Football Game Day Attendance

[zipsrule]

34 minutes ago, exit322 said:

 

Home wins at Infocision:

 

2009 - 3 (Morgan State, Kent State, Eastern Michigan)

2010 - 1 (Buffalo)

2011 - 1 (VMI)
2012 - 1 (Morgan State)

2013 - 3 (James Madison, Kent State, Toledo)

2014 - 4 (Howard, Eastern Michigan, Miami, UMass)

2015 - 3 (Savannah State, Buffalo, Kent State)

2016 - 2 (VMI, Miami)

2017 - 5 (Ark-Pine Bluff, Ball State, Buffalo, Ohio, Kent State)

2018 - 2 (Morgan State, Central Michigan)

2019 - Nope

2020 - 1 (Bowling Green)

2021 - 1 (Bryant)

2022 - 1 so far (St. Francis)

 

So, 28.  They're over 25!!  Woohoo!

 

17 if you only count FBS teams, though.

I see a lot of 1s and some 2s.  Winning will help attendance, but we need to be winning home games.

Edited September 20, 2022 by zipsrule

[Ham]

It is more than 60 min of football.  If you make it an event, fans will come even in an off year.  For some tailgating party makes thr day.  Others may enjoy dinner down town before or after the game.  Get creative with the excessive TV time outs.  

[zippy5]

you can have off years (arguably) if every year isn't an off year

[GoZips86]

20 minutes ago, Ham said:

It is more than 60 min of football.  If you make it an event, fans will come even in an off year.  For some tailgating party makes thr day.  Others may enjoy dinner down town before or after the game.  Get creative with the excessive TV time outs.  

 

Yes (on the bolded)!! I swear, maybe I just never paid attention, but for that first home game this year I felt there were TV timeouts after every play (exaggeration) and they took ffoorreevverrrrr. I guess I just never paid attention, or I was inpatient that day, but I agree, some things to get people involved or so to take the counting down the minutes for the game to begin again. 

 

This is a small thing and I'm not complaining, but since you mentioned it, I wanted to chime in. 

[kreed5120]

Realistically even winning while helping doesn't solve everything. If it was Akron basketball would have had no trouble filling the JAR for the last ~15 years given that it only seats ~5500. Football is obviously bigger than basketball, but it's going to take a lot to convince people to sit outside on a Wednesday night in November when it's 30 degrees for 4 hours. If we could average a real 15k for a season then I'd say that was a success. By real I mean the university not having to buy tickets to remain FBS complient 

[K-Roo]

Think App State can fill their seats now?

 

We had that same chance and, ironically, it was also Michigan. 
 

We could have shocked the football world that day. And road the coattails of that win just like App State has done. 
 

Now they do it to ranked teams every few seasons. 

 

Joe and Co will need to shock the world a couple of times.  
 

Only that will get local fans attention and interest. And butts in seats.  

MAC wins mean nothing to most local fans.  

 

 

 

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 hour ago, K-Roo said:

Think App State can fill their seats now?

 

We had that same chance and, ironically, it was also Michigan. 
 

We could have shocked the football world that day. And road the coattails of that win just like App State has done. 
 

Now they do it to ranked teams every few seasons. 

 

Joe and Co will need to shock the world a couple of times.  
 

Only that will get local fans attention and interest. And butts in seats.  

MAC wins mean nothing to most local fans.  

 

 

 

 

[zippy-claws]

On 9/20/2022 at 4:25 PM, GoZips86 said:

Yes (on the bolded)!! I swear, maybe I just never paid attention, but for that first home game this year I felt there were TV timeouts after every play (exaggeration) and they took ffoorreevverrrrr. I guess I just never paid attention, or I was inpatient that day, but I agree, some things to get people involved or so to take the counting down the minutes for the game to begin again. 

 

This is a small thing and I'm not complaining, but since you mentioned it, I wanted to chime in. 

Do yourselves a favor....go to GoZips.com and click on the Menu tab, and pick "staff directory".  Go down to "Communications and Marketing".  Three people total.  And rumor has it one of those three is not actually working, just sitting home collecting a check due to being let go.  Go to a D2 college website and check out their Comm and Marketing staffs.  Guaranteed triple that number.  Or go look at any MAC school's staff, at least 8 to 10 admins, plus Grad students.  Then, throw in the fact that new management at the U decided to not use PEG to produce and manage football "game day experience", you will see why there will not be "creative things to do" during the agreed-terribly long time out breaks....New Admin has been hitting home runs with coaching hires, but losing the game admininstratively, IMHO.

[a-zip]

This would do it. 
 

https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/3435208/lebron-has-inquired-about-playing-college-football-and-ohio-states-ad-has-offered-to-help-him

[clarkwgriswold]

I think it's a combination of things that will bring people to Infocision.  First, to get the area football fans there you need to stop putting an awful product on the field.  To get the rest of the general public there, you need a game day experience that will have the mommies and daddies telling their friends about what a great time they had.  There shouldn't be a kid playing youth football in the Akron area that doesn't have a free ticket to a Zips game.

 

The basketball experience is the perfect example of having only half of that formula.  The program consistently puts a quality product on the court, yet the game day experience is a yawner.  You can only watch middle aged men take court length putts, kids bouncing down the floor on hippity hop balls and kids dunking on a Little Tikes hoop so many times.  The quality of the teams gets a larger percentage of seats filled than the football program but bring some ingenuity to the game day experience and the gaps would fill in.

 

There must be marketing grad and undergrad students that would take some initiative.  Also, talk to the Rubber Ducks staff.  They see to understand the marketing side.  

[GoZips86]

34 minutes ago, a-zip said:

This would do it. 
 

https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/3435208/lebron-has-inquired-about-playing-college-football-and-ohio-states-ad-has-offered-to-help-him

 

I know he doesn't have direct relation to the U of Akron, but I wish he promoted for people to go support the Zips more since it does help the Akron community at the end of the day. Regardless if people like him or not, he has a huge audience and that fact alone would help. 

[LZIp]

13 minutes ago, GoZips86 said:

 

I know he doesn't have direct relation to the U of Akron, but I wish he promoted for people to go support the Zips more since it does help the Akron community at the end of the day. Regardless if people like him or not, he has a huge audience and that fact alone would help. 

Mr Just a Kid from Akron only seems to care about Ohio State anymore. 

[GoZips86]

1 hour ago, LZIp said:

Mr Just a Kid from Akron only seems to care about Ohio State anymore. 

 

So annoying. I hate how Ohio State dominates across the state. 

[akzipper]

14 hours ago, GoZips86 said:

 

I know he doesn't have direct relation to the U of Akron, but I wish he promoted for people to go support the Zips more since it does help the Akron community at the end of the day. Regardless if people like him or not, he has a huge audience and that fact alone would help. 

 

Lebron has always been a bit of a frontrunner. His favorite pro teams and the Yankees and Cowboys. He has no real school to call home so he's going to gravitate towards the biggest one in Ohio. He's not going to go out of his way to pump up a football team that's only victory is against St. Francis and is averaging 1-win a season. If the Zips ever knocked off a Top25 team, won a bowl game, conference championship, etc I'd bet he'd give the program a nice shout-out. Just like he does if the Browns, Guardians and even Cavs are doing well. 

Edited September 28, 2022 by akzipper

[Dr Z]

7 hours ago, akzipper said:

Lebron has always been a bit of a frontrunner. His favorite pro teams and the Yankees and Cowboys.

To be fair to Lebron, the Cowboys have won three playoff games in his lifetime. I'm not sure the term "frontrunner" fits when it comes to the NFL. There are only three teams worse than the Cowboys in that span. 

[kreed5120]

56 minutes ago, Dr Z said:

To be fair to Lebron, the Cowboys have won three playoff games in his lifetime. I'm not sure the term "frontrunner" fits when it comes to the NFL. There are only three teams worse than the Cowboys in that span. 

I think LeBron is much older than you realize. He was born in 1984. The Cowboys won 3 Superbowls in the 90s.

[Zipmeister]

23 hours ago, a-zip said:

This would do it. 
 

https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/3435208/lebron-has-inquired-about-playing-college-football-and-ohio-states-ad-has-offered-to-help-him

 

You know LeBron isn't the only celebrity from Akron.

Maybe we could get Devo to try out for the soccer team or Ruby and the Romantics to try out for the swim and track teams, respectively (assuming any of them are still alive).

[Dr Z]

9 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

I think LeBron is much older than you realize. He was born in 1984. The Cowboys won 3 Superbowls in the 90s.

You are correct. I meant to write in the last 20 years. 

[Captain Kangaroo]

On 9/28/2022 at 7:55 AM, Zipmeister said:

 

You know LeBron isn't the only celebrity from Akron.

Maybe we could get Devo to try out for the soccer team or Ruby and the Romantics to try out for the swim and track teams, respectively (assuming any of them are still alive).

 

Maybe Chrissie Hynde could be a cheerleader?

 

 

Then again...maybe not.

[Zipmeister]

1 hour ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

 

Maybe Chrissie Hynde could be a cheerleader?

 

 

Then again...maybe not.

 

That's one scary-looking person.

Given that she spent three years at PCCC I cannot support a cheerleadership for her.

Edited September 29, 2022 by Zipmeister
..

[Football grandma]

All great ideas and thoughts in this thread...well, except for the cheerleader suggestion. 😂 I think the U should have student input on how to improve attendance. Student reps. should be part of the U's marketing team, too. The U's existence is for them not us oldsters.  Give them a voice, a horse in the race. Who would know better than them on how to light a fire under the student body?

[Spin]

On 9/29/2022 at 2:15 PM, Zipmeister said:

 

That's one scary-looking person.

Given that she spent three years at PCCC I cannot support a cheerleadership for her.

IMO that name makes a splash with a generation who can’t (won’t) sit in freezing rain on a Wednesday night. She was popular in the late 70’s early 80’s, 40some years ago. Had one hit in the 90’s.

 

Not a bad idea, would work with a different sport. National anthem singer/meet and greet before a basketball game? 

[dre22era]

I don't knock Ohio State as they are the big brother. The real problem is how fans and schools continue to allow everyone else to be inferior to them. 

Tired of seeing students wear Ohio State merch on Akron's campus for example, how about focus more on making merch readily available. 

I can't buy a Akron Football jersey right now if I wanted to without buying one on ebay from student athletes illegally selling them. We have a team shop with No Bleepin Jerseys 

[LoyalZIP]

35 minutes ago, dre22era said:

I don't knock Ohio State as they are the big brother. The real problem is how fans and schools continue to allow everyone else to be inferior to them. 

Tired of seeing students wear Ohio State merch on Akron's campus for example, how about focus more on making merch readily available. 

I can't buy a Akron Football jersey right now if I wanted to without buying one on ebay from student athletes illegally selling them. We have a team shop with No Bleepin Jerseys 

 

Agreed. I'm hoping that this supposed gear availability that Guthrie has talked about rolls out sooner than later. When the new logo and brand were released, different shirts, shorts, and sweatshirts were teased on social media, but still nothing. I will say, the selection at the bookstore and team shop has impressed me and is getting better. But still a long way to go.

[clarkwgriswold]

31 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

 

Agreed. I'm hoping that this supposed gear availability that Guthrie has talked about rolls out sooner than later. When the new logo and brand were released, different shirts, shorts, and sweatshirts were teased on social media, but still nothing. I will say, the selection at the bookstore and team shop has impressed me and is getting better. But still a long way to go.

 

It might help if a sweatshirt isn't $69.99.