Will this win bring new season ticketholders?

[ucjoet]

Hey Bugsy, change your calendar from 09/10 to NOVEMBER 19 next season for the day we dine on Eagle meat..... at Alumni Stadium
Right now we are open on September 10

As of now we have an open date on 9/10, but I am thinking we have a good chance of playing Navy away that day. They are the only team (of our AAC away oponents) that has an open date that day. Also don't think we would play 4 straight home games to start season. This would be a perfect road trip opportunity. Early September, Annapolis very easy drive, and a great area to visit. I hope this turns out to be true. I actually sent WM an email a month or so ago asking him to do his best to get this done. I propose all boneyarders send him an email in this regard. He may not have 100% control over this scheduling situation, but it can't hurt to try.

 

[lange10]

As of now we have an open date on 9/10, but I am thinking we have a good chance of playing Navy away that day. They are the only team (of our AAC away oponents) that has an open date that day. Also don't think we would play 4 straight home games to start season. This would be a perfect road trip opportunity. Early September, Annapolis very easy drive, and a great area to visit. I hope this turns out to be true. I actually sent WM an email a month or so ago asking him to do his best to get this done. I propose all boneyarders send him an email in this regard. He may not have 100% control over this scheduling situation, but it can't hurt to try.

According to http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/conn-m-footbl-sched.html we are playing vs UMass at Gillette on Sept. 10.

 

[John]

I don't know how much of an effect Saturday's win will have on fans who never held season tickets, but it might entice a good deal of past season ticket holders who gave them up to return to Season ticket holders status.

They should definitely do a "Come Back Home to The Rent" or some promotion like that to grab the lapsed season ticket holders...give them a signing discount or a heavy duty perk to "come back home".

 

[BlueMAB]

For family reasons, I won't be getting season tickets. However, I was able to bring 5 newcomers to games this year, and after Saturday's performance, I'm sure I'll be able to convince more to come next year. I've even convinced the wife to travel to her first away game land invite some of her friends in the area.

 

[huskypantz]

People go to the games because they want to have fun and be entertained. When we win, it's fun - and Saturday was obviously a pretty cool game to attend. I'd guess that every single person in the stadium thought they got their money's worth and then some.

We hit a major low water mark at 15k season tickets this season. The home schedule was less than desirable although I thought the game dates maximized weather conditions. Next year is much better with UVA, Cuse, Temple and Cincy among the 7 games. My guess right now is that we (barely)get back over 20k and students sell out season tickets again. We should get a mild bump from opposing fan attendance - Cuse, Temple, UVA should have good attendance and Cincy will bring a few as well. That should get us about 30k average for the year. If we flop early on, we will drop back down to 27k or so and if we play well we could get to 32-33k. Ironically, that was our season ticket base ten years ago (2005).

 

[ucjoet]

According to http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/conn-m-footbl-sched.html we are playing vs UMass at Gillette on Sept. 10.

That game has been pushed to 2017, and replaced by BC game away in Nov. So as of today 9/10 is an open date. This was announced about a month or so

 

[Calhoun's Court]

I've had season tickets for football since 1999 and men's basketball since 1977 -never giving either of them up but.........

Lots of people recognize that discounted tickets are plentiful. So people cherry pick the games based on weather and opponent for football games.
Same is happening for basketball games(minus the weather).

No need to commit (and donate) when you can get in for less and not have to write a check. Especially while we are still in the AAC.

 

[31GuardTrap]

Don't we have 7 home games next year? This is what I got:

2016 schedule

Sept. 3: MAINE
Sept. 10: at Boston College
Sept. 17: VIRGINIA
Sept. 24: SYRACUSE

Home: UCF, Cincinnati, Temple, Tulane
Away: East Carolina, Houston, Navy, USF

(we don't play Memphis, SMU, or Tulsa)

Someone correct me if this is wrong.

I would argue we have 8 home games next year.

 

[Waquoit]

I've had season tickets for football since 1999 and men's basketball since 1977 -never giving either of them up but....

Lots of people recognize that discounted tickets are plentiful. So people cherry pick the games based on weather and opponent for football games.
Same is happening for basketball games(minus the weather).

I don't think cherry picking is the issue for the football team. Now that the program shows signs of life and has some decent schedules coming up, I see at least a 5K bump next year.

 

[1999.2004.2011]

Don't we have 7 home games next year? This is what I got:

2016 schedule

Sept. 3: MAINE
Sept. 10: at Boston College
Sept. 17: VIRGINIA
Sept. 24: SYRACUSE

Home: UCF, Cincinnati, Temple, Tulane
Away: East Carolina, Houston, Navy, USF

(we don't play Memphis, SMU, or Tulsa)

Someone correct me if this is wrong.

It seems weird that we'd have repeat games against Houston, Navy and Tulane when we didn't play Memphis, SMU or Tulsa this year, but this is the AAC.

 

[BugsyCT]

It seems weird that we'd have repeat games against Houston, Navy and Tulane when we didn't play Memphis, SMU or Tulsa this year, but this is the AAC.

Like bizlaw said, looks like the AAC divisional format now is you play a home & home with 3 teams from the other division for 2 years, then don't play them again the following 2 years.

 

[noeynox]

Next year's home slate is a good one. Coming off a bowl season, with that schedule, I expect an uptick. What did we have this year for season tix sold? I don't think its far fetched that we can up that number by 3 to 5k. At our peak, we had a lot of casual fans that didn't know the difference between a BCS conference and a non bcs conference. Those fans did like watching games against SU, RU, Pitt etc. Aside from the losing football, the biggest difference for casual fans is simply being unfamiliar with the likes of SMU, Houston, Memphis as "conference foes".

The conference so far looks good in terms of overal quality of the football played here. Friday night you will have Navy and Houston with a showcase game. Those are two real good teams. Casual fans will tune in to that and see this league is better than maybe they thought. Hopefully some UConn (non boneyard variety) fans will tune in and start to get familiar with these teams as well .

 

[1999.2004.2011]

Next year's home slate is a good one. Coming off a bowl season, with that schedule, I expect an uptick. What did we have this year for season tix sold? I don't think its far fetched that we can up that number by 3 to 5k. At our peak, we had a lot of casual fans that didn't know the difference between a BCS conference and a non bcs conference. Those fans did like watching games against SU, RU, Pitt etc. Aside from the losing football, the biggest difference for casual fans is simply being unfamiliar with the likes of SMU, Houston, Memphis as "conference foes".

The conference so far looks good in terms of overal quality of the football played here. Friday night you will have Navy and Houston with a showcase game. Those are two real good teams. Casual fans will tune in to that and see this league is better than maybe they thought. Hopefully some UConn (non boneyard variety) fans will tune in and start to get familiar with these teams as well .

Yeah I think the biggest difference is the "perception" of hardcore college football fans and the casual fan. People that would consider themselves as college fans know that teams like Navy, ECU, Houston, Memphis etc have always fielded competitive teams and are comparable to those mid to lower tier P5 schools. The casual fan is going solely on brand recognition with the likes of Syracuse, BCU, RU but in reality most of the teams in the AAC are better than those schools (with the exception of SMU and Tulane).

If it weren't for Clemson's undefeated season so far, I think I could make a compelling argument that top to bottom, the AAC has had a better season than the ACC. Going forward, I hope that Houston, Memphis and Temple can all find a way to keep their respective coaching staffs together, because that combined with UConn and USF on the upswing, could make the AAC extremely interesting in 2016.

 

[ElGuapo]

CT is Ground Zero for the quintessential "fair weather fan!" so yes, they will start showing up again. It's not about filling the stadium with ANY fans, just the RIGHT ones! I've said this before, but I'd take the 8k fans that went to ND with an empty stadium all day long! They turned that stadium upside down in South Bend being outnumbered 10-1! and yes I was there...

Make that 8004
Our tickets weren't part of the UConn allotment. We bought ours through Notre Dame ticket office.
We were in the top of the end zone with a mix of ND and UC fans.

What an awesome day that started at 7 am in the golf course tailgate lot and ended at 3:30 am in our downtown South Bend hotel room.

This past Saturday night felt like that a bit.

 

[outlaw]

Now we'll see how much we've improved in the advertising and promotion game. Here's the challenge. Advertise a "reward" --a huge bonus---to the guy in the ticket office who can sell the most new (never before) season tickets. What's it worth?

how do we get season ticket holders involved? lets the fans recruit..

 

[outlaw]

Lots of people recognize that discounted tickets are plentiful. So people cherry pick the games based on weather and opponent for football games.
Same is happening for basketball games(minus the weather).

Unfortunately very true - I know a lot of folks who won't pay the full season ticket price because they know they can get discounted tickets week before the game or scalp for cheaper.

 

[methodology]

I haven't had season tickets to football in 5 years. I think my brother and I will split season tickets next year

 

[Dooley]

Increasing football season tickets has to be priority 1 for UConn. As we all know, football schedules are wacky and there are many weeks that we don't know what time our game is kicking off until less than a week before it does. Having a well established ST base lowers the need for pre-game promo codes and desperate pleas to fans to come out to the Rent days before games.

But...coming up with ways to incentivize purchasing season tickets is tough. Extra tailgating is nice. 10% discount on concessions is alright. Until the stadium is sold out on a regular basis again, people will still be able to find cheaper tickets in the parking lots prior to games. Not to mention, there are 100 promo codes available throughout the season.

2016 has the potential of being pretty special. Expectations are raised and a conference championship game is not out of the question, considering what we have returning next season (with the benefit of additional bowl practices!). The home schedule is also better than this year's. UVA and Cuse are good OOC opponents that are certainly winnable games, and Cinci and Temple are always tough.

We all get the gameday itinerary emails each week, but do those also go out to every donor and/or sports ticket purchaser? Would be great if everyone in UConn's database got something about the itinerary with links to buy tickets. But that doesn't solve ST numbers.

What if UConn offered a sports bundling package? You buy hoops + football season tickets and you save money and get extra perks. You buy hoops + football + hockey and you get even more savings/perks. I absolutely hate the wedge that seems to split UConn hoops and football fans. Encouraging fans to buy both sports would be a nice way to break down that barrier.

 

[Husky25]

We all get the gameday itinerary emails each week, but do those also go out to every donor and/or sports ticket purchaser? Would be great if everyone in UConn's database got something about the itinerary with links to buy tickets. But that doesn't solve ST numbers.

I think they get e-mailed to everyone who has an account on the uconnhuskies.com ticket site. My football ST are under my name, but I've purchased single game tix to basketball and hockey and I get these offers.

 

[1999.2004.2011]

What if UConn offered a sports bundling package? You buy hoops + football season tickets and you save money and get extra perks. You buy hoops + football + hockey and you get even more savings/perks. I absolutely hate the wedge that seems to split UConn hoops and football fans. Encouraging fans to buy both sports would be a nice way to break down that barrier.

^This is an excellent idea

 

[nUConn Fan]

Maine has a kid playing tight end for the Packers which automatically means they are a great team by BY metrics.

Great kid, too. Was a stud HS athlete at a very small private school. He was lost in the mediocrity of the HS program.

 

[ucjoet]

Increasing football season tickets has to be priority 1 for UConn. As we all know, football schedules are wacky and there are many weeks that we don't know what time our game is kicking off until less than a week before it does. Having a well established ST base lowers the need for pre-game promo codes and desperate pleas to fans to come out to the Rent days before games.

But...coming up with ways to incentivize purchasing season tickets is tough. Extra tailgating is nice. 10% discount on concessions is alright. Until the stadium is sold out on a regular basis again, people will still be able to find cheaper tickets in the parking lots prior to games. Not to mention, there are 100 promo codes available throughout the season.

2016 has the potential of being pretty special. Expectations are raised and a conference championship game is not out of the question, considering what we have returning next season (with the benefit of additional bowl practices!). The home schedule is also better than this year's. UVA and Cuse are good OOC opponents that are certainly winnable games, and Cinci and Temple are always tough.

We all get the gameday itinerary emails each week, but do those also go out to every donor and/or sports ticket purchaser? Would be great if everyone in UConn's database got something about the itinerary with links to buy tickets. But that doesn't solve ST numbers.

What if UConn offered a sports bundling package? You buy hoops + football season tickets and you save money and get extra perks. You buy hoops + football + hockey and you get even more savings/perks. I absolutely hate the wedge that seems to split UConn hoops and football fans. Encouraging fans to buy both sports would be a nice way to break down that barrier.

Great idea about packaging tickets from different teams. I consider myself a UConn fan not just a UConn football or hoop fan etc. My thought is why not offer bundles of mini-plans for any sport. An example would be you can get 3 football, 5 hoop ( mens and/or women) and 5 hockey games in a package. Or if you have full seasons ticket for 1 sport ( say football) you can add these other mini options to your package at a discounted cost or with some perks.

I for one would love this. Being a ST holder for football and mens hoop, I can then chose either hockey or womens games at a smaller commitment level. For me I end up buying some of those games anyway. Some people can't make a full financial or time commitment to full season tickets. So this gives them a taste of UConn sports and also they become potential full ST holders for down the road.

I realize this would take some thought and planning on ticket office staff. I suggest they hire someone off of this board. We have the passion to get this done

 

[J187Money]

Great idea about packaging tickets from different teams. I consider myself a UConn fan not just a UConn football or hoop fan etc. My thought is why not offer bundles of mini-plans for any sport. An example would be you can get 3 football, 5 hoop ( mens and/or women) and 5 hockey games in a package. Or if you have full seasons ticket for 1 sport ( say football) you can add these other mini options to your package at a discounted cost or with some perks. I for one would love this. Being a ST holder for football and mens hoop, I can then chose either hockey or womens games at a smaller commitment level. For me I end up buying some of those games anyway. Some people can't make a full financial or time commitment to full season tickets. So this gives them a taste of UConn sports and also they become potential full ST holders for down the road. I realize this would take some thought and planning on ticket office staff. I suggest they hire someone off of this board. We have the passion to get this done

Suggest it. They are light years ahead of where they were 3/4 years ago. Keep giving them ideas and I'm sure some will be adopted.

 

[Colt house75]

Increasing football season tickets has to be priority 1 for UConn. As we all know, football schedules are wacky and there are many weeks that we don't know what time our game is kicking off until less than a week before it does. Having a well established ST base lowers the need for pre-game promo codes and desperate pleas to fans to come out to the Rent days before games.

But...coming up with ways to incentivize purchasing season tickets is tough. Extra tailgating is nice. 10% discount on concessions is alright. Until the stadium is sold out on a regular basis again, people will still be able to find cheaper tickets in the parking lots prior to games. Not to mention, there are 100 promo codes available throughout the season.

What if UConn offered a sports bundling package? You buy hoops + football season tickets and you save money and get extra perks. You buy hoops + football + hockey and you get even more savings/perks. I absolutely hate the wedge that seems to split UConn hoops and football fans. Encouraging fans to buy both sports would be a nice way to break down that barrier.

Agree 1000%. A package incentive plan whereby football season ticket holders have an opportunity to attend several other venues SHOULD BE PARAMOUNT>

Market and incentive your valleys....not your peaks. Football season ticket holders.....allot 2500 tickets per game for Basketball in January when students are away.
Allot 5000 tickets per game to all hockey home games. as an alum, I continually get calls on contributing as well as items in the mail. The same thing should happen for football, hockey and certain designated basketball games.

One step further,.... inside corporate boxes for football (with free unlimited {2500 tickets to each UCONN HOCKEY GAME}. Empty seats not costing anything to fill
but furthering the image and creating young fans is very much needed.