[gatortalk] Re: [gatornews] [SUN]: Student attendance a concern for Gators

I hate to nitpick but according to this article they automatically add between 5 and 10% to the student attendance for tickets that "do not scan" that's between 1000 and 2000 bodies that may or not be there. That sure seems like a  generous  number to arbitrarily add.
Charlie

On 2/24/2014 8:21 AM, Shane Ford wrote:

Student attendance a concern for Gators

 

 

Unfilled seats dot the east stands at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium during Florida's 26-20 loss to Georgia Southern on Nov. 23, 2013.

Doug Finger/Staff photographer/FILE

By Robbie Andreu
GAINESVILLE SUN Staff writer

Published: Monday, February 24, 2014 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, February 23, 2014 at 9:56 p.m.

 

 

A growing and troubling trend in college football became obvious at Florida games last fall in The Swamp.

The evidence was out there in plain sight, on the east side of the stadium, where large portions of the student section would remain vacant or only partially filled just before kickoff.

In some games, a portion of those empty seats would eventually be filled. In others, thousands would remain vacant.

It is a trend that school officials are hoping to prevent from mushrooming into a student tradition at Florida.

"This is an issue that is on everyone's agenda in the SEC," said Mike Hill, UF's executive associate athletics director for external affairs. "It's not unique to Florida or anywhere else.

"College football is at a bit of a crossroads in terms of connecting with students and engaging them in a way that gets them to the stadium. They're still into college football, without a doubt. Getting them to the stadium is a different matter, even for the teams that are at their peak right now."

Selling student tickets has not been, and is still not, a problem at UF, where the school traditionally sells out its allotment of 21,500 tickets every season, including last year. Hill said student tickets have sold out every season for the 21 years he's been at Florida, and he expects that to be the case again in 2014.

Selling the tickets isn't the problem. Getting some students to use them and show up at games is.

The ticket scan rate for students this past season was only 70 percent, according to UF ticket office. With a five to 10-percent adjustment for tickets that do not scan, it comes out to 75-80 percent of student tickets being used. That adds up to an average of somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 empty seats per game in the student section.

In 2012, the percentages were 71 percent and 76-81 percent.

The dwindling numbers are a big concern at Florida (and in college football in general) for at least two significant reasons:

■ An unfilled student section takes away from the atmosphere of the game and puts a potential dent in the Gators' home-field advantage. (Can you imagine a Florida basketball game with hundreds of empty seats in the Rowdy Reptiles section?)

■ It may not bode well for future attendance when thousands of potential future season-ticket purchasers are electing not to attend games while they are students.

"Absolutely it's a concern," Hill said. "The vast majority of our season-ticket holders went to the University of Florida. It's really important for us to connect to current students who are future alumni. Granted, they may be watching games they're not attending at a party or local establishment.

"But if it doesn't become part of their experience here on campus, then there may not be the same pull to come back and be a season-ticket holder in the future.

"It's absolutely crucial to sustain our fan base. Our average season-ticket holder is just under 60 years old. That's evidence right there that it's crucial for us to cultivate that young fan base."

The way to do it is to win more games and better connect with the students, Hill said.

One thing UF officials have learned from student feedback is the students do not like the early kickoffs (noon and 12:20), something that was evident last season with all those empty seats in the student section for early games.

"Our students in some ways are a lot like our entire fan base in that they enjoy night games," Hill said. "That Arkansas game (at night) last year had a tremendous crowd. Our students do not care for the early kickoffs. They're just rolling out of bed."

Hill said UF is having discussions with the SEC and its television partners about scheduling Gator games later in the day or at night, especially early in the season.

"We have made it clear to the conference that the early season games, we need those to begin in the evening or late in the day. The heat is so oppressive," Hill said. "That's not just for our students but our entire fan base.

"We're communicating that to our television partners as well. If we can come out of the gate with later kickoffs, we think that will contribute to bigger crowds and better attended games by our students."

Hill said UF officials also are discussing other possible methods for better connecting with the students, including possibly opening some practices and re-establishing town hall meetings between students and coaches.

UF also is exploring the possibility of establishing WiFi capability in The Swamp, Hill said.

"It's a huge investment. You're talking a significant seven-figure investment," Hill said. "It's something we're looking at right now.

"We recognize the students, the younger fans, have an interest in interacting on social media throughout the course of the game, whether uploading pictures or downloading videos.

"We feel better with where we are with basic mobile phone use and texting and calling. The other applications, we're not there yet, but we are striving to get there."

Of course, the best way to connect with the fans — young and old — is to win games and put an entertaining product on the field. UF did not seem to have a problem with students showing up when the Gators went 11-1 in the regular season in 2012.

It was a problem during the 4-8 season last fall.

The changes Will Muschamp has made on his coaching staff, especially the hiring of new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper, seems to have created a positive buzz, Hill said.

"There is an extremely positive vibe that we are getting in interaction with fans in person, over the phone and at the ticket window," Hill said. "We're optimistic about the start of our season-ticket sales."

There is little or no doubt that the students will purchase the 21,500 allotted to them, like they do every season.

But will they come?

Contact Robbie Andreu at 352-374-5022 or andreur@gvillesun.com. Also check out Andreu's blog at Gatorsports.com.

 

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