• Welcome to BradleyFans.com! Visitors are welcome, but we encourage you to sign up and register as a member. It's free and takes only a few seconds. Just click on the link to Register at the top right of the page, and follow instructions. If you have any problems or questions, click on the link at the bottom right of the page to Contact Us.

KW Article: To Live, BU Spirit Must Get Younger

Buesch N Chips said:
Kirk is on TV right now with Lee Hall and Mike Dimmick talking about the Jim Les situation.
Click to expand...

I turned too late and just saw the Max B stuff (which made me wonder if either guy knew much about basketball, but that is a whole different point.) What was the discussion on JL?
 
Seems like everything in KW's column is stuff that has been discussed here many times. Nothing new, except he seems to suggest that moving to the Civic Center and changing the student seats are the only reason the student attendance fell off so much.

As I have said here before, I don't agree with that logic, and I think it is much deeper that just that. Even when games have been played on campus, there are few students at them. College students just have so many more things to entertain them these days than they did a few decades ago when a basketball game was a big deal on campus, and fewer of them are interested in college sports than they were decades ago. Most students today do not care about basketball. Bradley used to be 70% male, and now is a majority female. It is difficult, if not impossible, to interest most of today's kids in basketball. Plus, there are always video games, DVD movies, hundreds of TV channels, games and infinite entertainment options online via computer, as well as the usual entertainment options like local clubs to occupy their time and interests.
Winning consistently might bring back some of the students, but we'll never see 2,000 like Kirk reminisces about.
 
There are multiple reasons for the falloff in student attendance. There is no question that increasing student involvement will increase the excitement and enhance the atmosphere at Carver. Do that and more non students will attend also. Bradley needs to do whatever is necessary to get the students back. You can blame them all you want but it's a little like blaming your customers for your business going under. Winning will help alot but Bradley shouldn't depend only on that. People don't fill Wrigley because of the wins.
 
I think KW's piece was on target and fair, with one laughable exception:

"'Our' Bradley Braves don't exist. The Braves are Peoria's team; they just wear the name 'Bradley' on their jerseys."

What he didn't say is the most glaring example of that is the introduction of "the pjstar.com starting line-ups" at home games.

Please, please, please......sell every space in the arena from the scoreboard to urinal walls, I don't care. But not the team itself. If KW really wants this to be Bradley's team, I hope he's arguing against that lousy "tradition" being back next year.
 
ser_solace said:
Has anyone ever led a concerted effort to get the student section to at least be along the court rather than on the end?
Click to expand...

Cant happen because the big time donors will not give up there seats for the students.
 
There's a good article. Student attendance at games is the annuity that feeds the future. That's why it didn't matter if you lose some short term revenue to protect many years of continued revenue. Its a tough question though.. How do you fix location of student section, that's a tough nut to crack. We've also had a lot of good suggestions in previous threads here. The change in head coach does give you an opportunity to run out a big new marketing campaign.
 
I think Da Coach is right on whats happening today, and KW is right in what led to it.

There is nothing wrong with being the exception to the rule but it takes time and effort.

Im not sure giving the students good seats would make them come to games. If you gave them the first 3 rows, around the whole arena, I am still not sure they would come.

The product has to be better
The promotion has to be better
The execution has to be better
The experience has to be better


Then the results will be better. I suspect that Butler has a better student involvement than BU

I suspect that Depaul has a worse student involvement than BU.


I know Creighton has a better student involvement than BU.

These things feed off success. Some of it is BU's problem, some of it is the students problem, some is the teams problem..

Whenever a new coach comes about we hear about this issue. Truth is, winning has to occur too.
 
srw said:
Then the results will be better. I suspect that Butler has a better student involvement than BU

I suspect that Depaul has a worse student involvement than BU.
Click to expand...

Two years ago they were very comparable, ours may actually have been better. Now? Ok, they win.
 
While the history of what happened to student attendance (I was part of the 1982-83 student group) is known to many on the board, I like the fact that KW wrote an article on it as JG and MC do not know the history. If you're going to get a new coach, you might as well address the other issues that are out there.
 
Da Coach said:
Seems like everything in KW's column is stuff that has been discussed here many times. Nothing new, except he seems to suggest that moving to the Civic Center and changing the student seats are the only reason the student attendance fell off so much.

As I have said here before, I don't agree with that logic, and I think it is much deeper that just that. Even when games have been played on campus, there are few students at them. College students just have so many more things to entertain them these days than they did a few decades ago when a basketball game was a big deal on campus, and fewer of them are interested in college sports than they were decades ago. Most students today do not care about basketball. Bradley used to be 70% male, and now is a majority female. It is difficult, if not impossible, to interest most of today's kids in basketball. Plus, there are always video games, DVD movies, hundreds of TV channels, games and infinite entertainment options online via computer, as well as the usual entertainment options like local clubs to occupy their time and interests.
Winning consistently might bring back some of the students, but we'll never see 2,000 like Kirk reminisces about.
Click to expand...

I disagree DC. All the reasons you state have nothing to do with stopping kids from going to basketball games. There are a number of mid-major schools who have tremendous student support. You don't think those students have access to DVDs, video games, etc? Thats just silly.

It is entirely possible to build strong student interest. Winning obviously is a key factor, but its not the only one. 2000 students is not unattainable.
 
BU gets great student attendance when they play ISU , you cannot give them big donor seats because the revenue is way too important for the program, the students seats have nothing to do with why they do not attend as witnessed by their turn out on campus for the red-white and exb. games, this topic has been discussed many times before with the same results, if Bradley starts winning championships you will get more students to attend; but it will never be like it was before because things just change.
 
Based on earlier threads on student attendance, it seems like the biggest problem is lack of promotion on campus to get students to the game. Being a basketball fan and enjoying the game is one thing, but for most students you need to make it a social event that they do not want to miss regardless of who BU is playing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top