the game. Even sit with the Bruin Club and go into the Vince Gill room at halftime.
- Do billboards, signage, or any of that work? I don't think so, and if it does, how does Belmont ever know? Spend that money on community events to further ingrate Belmont in the community. Get the community invested.
- Invite all of Nashville to one game. On us. Completely free. Ticket, popcorn, the whole enchilada. Meet the team on the court after the game. Get autographs. During the game, assign one member of the staff to check in on each of these "freebies" to make sure they are enjoying the game and have everything they need. Get their contact information. Keep in touch with them. Blast them emails, special offers, notes from Coach Byrd and the team. Make them come back. Send them away happy.
- Belmont shouldn't be marketed as a great sports product for sports enthusiasts. Pure sports fans will go see the Preds, Titans, 'Dores, or one of the other 10 area college teams. Belmont is THE family entertainment destination. Kids on the court after every game. Autograph sessions with players. Kids in jerseys get free popcorn. Photo kiosk set up for families with Bruiser and players. Photos are automatically emailed to the parents (get it - you just picked up their contact information and now can blast them emails and special offers like above).

Let's kick it in gear. Time to go to work. Make it happen.

One thing I did was to over-buy season tickets. I have a family of 4 and the last couple of years I bought 8 season tickets. I bring friends to games throughout the season and get others interested.

I was told the other day that one of the families we bring with us is ready to buy their own tickets. He loves to watch Byrd's teams play. Another fan lives about an hour from the Curb and he now comes occasionally with his family.

So, I am willing to do other things, but I am trying to develop fans little by little.

(01-27-2010 05:39 PM)Idstromadommadingdong Wrote:  This has been beaten on around the boards for ages, but I don't know if I've ever seen a concrete thread with suggestions for what steps Belmont can take. No suggestion is too outrageous. I know we have a lot of excuses - or reasons - for less than stellar attendance (although we do fairly well considering). This is not the thread for that. LEt's take Belmont's attendance to the next level.

How can we improve attendance among students, among alumni, and among the community?

- Form partnerships with area youth leagues. Kids come free, parents for half-price
- Sponsor youth leagues. Bruiser at all the games. Kids wear Belmont
somewhere on all their jerseys. Get them invested young.
- Personal connections with students on campus. Make sure they know the team, players, and athletic staff. Make it known how important they are at games, and how much fun games can be. Keep in touch with them once they graduated
- Keep young alumni in the know. Send out periodic emails from Coach Byrd or a player. Talk about how players are coming along; give out a lot of non-information posing as Insider info to those who sign up for discounted young alumni season tickets.
- Hold events on campus for those alumni returning to campus. Keep them wanting to return to campus.
- Hold networking events for young alumni with Bruin Club members. All new graduates are looking for jobs, right? Come to a networking event before the game, stay for the game. Even sit with the Bruin Club and go into the Vince Gill room at halftime.
- Do billboards, signage, or any of that work? I don't think so, and if it does, how does Belmont ever know? Spend that money on community events to further ingrate Belmont in the community. Get the community invested.
- Invite all of Nashville to one game. On us. Completely free. Ticket, popcorn, the whole enchilada. Meet the team on the court after the game. Get autographs. During the game, assign one member of the staff to check in on each of these "freebies" to make sure they are enjoying the game and have everything they need. Get their contact information. Keep in touch with them. Blast them emails, special offers, notes from Coach Byrd and the team. Make them come back. Send them away happy.
- Belmont shouldn't be marketed as a great sports product for sports enthusiasts. Pure sports fans will go see the Preds, Titans, 'Dores, or one of the other 10 area college teams. Belmont is THE family entertainment destination. Kids on the court after every game. Autograph sessions with players. Kids in jerseys get free popcorn. Photo kiosk set up for families with Bruiser and players. Photos are automatically emailed to the parents (get it - you just picked up their contact information and now can blast them emails and special offers like above).

Let's kick it in gear. Time to go to work. Make it happen.

Belmont actually gets a semi decent crowd considering. Out of the other colleges around I believe it ranks right under Vandy. Lipscomb only gets big when they us, so it seems that they pack that every night and they don't. Trust me I went and watched a tournament game there last year when Lipscomb was playing and no one was there for it.

(01-28-2010 08:24 PM)hoosbruin Wrote:  Belmont actually gets a semi decent crowd considering. Out of the other colleges around I believe it ranks right under Vandy. Lipscomb only gets big when they us, so it seems that they pack that every night and they don't. Trust me I went and watched a tournament game there last year when Lipscomb was playing and no one was there for it.

Close, but not quite.

In non-Belmont games, Lipscomb averages 1,173. In non-Lipscomb games, Belmont averages 1,105. Take ETSU out of the equation (the second-biggest draw for both teams) and the averages drop to 1,029 for Lipscomb and 975 for Belmont.

Last year Belmont brought 1,352 to the afternoon Mercer tournament game at Allen Arena. Lipscomb brought 1,891 to the Campbell game that night. Not great, but not as ridiculous as the regular season.

What this means is that if the NCAA goes ahead with their minimum ticket sales plan (similar to what they require for 1-A football) we're both screwed.

(01-29-2010 12:49 PM)DadofTwins Wrote:  

(01-28-2010 08:24 PM)hoosbruin Wrote:  Belmont actually gets a semi decent crowd considering. Out of the other colleges around I believe it ranks right under Vandy. Lipscomb only gets big when they us, so it seems that they pack that every night and they don't. Trust me I went and watched a tournament game there last year when Lipscomb was playing and no one was there for it.

Close, but not quite.

In non-Belmont games, Lipscomb averages 1,173. In non-Lipscomb games, Belmont averages 1,105. Take ETSU out of the equation (the second-biggest draw for both teams) and the averages drop to 1,029 for Lipscomb and 975 for Belmont.

Last year Belmont brought 1,352 to the afternoon Mercer tournament game at Allen Arena. Lipscomb brought 1,891 to the Campbell game that night. Not great, but not as ridiculous as the regular season.

What this means is that if the NCAA goes ahead with their minimum ticket sales plan (similar to what they require for 1-A football) we're both screwed.

It's silly to use those numbers. Neither number is remotely accurate, as both schools boost their figures. Belmont does not boost as high as many other schools, however. Further note - Belmont brought "1,352" to an afternoon game (i.e. during classes and the work day) the day before Spring Break. Many students leave early for break. Comparing the two, again, is silly.

Regardless, this is not meant to defend what either school does have, considering its limitations; rather, it is an exercise to expand on that base. There is significant potential for both schools to grow their fan bases, in my opinion. For just this thread, let's not focus on excuses or justification of attendance. Let's focus on how to keep improving it.

I've been reading these boards for about 3 years, but this is my first post. I'm a student (Senior) at Belmont.

It seems like the M.O.B. (the "official" student athletics support group - I don't know the acronym) isn't really getting the job done as far as advertising and promoting games, except for the Battle and Homecoming. Since I can remember, the Greek organizations and SGA are mainly responsible for both attendance and marketing. It's been hard to get the rest of campus excited and involved in supporting athletics, as it's a majority of music and artsy type people (stereotyping, I know. Not an excuse either). We created a Facebook event for the last Battle and we had the biggest crowd I've ever seen, so we started a Facebook group called "Belmont Student Section Revival" (shameless plug, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=271068929830) in order to organize everyone. However, all we can do with this is send messages and clutter inboxes.

What do you guys (other schools) do in order to get their kids fired up about games? We're trying to turn this thing around, but we need some more ideas to get people motivated.

Also, what did you guys think about the crowd at the Battle of the Boulevard?

(01-31-2010 06:06 PM)SNIURB06 Wrote:  I've been reading these boards for about 3 years, but this is my first post. I'm a student (Senior) at Belmont.

It seems like the M.O.B. (the "official" student athletics support group - I don't know the acronym) isn't really getting the job done as far as advertising and promoting games, except for the Battle and Homecoming. Since I can remember, the Greek organizations and SGA are mainly responsible for both attendance and marketing. It's been hard to get the rest of campus excited and involved in supporting athletics, as it's a majority of music and artsy type people (stereotyping, I know. Not an excuse either). We created a Facebook event for the last Battle and we had the biggest crowd I've ever seen, so we started a Facebook group called "Belmont Student Section Revival" (shameless plug, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=271068929830) in order to organize everyone. However, all we can do with this is send messages and clutter inboxes.

What do you guys (other schools) do in order to get their kids fired up about games? We're trying to turn this thing around, but we need some more ideas to get people motivated.

Also, what did you guys think about the crowd at the Battle of the Boulevard?

I thought the student section was great for the Battle. I wish we could get more of that fire for the other games. By the way, my daughter will be a freshman at Belmont next year. She never misses a game, so I expect her to push her classmates to go.

I couldn't go to the Jax game, but the rest of my family went and we brought a family that never went to a Belmont game before. They were pumped from what I understand and hooked into coming back. They are ready to buy their own tickets.

May I encourage others to bring guests. Word of mouth is a great method of marketing.

(02-06-2010 09:53 AM)Bruin2002 Wrote:  I couldn't go to the Jax game, but the rest of my family went and we brought a family that never went to a Belmont game before. They were pumped from what I understand and hooked into coming back. They are ready to buy their own tickets.

May I encourage others to bring guests. Word of mouth is a great method of marketing.

We had a pretty good crowd on Friday night. It started slow, but by about five minutes into the first half it was a great showing. I think we're finally starting to figure this thing out.

Once Belmont gets a signature win (like we almost did at Duke), or even better a signature season (winning a game or 2 in the NCAA tourny) and gets on the national stage, attendance goes way up because people will actually give a crap. Only a matter of time I think, because Rick Byrd has this program headed in the right direction. I was on the MOB council for 2 years. We tried everything we could think of and it was to no avail. Like one poster said a few messages back, Belmont is a liberal arts music college and does not draw the right demographic for loyal fans. It may be stereotypical, but it's the truth. If I sound bitter about this, it's because I am. That job was frustrating.

(02-07-2010 05:17 PM)B HURB Wrote:  Once Belmont gets a signature win (like we almost did at Duke), or even better a signature season (winning a game or 2 in the NCAA tourny) and gets on the national stage, attendance goes way up because people will actually give a crap. Only a matter of time I think, because Rick Byrd has this program headed in the right direction. I was on the MOB council for 2 years. We tried everything we could think of and it was to no avail. Like one poster said a few messages back, Belmont is a liberal arts music college and does not draw the right demographic for loyal fans. It may be stereotypical, but it's the truth. If I sound bitter about this, it's because I am. That job was frustrating.

love and respect b hurb, love and respect

Bringing this thread back...

I'd like to know why no one came to the Mercer game tonight... We promoted it pretty hard, and still had a pretty crappy showing. I wish the stereotypes weren't true, but maybe we are just fans for the big games and Homecoming.

Lame.

(02-25-2010 10:48 PM)SNIURB06 Wrote:  Bringing this thread back...

I'd like to know why no one came to the Mercer game tonight... We promoted it pretty hard, and still had a pretty crappy showing. I wish the stereotypes weren't true, but maybe we are just fans for the big games and Homecoming.

Lame.

I kept wondering when the students would show up.

(02-25-2010 10:48 PM)SNIURB06 Wrote:  Bringing this thread back...

I'd like to know why no one came to the Mercer game tonight... We promoted it pretty hard, and still had a pretty crappy showing. I wish the stereotypes weren't true, but maybe we are just fans for the big games and Homecoming.

Lame.

I think the Gulf Coast game took the wind out of our sails, plus we were competing with Vanderbilt last night. I guarantee you that when Belmont and Vandy play at the same time, Belmont's crowds suffer. I always notice it, because I usually go to Vandy and feel guilty when I hear the crowd was down at Belmont.

(02-26-2010 09:51 AM)Northside Bruin Wrote:  

(02-25-2010 10:48 PM)SNIURB06 Wrote:  Bringing this thread back...

I'd like to know why no one came to the Mercer game tonight... We promoted it pretty hard, and still had a pretty crappy showing. I wish the stereotypes weren't true, but maybe we are just fans for the big games and Homecoming.

Lame.

I think the Gulf Coast game took the wind out of our sails, plus we were competing with Vanderbilt last night. I guarantee you that when Belmont and Vandy play at the same time, Belmont's crowds suffer. I always notice it, because I usually go to Vandy and feel guilty when I hear the crowd was down at Belmont.

Oh yeah, Vandy was about 2000 short of capacity last night with a darned good team. 14,500 tickets sold, but no more than 12,500 there. Even a very, very good high-major team in Nashville can struggle for their place.