Dambrot suggests free tickets
Posted December 23rd, 2006 by mrasor
Men’s basketball
Keith Dambrot had just signed a five-year contract extension. His team had a shot to take a top-25 team to overtime.
Yet he was clearly upset after the game. Why? The attendance.
Terry Pluto talks about the problem in his column today. Dambrot suggests giving tickets to every kid in the city. It sounds like a terrific idea to me.
Something the former athletic department understood was making an investment in the fans, even if it means suffering in the short run. They paid to take 9,000 fans to the Motor City Bowl. Did that make economic sense? Of course not. But it had to play a part in Akron meeting the NCAA’s requirement of averaging 15,000 fans at the Rubber Bowl this season.
UA certainly should not forget the suburbs. Growing up in Stow, I never heard much about Akron sports, except reading the occasional Pluto column. Here’s what you do… Pick a high school or two each home game, excluding Kent State and OU. Provide each student with a ticket voucher he or she can redeem at the gate.
It’s worth a shot. To see the endzones so empty last night was depressing. Also, what’s the deal with the AK-Rowdies? By bringing a total of about 50, they are not making a case to keep the seats behind each hoop.
- In Tom Gaffney’s game story, Nevada coach Mark Fox says he was pleased with how well his zone defense worked.
- And here is Elton Alexander’s game story.
- Kent State lost to Youngstown State last night 62-58. The ABJ’s Stephanie Storm writes the team was still tired from its grueling game at Duke earlier in the week. I don’t want to say "I told you so" just yet. But with losses to Cleveland State and YSU, the Flashes certainly haven’t looked like a team that reloads.
- I do believe, however, that KSU will give Akron two good games and the Flashes will be above .500 in the MAC. As a buddy from OU suggested last night, the MAC will come down to the Zips and Bobcats.
December 23rd, 2006 at 9:49 am
The deal with the AK-Rowdies is that students are being turned away for one of two reasons…either because they don’t have “the shirt” or because “it’s too late to sign up”…seriously. I talked to about 5-7 friends of mine that are students that got turned away from sitting down low. The incompetent leadership of the Rowdies prevented us from having more students down low…not the students.
December 23rd, 2006 at 11:10 am
If that’s true, it sounds like some people are on a huge power trip.
December 23rd, 2006 at 12:42 pm
I was at the game and noticed the Ak-Rowdies were rather sparse. Maybe they should try GIVING free shirts to students who’d like to sit there and/or be a part of the group.
And yes, terrific idea to give tix to area HS or Jr. high students. Many will come, bring their parents or friends, and slowly, a fan-base can be built. Until you’ve actually BEEN to a game & feel a connection with the team, there is no incentive to follow them. Get Zippy out to a different school each day, creating awareness and giving away the freebies. It may take some extra work on UA’s part, but nothing says Div. 3 like a crowd of 3,000 with a Top 25 team in the JAR.
How about a buy-one-get-one-free General Admission policy for at least one game a week? Put butts in the seats any way you can. The students? They ain’t interested, which is so tragic. If you can’t get behind a 23-win team w/local talent, then the product just isn’t being marketed correctly.
December 23rd, 2006 at 1:43 pm
I agree, Eric.
As I’m watching the Buckeyes/Gators game, I am thinking NE Ohio is spoiled.
It is used to rooting for the most elite of programs in Ohio State. Even when Akron does something ground-breaking — like win the MAC or make the NCAA Tournament — people around here won’t be as quick to jump on the bandwagon. The Buckeyes routinely challenge for a national title, so winning the conference won’t be enough.
Focus on something other than winning to fix the problem. The solution: Connect with people like a politician would — on a personal level. Give out tons of free tickets. Ask J.D. Brookhart or Keith Dambrot to speak with high school classes.
You can’t change the fact that Ohioans love the Buckeyes. But you have to attack locally and give people a personal reason to care about the Zips.
December 23rd, 2006 at 7:41 pm
It is against NCAA rules to give free tickets to high school students. So that won’t work.
December 23rd, 2006 at 8:48 pm
If that’s true, it is a stupid rule.
But hey, just make those vouchers good for a ticket for just $1.
December 24th, 2006 at 3:47 pm
you can’t specifically give them to students, because of possible recruiting problems. You can, however, give out as many free tickets as you want to the community. As a member of the community, say a principle of a school (under handshake deal with the U) can take them all, and disperse them to students.