What Would You Do

[utep*miner]

Let's put the discussion of a coaching change aside for a moment. UTEP obviously has many more issues to deal with as well from ineffective policies to attracting a fan base.

onsenSOME IDEAS TO PONDER, DEFINITELY NOT ALL IDEAS: How would you make these work

WE KNOW THE OBVIOUS ANSWER TO SOME, and that is WIN.

* Tailgating policies bother some.
* You always hear, play someone big and we will come. But do we really? The UT game was an exception, and even at that out of town UT fans bought a crap load of tickets. Could not sell out
Tech, Kansas, Army (despite Fort Bliss) Oklahoma.
* Same goes for hoops lately. Could not sell out Arizona a few years back.
So, other than winning as an answer, how do you get fans in the stands?
* The student section is pathetic in all sports. I don't want to hear nonsense about commuter campus. Granted we won back in the 80's, but the enrollment was half than what it is now and it was and still is a commuter campus. Where are the students? You can't tell me that kids in EP are the only ones around that don't like sports.
*Parking - Sucks. You drive by lots that hardly have vehicles but are being saved and used for season ticket holders. How could you change that?
* Promo's - good, bad, needed?
Annoying stuff: another firstlight first down, 3rd down toll that crap has to go!!
* We have a huge army community. Why can't we get them to the games? And I am not talking about promos like bringing Army in or military night. Do we not go into fort bliss and actively market?
* The marketing department???

 

[FiliUTEP]

Win win win win

 

[kickballpro]

UTEP is also horrible at putting on events. Who wants to wait 30 minutes at a satellite lot for a bus?

I went to the Guns n Roses concert. Parked where I park for football in the South Garage. Walk up only to be told the entrances will be on the North. Walked all the way around to run into massive lines. They separated the men and women to make it go faster, but the tickets were on my phone and my wife was way ahead of me. We go inside and try to buy shirts, but the shirt guys were saying that the internet reception is so bad that they had to go cash only. Then that led to the 45 min ATM line.

I get turned off going to UTEP for anything. I go to concerts in Dallas and Phoenix and don't encounter any logistics issues.

 

[unihorn]

I pay about $600 for two season seats in Section 6, including a PG-1 parking pass. It couldn't be easier to get in and out.

 

[Riburn3]

Attendance is a tough nut to crack since for the most part, attendance is down across the board for G5 schools. UNM won 9 games last season and barely had 19k for most of their games.

Overall, I think the best way to address most of those issues is to make the games more about the event itself, and less about the sport being played on the field. Look at the minor league baseball model that has been slowly creeping into other professional sports, where there is always something else going on in the stands, or on the video board, or with the on field announcer. You essentially have to create an environment that people want to go to and remember having fun, no matter what happens on the field.

The Chihuahuas are a great example of this. I follow them pretty religiously, and it's great they are successful on the field, but win or lose, the games are always a great time with friends and family. They are always entertaining fans during stoppage, and they have great concessions around the park.

Next, take a UTEP football game. As you mentioned, parking and getting to the stadium is so much of a chore for some fans, that it's enough to discourage them right there. Throw in that the in game experience is still mostly centered on the product on the field (which is currently terrible) and the concession stands are pretty lack luster, and you have created an environment where people basically think it's a lot of effort and money to go watch your team get stomped.

I think in order for all of these programs get over the hurdle, the focus needs to transition to the event itself, and not just the game.

 

[unihorn]

UTEP's most loyal season ticket buyers and game attenders for football and especially basketball are now older people, in my observation.

I learned a love of football from my father and grandfathers.

Did current and recent UTEP students grow up in football fan families? If not, that's a tough, long-term marketing challenge.

 

[FarWestTexas]

The lack of students in the student section is concerning. I remember freshman orientation and having Teich and Gary Nord talk to us about athletics. It was pretty dope. Do they still do that? I'd crack some cold ones with Kugler!

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

There's a reason why the opponents are on the side with the season ticket holders as opposed to the student section. The opponent gets the shade on their sideline first and it's been like that for years.

 

[JCorona]

I think it's actually very simple. UTEP needs an AD that acts like they give a damn. And a president that has the AD on a short leash. Not pulling the trigger on a coach with seven straight losing seasons and not putting a coach without an NCAA tournament in seven seasons on the hot seat sends a terrible message. It tells the fanbase we don't care about winning and accept the shitty products or not it doesn't matter to us either way.

As far as attendance I've said for a while now but it would be a good idea to scale back the capacity.

On the east side of the stadium I would close down from section 18-26 rows 50-84 with a removable tarp. I estimate that would trim down around 8-9 thousand seats bringing the official capacity to around 43,000. That would develop a supply and demand reaction that at best might increase ticket sales by tricking consumers into thinking the game might sell out. At worst create a more intimate hostile crowd that could lead to a better home field advantage.

It would be neat to have free t shirts at every game. A different game shirt per game that indicates that opponent they are playing. So the fan would want to collect all six shirts per season. For example section 1 would be orange shirts, section 2 blue shirts, section 3 orange shirts, and so on through out all the stadium except sections 25 and 26.

Create an "army section" sections 25 and 26 where UTEP donates all those tickets to Ft Bliss. Soldiers would be encourages but not required to wear their uniform and come hang out with friends/family at the Sun Bowl.

As far as the students I have two ideas. One is turn the student section into a party zone. Auburn has hired a dj for their student section. Maybe we could try that. Make it a blast for them. Another idea would be some sort of loyalty rewards program. Students who attend games would be entered into a drawing for two big prizes. The grand prize could be something like a MacBook Air. Give out two of those and a number of smaller prizes. Students would have to scan in their card at the start of the game and be allowed to do an additional scan at the end of the game. At the end of the football season the winners are announced and receive their prize.

Those are my ideas for now.

 

[unihorn]

2017 Football Attendance Report (through week 1):

http://247sports.com/college/west-v...nts/2017-Football-Attendance-Report-106983599

 

[UTEPDefense]

@JCorona I love some of your ideas. Especially the Army specific section and a different t-shirt given away and maybe even tailored for each game. The Chihuahua's are doing something like this where they give away a free new t-shirt every Tuesday(T-Shirt Tuesdays) and they are coming up with cool and fun designs like the chihuahua in a Michael Jordan Jumpman image, etc. I would look forward to that each game.

Good ideas. Let's make an effort. Let's at least try!

 

[unihorn]

One small improvement I liked Saturday were the new "trapped in a mineshaft" video graphics on 3rd down.

 

[Minerinciter]

UTEP is also horrible at putting on events. Who wants to wait 30 minutes at a satellite lot for a bus?

I went to the Guns n Roses concert. Parked where I park for football in the South Garage. Walk up only to be told the entrances will be on the North. Walked all the way around to run into massive lines. They separated the men and women to make it go faster, but the tickets were on my phone and my wife was way ahead of me. We go inside and try to buy shirts, but the shirt guys were saying that the internet reception is so bad that they had to go cash only. Then that led to the 45 min ATM line.u

I get turned off going to UTEP for anything. I go to concerts in Dallas and Phoenix and don't encounter any logistics issues.

Hey @UTEPAthletics, @ATT is a major sponsor. Why not send in the drones to help with the connectivity at all the athletic venues and on campus as well.
http://www.utepathletics.com/sports/2017/6/7/img.aspx
https://www.sporttechie.com/att-sends-in-the-drones-addresses-connectivity-issues-at-venues/