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Why Are Sports Losing Its Younger Fans?
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WMSportsBlog Offline
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Why Are Sports Losing Its Younger Fans?
Ever get concerned with student sections dwindling across the nation? Ever wonder WHY this is happening compared to past generations? Check out our newest article here (definitely think it's relevant for UNCW fans too) that addresses the issue head on & let us know what you think.

Curious to hear from folks on these sports boards!

Article: https://wmsportsblog.com/2021/11/23/why-...nger-fans/
11-23-2021 04:12 PM
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solohawks Offline
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RE: Why Are Sports Losing Its Younger Fans?
There are lots of reasons

Competition for attention is probably the biggest one. Back in the day the local sporting event was the thing to do in the community. If you wanted to do something else you really couldn't because there wasn't much going on. If you lived in NC you at the bare minimum knew about ACC basketball. Today that is no longer the case because there are so many other niches out there that capture people's attention and income

Also today I in Wilmington NC, can easily be closer to a community based in California than i can in Castle Hayne. If I wanted to emerse myself in California sports, I could. It used to be you were involved in the sports community were you lived if you like sports. Now you have fans everywhere from every team.

People also don't go to games anymore. A big reason I'm a UNCW fan is because my grandfather took me to pretty much all the games when I was younger. I would love to do that with my kids but I cannot afford 4 packs of season tickets. At $20/game/person, $10 for kids, a UNCW would easily cost me $75 to $80 minimum after Concessions. I just cannot do that 4 to 5 times a month and I feel like I'm not alone.

Tha ties into the cynical nature of our culture. The generations prior believed in the "team" My generation and younger is very cyincal. Everything is about money and the team doesn't really give a crap about you is a mindset that dominates, especially to students in 5 figures of debt because of the same university wanting them to donate additional money to booster clubs when they cannot even watch the games on TV without paying more money.

There are more for sure such as the P5/G5/FCS nature of college sports, the NCAA being massive hypocrites, and traditional geographic based conferences and rivalries broken up to create made for TV conferences
11-23-2021 05:08 PM
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WMSportsBlog Offline
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RE: Why Are Sports Losing Its Younger Fans?
(11-23-2021 05:08 PM)solohawks Wrote:  There are lots of reasons

Competition for attention is probably the biggest one. Back in the day the local sporting event was the thing to do in the community. If you wanted to do something else you really couldn't because there wasn't much going on. If you lived in NC you at the bare minimum knew about ACC basketball. Today that is no longer the case because there are so many other niches out there that capture people's attention and income

Also today I in Wilmington NC, can easily be closer to a community based in California than i can in Castle Hayne. If I wanted to emerse myself in California sports, I could. It used to be you were involved in the sports community were you lived if you like sports. Now you have fans everywhere from every team.

People also don't go to games anymore. A big reason I'm a UNCW fan is because my grandfather took me to pretty much all the games when I was younger. I would love to do that with my kids but I cannot afford 4 packs of season tickets. At $20/game/person, $10 for kids, a UNCW would easily cost me $75 to $80 minimum after Concessions. I just cannot do that 4 to 5 times a month and I feel like I'm not alone.

Tha ties into the cynical nature of our culture. The generations prior believed in the "team" My generation and younger is very cyincal. Everything is about money and the team doesn't really give a crap about you is a mindset that dominates, especially to students in 5 figures of debt because of the same university wanting them to donate additional money to booster clubs when they cannot even watch the games on TV without paying more money.

There are more for sure such as the P5/G5/FCS nature of college sports, the NCAA being massive hypocrites, and traditional geographic based conferences and rivalries broken up to create made for TV conferences

100% agree with you on the competition for eyeballs now at an all-time high vs. what it was "back in the day." Also agree that getting folks to attend games in-person (especially when they're young) is absolutely key to cultivating lifelong sports fandom. Anything we can do to decrease the barriers (price, etc.) for someone attending an actual game in-person should always be prioritized!
11-24-2021 10:16 AM
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82hawk Offline
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RE: Why Are Sports Losing Its Younger Fans?
The goal of any program should be a sell out each and every game. A full house creates an atmosphere and a "high" that will bring them back again and again. The best way to make it happen is season tickets. If I were in charge at UNCW, i'd offer an incredible pre season discount for season tickets, or at least a season package with multiple games, at a heavily discounted price. Include tickets and some food and beverages in the package. Key on family packages.

For students, create an "instagram" environment once they arrive. Younger people want to participate in, not consume their entertainment. Let them take pics with different players before each game. Create areas that are picture worthy so they can post the pics. Win/win for the program since UNCW gets free advertising and it makes other students feel like they're missing out by not going.

Sometimes we overthink these things. Give the people what they want and they'll show out.
(This post was last modified: 11-24-2021 05:34 PM by 82hawk.)
11-24-2021 05:33 PM
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seahawk1 Offline
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RE: Why Are Sports Losing Its Younger Fans?
As a UNCW student who is about to graduate in December it’s difficult to get any of my friends to go to basketball or any other sporting events. Since I’ve been at UNCW the mens basketball program has disappointed constantly unfortunately. The losing I think has led to apathy among my fellow classmates who would rather be doing something else besides watching us get drubbed by UNC Charlotte (I remember that game from a couple of years ago well for some reason). I’ve noticed that students no longer stand within the student section which is highly disappointing and points to a lack of engagement I think. I don’t have a cure all for the problem but I believe losing only makes the problem worse.
11-24-2021 05:48 PM
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82hawk Offline
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RE: Why Are Sports Losing Its Younger Fans?
(11-24-2021 05:48 PM)seahawk1 Wrote:  As a UNCW student who is about to graduate in December it’s difficult to get any of my friends to go to basketball or any other sporting events. Since I’ve been at UNCW the mens basketball program has disappointed constantly unfortunately. The losing I think has led to apathy among my fellow classmates who would rather be doing something else besides watching us get drubbed by UNC Charlotte (I remember that game from a couple of years ago well for some reason). I’ve noticed that students no longer stand within the student section which is highly disappointing and points to a lack of engagement I think. I don’t have a cure all for the problem but I believe losing only makes the problem worse.

No doubt, losing doesn't help. And preventing students from attending last year certainly didn't help. I think one of the strategies of Siddle is to schedule home games we can win, regardless of the level of competition. If you're going to lose, do it on the road, lol.
11-24-2021 05:59 PM
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WMSportsBlog Offline
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RE: Why Are Sports Losing Its Younger Fans?
Definitely seems like a sad state of affairs when the only way to drive student engagement at sporting events is through winning -- also doesn't feel like a good business model, if one wants to call it that.

Though 100% agree that W&M looks to be in the same boat here. Sports seem irrelevant to students who would otherwise be entertained in 100 other different ways.
(This post was last modified: 11-29-2021 04:32 PM by WMSportsBlog.)
11-29-2021 04:32 PM
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solohawks Offline
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RE: Why Are Sports Losing Its Younger Fans?
(11-29-2021 04:32 PM)WMSportsBlog Wrote:  Definitely seems like a sad state of affairs when the only way to drive student engagement at sporting events is through winning -- also doesn't feel like a good business model, if one wants to call it that.

Though 100% agree that W&M looks to be in the same boat here. Sports seem irrelevant to students who would otherwise be entertained in 100 other different ways.

There is just too many other options out there for entertainment

Losing isn't fun so if you're losing people will find something more fun
(This post was last modified: 11-29-2021 07:23 PM by solohawks.)
11-29-2021 07:23 PM
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