(11-26-2017 10:45 AM)Mrs. Got Ribe Wrote:  Here is what I have discovered in the past. If you don't have season tickets, they hold the lower bowl/mezzanine seats for Tribe club members. And the only way to buy these single game seats is to call the box office or tell them at the ticket window that you are a Tribe Club member. Otherwise, they are not even offered.

A recommendation to change the seating arrangements (to get more people in the lower seats to better the game day atmosphere) was made in our C4Tribe report in 2014, but it was politely declined by the powers that be.

With the exodus of Spencer, et al, the ticket office has a lot of work to do. I'm a little concerned about the Gold Rush game. Spencer started planning for that before the season started.

I have been flabbergasted at the security folks this season, but last night was especially bad. We had two people join us on the floor and they wouldn't even let them below the walkway without a ticket. When I took their Tix up to them, the security woman grilled me: 'Are these their tickets or yours?' They told my buddy that the game was sold out so they had to check every ticket. Sold out???

Another friend had to get a supervisor over so that she could sit with a friend who was seated four rows above her.

smh

I had the same problem trust me.....

(11-26-2017 03:33 PM)BigTribe3 Wrote:  Agree with almost all of the previous comments about the lack of basic services and crowd managemnt at Kaplan. Spence, who was really coming around in the marketing area, is badly missed..I've written and called Ms Washington without a response about some of these issues and agree 100% it doesn't take a lot of money to do some of these things right.

Samantha needs to look carefully at expanding the basketball presence at W&M as a true customer plus experience. We have two wonderful head coaches and staffs with great young men and women playing the game.

We still lack presence in the 757: no regular channel telecast schedule, no coaches show, poor newspaper coverage and, other than the wonderful Gold Game, little in the way of special events at other games.

We haven't even had a big night retiring Thornton's #3!

With the nucleus of Knight, Pierce and Milan back for two more seasons, Rowley for one, and
Loewe and Williams for two combined with a potentially great class coming in next fall (if we can land a big man to help Nathan), we should be developing big plans for what should be a very good future on the court for Tribe hoops.

And don't forget the women...this coach will win a CAA Championship, perhaps as early as next season.

I hope Samantha and crew are planning now.

The Gold Rush game against CofC drew 5,107 last season. None of the other games drew more than 3,425. The one against Delaware in 15-16 drew over 6K. Those are the two highest crowds in years. You don’t need that much to get a TV presence in Hampton Roads. You could put a few games on Sky 4 and it’d boost the presence of the team.

How can they not have a coaches show? They had the cheesy Chuck Swenson show televised in the 90's on the local networks. I still have copies on VHS. Even if it was an online only TribeTV production, how is there not a Tony Shaver Show?

(11-26-2017 03:33 PM)BigTribe3 Wrote:  And don't forget the women...this coach will win a CAA Championship, perhaps as early as next season.

I've already predicted a CAA championship this season. In fact, it better be this season because Abby Rendle is a senior and will be impossible to replace in the foreseeable future. We need to make hay to take advantage of her skill set this year. By the way, she is motoring towards some big W&M and CAA records concerning blocks (she should shortly pass Elena Della Donne for the CAA mark). The thing to remember about that is that Abby missed about half of her sophomore year -- or she would already own those records and be extending them.

What worries me about this year is that we don't seem to have a go-to three-point shooter when we really need one (a la Marlena Tremba). Perhaps it will be Nari Garner or Nyla Pollard or Misha Jones or Bianca Boggs or Jenna Green .....you get the point: we don't know yet.

Wm and Mary has always taken pride in their focus on the past. Their viewpoint towards the fan in the stand again reflects this approach. Don’t look for substantial changes anytime soon.

Where to begin?

(1) We can give Huge, et al, a year to experience live at the College before they make improvements. This was their first exposure to a Tribe MBB game with a large walk-up crowd. I wasn't there but from the commentary on the board, it was a massive fail. Let's see if it improves, ideally game over game but more practically, year over year.
(2) I took my brother to the Towson FB game. He hadn't been to a Ttribe game in over 20 years. He was absolutely blown away by the entire experience, upper deck seating, good concessions, etc. He kept talking about how much he enjoyed the experience DESPITE the poor play by the Tribe. He knows his football so he knew we played poorly but was still impressed.
(3) It comes back to brand. W&M should not be putting substandard product out there. Our MBB team is finally good to superior; the gameday experience at Kaplan is not.
(4) I was not aware of this Tribe Club reservation deal on the lower levels and the more I think about it the more steamed I get. I belong to the Tribe Club (OK, only silver level) and I hold season tickets to both football and basketball. It would never occur to me that they would hold seats for me, THAT I DID NOT BUY, because of my giving. Do they do that for football? And why don't they advertise it? I ask about advertising not because I think they should do it but because it sounds like a good old boy secret handshake type of deal. (Pause, take a breath, move on because this is really angering me.)
(5) I take friends to W&M basketball games occasionally. My really close friends come back. Others not so much. It's not the quality of the games; it's the minor league quality of the experience.

I will bang this drum again.

There needs to be a serious, SERIOUS, focus on Saturday home games.

Yesterday, the ticket booth situation, the concession situation, no mascot, no half time show, no Pep Band... So half-assed, like our program in so many ways.

Just because it's Thanksgiving weekend...

Seriously, this was ODU on a Saturday night on Thanksgiving weekend. Local people are going to attend. We want them to attend. We want them to have such an experience that they return. What is so difficult to understand?

One problem, IMO, is that the College fails to recognize that there are two groups who attend games ... students and non-students. Just because one group isn't there ... hello ... the other group is coming! Prepare for it or don't schedule the game.

I'm not going to give the Pep Band a pass. The cheerleaders were there, and were fantastic. If the band is not going to show for ODU, this whole thing needs to be re-thought.

Think I'm nuts. Ohio State played at Michigan yesterday in football. Thanksgiving Saturday. Both bands were there ... even the OSU band went to Michigan. And don't tell me about Big Ten and rivalries ... that's the point ...ODU is a rival.

Keep this up, and when we're all gone, no one is replacing us ... maybe that's the idea.

BTW ... the parking lot has been cleaned up, re-paved, and looks very nice. Kudos to whomever is responsible.

Oh and by the way...

This Thanksgiving Saturday game has been well attended by non-students.

So ... try to make it an annual thing ... Thanksgiving Saturday night game in W'burg.

PAY someone to come to town...knowing the students have vanished should be a good incentive to get someone to come to town.

Here's the kicker. No student seating for this one game. Open up the lower student bowl to the general public ... hopefully Tribe fans first.

Gold Rush / Charter Day. Thanksgiving Saturday. Two big events for men's hoops.

Love this idea, and not just because I'd go every year. I'd also make it a double-header event, too. Does anyone know how well attended the Wightman Cup room was?

I'm convinced that the physical ticket system needs to be replaced. Even when you walk into the Hall and you're the only person there, it takes way too long to get from saying "I want this numbers of tickets in this section" to them physically being handed to you. It's absurd.

I'll echo the security/crowd management concerns. Last night was a goat rope. But I think that's a much easier fix, assuming that they understand that it's an issue that needs to be fixed.

If they do make the Thanksgiving Saturday an annual tradition, that would be a great game to schedule an old CAA opponent. The locals and people coming back to town for the holidays are the ones that will appreciate the matchup the most.

Having a home game vs a solid opponent Thanksgiving Saturday is a great idea. Getting a crowd going is an incentive for the other team to schedule. Schools within driving distance are obvious targets. This is how schedules are built; step by step.

Quote:I'm not going to give the Pep Band a pass. The cheerleaders were there, and were fantastic. If the band is not going to show for ODU, this whole thing needs to be re-thought.

Think I'm nuts. Ohio State played at Michigan yesterday in football. Thanksgiving Saturday. Both bands were there ... even the OSU band went to Michigan. And don't tell me about Big Ten and rivalries ... that's the point ...ODU is a rival.

Just so you know, both of those schools give academic credit for being in the band. They are a class with a professor and they are graded.

Cheerleaders are not comparable to the band. You can have 6-8 cheerleaders and be fine. You cannot have 6-8 band members because it will sound like dog poop. (We wounded like dog poop plenty of times when I was there, supporting the 6 win Men's teams or the 6 win Women's teams of the mid 2000s)

I know you aren't necessarily blaming the individual students in the band... just, it's a heavy lift to get students to volunteer to stay over break. Maybe compensation is the key?

Not really suggesting that they stay over break.

Just suggesting that they come back a day earlier ... they're going to be home in three weeks anyway for Christmas.

And ... yes ... if it takes making the Pep Band a credit course ... so be it.

The dorms aren't open over Thanksgiving break until Sunday. I agree that it should be available to them, but it would require the administration making the effort to either provide an exception or find housing for them for Saturday. Based on watching the pep band, I don't think most of them would think twice about being there for the game if the logistics were in place.

Changing the band from volunteer to an accredited course is a significant effort. To add a course to the curriculum when there is currently nothing takes an inordinate amount of work for a lot of people. Again, not saying we shouldn't do this, but it's not as simple as "so be it".

(11-27-2017 12:06 AM)nj alum Wrote:  Not really suggesting that they stay over break.

Just suggesting that they come back a day earlier ... they're going to be home in three weeks anyway for Christmas.

And ... yes ... if it takes making the Pep Band a credit course ... so be it.

Seems to me that this should have happened a long time ago. Why wouldnt it be for credit...equivalent to a lab, one credit per semester? This would also help with funding music selection, travel etc.

ODU is no longer our rival by most any definition of the word. We don't compete in the same conference, we don't recruit the same student athletes, and we don't attract the same students. The only basis that they can be considered a rival is by geography, and by that basis Norfolk State is a rival, too. And they're just NOT.

ODU is a rival because they have been one for years and years. Same with VMI. After a while the luster might fade, but I don't think I'm ready to say that they aren't our rival just yet.

ODU is a rival as long as we continue to play them consistently.

(11-26-2017 06:23 PM)tribeinexile Wrote:  Where to begin?

(4) I was not aware of this Tribe Club reservation deal on the lower levels and the more I think about it the more steamed I get. I belong to the Tribe Club (OK, only silver level) and I hold season tickets to both football and basketball. It would never occur to me that they would hold seats for me, THAT I DID NOT BUY, because of my giving. Do they do that for football? And why don't they advertise it? I ask about advertising not because I think they should do it but because it sounds like a good old boy secret handshake type of deal. (Pause, take a breath, move on because this is really angering me.)

I'm fine with a lot of the very good comments and suggestions on this thread though not sure the reactions to lower bowl seating have been thought through.

For starters, I would guess most on here are season tix holders and/or Tribe Club members so struggle to see why anyone here - or those you want to bring along - would be inconvenienced.

The reason why the policy is desired is to ensure we keep our home court advantage. I can guarantee that without it, the lower bowl would have been flooded with ODU fans Saturday - sitting next you, filling the empty student section, etc. I like having visitors - I just prefer not to be seated next to them or giving them our prime seats. Let them sit in the Mezzanine. We have enforced the same policy for West side homecoming tix at Zable.

(11-27-2017 09:03 AM)nogretheogre Wrote:  

(11-27-2017 12:06 AM)nj alum Wrote:  Not really suggesting that they stay over break.

Just suggesting that they come back a day earlier ... they're going to be home in three weeks anyway for Christmas.

And ... yes ... if it takes making the Pep Band a credit course ... so be it.

Seems to me that this should have happened a long time ago. Why wouldnt it be for credit...equivalent to a lab, one credit per semester? This would also help with funding music selection, travel etc.

There are string ensembles in the music department that offer 1 or 2 credits per semester for participation. Makes sense that offering this for pep band participation would help it grow. Maybe it has something to do with the lack of a faculty leader?

On another note, the Athletic Department is offering a free "stadium cup" for all students who attend 4 out of 6 home games (I believe this includes men's and women's games) during a 3 week period in February, likely our most crucial stretch of conference play for both teams. There was a point in time when there were ~20 in my kitchen cabinet at home from just sitting on my ass for 5 minutes after games ended and picking up what was left around me in Zable and Kaplan. Would it make them go from black to red if they offered something of actual value as a promotion?