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Still
searching for ways to fill the stands Junior Ashley Beaudry has only attended one football game in her three years at TCU, and she does not plan on attending any more games before she graduates.
“No matter what the school does, I’m not going to be interested in attending games,” she said. “I’m not interested in college sports or the preferential treatment the players receive. Part of it is I don’t know the players. If I don’t know them, I can’t get as interested. “I’m just cheering for a number, not a person.” And she is not the only one who thinks attendance at sporting events is a problem for students on campus. Junior Kyle Engelbrecht said student attendance at athletic events is definitely a problem. “I honestly don’t know why students don’t go to games,” he said. “I wish I knew the answer because then I think we could solve the problem.” Jeff Crane, assistant director of sports marketing, said a TCU sports marketing student survey, which will be available in the Student Center beginning Monday, could help the department determine why students do not attend men’s and women’s basketball games. “Because the basketball season just ended, we thought now would be a good time to evaluate the situation,” he said. “The survey can help guide us to better market games for students. It won’t give us every answer, but it will get us on the right track.” An e-mail was first sent to students April 2 about the survey, but because of the high number of responses from students the Web site shut down indefinitely, Crane said. “The survey was posted through a Web site, but it only allowed a certain number of people to access it at one time,” he said. “After that, it maxed out and wouldn’t let other people access it.” Associate women’s basketball head coach Larry Tidwell said athletes attending other sports would help increase attendance. “I think it should start with support from all of the athletes,” Tidwell said. “We have 1,500 athletes on campus here. If athletes came out and supported every team, then student attendance could rise from there.” According to (www.gofrogs.com), the women’s basketball team averaged 2,773 people a game at home. This is a 495-person increase from last season’s attendance average, according to a previous TCU Daily Skiff article. According to (www.gofrogs.com), the men’s basketball team averaged 3,988 a game at home. This represents a 9.3 percent decrease from last season’s average attendance, according to a Skiff article. The basketball media guide states a sell-out crowd at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum is 7,201 people. However, the women’s basketball team finished the season ranked No. 1 in attendance at Conference USA home games, Crane said. Crane said a student percentage of the average basketball attendance could not be determined because the marketing department does not have a solid method to track it. HyperFrogs President Marna Jane Williams said one of the reasons the attendance is not higher at basketball games is because of student scheduling conflicts. “It’s easier to take one day out of your weekend to see a football game,” Williams said. “When it comes to basketball games, you can’t expect as many people to go to them. It is not as regular and it is during the week.” Of the 18 games that the men’s basketball team played at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum this season, one was on Friday, six were on Saturday, two were on Sunday, and nine were during the week. The women’s basketball team played 13 of its 16 games at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum on Friday, Saturday or Sunday this season. Williams said HyperFrogs, a student organization that supports TCU athletics, is trying to have representation at more sporting events. “HyperFrogs is working together to form teams for different, smaller sports,” Williams said. “By doing that, at least someone’s at a more variety of sports. HyperFrogs can’t really affect if other students go, but we try to show other students how fun the games are.” Crane said the athletic department’s first goal in improving attendance is to first have the best conference attendance records in all sports. “After that, that’s not where we want to stop,” he said. “The next step in the process is to start looking on the national scale. The idea is that if have the best attendance in the conference, then we could have one of the best in the country.” Crane said the TCU football team ranked fourth in C-USA attendance. In its four home games this season, TCU averaged 28,972 people a game at Amon G. Carter Stadium, which holds 46,083 people. Louisville led C-USA in attendance averaging 37,682 people a game, he said. Senior Amanda Fulton said while the marketing department might help attendance by giving incentives such as $500 to the student organization with the highest member turnout at games, it will only increase it for one game. “It’s pretty much impossible to instill passion in someone about a sport,” Fulton said. “The marketing department has put effort into the attendance problem, but I don’t feel it should be obligated to give away large monetary prizes in order to increase attendance. By doing that, it loses the meaning of what school pride is.” Kelly
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TCU Daily Skiff © 2002 |
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