Pearl's job gets tough on Friday
20,000 tickets sold for UT-ETSU game
By MIKE GRIFFITH, knsgriff@aol.com
November 16, 2005
The curtain is set to go up, the lights ready to blaze.
Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl is excited about what's about to happen, the dawning of his new program, in a new place.
"I'm nervous,'' Pearl said. "A lot of people have put a lot into this, and we don't want to disappoint them.''
Indeed, and a lot of people will be watching when the Vols hit the floor for their season-opener against East Tennessee State on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Last year's home opener against Wofford drew 11,917.
This year's home opener could draw twice as many. Already, 20,000 tickets have been sold according to Chris Besanceney, UT's assistant athletic director for ticketing.
"Just being around the community, it seems the excitement is there,'' junior Dane Bradshaw said. "It's up to us to win some games.''
Pearl points out that will be no easy task.
"The level of competition will step up considerably now that the season is here,'' Pearl said. "ETSU has been to the NCAA tournament two of the last three years, Louisiana Lafayette had been there two of the last three, Eastern Kentucky was in the NCAA last year, Murray State is a perennial NCAA and NIT team and Appalachian State is picked to win their league.''
Pearl purposely picked opponents with high RPI ratings, selecting strong teams from mid-major conferences in addition to adding Texas and Oklahoma State.
"In hindsight, we probably overscheduled a little bit,'' Pearl said. "But this is what we need to do. This is why these players (recruits) are coming here, because they know who's coming in to play us next year.''
Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton said he wants to see a strong foundation, from Pearl and fans alike.
"When I talk to the fans there's one thing I hear consistently: 'I want to win, but if we don't win, I want to feel we've given great effort,' " Hamilton said. "From what I've seen in practices and exhibitions, I think we'll do that. And if we have great effort, I think we'll win games and surprise some people.
"Bruce's idea is to build a program -- not a team. This is a foundational year. He's already building on that with the recruiting year he just finished.''
Chris Fuller, UT's assistant athletic director for sales and marketing, said Pearl's recruiting efforts have gone beyond the hardwood.
"Coach Pearl understands you have to win games, but he also understands you have to recruit the community and you have to recruit students,'' said Fuller, in his second year at his post. "It's our (marketing) job to generate excitement and create an atmosphere in the building. We're pretty convinced if we can get people in there, we can get them back.''
UT ticket sales promotions are geared toward sampling the product. In addition to the season ticket package, there are two four-game SEC packs and a family plan.
"We still want to push season tickets, but in a building that seats 24,000, it's hard to sell a ticket on the concept of scarcity,'' Fuller said. "So we've packaged our best product and priced it reasonable to get people to sample what we're doing, because coach Pearl's style is exciting.
One of the four packs is built around Florida, the other, Kentucky. The family plan was created to make use of seats that otherwise would be empty.
"Some of those seats in the 300 level, we know they're not great seats, and we know every game they go unused it's a lost opportunity,'' Fuller said. "We'll do added value or promotional things for that section, too. We're trying to reach out to a different group.
"Our administration is determined to change the culture around (men's) basketball and support it more. You combine it with Bruce Pearl, and it makes my job easier.''
Pearl has the tough job, starting Friday night.
Posted by MIKE GRIFFITH, knsgriff@aol.com on November 16, 2005
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