Any guess on attendance for this first Home game? Inviting 500 HS band members to join the MRD's at halftime is a good strategy to boost the numbers. I am sure Band Parents will also attend eager to watch and hear their kids.

I'm hoping we have some strategies in the works to boost attendance at all the games.

Anyway this is pasted from today's DNR article:

HARRISONBURG — During this Saturday’s James Madison University football game — the first home game of the season — more than 1,000 band students will play at halftime.

The Marching Royal Dukes, JMU’s marching band, is hosting high school students to perform with them for the first time.

About 500 high school students from around the state, near and far, will participate in the first Band Day, which organizers hope will become an annual event.

“What we are really all about is promoting the music education in public schools,” said Chase Maszle, communications manager for the Marching Royal Dukes. “We like to give to kids that are headed to college an opportunity to experience what college marching band is like, because it all starts in high school.”

Students will participate in a clinic with JMU staff on Saturday morning, watch the JMU football game against Saint Francis University and then perform with the Marching Royal Dukes in the halftime show.

“We want the community to be there,” Maszle said. “It’s a big day for everyone and it’s going to be an exciting season for JMU sports, too.”

The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. at Bridgeforth Stadium.

Hoping for 22,500!

JMU has many promotions planned for all of the home football games. After the Delaware game, Bridgeforth will host the second annual Great Madison Campout where local boy and girl scouts are invited to campout on the field after the game and watch a movie on the jumbotron. Last year had nearly 500 participants.

http://jmusports.com/news/2014/8/7/Promo...40346.aspx

Of course the next two games are parents weekend and homecoming, so no additional promotions are necessary. The final game has many promotions with it, including: senior day, hall of fame inductions, honoring the 2004 championship team, local high school and middle school football and cheerleading discounted tickets, and parents who bought parents weekend tickets can purchase discounted tickets to use when they pick-up their child for the break.

http://www.jmusports.com/sports/2014/6/1...=marketing

not a lot of tickets on stub hub. i think we'll get a bigger crowd than most expect... if the weather cooperates

(09-10-2014 08:41 PM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  not a lot of tickets on stub hub. i think we'll get a bigger crowd than most expect... if the weather cooperates

Based off of your post and meaning no disrespect at all, but you give me the impression that many are thinking a weak turnout on Saturday? Why would people think this?

Its the first home game. Which typically has over 22k. Its a new era for JMU FB. We have put together a great deal for HS kids that are in the band. That is 500 additional paying butts in the seats. As it cost each one $20. There will be a minimum of one accompanying adult with each band member and in many cases two or more will be with each. These accompanying people have access to reduced price seats ( I think its $10 each).

On the negative side, many don't care to see a cupcake opponent. Its now the 3rd game into the season, and a little interest has already faded. We were terrible at UMD and our largest fan base lives in that area, so they may have seen all they want to see of the Dukes for this year.

All-in-all, I think the probability of having 22k or more in BFS on Saturday is very good. Though, 22k is not capacity, its "dagum" close.

As you stated, weather could be an issue, as its calling for a 50% chance of showers. But, when it says showers, I take it to mean, there will be pockets of rain, not a washout and could miss us altogether. I hope you and I are right and BFS rocks on Saturday.

Coach withers has challenged the students to break a record and bring 10k. That's a bit of a stretch considering it is half of the student body.
To convince them to show up, you gotta win and win flashy and big. To get them to stay at halftime, convince them they're in their dorm room.

(09-10-2014 09:08 PM)Potomac Wrote:  Coach withers has challenged the students to break a record and bring 10k. That's a bit of a stretch considering it is half of the student body.
To convince them to show up, you gotta win and win flashy and big. To get them to stay at halftime, put a keg in each row.

Fixed that for you.

A lot of tickets have sold this week. Looks like only about 1000 left to sell to the public, which is way down from Monday.

Bleeding Purple, I wouldn't have expected a lot of empty seats until I saw the challenge from Withers. 8k for students was always a lot and didn't necessarily get used (usually didn't). 5k was the norm for a long time. Giving an extra 2k to students seemed like more of a way to get butts in seats that we hadn't sold yet rather than trying to get students bought into the program. I could be wrong though. With Withers also push night game times to afternoon times it seems he is super focused on the students, so maybe he is indeed spurning possible ticket sales in favor of getting students bought in early in the season.

Sold: 23-24k
Max Capacity: 20K
4th Quarter: 10k regardless of score.

(09-11-2014 08:43 AM)All Dukes_All Day Wrote:  Sold: 23-24k
Max Capacity: 20K
4th Quarter: 10k regardless of score.

MAX CAPACITY???? What are you referring to?

While I will agree this week we will be fortunate to have 10K butts in the seats at the mid-point of the forth quarter, but this will be due to the blow-out factor. I'm trying to think what game which had the most fans still in their seats during the forth quarter. I'm guessing that OT game against Maine a couple years back. I believe 15K were still engaged with several thousand students still there.

I like the challenge from Withers and he seems genuinely be focused on building grassroots support on campus (thinking of that Student Day which was great). FWIW, we had one extra ticket in our five this week and put it on StubHub thinking it'd never sell - went in an hour which certainly was encouraging.

(09-11-2014 09:01 AM)BleedingPurple Wrote:  

(09-11-2014 08:43 AM)All Dukes_All Day Wrote:  Sold: 23-24k
Max Capacity: 20K
4th Quarter: 10k regardless of score.

MAX CAPACITY???? What are you referring to?

While I will agree this week we will be fortunate to have 10K butts in the seats at the mid-point of the forth quarter, but this will be due to the blow-out factor. I'm trying to think what game which had the most fans still in their seats during the forth quarter. I'm guessing that OT game against Maine a couple years back. I believe 15K were still engaged with several thousand students still there.

Poor choice of words...I meant to say that there will likely not be more than 20,000 people in the stadium at peak attendance.

(09-11-2014 09:12 AM)All Dukes_All Day Wrote:  

(09-11-2014 09:01 AM)BleedingPurple Wrote:  

(09-11-2014 08:43 AM)All Dukes_All Day Wrote:  Sold: 23-24k
Max Capacity: 20K
4th Quarter: 10k regardless of score.

MAX CAPACITY???? What are you referring to?

While I will agree this week we will be fortunate to have 10K butts in the seats at the mid-point of the forth quarter, but this will be due to the blow-out factor. I'm trying to think what game which had the most fans still in their seats during the forth quarter. I'm guessing that OT game against Maine a couple years back. I believe 15K were still engaged with several thousand students still there.

Poor choice of words...I meant to say that there will likely not be more than 20,000 people in the stadium at peak attendance.

Gotcha!!

MRDs + 500 local band kids. That's a whole lot of feathers and sequins!

....I'd rather see a normal halftime show from the MRD's and have the HS kids play with the MRD's for pregame. That's just me though.

it's a good promotional event especially for a school that has an excellent music program.

Whoa, whoaa, whoaaaaaa Nelly.

What is this talk of 20k, 22.5k or thereabouts?

I've heard for months now, if not YEARS that BFS will be an empty, half built stadium with only the band Dads and knitting needle moms in attendance.

The only real excitement coming when aforementioned ladies and gentlemen need to duck and scramble to avoid being bowled over by the bales of tumbleweed blowing through the joint.

What gives? 20+ THOUSAND football fans at a JMU game? Someone's been lying to us yet again!


Fire Mickey!!!

(09-11-2014 01:49 PM)brizzock Wrote:  ....I'd rather see a normal halftime show from the MRD's and have the HS kids play with the MRD's for pregame. That's just me though.

I beleive that it will be the normal halftime show followed by the HS students joining the mrds to play Get It On.

HA! ...and Dunk, I suspect, for something, sometime during the game... JB and/or CK will be responsible for something gone awry. Helmet sticker falling off, too many turf pellets effecting a fg attempt, wrong shade of yellow on the goal post, urinal cakes not the right scent... something. GO DUKES!

I was e-mailing with Mike Carpenter about tickets for Villanova and Charlotte today and I asked him how sales were going. He's thinking between 22,000-24,000. Not bad for a crappy opponent. If we had a good FCS opponent, we would have sold out. Quite a bit of buzz around campus from my various sources about going to the game on Sat.