North Texas fans must rally around athletic programs

[cousin oliver]

However, despite the university’s athletic success, attendance has not matched. As the Mean Green moves to a new conference and closes out a decade-long era, fans, too, should up their game.

Attendance at games has been positively linked to how athletes play. No one showing up leaves players feeling dejected and kills motivation and atmosphere at sporting events. Yet, even while playing for seats that remained mostly unfilled, North Texas sports teams continue to perform at high levels.

Football had five players on the All-C-USA first team. Two players were named College Football News Freshman All-Americans. Junior quarterback Austin Aune and senior linebacker KD Davis broke school records. After Seth Littrell’s firing in December, a new head coach Eric Morris looks to continue on success laid out in the previous football era. 

Littrell was never able to win a C-USA title or bowl game in his tenure, tarnishing his legacy at the university among fans. Morris will need to find success early in order to endear himself to fans.

Sports — and especially college sports ­­— have always brought people together. They create an atmosphere and feeling that is nearly impossible to get anywhere else at any other time. Supporting athletic teams at your college is a rare privilege that students will likely never get to experience again in their lives, and they must capitalize on this opportunity while they have the chance.

Whether your team is winning or losing hardly matters when you’re holding a hamburger and shouting at a sporting event surrounded by your friends and peers, but yelling at and supporting a team setting records and winning games is much more enjoyable.

Students have a responsibility to their teams and to themselves to attend games, and with our teams currently playing at such a high level, there has never been a better time before now.

As the spring shifts to summer, a new era of North Texas athletics is on the horizon. With things looking up for the university, fans and students must embark on a new journey with the Mean Green, showing support to deserving programs.

Read more: https://www.ntdaily.com/column-north-texas-fans-must-rally-around-athletic-programs/

[NT80]

I am shocked at a pro-sports article from The Daily. 

It's a Christmas miracle in Spring! 👍

[Hunter Green]

Your preaching to the choir on this board, but continued articles like this can do nothing but help student attendance. Maybe doing an upcoming preview a couple of days before game day highlighting our new and current conference mates with some history thrown in about our time shared prior to this with Memphis, Tulsa, Wichita St and others. Really build up the AAC to generate interest. Who wouldnt want to see us play Navy, Tulane and smut? Just MHO.

[DentonLurker]

I was thinking this afternoon about how we always talk about getting non-UNT alums in Denton behind this program. Hear me out on this:

All But One Club (playing off the idea that you are a Mean Green fan for all but one game when they play your alma mater)

- Funds go to the MGSF

- Minimum donation amount slightly lower than standard

- Access to tickets in limited premium seating areas (instead of a season ticket, make it a 3 game mini plan to FB and maybe a 5 game mini plan to MBB/WBB)

- Maybe even throw in a parking pass to the games they select

- Some kind of exclusive coach chat during sport preseasons

- Gives MGSF and ticket sales staff leads of people they could start cultivating into full blown MGSF and season ticket holders as they make it out to games with their friends and family

[NorthTexasWeLove]

That fateful night vs LaTech had fans. Plenty of them. Laid an egg. Proceeded to lay a few more. The era was basically winding down there and then. 

[cogido]

We’ve got our season tickets and can’t wait for the new Mean Green , AAC, roll out!  Go Mean Green, see you at the game !!

[kj86]

Students have to be the #1 target.  We can't continue to add to the numbers of "lost" alumni.  Even a marginal increase in the number of engaged students will pay big dividends in the future since students are continually turning over.  I go to all of these events like Spring game, kickoff event, new coach introductions, pre-bowl things.  Everyone there is over 50.  I'm concerned there's not going to be anyone to support and fund this thing when we're gone.  It's imperative to inject some youth into our fanbase.

[NorthTexasWeLove]

30 minutes ago, kj86 said:

Students have to be the #1 target.  We can't continue to add to the numbers of "lost" alumni.  Even a marginal increase in the number of engaged students will pay big dividends in the future since students are continually turning over.  I go to all of these events like Spring game, kickoff event, new coach introductions, pre-bowl things.  Everyone there is over 50.  I'm concerned there's not going to be anyone to support and fund this thing when we're gone.  It's imperative to inject some youth into our fanbase.

This. 

Students always have to be prioritized at the top. Always. 

[greenminer]

I remember reading that Wren and Seth were addressing every new admissions class at orientation.  Are we still doing that?  I think that's a huge component for student engagement.

[Jonnyeagle]

2 hours ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

This. 

Students always have to be prioritized at the top. Always. 

Agree 100%.  Our future lies with our young alums and getting them more engaged.

[NT80]

25 minutes ago, greenminer said:

I remember reading that Wren and Seth were addressing every new admissions class at orientation.  Are we still doing that?  I think that's a huge component for student engagement.

Did Seth ever address anyone to come support the team?  How could one tell what he was saying?

[Hunter Green]

14 minutes ago, ADLER said:

High school games across the state start at 7:00 or 7:30. It's been that way forever. Some colleges even start all their home games at 8:00.

Yet, every year we start our early season games at the hottest time of the day, while forcing the students to stare directly into the Sun for the duration of the game. They have a bad time, and they learn not to come back.

There is also a well documented lack of school spirit and pageantry (weird-ass oddball colors like gray and black, using a myriad of long obsolete logos, and no unifying cheers, chants, or songs). These factors make it very difficult to create a strong following and keep those students engaged once they leave college. There's just very little sense of belonging. 

Combine all these issues and we've earned what we have. The players may perform well in competition but we have a very limited following, especially for a school our size.

Seems like the last few years we've been kicking off at 7P. 

[GrayEagle]

A perhaps condensed version of this article should be on Sports in the NT Daily so that no one misses this message because it is spot-on.  Both the students and the townspeople should get the message but students should be the first priority.  Ingrain it in the new students every year.  Give away or deeply reduce the price of a ticket in the wing zone to elementary, middle school and/or high school students.  I'm not sure how to accomplish that without paper tickets but the ticket office hopefully can find a way.  This year the iron is hotter than perhaps any other.  Strike while the iron is hot.  Have a capacity crowd for the Cal game and promote each game with discounted tickets to certain groups such as Denton County cities, first responders, TWU students, etc.  This first year pull out all of the stops to fill the stadium formerly known as Apogee.

 

[southsideguy]

The people in Denton are deadbeats.  We have a very good basketball team and they still wont show up for a game.  Students I guess are playing video games or social media rule their world now.

I was talking to a local here in denton.  I asked him if he been to any games and it shrug it off.  I told that had a set a record for games won and won the NIT tournament. The MOFO says so what they are the 65 best team in the country then?

I think we could win the NCAA and the people of Denton still would not show up to the game.  I had hope with the crowds at the CBI games but I dont think we have a bigger crowd since them.

Andrew is a internet influencer couldn't he help get more people to the games.

[NT80]

47 minutes ago, southsideguy said:

The people in Denton are deadbeats.  We have a very good basketball team and they still wont show up for a game.  Students I guess are playing video games or social media rule their world now.

I was talking to a local here in denton.  I asked him if he been to any games and it shrug it off.  I told that had a set a record for games won and won the NIT tournament. The MOFO says so what they are the 65 best team in the country then?

I think we could win the NCAA and the people of Denton still would not show up to the game.  I had hope with the crowds at the CBI games but I dont think we have a bigger crowd since them.

Andrew is a internet influencer couldn't he help get more people to the games.

Most college towns value their school and it's sports teams.  Denton has always been lukewarm to UNT sports at best.  It seems detached and just tolerates the school being there.  Is UNT still the major employer?

Marketing has to improve. Not just social media, but all three phases!, lol. 

Students are not pulling their weight as fans.  What does it take besides freebies to get them there?  Maybe better opponents will help, and winning couldn't hurt either. 

[UNTethered Eagle]

Proud alumni and first time season ticket holder. Made additional contributions this year to the MGSF, and directly to both basketball and football.

 

I live in central Texas and even with all of the success SL had I could never justify to expense for tickets or donations. 

 

But I guess with a new coach and conference there is new energy. Whatever it is it’s the perfect opportunity to reconnect (or connect for the first time) with alumni.

[GrayEagle]

Our target audience is #1 Students and #2 Alumni.  We are either doing it poorly or doing it wrong because the results speak for itself.   I wouldn't give up on the first two but if we're not filling the stadium then I'd try Denton County.  There are 140,000 people in Denton and more than 800,000 in Denton County.  Taking it further the Metroplex is more populous than Greater Houston.  We never seem to have trouble getting advertising from the businesses in Denton so I don't see why we have so few season ticket holders from Denton (that are not alumni).  They don't even have to even be season ticket holders, just attend a few games a year.  I'm very hopeful that the sports teams will improve this year, even with tougher competition, so that should increase attendance but it is a slow way without some improved marketing and promotion. 

[Mike Jackson]

5 hours ago, southsideguy said:

I was talking to a local here in denton.  I asked him if he been to any games and it shrug it off.  I told that had a set a record for games won and won the NIT tournament. The MOFO says so what they are the 65 best team in the country then

Okay and?  Let's spilt that number by more than half and put them as 30th best team in the country for 2023.  If you aren't big time into college basketball or connected to UNT that MOFO's response is typically what I would expect in any major population center in USA.   And now our basketball coach and key players are gone.  What are you selling to the local casual fan?  Not much in a run down SuperPit you can't navigate through due to construction.   Hopefully they can maintain the momentum and get into the NCAA tournament and advance to the Sweet 16.  But that is HIGHLY unlikely and everyone knows it.

 

12 hours ago, kj86 said:

Students have to be the #1 target.  We can't continue to add to the numbers of "lost" alumni.  Even a marginal increase in the number of engaged students will pay big dividends in the future since students are continually turning over.  I go to all of these events like Spring game, kickoff event, new coach introductions, pre-bowl things.  Everyone there is over 50.  I'm concerned there's not going to be anyone to support and fund this thing when we're gone.  It's imperative to inject some youth into our fanbase.

You know what could have done this?  Hiring Coach Sanders or at least firing Seth earlier to publicly court Sanders as the next head coach.  This program HISTORICALLY hasn't tried hard enough.  And hauty Alumni here have the nerve to still be but hurt over Dickey's black uniforms.   The coach probably most responsible for the program NOT dropping back down to FCS due to consistent horrible performance.  Meanwhile brand new programs like Liberty, UTSA, lap, rebooted UAB wins a conference championship, and brand new Charlotte beats us in one of our most pivital games.  And they have yet to beat SMU in Dallas.  No top 25 ranking.  Beaten at home when we last flirted with maintaining a top 25 ranking in consecutive weeks.  Winning is the most important thing AND playing teams the students want to see.  Wyoming doesn't fit the bill, but that is another old conversation.

[El Paso Eagle]

6 hours ago, ADLER said:

Rule Number One in any businesses is KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS. The listed groups are not potential customers and it would be a horrible investment to attempt to entice them; essentially zero percent return.

Our target audience should be STUDENTS and ALUMNI. Promote the games to them and then do everything possible to make sure they have the best possible time there regardless of the scores.

Anything else is futility.

Sorry, but not looking at all possible areas is a mistake. When these players, for example, make a visit to an elementary school and interact with the kids, those kids start asking their parents to go to a game. You assume that parents, many Alums, with kids are just going to plan their activities without them. Make the game day experience an event, and don't act like you don't need to focus on only Alums and students.

[greenminer]

21 hours ago, NT80 said:

How could one tell what he was saying?

I never had a problem understanding what he was saying.

The entire Coach Mumbles bit - I get It - but it's usually coming from people who were jumping on every chance to pile anything and everything on him.

[C Rod]

On 4/26/2023 at 9:43 AM, kj86 said:

Students have to be the #1 target.

Exactly. There's a reason Facebook is freaking out about losing the youth demo to TikTok because they understand that without the youth, their days are numbered.  

To get students engaged, we should offer student-only prizes and experiences. Human nature shows us that cash prizes, exclusive experiences, and the fear of missing out (FOMO) are great ways to motivate people to take action. Here are a few ideas, I'm sure the board could also brainstorm some more.

UNT Student Suite 

• Create an exclusive Student Suite and deck it out with tasty free food, free swag, loud music, green party lights, and high-speed internet. 
• Sometime during the first quarter, randomly select a few students and allow them to bring a couple of their friends to live it up in the Student Suite. Make it a party.
• Put a camera in the suite and show the party happening throughout the game.
• Build a corner with props for students to create TikTok's and Instagram reels, broadcasting the excitement and fun in the Student Suite to their social networks. 
• Create a Mean Green prize wheel that is spun after every touchdown. When the wheel stops, that prize is awarded to all those in the Student Suite. It's not hard to imagine the Student Suite going crazy after every touchdown. Create excitement, create FOMO. 

Mean Green Money Machine

• Purchase a money wind machine and brand it "Mean Green Money Machine"
• At the end of the third quarter, randomly select a student to spend thirty seconds inside the MGMM, grabbing for $20, $50, & $100 dollar bills.
• Put a live camera on this in-game event, and it becomes engaging entertainment for the entire stadium during a TV timeout. In the end, you'll have a student smiling from ear to ear as they announce their total haul over the loudspeakers. Again, more FOMO.

Student Super-fans

• Create a super-fan rewards program for students who attend every home game and make the reward substantial. 
• Find a way to publicly honor these student super-fans 

[El Paso Eagle]

9 minutes ago, C Rod said:

Exactly. There's a reason Facebook is freaking out about losing the youth demo to TikTok because they understand that without the youth, their days are numbered.  

To get students engaged, we should offer student-only prizes and experiences. Human nature shows us that cash prizes, exclusive experiences, and the fear of missing out (FOMO) are great ways to motivate people to take action. Here are a few ideas, I'm sure the board could also brainstorm some more.

UNT Student Suite 

• Create an exclusive Student Suite and deck it out with tasty free food, free swag, loud music, green party lights, and high-speed internet. 
• Sometime during the first quarter, randomly select a few students and allow them to bring a couple of their friends to live it up in the Student Suite. Make it a party.
• Put a camera in the suite and show the party happening throughout the game.
• Build a corner with props for students to create TikTok's and Instagram reels, broadcasting the excitement and fun in the Student Suite to their social networks. 
• Create a Mean Green prize wheel that is spun after every touchdown. When the wheel stops, that prize is awarded to all those in the Student Suite. It's not hard to imagine the Student Suite going crazy after every touchdown. Create excitement, create FOMO. 

Mean Green Money Machine

• Purchase a money wind machine and brand it "Mean Green Money Machine"
• At the end of the third quarter, randomly select a student to spend thirty seconds inside the MGMM, grabbing for $20, $50, & $100 dollar bills.
• Put a live camera on this in-game event, and it becomes engaging entertainment for the entire stadium during a TV timeout. In the end, you'll have a student smiling from ear to ear as they announce their total haul over the loudspeakers. Again, more FOMO.

Student Super-fans

• Create a super-fan rewards program for students who attend every home game and make the reward substantial. 
• Find a way to publicly honor these student super-fans 

Great suggestions. I would also add a program for organizations/fraternities/sororities 

[Cooke County Kid]

Hire that man! (C Rod)

[Mad Hatter]

My daughter just started up at The University of Dayton, where basketball is king and they consistently sell out their 13k seat stadium. Basketball is big business and the students (school size around 10k) are often on a waiting list for tickets.  The University created a way to increase your chances of getting tickets to the games, and it's through a points system. Living on campus gets you a certain number of points, but attending other sporting events earns you points as well. They get a pretty consistently loud student section at volleyball, soccer, WBB, etc because people want the points to increase ability to attend the basketball games in the student section. Now I know we currently don't have a sporting event that is so highly coveted that this system would work, but I wonder if we could do something like offer a discount on tuition, or get free books, or SOMETHING, and students could earn points towards that goal with a point system for attending sporting events.  You might end up accidentally creating a culture of people who truly enjoy going to the games and become lifelong fans if they are given an incentive to go to the games?  Just spit balling ideas.  

[eulessismore]

12 hours ago, ADLER said:

In the 1980s the athletics department used to give away free beer outside the stadium before or after games (It was against NCAA rules to drink inside the stadiums back then). 

The students would probably show up en masse if free beer was again provided. I know, I know first we need to get rid of the puritanical law forbidding college students to drink beer.

One upvote from one who misses the old Fry Street vibe.