The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

There's a lot of quality ideas in this thread that wouldn't be that hard to implement. It's frustrating that the people who are our paid marketing professionals are either not creative enough or too lazy to come up with and execute this stuff on their own.

Beat some P5 teams and get in the Top 25/national conversation. That is the only way to significantly break out of just the hardcore attendance base. We had some momentum coming into the season but losing to very average P5 teams in AU, IL, and VT killed the interest of the local masses.
Not saying it's fair or right, just the way it is.

If we were undefeated and ranked top 25 we still would not have broke 7,000 in attendance. Maybe not 6k. Who knows but I'm pretty sure we would not have a sellout. It's deeper than that.

(01-10-2016 05:05 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  If we were undefeated and ranked top 25 we still would not have broke 7,000 in attendance. Maybe not 6k. Who knows but I'm pretty sure we would not have a sellout. It's deeper than that.

The next time we are undefeated and ranked in January (which has never happened), I think a friendly wager might be in order. I would take several thousand of that action.

I would love to be able to buy tickets lower level of people who don't come.

I just looked at the available tickets at uabsports.com. I checked the WKU home game, which most likely has the highest demand of any home game we have left. There are tickets available all around the lower bowl, with a few exceptions, at $20 each.

No, that's not selling you the unused seat at half court of some Frozen 100 member, but there are lower level tickets to be had.

(01-10-2016 05:08 PM)BlazerGreen Wrote:  

(01-10-2016 05:05 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  If we were undefeated and ranked top 25 we still would not have broke 7,000 in attendance. Maybe not 6k. Who knows but I'm pretty sure we would not have a sellout. It's deeper than that.

The next time we are undefeated and ranked in January (which has never happened), I think a friendly wager might be in order. I would take several thousand of that action.

You would lose that bet.

It is deeper than win and losses.I have mentioned this before but here it is again.
We have to make UAB basketball attractive as it was during the CUSA tournament.
Local fans come out to see an event but the same won't come to see a UAB game on a regular basis.
The atmosphere at the tournament was electrifiYing ..
UAB Basketball compete with, several d1 d2 basketball teams within a 50 miles radius. UAB needs to add more exterior lights to the arena. The casual fan need to be excited with anticipation at what they are seeing, hearing,smelling and tasting coming,sitting and leaving the arena. The band should play music with a boom boom, like the young people love.
This is a strategy used by many venues, it's called sensory overload. The fans experience should be talked about on radio,television, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and it should be from the fans.
UAB is the largest employer in the state and we probably get less than 500 employees that attend games.
UAB personnel is a marketing opportunity that is ignored, there should be blocks seating for employees that are discounted thru payroll, and some that can be earned thru commendation, awards, and other methods of distribution.
Since we started this discussion I just noticed we don't even throw t-shirts after made 3s.
We have to market toward long-term growth and stability with a fan base that want to come and see the Blazers play and dominated even if they are playing the nuns from South side.

(01-10-2016 05:08 PM)BlazerGreen Wrote:  

(01-10-2016 05:05 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  If we were undefeated and ranked top 25 we still would not have broke 7,000 in attendance. Maybe not 6k. Who knows but I'm pretty sure we would not have a sellout. It's deeper than that.

The next time we are undefeated and ranked in January (which has never happened), I think a friendly wager might be in order. I would take several thousand of that action.

Not the point. UAB sports marketing has been poor for years. The marketing staff, which wasn't all that good to begin with, has left the building. The previous AD bet on wooing big donors to build a football stadium and neglected building the fan base, and lost that bet. The current AD is called Fumbles for a reason.

Those are the negatives.

The UAB community is energized and organized as never before. It has proven that it can do great things with or without the support of the university "leadership," and in fact with its outright opposition. With a fraction of that will deployed to help Jerod Haase - who was there for us last December - we can do great things again.

As Attalla states, winning games is not the problem. It's one of years of incompetence and neglect, made worse by at times active opposition. Our administration has tried to fail, and that's about the only thing at which Ray Watts has succeeded.

Right now, we have no football. If we're to build it to represent our community as it should, and to shield the university from the despicable predations of the Espy-St. John-Bryant cabal, a thriving basketball program is a vital building block. Bill Clark did his part. So did Jerod Haase, so did Randy Norton. It's our turn.

Filling the arena doesn't Free UAB, but it certainly helps our cause. Plus it's fun.

(01-10-2016 05:24 PM)Ramsay7884 Wrote:  I would love to be able to buy tickets lower level of people who don't come.

You can. The day before the SF Austin game, I bought three tickets at the box office and had fantastic seats two rows behind the visitors bench.

I am embarrassed for my school that I was able to do that.

(01-10-2016 05:57 PM)Rebounder2u Wrote:  It is deeper than win and losses.I have mentioned this before but here it is again.
We have to make UAB basketball attractive as it was during the CUSA tournament.
Local fans come out to see an event but the same won't come to see a UAB game on a regular basis.
The atmosphere at the tournament was electrifiYing ..
UAB Basketball compete with, several d1 d2 basketball teams within a 50 miles radius. UAB needs to add more exterior lights to the arena. The casual fan need to be excited with anticipation at what they are seeing, hearing,smelling and tasting coming,sitting and leaving the arena. The band should play music with a boom boom, like the young people love.
This is a strategy used by many venues, it's called sensory overload. The fans experience should be talked about on radio,television, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and it should be from the fans.
UAB is the largest employer in the state and we probably get less than 500 employees that attend games.
UAB personnel is a marketing opportunity that is ignored, there should be blocks seating for employees that are discounted thru payroll, and some that can be earned thru commendation, awards, and other methods of distribution.
Since we started this discussion I just noticed we don't even throw t-shirts after made 3s.
We have to market toward long-term growth and stability with a fan base that want to come and see the Blazers play and dominated even if they are playing the nuns from South side.

Completely agree on the tshirts. No throwing 3 shirts after a made three, no tshirt gun, no tshirt parachute drop. That needs to change.

Do this: any k-12 student in the birmingham metro can get a free ticket with a report card of straight As.

Maybe some high school students will come by themselves, but the vast majority will bring in the whole family.

(01-10-2016 05:08 PM)BlazerGreen Wrote:  

(01-10-2016 05:05 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  If we were undefeated and ranked top 25 we still would not have broke 7,000 in attendance. Maybe not 6k. Who knows but I'm pretty sure we would not have a sellout. It's deeper than that.

The next time we are undefeated and ranked in January (which has never happened), I think a friendly wager might be in order. I would take several thousand of that action.

Let me know.

We can't sell out Memphis, North Carolina, Creighton, LSU. It's embarrassing. We are two shots from having only one loss and we have cannon fodder teams out drawing us. It's more than wins and losses.

(01-10-2016 05:36 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  

(01-10-2016 05:08 PM)BlazerGreen Wrote:  

(01-10-2016 05:05 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  If we were undefeated and ranked top 25 we still would not have broke 7,000 in attendance. Maybe not 6k. Who knows but I'm pretty sure we would not have a sellout. It's deeper than that.

The next time we are undefeated and ranked in January (which has never happened), I think a friendly wager might be in order. I would take several thousand of that action.

You would lose that bet.

I'd clean up

UNLESS there are major changes in how our athletic department sells out program.

If nothing changes yes

(01-10-2016 06:08 PM)58-56 Wrote:  

(01-10-2016 05:08 PM)BlazerGreen Wrote:  

(01-10-2016 05:05 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  If we were undefeated and ranked top 25 we still would not have broke 7,000 in attendance. Maybe not 6k. Who knows but I'm pretty sure we would not have a sellout. It's deeper than that.

The next time we are undefeated and ranked in January (which has never happened), I think a friendly wager might be in order. I would take several thousand of that action.

Not the point. UAB sports marketing has been poor for years. The marketing staff, which wasn't all that good to begin with, has left the building. The previous AD bet on wooing big donors to build a football stadium and neglected building the fan base, and lost that bet. The current AD is called Fumbles for a reason.

Those are the negatives.

The UAB community is energized and organized as never before. It has proven that it can do great things with or without the support of the university "leadership," and in fact with its outright opposition. With a fraction of that will deployed to help Jerod Haase - who was there for us last December - we can do great things again.

As Attalla states, winning games is not the problem. It's one of years of incompetence and neglect, made worse by at times active opposition. Our administration has tried to fail, and that's about the only thing at which Ray Watts has succeeded.

Right now, we have no football. If we're to build it to represent our community as it should, and to shield the university from the despicable predations of the Espy-St. John-Bryant cabal, a thriving basketball program is a vital building block. Bill Clark did his part. So did Jerod Haase, so did Randy Norton. It's our turn.

Filling the arena doesn't Free UAB, but it certainly helps our cause. Plus it's fun.

Well said.

(01-10-2016 02:25 PM)UABslant Wrote:  Some of the best-attended games outside of Memphis matchups during Anderson's years were bobblehead giveaways and the Squeaky Johnson poster night.

We got in BIG trouble for the Squeaky poster AND the Taylor Twins bobbleheads. Seems there is an NCAA rule about using current students with sponsorship logos which we violated. If you have a Ronnel/Donnel bobblehead with the sponsor logo on it, its a collectable. Those stickers were supposed to have been pulled off before giveaway.

The biggest thing we've got to do whatever it is, is to consider it an investment in the future even if it is a money loser. You must consider the long term picture but the current admin has more of a short term profit myopic view rather than the long term view so that must change.

(01-10-2016 08:11 PM)CourtsideBlazer Wrote:  

(01-10-2016 02:25 PM)UABslant Wrote:  Some of the best-attended games outside of Memphis matchups during Anderson's years were bobblehead giveaways and the Squeaky Johnson poster night.

We got in BIG trouble for the Squeaky poster AND the Taylor Twins bobbleheads. Seems there is an NCAA rule about using current students with sponsorship logos which we violated. If you have a Ronnel/Donnel bobblehead with the sponsor logo on it, its a collectable. Those stickers were supposed to have been pulled off before giveaway.

I thought as much. Bobble head status should go to former greats anyway.

We have also given away player cards before with corporate logos.

I believe most AU and UAT fans do not want to support UAB basketball, period. They have no interest in UAB. They certainly don't want to increase our attendance and potentially help our recruiting chances with local players. It's the AU-UAT effect.

That wipes out a lot of potential UAB basketball fans.

We have to continue to sell UAB as Birmingham's team.

Giveaways and gimmicks are not going to increase attendance.

Improving atmosphere and game day experience would go a long way in bringing people back to more games. If someone leaves Bartow and didn't have fun, why would they ever come back? What's more, they're probably going to tell someone that they didn't have fun.

Bartow could use a family zone playground similar to Region's Field. If the kids associate fun with being at Bartow, parents will be glad to have a go-to activity on weekends.

UAB Athletics should work with a legitimate advertising agency that understands advertising in 2016. I could be wrong, but my impression is that UAB Athletics has always had an in-house team, and I think we could all agree that they've fallen short the majority of the time.

Now, who wants to pay for all this stuff?