WBB Attendance

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BobcatDel
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WBB Attendance

Post by BobcatDel » Mon Jan 06, 2020 7:15 pm

There have been comments in several other threads about wanting/hoping to increase attendance at WBB games. I agree with the comments that the quality of the team we have this year and the way they are playing sure deserves the support....so thought a new thread was worth it.

Just so others reading know, Bobcats have the 2nd highest home game attendance for WBB in the conference at 2560 per game through 6 games. And attendance is up only slightly from last year where we averaged 2397 for the entire season. The “other school” is averaging 3222 per game through 7 home games. I would hope with the level of play so far we could set a goal of exceeding the attendance average of the “other school”. Just sayin’......

So what’s the answer...how can we get more folks out?

Personally:
- I keep telling folks and inviting folks to go. Will buy them a ticket or find one if they say yes?
- Last year when they offered the cheap passes (I think it was $20 for 5 tickets or something like that) I bought a packet and gave it to a neighbor with 2 young girls and they attended.
- This year when the flex pack came out (10 tickets for $50) I told them about it and they bought a pack.

What are others doing? What other ideas?

- Bethany Cordell if you are reading this thread, what about some of your ideas for football? I would donate some tickets for you to give out to a Girl Scout Troop, some Big Sister event...a big sister can take her mentee, another Girls Club event, can we host some junior high girls teams...I.e. let coaches know they can request for their team and if you get too many well just draw for the teams to win the tickets, or have the Fast Break Club members nominate deserving young ladies and their families to get some tickets. Would local businesses buy some passes or Fast Break Club members?
- any way to increase visibility in the local papers and state wide media outlets. I hate to say it but in my opinion the “other school” does a better job selling themselves in the state wide media in terms of athletics.
- can our great athletes make more public appearances to key events. Heck there are a number of PEO groups that might like meeting some of our athletes.
- can Trish or other coaches be more visible to a broader public.....it’s one thing to be visible to Fast Break Club and Cat Chat where you have a loyal following but what other events can they be invited to?
- anything that Coach Sprinkle is doing that the WBB program or coaches should emulate?

Just thinking.....the ladies deserve the support and they are fun to watch this year...I hope they keep it up.



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WalkOn79
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Re: WBB Attendance

Post by WalkOn79 » Mon Jan 06, 2020 7:45 pm

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aucat
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Re: WBB Attendance

Post by aucat » Mon Jan 06, 2020 11:46 pm

As far as publicity is concerned I think the Bozeman Chronicle does a very good job covering both men's and women's basketball.
On the other hand the TV sports coverage of MSU Bobcat athletics, in general, is severely lacking.

All I know to do is invite friends/family out to see them play. I think anyone who enjoys basketball will find this team
extremely entertaining and fun to watch. There is a ton of talent and they play fast and furious. The last two games we have scored 91 points!



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Bobcat4Ever
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Re: WBB Attendance

Post by Bobcat4Ever » Tue Jan 07, 2020 1:17 am

We beat Northern Colorado 91-58. Northern Colorado beat Montana 67-58. That is newsworthy.

I just saw the clip from KBZK with Coach Assibey. Excellent. Maybe they are starting to pay attention. I guess after we frequently got ignored last year that I was pleasantly surprised. I don’t know who provides interviewees and bugs the TV outlets to keep the stories coming, but they need to do exactly that!

This team is a treat. I was able to attend practice this summer, and we hope to make the trek up to Cedar City when they play SUU.
Last edited by Bobcat4Ever on Tue Jan 07, 2020 3:56 am, edited 1 time in total.



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Bobcat4Ever
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Re: WBB Attendance

Post by Bobcat4Ever » Tue Jan 07, 2020 2:03 am

I was first influenced to buy my men’s season tickets during the reign of Stu Starner. He used to advertise brown bag lunches in the SUB and bring one or two players along, perhaps before most home weekends during conference play. He’d talk a little, let us hear some from the players and do a few Xs and Os on the old green chalkboard. It wasn’t like he was giving away all the secrets the Boosters get. He simply understood the need to reach out on campus. During the season that the Big Sky was an experimental league for the three-point shot I was eating lunch in one of the mini-booths in a very crowded SUB, when someone asked to share my table. I looked up and it was Stu! He immediately recognized me from games and brown bags, and we had a really fun half hour eating and talking about shooting and defending the very new three-ball. We bought season tickets the next year and had them renewed for over 20 years, while we were still able to attend. Just a little outreach and a personal touch.

The point of my story is that I had never spoken to a head men’s basketball coach again, until I was at a women’s practice this summer and Danny Sprinkle walked a third of the way across the Fieldhouse to introduce himself and chat for awhile. I believe he understands outreach and is doing what he said he would. It is showing up in ticket sales. And my enjoyment of Bobcat men’s basketball has been rekindled.

That same day I did have nice chats with Trish and with Julian Assibey. I’ve known Coach Binford since she first interviewed, and it was very nice for her to spot me and come over after practice. But while she can be very engaging, the Danny Sprinkle sales gene is not hers. This is in no way a criticism — I love her as our coach and support her 100%. I’ve been around the program for a long time, and let me tell you we have it good. I hope she sticks around a long time. Coach Assibey is very outgoing and perhaps could gen up some enthusiasm. I think he could make for some pretty fun brown bag sessions. I do know that those were a great way to get the folks like me to upgrade to season tickets! I do believe the women’s program does need to get out and be more visible. More “outside” fans need to be and can be recruited.

I first went to volleyball when two free tickets were given out to all faculty and staff members for a Saturday night game in the Dave Gantt era. Anne Watts and The Thunder From Down Under season. One match and we were hooked. We held season tickets for over a decade until health dictated otherwise.

Is there anything like the Super Fan tickets still available? You got a discounted deal on tickets for football, volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, and track and field if you bought the entire package. I know there was quite a bit of spillover from football and men’s basketball fans wanting to use their other tickets. After we decided we were going to almost everything anyway, we held those tickets for many years. They quit offering it to newbies, but if you already had them you could keep them.

Sorry about the long post — just some thoughts from a long-time Bobcat about what converted us from radio fans to season ticket holders. It might work again :-)

Go ‘Cats!



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WalkOn79
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Re: WBB Attendance

Post by WalkOn79 » Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:39 am

Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Tue Jan 07, 2020 2:03 am
I was first influenced to buy my men’s season tickets during the reign of Stu Starner. He used to advertise brown bag lunches in the SUB and bring one or two players along, perhaps before most home weekends during conference play. He’d talk a little, let us hear some from the players and do a few Xs and Os on the old green chalkboard. It wasn’t like he was giving away all the secrets the Boosters get. He simply understood the need to reach out on campus. During the season that the Big Sky was an experimental league for the three-point shot I was eating lunch in one of the mini-booths in a very crowded SUB, when someone asked to share my table. I looked up and it was Stu! He immediately recognized me from games and brown bags, and we had a really fun half hour eating and talking about shooting and defending the very new three-ball. We bought season tickets the next year and had them renewed for over 20 years, while we were still able to attend. Just a little outreach and a personal touch.

The point of my story is that I had never spoken to a head men’s basketball coach again, until I was at a women’s practice this summer and Danny Sprinkle walked a third of the way across the Fieldhouse to introduce himself and chat for awhile. I believe he understands outreach and is doing what he said he would. It is showing up in ticket sales. And my enjoyment of Bobcat men’s basketball has been rekindled.

That same day I did have nice chats with Trish and with Julian Assibey. I’ve known Coach Binford since she first interviewed, and it was very nice for her to spot me and come over after practice. But while she can be very engaging, the Danny Sprinkle sales gene is not hers. This is in no way a criticism — I love her as our coach and support her 100%. I’ve been around the program for a long time, and let me tell you we have it good. I hope she sticks around a long time. Coach Assibey is very outgoing and perhaps could gen up some enthusiasm. I think he could make for some pretty fun brown bag sessions. I do know that those were a great way to get the folks like me to upgrade to season tickets! I do believe the women’s program does need to get out and be more visible. More “outside” fans need to be and can be recruited.

I first went to volleyball when two free tickets were given out to all faculty and staff members for a Saturday night game in the Dave Gantt era. Anne Watts and The Thunder From Down Under season. One match and we were hooked. We held season tickets for over a decade until health dictated otherwise.

Is there anything like the Super Fan tickets still available? You got a discounted deal on tickets for football, volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, and track and field if you bought the entire package. I know there was quite a bit of spillover from football and men’s basketball fans wanting to use their other tickets. After we decided we were going to almost everything anyway, we held those tickets for many years. They quit offering it to newbies, but if you already had them you could keep them.

Sorry about the long post — just some thoughts from a long-time Bobcat about what converted us from radio fans to season ticket holders. It might work again :-)

Go ‘Cats!
Pretty sure superfan tickets are still a thing :)


"One of the greatest feelings in the world, moving someone from point A to point B against their will"

Mitch Brott - 2019 Cat / Griz

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