Open Letter to Students

[RB2.0]

I used to meet a yellow school bus in front of Coronado that would take me to the empty savvis to watch Anthony Drejaj. I would have given my right arm to have an on campus arena and tournament bound team to cheer for while I was still a student. And the tickets are free, wow.

I did the same thing. I would have killed to have an arena like these kids have.

[Cowboy]

-will the students not attending be more inclined to attend if they are ridiculed on bulletin boards across campus?

[billikenfan05]

-will the students not attending be more inclined to attend if they are ridiculed on bulletin boards across campus?

Have they responded well to bribery and nice requests that they attend games? If you have a better idea I'd love to hear it.

[Pirahna]

I think there is a key issue that may or may not have been addressed in this discussion. Many students at SLU, myself included, didn't grow up rooting for the Bills game in game out. A good portion of the student population has come from the Chicago area, Wisconsin, Ohio (believe it or not there are SLU students who root for Xavier over SLU as awful as that seems), Texas, Kansas City, and Florida. Think about the good college basketball schools in those areas, plus many students don't grow up watching college basketball period, so going to one or two games a year is not going to pique the average students' interest and allow them to grow as a fan.

I think there may be more creative ways that the AD can get students to the games, but to be honest with you now that the AD gets the students' money up front there is less incentive for them to attract more students to the games. I love the fact that now there really is no excuse for students not to show up to the games, what remains to be seen is whether the AD's marketing team can change the students' culture and get those Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Xavier, Mi$$ou, Illinois, Ohio State etc. fans to at least give the Billikens a chance. I have noticed some of these fans following the Bills and attending the games but not at the pace I was expecting.

[MB73]

Richmond?

Now Fordham on Saturday?

St. Bonny, Duq, RI, U Mass, etc.

We are a mid major team, no success for 10+ yrs to speak of, we have changed conferences several times over the years, we have no long standing rivalries. And now the students do not identify with these teams at all.

Previous SLU conferences:

1) kids had friends at the other schools, created rivarly mentality

2) the other school's students and fans would come to some of our games since it was driving distance, in their jerseys, etc... that would get everyone rowdy; a plus, not a negative

3) SLU students would drive to some road games to invade the other schools home gyms

4) local high school players would play for some of those other teams... you could identify with the competition

The students do not give a sh*t about most of the A-10 teams. Dayton, and maybe Xavier, and they will come to see Temple since Temple is the big dog. But that's it.

Simple.

[TVACH13]

I hear alot of criticism on this board right now. Let's talk SOLUTIONS. Rather than ***** and whine about the students, tell me what I can do better to market games to students. We have tried alot of different things and have found success with some, and failure with others.

Let's remember, it was not only the student section that was quiet last night. The ENTIRE arena was seating on their hands, as usual. We have added in-game video board's (ex. "LETS GET LOUD", DEFENSE!) and continue to play music after a big call... leading into an official timeout.

The SLUnatics show up to BIG games (Dayton, Washington, X), now we just need to find the solution on how to communicate the importance of showing up for Fordham, or Richmond. My solution? Continued success on the court.

The Fordham attendance will impress people. Just wait for X. The T-shirts look great. The atmosphere is going to be amazing, and everyone is going to forget about the Richmond game. GO BILLS. GO SLUNATICS. WE ARE ALL BILLIKENS.

[Pistol]

I think there is a key issue that may or may not have been addressed in this discussion. Many students at SLU, myself included, didn't grow up rooting for the Bills game in game out. A good portion of the student population has come from the Chicago area, Wisconsin, Ohio (believe it or not there are SLU students who root for Xavier over SLU as awful as that seems), Texas, Kansas City, and Florida. Think about the good college basketball schools in those areas, plus many students don't grow up watching college basketball period, so going to one or two games a year is not going to pique the average students' interest and allow them to grow as a fan.

I think there may be more creative ways that the AD can get students to the games, but to be honest with you now that the AD gets the students' money up front there is less incentive for them to attract more students to the games. I love the fact that now there really is no excuse for students not to show up to the games, what remains to be seen is whether the AD's marketing team can change the students' culture and get those Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Xavier, Mi$$ou, Illinois, Ohio State etc. fans to at least give the Billikens a chance. I have noticed some of these fans following the Bills and attending the games but not at the pace I was expecting.

Here's the problem with your argument- kids of all schools come from all over the place. Less so at state schools, but still.

[Pirahna]

I hear alot of criticism on this board right now. Let's talk SOLUTIONS. Rather than ***** and whine about the students, tell me what I can do better to market games to students. We have tried alot of different things and have found success with some, and failure with others.

Let's remember, it was not only the student section that was quiet last night. The ENTIRE arena was seating on their hands, as usual. We have added in-game video board's (ex. "LETS GET LOUD", DEFENSE!) and continue to play music after a big call... leading into an official timeout.

The SLUnatics show up to BIG games (Dayton, Washington, X), now we just need to find the solution on how to communicate the importance of showing up for Fordham, or Richmond. My solution? Continued success on the court.

The Fordham attendance will impress people. Just wait for X. The T-shirts look great. The atmosphere is going to be amazing, and everyone is going to forget about the Richmond game. GO BILLS. GO SLUNATICS. WE ARE ALL BILLIKENS.

I understand the frustration. I would suggest getting freshmen to the games. That way they are baptized early and continuing their fanhood for the next 3+ years and into their post-SLU life. I think the AD has a tendency to look in the short term rather the long term (the tickets included in the tuition is a great start, let's continue the positive momentum) . Pizzas before the games, T shirts etc. shot for cash... that's cool but that's a very short term solution it might get students to a game or two but not to the smaller games or next year's games. I'm not trying to be negative about the AD, I think they are doing a decent job but as the team's success grows the school's perception of how they handle things is going to have to change. I believe this will come with time.

[Pirahna]

Here's the problem with your argument- kids of all schools come from all over the place. Less so at state schools, but still.

I understand this. There is a much higher percentage of out-of-towners at SLU than at the schools I mentioned. It's a lot easier to go to a school like Illinois (or wherever) and become a fan because they have a more recognized brand. I think when we make the tourney and turn heads a culture change on campus will begin to happen. Missouri is the show me state and the average students need to be shown success before they devote 2 or 4 hours away from studying as sad as that sounds. Billikens.com posters are not your average fans we see things differently than the pre-Med Johnny studying his a$$ off to get to grad school.

[Billiken Rich]

Everyone needs to relax a bit. With respect to 05 and the others posting here......F the students. They'll come or not for the games as they feel. The big crowds of the Spoon years were not all students. The average sports fan, hoops junkie, etc will be clamoring for tickets after the Bills make the dance this year, especially if we win a game or two, and especially if we can upgrade our schedule a bit.

A winning tradition with passionate fan takes time for a gypsy program like SLU.

My favorite line from Casablanca is illustrative of most people's feelings toward 8-11 of 14 A10 Teams

Peter Lorre: "And you Rick, I trust you hate me?"

Humphrey Bogart: "If I gave you any thought I would."

[billikenfan05]

Everyone needs to relax a bit. With respect to 05 and the others posting here......F the students. They'll come or not for the games as they feel. The big crowds of the Spoon years were not all students. The average sports fan, hoops junkie, etc will be clamoring for tickets after the Bills make the dance this year, especially if we win a game or two, and especially if we can upgrade our schedule a bit.

A winning tradition with passionate fan takes time for a gypsy program like SLU.

My favorite line from Casablanca is illustrative of most people's feelings toward 8-11 of 14 A10 Teams

Peter Lorre: "And you Rick, I trust you hate me?"

Humphrey Bogart: "If I gave you any thought I would."

It's not about attendance or catering to the students. It's about providing a home court advantage for our team.

[RB2.0]

Richmond?

Now Fordham on Saturday?

St. Bonny, Duq, RI, U Mass, etc.

We are a mid major team, no success for 10+ yrs to speak of, we have changed conferences several times over the years, we have no long standing rivalries. And now the students do not identify with these teams at all.

Previous SLU conferences:

1) kids had friends at the other schools, created rivarly mentality

2) the other school's students and fans would come to some of our games since it was driving distance, in their jerseys, etc... that would get everyone rowdy; a plus, not a negative

3) SLU students would drive to some road games to invade the other schools home gyms

4) local high school players would play for some of those other teams... you could identify with the competition

The students do not give a sh*t about most of the A-10 teams. Dayton, and maybe Xavier, and they will come to see Temple since Temple is the big dog. But that's it.

Simple.

It really is that simple. We play no one of note at home. What kid who is mildly interested in SLU basketball wants to come out to watch St. Bonaventure or Fordham? No one. Students don't have a f'n clue to where those schools are even located. Not to mention a non-conference slate filled with Portland, Vermont, Ill-Springfield, Alabama State, Arkansas State, and Texas Southern.

Come on. It doesn't take a SLU grad to realize how terrible our home scheduling has been. Students show up for the big games (XU, Dayton) but until we put a consistent winner out there, expect more of the same. Wins = fans. And not just one year of winning...

You can't expect students to jump on the bandwagon after 10 years of wallowing around. And if they do, this board criticizes them as bandwaggon jumpers.

[BACKHANDtheRICAN]

Letter to Students:

You suck.

[redbirdfan]

Not sure where people are getting the idea that kids don't show up for the Mardi Gras game.

I didn't make last years game, but during my 4 years as an undergrad those were always the rowdiest games.

I beleive the last couple years, we have played Dayton on this day. Correct me if I am wrong. The people not only came to the game but they also attended Marti gra celebrations.

[slufan13]

I hear alot of criticism on this board right now. Let's talk SOLUTIONS. Rather than ***** and whine about the students, tell me what I can do better to market games to students. We have tried alot of different things and have found success with some, and failure with others.

Let's remember, it was not only the student section that was quiet last night. The ENTIRE arena was seating on their hands, as usual. We have added in-game video board's (ex. "LETS GET LOUD", DEFENSE!) and continue to play music after a big call... leading into an official timeout.

The SLUnatics show up to BIG games (Dayton, Washington, X), now we just need to find the solution on how to communicate the importance of showing up for Fordham, or Richmond. My solution? Continued success on the court.

The Fordham attendance will impress people. Just wait for X. The T-shirts look great. The atmosphere is going to be amazing, and everyone is going to forget about the Richmond game. GO BILLS. GO SLUNATICS. WE ARE ALL BILLIKENS.

I agree. We do everything we can to get the word out to the students. They just continue to make excuses and not show up. I've heard people talk about how we're "first in the conference" (it's perfectly fine that they think that) but those kids say they still can't make it to the game. All I can suggest is maybe marketing the games earlier in the week and getting the signs up earlier in the day.

The Xavier game will have good attendance. We'll lose a couple people to the homework and school night excuse, but we're going to have a very strong crowd. The key will be to actually get them to cheer and make noise and not get distracted by other things. The rest of the crowd needs to start getting loud and making noise too. That doesn't really apply to anyone who is on this board, but the problem isn't just with the students.

[SShoe]

Have they responded well to bribery and nice requests that they attend games? If you have a better idea I'd love to hear it.

Agree with Cowboy, not sure that ridiculing the apathetic is going to do anything except drive them away more. I tried when I was a student and it didn't work. I think the key is making students feel like they're missing out if they didn't go to the game, though I'm not sure how to accomplish this.

That being said, I've got a few ideas. Some of this is designed towards attracting the Greeks, but others to the general population.

First, invite some of the Greek intramural bball teams to play a 6-minute scrimmage at halftime. Half of those frats or sororities will show up for that alone. Most will probably stay and perhaps enjoy themselves.

Second, stop allowing Greeks to have chapter meetings on nights when there are also games.I don't care if that means locking all the meeting rooms in DeMat hall.

Third, have focused game-by-game promotions on singular groups. Each game, be it Fordham, St. Bon., or Xavier, could be promoted heavily to and/or designated for, a few individual groups that would get a pre-game pizza party, free tickets, and whatever else kids these days like. These groups could include individual dorm floors, greek organizations, student organizations, etc. That would mean promotional efforts could be passed down to the specificl group leaders such as fraternity or sorority presidents, glee club presidents, resident advisers, etc. It would also mean that many likely friends (frat brothers, floor neighbors, etc.) of "less interested students" would attend that game, which I think would make that individual more apt to go.

[BACKHANDtheRICAN]

First, invite some of the Greek intramural bball teams to play a 6-minute scrimmage at halftime. Half of those frats or sororities will show up for that alone. Most will probably stay and perhaps enjoy themselves.

That is a good idea

[bonwich]

1) How many students does the section hold (either the main section, or it and the small one next to it and the area behind the band)? Or, more succinctly, how many student tix are available for each game?

2) Has the U or the athletic department or anyone else ever done any surveys to find out why students do or don't come to games?

[moytoy12]

I hear alot of criticism on this board right now. Let's talk SOLUTIONS. Rather than ***** and whine about the students, tell me what I can do better to market games to students. We have tried alot of different things and have found success with some, and failure with others.

Let's remember, it was not only the student section that was quiet last night. The ENTIRE arena was seating on their hands, as usual. We have added in-game video board's (ex. "LETS GET LOUD", DEFENSE!) and continue to play music after a big call... leading into an official timeout.

The SLUnatics show up to BIG games (Dayton, Washington, X), now we just need to find the solution on how to communicate the importance of showing up for Fordham, or Richmond. My solution? Continued success on the court.

The Fordham attendance will impress people. Just wait for X. The T-shirts look great. The atmosphere is going to be amazing, and everyone is going to forget about the Richmond game. GO BILLS. GO SLUNATICS. WE ARE ALL BILLIKENS.

Good post. Let's find a solution(s) and quit b*tching about the problem.

Since I can't get to any games, these questions/comments might seem stupid and/or done already:

1. Can we have the band be more of a facilitator of cheering as opposed to overpowering cheers? Simple drum cadence to get people clapping like they do before tip off?

2. Rowdiest section giveaways

3. Spread the cheer and dance squads throughout the arena to facilitate cheering during key parts of the game

4. Move people into the empty high-roller seats (have a list of kids/student groups prior to the game and let them know that they might have an option to move down at halftime). This is probably logistically impossible.

5. Have Guy Philips more involved in getting people off their asses.

6. Have cheer and dance squads lead call and response cheers from each side of the arena or from the sides of the court during timeouts

7. Noisemakers and drums. More of them. probably prohibited by something

8. More groupons/living social deals

At least in the short term, it looks like it will take more than winning to get people to show up and involved. So make the environment worth the entertainment dollar and hopefully this will encourage more people to cheer/bring friends the next time.

[dlarry]

Agree with Cowboy, not sure that ridiculing the apathetic is going to do anything except drive them away more. I tried when I was a student and it didn't work. I think the key is making students feel like they're missing out if they didn't go to the game, though I'm not sure how to accomplish this.

That being said, I've got a few ideas. Some of this is designed towards attracting the Greeks, but others to the general population.

First, invite some of the Greek intramural bball teams to play a 6-minute scrimmage at halftime. Half of those frats or sororities will show up for that alone. Most will probably stay and perhaps enjoy themselves.

Second, stop allowing Greeks to have chapter meetings on nights when there are also games.I don't care if that means locking all the meeting rooms in DeMat hall.

Third, have focused game-by-game promotions on singular groups. Each game, be it Fordham, St. Bon., or Xavier, could be promoted heavily to and/or designated for, a few individual groups that would get a pre-game pizza party, free tickets, and whatever else kids these days like. These groups could include individual dorm floors, greek organizations, student organizations, etc. That would mean promotional efforts could be passed down to the specificl group leaders such as fraternity or sorority presidents, glee club presidents, resident advisers, etc. It would also mean that some "less interested student's" likely friends would be going to at least that game, so they'll be more apt to go.

I think that would be a huge help.

It doesnt matter what group, it could be Greek, ROTC, choir, GLAD whatever floats your boat but when you recruit campus orginizations you are recruiting 50-100 people at a time instead of 1 at a time.

Plus when you get the frats to come to games the sororities will follow. Get sororities to come to games and more male students will come to games.

[bonwich]

First, invite some of the Greek intramural bball teams to play a 6-minute scrimmage at halftime. Half of those frats or sororities will show up for that alone. Most will probably stay and perhaps enjoy themselves.

If the freakin' SLU athletes couldn't be bothered to stay after halftime, why would the Greeks? (No knock on Greeks; I just needed to vent again.)

That said, SLUACH or whoever it was asking for suggestions: After the "scholar-athlete" fiasco, were any coaches hauled in and read the riot act, which they in turn were required to read to their teams?

[AMDG]

Open Letter(read: Rant) to Students

I'm probably going to get some flack for this but what the hell,

Students,

Your lack of presence at Men's Basketball games is a disgrace. I am ashamed to call myself a SLU student after the abysmal student attendance. I'm not going to even worry about those who sit in the wedge of seats next to the tunnel, that's a whole other issue. You should be ashamed. After passing the athletic fee so you can have free tickets you respond by not showing up.

You are the biggest losers in the history of college students. You have a 21-5 (9-3) college basketball team on the verge of an NCAA tournament birth and you can't take 2 hours out of your "busy" schedule to go support them? That is absolutely disgusting. If the seniors (who were still terrible) would not have been there tonight, nobody would have been there. This team is a bunch of great young student athletes who are succeeding in a difficult Division I conference in a beautiful on campus arena you are paying for through tuition and your tickets are FREE!

There is no reason you can't pick your lazy self up, put on a blue or white shirt go down to Chaifetz and watch a FREE basketball game played by a group of your peers. Yes, your peers. These guys aren't some BSC football team full of spoiled athletes who rarely go to class. These kids wake themselves up every morning and drudge their way to class just like all of you and then they go out there every practice and game and bust their asses to represent you and our great school.

Let's be real, you have nothing else to do on a Wednesday evening. Don't hide behind the homework excuse. You're gonna go out to "Pitchers" or "Quarters" anyway. Basketball games are a great way to blow off some steam and guess what? THEY SELL BEER!! Not many other colleges do that. You aren't 21? I don't even need to tell you what to do then. I'm sure you already know. Don't hide behind the homework excuse. I understand you come here to go to school and not to be a basketball fan, but take some pride in your school that you're working so hard to get a degree from.

College is so easy and I'm not all that intelligent. It's time to cut the excuses and show up. Stop disrespecting your school, your classmates and the basketball team and go support them. GO BILLIKENS

-05

great letter. the student section wasn't great when I went there (2000-2004) but I always thought an on-campus arena would make a huge difference. I am shocked but not surprised. My sister-in-law is a junior, lived on-campus or in midtown all three years, and has never been to a game. She is way more focused on studying and when she does recreate, its not at the games because she's not a sports fan. I think there are a lot of students that fit that mold. Another type of student is your sports fan from Omaha, KC, Milwaukee, etc. They bring their own sports allegiences and lack interest.

[David King]

I hear alot of criticism on this board right now. Let's talk SOLUTIONS. Rather than ***** and whine about the students, tell me what I can do better to market games to students.

There's not much you can do this season, since there's only two home games left. But, you seem like the type that is good at thinking outside the box. Here's my suggestion:

Piggy-back off of Linsanity, and get a Chinese guy on the team.

I'm not talking Asian American; I mean a Chinese National. Basketball is probably the most popular sport in China (Ping Pong is not a sport.) I know first hand that they are absolutely crazy about the game, because I work for a Chinese company, and have been to Beijing several times. I was at our company factory last March. There was snow on the ground, and the temperature was below 30 degrees F. The basketball court was shovelled off, and the factory workers were playing 5 on 5, full court during their lunch break. I don't remember ever seeing that kind of dedication to the game here in the US.

China has got to be a gold mine for hidden basketball talent. College players are regularly recruited from Europe, and coach Majerus himself has had great success recruiting in Australia and New Zealand. Now, China should be considered the new frontier for recruiting.

So, I suggest that you take this idea; make it your own, and run with it. Use your influence to get a meeting with Coach Majerus, and pitch the idea. Also, begin networking now. From reading other posts on this site, I believe there are a lot of Chinese students at SLU. Talk to them, and ask them to use any mainland China connections they may have to identify talented college age players. I'll get to work on my end ,too, and if I I.D. a basketball prodigy or two when I go back next month, I'll let you know.

In the mean time, be proactive and start to think of ways to market our first Chinese basketball player. "Linsanity" is a catchy marketing phrase. Try to think up other catchy marketing phrases that refer to China and SLU basketball at the same time. That type of thing should be one of your areas of expertise. the marketing opportunities are endless!

Your welcome for the great idea. I'm confident that a Chinese basketball star on the Billikens team in the next year or two will put a lot more fans in the seats than free pizza or Simon Says at halftime.

[SShoe]

I think that would be a huge help.

It doesnt matter what group, it could be Greek, ROTC, choir, GLAD whatever floats your boat but when you recruit campus orginizations you are recruiting 50-100 people at a time instead of 1 at a time.

Plus when you get the frats to come to games the sororities will follow. Get sororities to come to games and more male students will come to games.

Yep, could be any group, though I recall frats and sororities generally being the largest organizations that people centered their social lives around.

I can't tell how many of my fraternity and sorority friends admit to not going to a single game while they were in college. I can personally attest, it was not considered cool by the Greeks to be in Blue Crew.

[SShoe]

If the freakin' SLU athletes couldn't be bothered to stay after halftime, why would the Greeks? (No knock on Greeks; I just needed to vent again.)

Beer?