I hate to nitpick but according to this article they automatically add
between 5 and 10% to the student attendance for tickets that "do not
scan" that's between 1000 and 2000 bodies that may or not be there. That
sure seems like a generous number to arbitrarily add.
Charlie
On 2/24/2014 8:21 AM, Shane Ford wrote:
Student attendance a concern for Gators
Unfilled seats dot the east stands at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium during
Florida’s 26-20 loss to Georgia Southern on Nov. 23, 2013.
/Doug Finger/Staff photographer/FILE/
By Robbie Andreu <http://www.gatorsports.com/personalia/robbieandreu>
GAINESVILLE SUN Staff writer
Published: Monday, February 24, 2014 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, February 23, 2014 at 9:56 p.m.
A growing and troubling trend in college football became obvious at
Florida games last fall in The Swamp.
The evidence was out there in plain sight, on the east side of the
stadium, where large portions of the student section would remain
vacant or only partially filled just before kickoff.
In some games, a portion of those empty seats would eventually be
filled. In others, thousands would remain vacant.
It is a trend that school officials are hoping to prevent from
mushrooming into a student tradition at Florida.
“This is an issue that is on everyone's agenda in the SEC,” said Mike
Hill, UF's executive associate athletics director for external
affairs. “It's not unique to Florida or anywhere else.
“College football is at a bit of a crossroads in terms of connecting
with students and engaging them in a way that gets them to the
stadium. They're still into college football, without a doubt. Getting
them to the stadium is a different matter, even for the teams that are
at their peak right now.”
Selling student tickets has not been, and is still not, a problem at
UF, where the school traditionally sells out its allotment of 21,500
tickets every season, including last year. Hill said student tickets
have sold out every season for the 21 years he's been at Florida, and
he expects that to be the case again in 2014.
Selling the tickets isn't the problem. Getting some students to use
them and show up at games is.
The ticket scan rate for students this past season was only 70
percent, according to UF ticket office. With a five to 10-percent
adjustment for tickets that do not scan, it comes out to 75-80 percent
of student tickets being used. That adds up to an average of somewhere
in the neighborhood of 5,000 empty seats per game in the student section.
In 2012, the percentages were 71 percent and 76-81 percent.
The dwindling numbers are a big concern at Florida (and in college
football in general) for at least two significant reasons:
■ An unfilled student section takes away from the atmosphere of the
game and puts a potential dent in the Gators' home-field advantage.
(Can you imagine a Florida basketball game with hundreds of empty
seats in the Rowdy Reptiles section?)
■ It may not bode well for future attendance when thousands of
potential future season-ticket purchasers are electing not to attend
games while they are students.
“Absolutely it's a concern,” Hill said. “The vast majority of our
season-ticket holders went to the University of Florida. It's really
important for us to connect to current students who are future alumni.
Granted, they may be watching games they're not attending at a party
or local establishment.
“But if it doesn't become part of their experience here on campus,
then there may not be the same pull to come back and be a
season-ticket holder in the future.
“It's absolutely crucial to sustain our fan base. Our average
season-ticket holder is just under 60 years old. That's evidence right
there that it's crucial for us to cultivate that young fan base.”
The way to do it is to win more games and better connect with the
students, Hill said.
One thing UF officials have learned from student feedback is the
students do not like the early kickoffs (noon and 12:20), something
that was evident last season with all those empty seats in the student
section for early games.
“Our students in some ways are a lot like our entire fan base in that
they enjoy night games,” Hill said. “That Arkansas game (at night)
last year had a tremendous crowd. Our students do not care for the
early kickoffs. They're just rolling out of bed.”
Hill said UF is having discussions with the SEC and its television
partners about scheduling Gator games later in the day or at night,
especially early in the season.
“We have made it clear to the conference that the early season games,
we need those to begin in the evening or late in the day. The heat is
so oppressive,” Hill said. “That's not just for our students but our
entire fan base.
“We're communicating that to our television partners as well. If we
can come out of the gate with later kickoffs, we think that will
contribute to bigger crowds and better attended games by our students.”
Hill said UF officials also are discussing other possible methods for
better connecting with the students, including possibly opening some
practices and re-establishing town hall meetings between students and
coaches.
UF also is exploring the possibility of establishing WiFi capability
in The Swamp, Hill said.
“It's a huge investment. You're talking a significant seven-figure
investment,” Hill said. “It's something we're looking at right now.
“We recognize the students, the younger fans, have an interest in
interacting on social media throughout the course of the game, whether
uploading pictures or downloading videos.
“We feel better with where we are with basic mobile phone use and
texting and calling. The other applications, we're not there yet, but
we are striving to get there.”
Of course, the best way to connect with the fans — young and old — is
to win games and put an entertaining product on the field. UF did not
seem to have a problem with students showing up when the Gators went
11-1 in the regular season in 2012.
It was a problem during the 4-8 season last fall.
The changes Will Muschamp has made on his coaching staff, especially
the hiring of new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper, seems to have
created a positive buzz, Hill said.
“There is an extremely positive vibe that we are getting in
interaction with fans in person, over the phone and at the ticket
window,” Hill said. “We're optimistic about the start of our
season-ticket sales.”
There is little or no doubt that the students will purchase the 21,500
allotted to them, like they do every season.
But will they come?
/Contact Robbie Andreu at 352-374-5022 or [email protected]. Also
check out Andreu's blog at Gatorsports.com
<mailto:[email protected].%20Also%20check%20out%20Andreu%27s%20blog%20at%20Gatorsports.com>./
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Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
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