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Mike Bohn Asks SG to Assist in Rallying Athletic Attendance
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CliftonAve Offline
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Mike Bohn Asks SG to Assist in Rallying Athletic Attendance

Athletic director asks SG for support in uniting community

Mitchell Parton | News Editor
Sep 11, 2018

Bearcat athletics works closely with sports marketing class on semester-long project.

Mike Bohn, director of UC Athletics, made an appearance at the Undergraduate Student Government (SG) Senate meeting Wednesday, asking student representatives to explore new ways to unite students through athletic events.

“We want to ensure that the value of your diploma is enhanced by our collegiate athletic program,” Bohn said.

Even for students who never attend UC sporting events, the amount of tuition going toward the athletics department is rising. Undergraduate students pay nearly $4,900 over four years to cover the athletic department’s soaring deficit, The News Record reported in April.

Caroline Lembright, senator-at-large, explained that this attitude toward athletics resonated with her, as it could impact students who choose not to follow UC sports.

“This statement reaches a different kind of student that just goes to class and goes home,” said Lembright. “It’s a very powerful way to frame athletics.”

Bohn said athletic victories, such as the recent upset against UCLA, can bring national respect and recognition to the institution.

“We want the ESPN audience to see an institution that is on fire,” said Bohn. “I want people to see that UC has got it going on. I plea to you, as leaders, to show what it means to be a Bearcat.”

With the university’s bicentennial fast-approaching, Bohn said athletics can enhance the value of a UC diploma and get alumni engaged in conversations about UC — even those unrelated to sports.

“In the end, it’s really about our reputation,” said Bohn. “We have to awaken our 200,000 alumni.”

With athletics attendance failing to meet Bohn’s expectations, he said SG initiatives have driven turnout numbers in the past — especially under Christina Beer, former student body president.

“I am not here to preach that athletics is the most supported thing on campus,” Bohn said. “It’s a rallying point for people to come together.”

If a push for increased attendance succeeds, Bohn said the university should consider how to reach students that are unable to fit into the stadium. One suggestion was to install a large screen off-site to broadcast the game.

“Our plan is to reward those who come to the most games,” Bohn said. “If students want to go big and go hard, we’ll have to plan for what we do for our overflow students.”

Student senators brainstormed various ways to help boost athletics attendance. Deliberations continued after Bohn left the room as several senators highlighted potential initiatives, like engaging local high school students in Bearcat activities or visiting classrooms and organizations to recruit uninvolved students.

SG passed 3 appropriations bills during its Wednesday meeting. The first allocated $441.87 toward the MakeUC Hackathon, which will be presented by the UC chapters of ACM and IEEE Sept. 29. The second will provide funding to cover food for the SG tribunal retreat. Lastly, SG representatives voted to allocate $499.52 to support Bearcat Bonding Week, which is bring hosted by the Office of Student Conduct the week of Sept. 10.


http://www.newsrecord.org/news/athletic-...ab335.html
 
(This post was last modified: 09-12-2018 08:41 AM by CliftonAve.)
09-12-2018 08:39 AM
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UCGrad1992 Offline
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RE: Mike Bohn Asks SG to Assist in Rallying Athletic Attendance
Quote:Undergraduate students pay nearly $4,900 over four years to cover the athletic department’s soaring deficit, The News Record reported in April.

A sad reality in the P5 era. I am encouraged by Mike's student-led initiative but I still believe the AD can create more partnerships and pre-game endeavors with the local business community as well. Also, more support and thankfulness to the season ticket holders and regular sporting event attendees. Don't forget the hand that feeds you...
 
09-12-2018 08:57 AM
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CliftonAve Offline
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RE: Mike Bohn Asks SG to Assist in Rallying Athletic Attendance
(09-12-2018 08:57 AM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  
Quote:Undergraduate students pay nearly $4,900 over four years to cover the athletic department’s soaring deficit, The News Record reported in April.

A sad reality in the P5 era. I am encouraged by Mike's student-led initiative but I still believe the AD can create more partnerships and pre-game endeavors with the local business community as well. Also, more support and thankfulness to the season ticket holders and regular sporting event attendees. Don't forget the hand that feeds you...

I just posted on twitter that I think this is a good initiate, but he needs to reach out to the entire Greater Cincinnati community to get the suburbanites down to campus for events. There's no excuse now-- they come for FC Cincinnati (please don't re-litigate the FCC deal in this thread). The excuse about Clifton "not being safe" is over for the folks.
 
09-12-2018 09:05 AM
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Bearcat 1985 Offline
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RE: Mike Bohn Asks SG to Assist in Rallying Athletic Attendance
With all the rumblings in the statehouse to cap athletic fees and subsidies, it sounds like what Bohn is really trying to rally is support for those fees more than attendance (i.e. look how many of our students come out to the games!!!). Honestly, that level of fees and subsidies is criminal and even if it negatively impacts athletics, I welcome the day that the state steps in to end the madness.
 
09-12-2018 09:05 AM
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RE: Mike Bohn Asks SG to Assist in Rallying Athletic Attendance
(09-12-2018 09:05 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  
(09-12-2018 08:57 AM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  
Quote:Undergraduate students pay nearly $4,900 over four years to cover the athletic department’s soaring deficit, The News Record reported in April.

A sad reality in the P5 era. I am encouraged by Mike's student-led initiative but I still believe the AD can create more partnerships and pre-game endeavors with the local business community as well. Also, more support and thankfulness to the season ticket holders and regular sporting event attendees. Don't forget the hand that feeds you...

I just posted on twitter that I think this is a good initiate, but he needs to reach out to the entire Greater Cincinnati community to get the suburbanites down to campus for events. There's no excuse now-- they come for FC Cincinnati (please don't re-litigate the FCC deal in this thread). The excuse about Clifton "not being safe" is over for the folks.

Amen!
 
09-12-2018 09:09 AM
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Bearcat2012 Offline
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RE: Mike Bohn Asks SG to Assist in Rallying Athletic Attendance
Winning takes care of those problems in this town ...and the coolness factor. After 08-09 , we had little problem filling Nippert on a regular basis . After Fickell gets us to contending and winning conference championships again fans and students will fill the stands.

After two 4-8 seasons , its going to be lean this year . Bohn knows that thus the push to rally students at least right now. The surprise success of this years team wont pay dividends til next year, maybe late this year if we get to 8-0

We dont have the luxury of being the only show in town for peoples sports dollars to go to like some places.
 
(This post was last modified: 09-12-2018 09:53 AM by Bearcat2012.)
09-12-2018 09:52 AM
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BearcatsUC Offline
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RE: Mike Bohn Asks SG to Assist in Rallying Athletic Attendance
This article tells us: 1. Bohn thinks student attendance/involvement is an issue; 2. Students pay $4,900 for athletics over the course of four years, whether they attend or not. This does not include student season ticket costs; and, 3. If they can’t fit the students in the stadium, they’ll put a screen up outside.

Is there anyone else besides me who sees a problem
here?

Hey, you’re spending four years here, we’re taking your money whether you like it or not, we REALLY need you to attend, but if there’s not enough room for you we’ll stick a tv outside for you.

Mixed message.

When it comes to football especially, UC has long failed to establish a widespread culture of participation...
 
09-12-2018 10:42 AM
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Cataclysmo Offline
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RE: Mike Bohn Asks SG to Assist in Rallying Athletic Attendance
(09-12-2018 10:42 AM)BearcatsUC Wrote:  This article tells us: 1. Bohn thinks student attendance/involvement is an issue; 2. Students pay $4,900 for athletics over the course of four years, whether they attend or not. This does not include student season ticket costs; and, 3. If they can’t fit the students in the stadium, they’ll put a screen up outside.

Is there anyone else besides me who sees a problem
here?

Hey, you’re spending four years here, we’re taking your money whether you like it or not, we REALLY need you to attend, but if there’s not enough room for you we’ll stick a tv outside for you.

Mixed message.

When it comes to football especially, UC has long failed to establish a widespread culture of participation...

I don't think the average student thinks twice about their tuition money and where it's going. UC doesn't charge too much. I think that's about where most 18 year olds stop caring.

The important thing, as it pertains to student attendance, is just making it a hot social event that people care about. I know that sounds simple, but it's no different from throwing a big party or building a popular bar off-campus. In recent years UC has done a tremendous job of attracting those average joe students to the game and making it look like a fun time--having big tailgates, serving beer at games, pep rallies leading up the game, students posting instagrams and facebook photos at the games, etc.--these are the things my generation cares about, like it or not.

Just gotta keep the party goin...
 
09-12-2018 11:19 AM
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RE: Mike Bohn Asks SG to Assist in Rallying Athletic Attendance
What is tuition nowadays, $11,000 per academic year? Over 4 years, that's $44,000. $4,900 is 11.1% of the total paid to UC for your diploma (ignoring state funding, which actually brings it quite a bit lower). According to a Gartner research study, large companies' marketing budgets have recently climbed up to 12% on average whereas 10% used to be the norm. Considering that athletics is almost certainly the most effective form of marketing for a school like UC, I don't think that 11.1% (actually much lower when considering state funding) is unreasonable.

When you pay for a product, part of your purchase price goes toward the company's marketing department... sure, UC is a public university and not a private company, but I think it is a decent comparison considering that UC does indeed have to compete with loads of other universities for students.
 
(This post was last modified: 09-12-2018 11:31 AM by TubaCat.)
09-12-2018 11:29 AM
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RE: Mike Bohn Asks SG to Assist in Rallying Athletic Attendance
This $4,900 cost of athletics per student the News Record reported the first time was absurd, and it's frustrating they keep bringing it up in order to provide some kind of shock value.

First, as has been mentioned many times, the $4,900 over four years isn't what it actually costs the university per student to run the athletic department. The actual cost that the university must allocate to the actual expenses of the AD is much less.

Second, it's inaccurate to act as if the university simply didn't run an AD, or had an AD that was fully self-sustaining, that students would simply get that money back. That's not how budgets work. You can bet that money would mostly be allocated elsewhere. UC does a pretty good job at keeping tuition costs reasonable, at least when compared with where things are at today, but that's another discussion.
 
09-12-2018 01:09 PM
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CliftonAve Offline
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RE: Mike Bohn Asks SG to Assist in Rallying Athletic Attendance
(09-12-2018 01:09 PM)stxrunner Wrote:  This $4,900 cost of athletics per student the News Record reported the first time was absurd, and it's frustrating they keep bringing it up in order to provide some kind of shock value.

First, as has been mentioned many times, the $4,900 over four years isn't what it actually costs the university per student to run the athletic department. The actual cost that the university must allocate to the actual expenses of the AD is much less.

Second, it's inaccurate to act as if the university simply didn't run an AD, or had an AD that was fully self-sustaining, that students would simply get that money back. That's not how budgets work. You can bet that money would mostly be allocated elsewhere. UC does a pretty good job at keeping tuition costs reasonable, at least when compared with where things are at today, but that's another discussion.

Yep. If you look at Ohio State their tuition and fees are comparable to UC, yet we all know their athletic department is self-sustaining. If UC's students were as burden as some like to point out, OSU tuition would be the cheapest in the state.

Also, the schools in the state in the Horizon and MAC are nearly fully sustained by subsidies. Again, based on the logic the tuition at Akron and Wright State would be through the roof-- yet they are a couple of the cheapest in the state.
 
(This post was last modified: 09-12-2018 01:30 PM by CliftonAve.)
09-12-2018 01:29 PM
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RE: Mike Bohn Asks SG to Assist in Rallying Athletic Attendance
(09-12-2018 11:19 AM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  
(09-12-2018 10:42 AM)BearcatsUC Wrote:  This article tells us: 1. Bohn thinks student attendance/involvement is an issue; 2. Students pay $4,900 for athletics over the course of four years, whether they attend or not. This does not include student season ticket costs; and, 3. If they can’t fit the students in the stadium, they’ll put a screen up outside.

Is there anyone else besides me who sees a problem
here?

Hey, you’re spending four years here, we’re taking your money whether you like it or not, we REALLY need you to attend, but if there’s not enough room for you we’ll stick a tv outside for you.

Mixed message.

When it comes to football especially, UC has long failed to establish a widespread culture of participation...

I don't think the average student thinks twice about their tuition money and where it's going. UC doesn't charge too much. I think that's about where most 18 year olds stop caring.

The important thing, as it pertains to student attendance, is just making it a hot social event that people care about. I know that sounds simple, but it's no different from throwing a big party or building a popular bar off-campus. In recent years UC has done a tremendous job of attracting those average joe students to the game and making it look like a fun time--having big tailgates, serving beer at games, pep rallies leading up the game, students posting instagrams and facebook photos at the games, etc.--these are the things my generation cares about, like it or not.

Just gotta keep the party goin...

You may be right, but as someone who paid his own way and worked his ass off through three degrees, I can say I understood where my money was going. (I was on the Undergraduate Budget Board at UC, so I probably had a better idea than most.)

UC may “not charge too much,” but I guess it’s all relative.

For many, those fees end up being part of student debt, to be paid off with interest over many years.
 
(This post was last modified: 09-12-2018 04:27 PM by BearcatsUC.)
09-12-2018 04:25 PM
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Cataclysmo Offline
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RE: Mike Bohn Asks SG to Assist in Rallying Athletic Attendance
(09-12-2018 04:25 PM)BearcatsUC Wrote:  
(09-12-2018 11:19 AM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  
(09-12-2018 10:42 AM)BearcatsUC Wrote:  This article tells us: 1. Bohn thinks student attendance/involvement is an issue; 2. Students pay $4,900 for athletics over the course of four years, whether they attend or not. This does not include student season ticket costs; and, 3. If they can’t fit the students in the stadium, they’ll put a screen up outside.

Is there anyone else besides me who sees a problem
here?

Hey, you’re spending four years here, we’re taking your money whether you like it or not, we REALLY need you to attend, but if there’s not enough room for you we’ll stick a tv outside for you.

Mixed message.

When it comes to football especially, UC has long failed to establish a widespread culture of participation...

I don't think the average student thinks twice about their tuition money and where it's going. UC doesn't charge too much. I think that's about where most 18 year olds stop caring.

The important thing, as it pertains to student attendance, is just making it a hot social event that people care about. I know that sounds simple, but it's no different from throwing a big party or building a popular bar off-campus. In recent years UC has done a tremendous job of attracting those average joe students to the game and making it look like a fun time--having big tailgates, serving beer at games, pep rallies leading up the game, students posting instagrams and facebook photos at the games, etc.--these are the things my generation cares about, like it or not.

Just gotta keep the party goin...

You may be right, but as someone who paid his own way and worked his ass off through three degrees, I can say I understood where my money was going. (I was on the Undergraduate Budget Board at UC, so I probably had a better idea than most.)

UC may “not charge too much,” but I guess it’s all relative.

For many, those fees end up being part of student debt, to be paid off with interest over many years.

Dont get me wrong, student debt is no joke, and I'm certainly sympathetic to that plight.

My larger point is that UC falls well within the norm for public university tuition. And so long as that's the case, I'm not convinced the students are going to look any further into it. I'd argue that you're probably the exception rather than the trend.
 
09-12-2018 07:36 PM
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