WSJ Story About Student Attendance at College FB Games

[jredallas]

Declining Student Attendance Hits Georgia At Campuses Across the Country, More Reasons Than Ever to Skip the Game

• By: BEN COHEN

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304795804579097223907738780.html

The scene at home football games here at the University of Georgia is almost perfect. The tailgate lots open at 7 a.m. Locals brag of the bar-per-capita rate. The only commodities in greater abundance than beer are the pro-Bulldogs buttons that sorority girls wear.

There's just one problem: Some students can't be bothered to come to the games. . . .

This worrisome dynamic was evident last Saturday, when Georgia hosted North Texas on a drizzly afternoon and one tailgating troupe near Sanford Stadium kept dry underneath tents. Lounging in lawn chairs, with a makeshift bar to their right and their buffet and beer-pong tables behind them, students who said they had tickets to the game being played across the street instead were glued to two flat-screen TVs. "There are a ton of people who prefer this," said Sam Little, a junior at Georgia. "They can actually watch the game instead of deal with the crazy atmosphere."

[PlummMeanGreen]

Declining Student Attendance Hits Georgia At Campuses Across the Country, More Reasons Than Ever to Skip the Game

• By: BEN COHEN

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304795804579097223907738780.html

Still nothing like being in an Apogee Stadium seat for this Mean Green fan. Heck! How could I be part of "the wave" sitting in front a giant screen with 3 other people?

GMG!

GMG!

[Harry]

Great article thank you for posting this.

It's a BIG issue -- you can either address it or be an ostrich with your head in the sand.

Winning certainly helps but it's not just enough to field a team in a nice stadium with a band anymore...

You have to add to the attraction of the event... you have to make it more compelling. I see NUMEROUS examples of this, one right off the top of my head is my friend in Austin who ponied up $5K to get good parking and a free meal at UT... he ended up backing out this year because of his kid and the hassles of getting her to and from the games...etc

The first thing you have to consider is selling beer. I think that will get more people who like to drink to come to the games. Secondly, the internet signal needs to be TOP NOTCH not crappy as it has been at Apogee. If people are struggling to use their smart phones they aren't going to have a good experience. You gotta cater to young kids... moms will come to the game if they can drink a beer and not worry about the kids for a period of time. I'm not talking about day care but kid zones, attractions, shake the players hands at halftime kind of stuff.

I think the Club level does a great job of making it a fun experience for non diehards... not everyone can afford the club so you have to find ways of enhancing the whole package. The technology of flat screens and available games to watch on TV is making this a very difficult issue...

[letsgiveacheer]

I'm not certain this problem is isolated to football only. I'm concerned this carries over to all spectator events other than movies.

Returning to football, I'm an evening program adjunct at a small liberal arts college in North Carolina. They play D111 football which I enjoy very much. From time to time, I attend a game and the stadium is practically empty. The parents are in the stands but not many others. Now, this is a campus of less than 1000 and one in ten students is a member of the team. They do not have isolated dorms, cafeterias, etc. The players are the friends of the rest of the student body but the students still find better things to do on a Sat afternoon.

In my day job, I am the director of an opera company in NYC. I do not have audience problems yet but I will as we are attracting fewer and fewer young people. This problem carries over to all the performing arts and countless seminars are held to discuss the problem and its solution.

I'm not sure there is a solution to this declining interest. Will a state of the art wifi really bring youngsters in? I think their interests are turning in different directions which does not include sitting in one place for three hours for almost anything other than video games or the Internet.

[meaniegreenie]

I say we invest in some high-power jammers. We could just blame the interference on the turbines.

[NorthTexan95]

I have Verizon and my cell phone reception was terrific at the Idaho game. My friend has ATT and it basically wasn't working.

Edited September 26, 2013 by NorthTexan95

[oldguystudent]

Apogee sucks my phone battery like a goth chick at prom. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[meaniegreenie]

I have Verizon and my cell phone reception was terrific at the Idaho game. My friend has ATT and it basically wasn't working.

Okay, so we got the ATT jammers working. Now just need to hit Verizon, DTV, Dish, and terrestrial TV and everybody will have to come into the stadium to see the game!

I guess we can leave the MGRN signal alone so Jub-Jub's game calling can get through for those that want to listen to him while watching the game.

[meaniegreenie]

Apogee sucks my phone battery like a goth chick at prom. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

More College Inn references??

[KRAM1]

I have Verizon and my cell phone reception was terrific at the Idaho game. My friend has ATT and it basically wasn't working.

Why is anyone on a cell phone during a football game? No, really, that's a legit question. At the last game I spotted 10-12folks on their phones, texting or searching at the same time while UNT was on a TD drive! Can't, figure this out. Why go to a game and then just play with your phone?

[NorthTexan95]

Why is anyone on a cell phone during a football game? No, really, that's a legit question. At the last game I spotted 10-12folks on their phones, texting or searching at the same time while UNT was on a TD drive! Can't, figure this out. Why go to a game and then just play with your phone?

Checking other game scores during halftime or other stoppage in play. I definitely did look at it during play. It was my one UNT game for the year so I wanted to take it all in.

[Dr. Seuss]

I guarentee you Lsu vs Georgia will be sold out. Look at the big picture, when has Unt ever played in front of a sold out crowd in

"body bag" games???

Fans don't get hyped about playing North Texas, plain a simple. The only team that would sell out would be Nebraska, they've sold out 280+ in a row

[Dr. Seuss]

Why is anyone on a cell phone during a football game? No, really, that's a legit question. At the last game I spotted 10-12folks on their phones, texting or searching at the same time while UNT was on a TD drive! Can't, figure this out. Why go to a game and then just play with your phone?

You gotta know the score to A&M vs Bama, it's Johnny Football country

[THOR]

You gotta know the score to A&M vs Bama, it's Johnny Football country

Negative...

[All About UNT]

Why is anyone on a cell phone during a football game? No, really, that's a legit question. At the last game I spotted 10-12folks on their phones, texting or searching at the same time while UNT was on a TD drive! Can't, figure this out. Why go to a game and then just play with your phone?

I also use my phone to look up stats on the game...communicate with others in the stadium and check on other scores.

[bstnsportsfan3]

My AT&T phone worked great so far both games at Apogee....

[MeanGreenDadx2]

I guarentee you Lsu vs Georgia will be sold out. Look at the big picture, when has Unt ever played in front of a sold out crowd in

"body bag" games???

Fans don't get hyped about playing North Texas, plain a simple. The only team that would sell out would be Nebraska, they've sold out 280+ in a row

The number of sellouts at Nebraska is now at 329.

[jredallas]

Why is anyone on a cell phone during a football game? No, really, that's a legit question. At the last game I spotted 10-12folks on their phones, texting or searching at the same time while UNT was on a TD drive! Can't, figure this out. Why go to a game and then just play with your phone?

Well, it is encouraged at the game itself in order to tweet pics to have them shown on the video board. I kept trying to do that during the Idaho game, but I finally gave up after I killed 20% of my battery trying to get it to upload.

I was able to successfully check scores periodically during that game and the Ball St. game, so maybe more of an upload issue for me on ATT.

[jdennis82]

For those of us who love the "tradition & pagentry" of college football, I fear those elements may experience the greatest alteration in efforts to change with this generation.

I'm not against letting the market dictate the product, but it will be sad if the band halftime performance is one-day exchanged with something like what the AAC rolls out

[MeanGreenTexan]

Declining Student Attendance Hits Georgia At Campuses Across the Country, More Reasons Than Ever to Skip the Game

• By: BEN COHEN

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304795804579097223907738780.html

Quote

The scene at home football games here at the University of Georgia is almost perfect. The tailgate lots open at 7 a.m. Locals brag of the bar-per-capita rate. The only commodities in greater abundance than beer are the pro-Bulldogs buttons that sorority girls wear.

There's just one problem: Some students can't be bothered to come to the games. . . .

This worrisome dynamic was evident last Saturday, when Georgia hosted North Texas on a drizzly afternoon and one tailgating troupe near Sanford Stadium kept dry underneath tents. Lounging in lawn chairs, with a makeshift bar to their right and their buffet and beer-pong tables behind them, students who said they had tickets to the game being played across the street instead were glued to two flat-screen TVs. "There are a ton of people who prefer this," said Sam Little, a junior at Georgia. "They can actually watch the game instead of deal with the crazy atmosphere."

Wait, I thought that's WHY you go to the game... to be a part of the crazy atmosphere. Am I missing something?

[jredallas]

^ Yeah no kidding. I feel a little less crazy screaming and clapping in person then I do when I do the same thing in my living room. Seriously though, you're right, isn't that really the main reason for going to a game versus watching it on TV.

[TIgreen01]

Isn't this solved by television blackouts? Or are the contracts structured such that TV networks have the power and are unwilling to do this nowadays due to lost ad revenue?

Edited September 27, 2013 by TIgreen01

[oldguystudent]

Why is anyone on a cell phone during a football game? No, really, that's a legit question. At the last game I spotted 10-12folks on their phones, texting or searching at the same time while UNT was on a TD drive! Can't, figure this out. Why go to a game and then just play with your phone?

Because no woman within a 1,200 mile radius will speak to me. Women outside that 1,200 mile radius, frickin' love me. They text/send pics, I'm paying attention. I'm kinda a cheap slut like that.

[forevereagle]

Isn't this solved by television blackouts? Or are the contracts structured such that TV networks have the power and are unwilling to do this nowadays due to lost ad revenue?

This is not the NFL.