Stupid android phone…
Trying to play the fight song between the TD and the extrapoint is stupid. Wait until after the exrapoint THEN play it.
Stupid android phone…
Trying to play the fight song between the TD and the extrapoint is stupid. Wait until after the exrapoint THEN play it.[/quote]
Agree.
I already LOVE the NINER WALK at ( ~ ) 9:49AM. It starts at the Black Lot where we tailgate and it really seems to begin the process of charging up the crowd and hopefully the team too. 8)
Can we get this played after every Mark Hogan INT?
I agree I love the walk too! It is a great tradition that has been started!
The history of the bell…
We definitely need some solid traditions at our football games. It would be a huge boost to get and keep fan interaction at a higher level thru the game. For those of you who have attended multiple college football games in person. The NFL doesnt count as the atmostphere of a college game is completely different and much more amp’d! Some good traditions that i thought about after hitting up the game today with my Lady…
Give a towel (to wave) to every single fan in attendance at the first game and a game halfway thru the season.
Do some sort of “pick axe” chant when it becomes 3rd down for the opponent.
I think that bell is a great idea, depending on how loud it can get, ring that damn bell every single time we score and amplify the sound so that its loud.
We need a better announcer, sorry. The guy i heard today was just “ok”. Not knocking him or anything, but we need more of a hype man, that is crucial.
It was my first game today and i came away feeling great about the program and we definitely have a long way to go and half of that starts with current students. IE making the stadium as loud as possible, high energy, etc. For us to have around 26K under/grads and be located in a major city, there was no excuse that the stadium to not be completely full today. I would venture to say it was 92% full which is still amazing but we should have no excuse to not have a full house in every home game!
3 and outs?
Thinking it’s the end of the world after only 10 games in program history?
Hyperbole when people show disappointment?
Hopefully losing to DIII schools doesn’t become one.
Mr. Spease,
My name is Drew Lewis, and as a loyal student of this university and a diehard Niner fan, I would like to discuss some of the suggestions that a few fellow students, and alumni have thought of to enhance the 49er game day experience. I noticed a few days ago that you responded on Twitter, stating that you have begun evaluating the options to get students closer to the action during tailgate on game days; I think that is an excellent idea. As a student I feel disconnected from the University on game days, and find it hard to build tradition with the lack of connection that the students have now. The options that we have come up with coordinate the help of the Niner Nation Gold program, which the University already offers now, in order to build spirit. To get students more involved we thought it would be a fantastic idea to offer these students that join Niner Nation Gold some incentives. These incentives could include an exclusive tailgate spot in either Black or Silver lot, where students that join NNG can tailgate closer to the action and help build tradition with such activities as the Niner Walk. We have noticed that the Black lot hasn’t been as full on game days, and would love it to be packed to show Alumni and the opposing fans how much we love our university. This would give the student body the opportunity to be close to the action on game days and finally feel a part of Charlotte Forty-Niner football. As a student member of NNG, you would also get an exclusive spot in the stadium in the student section on or close to the 50 Yard line. As a student attending the games, I have noticed that the student section is lacking leadership during the games, and this could be an excellent opportunity to have the ability to lead the rest of our student section in cheering , creating the best game day environment for the team and our university. We feel that this will give students the incentive needed to attend the games, (for all sports), and to be loud as a group, and feel connected with the university that they love so much. We appreciate all that you do Mr. Spease for our Athletic Department and the hard work you put in trying to connect our student body and Athletics, especially football.
Sincerely
Drew Lewis
[quote=“NormsNinerNation, post:192, topic:27722”]Mr. Spease,
My name is Drew Lewis, and as a loyal student of this university and a diehard Niner fan, I would like to discuss some of the suggestions that a few fellow students, and alumni have thought of to enhance the 49er game day experience. I noticed a few days ago that you responded on Twitter, stating that you have begun evaluating the options to get students closer to the action during tailgate on game days; I think that is an excellent idea. As a student I feel disconnected from the University on game days, and find it hard to build tradition with the lack of connection that the students have now. The options that we have come up with coordinate the help of the Niner Nation Gold program, which the University already offers now, in order to build spirit. To get students more involved we thought it would be a fantastic idea to offer these students that join Niner Nation Gold some incentives. These incentives could include an exclusive tailgate spot in either Black or Silver lot, where students that join NNG can tailgate closer to the action and help build tradition with such activities as the Niner Walk. We have noticed that the Black lot hasn’t been as full on game days, and would love it to be packed to show Alumni and the opposing fans how much we love our university. This would give the student body the opportunity to be close to the action on game days and finally feel a part of Charlotte Forty-Niner football. As a student member of NNG, you would also get an exclusive spot in the stadium in the student section on or close to the 50 Yard line. As a student attending the games, I have noticed that the student section is lacking leadership during the games, and this could be an excellent opportunity to have the ability to lead the rest of our student section in cheering , creating the best game day environment for the team and our university. We feel that this will give students the incentive needed to attend the games, (for all sports), and to be loud as a group, and feel connected with the university that they love so much. We appreciate all that you do Mr. Spease for our Athletic Department and the hard work you put in trying to connect our student body and Athletics, especially football.
Sincerely
Drew Lewis[/quote]
Good letter. Like the ideas
[quote=“NormsNinerNation, post:192, topic:27722”]Mr. Spease,
My name is Drew Lewis, and as a loyal student of this university and a diehard Niner fan, I would like to discuss some of the suggestions that a few fellow students, and alumni have thought of to enhance the 49er game day experience. I noticed a few days ago that you responded on Twitter, stating that you have begun evaluating the options to get students closer to the action during tailgate on game days; I think that is an excellent idea. As a student I feel disconnected from the University on game days, and find it hard to build tradition with the lack of connection that the students have now. The options that we have come up with coordinate the help of the Niner Nation Gold program, which the University already offers now, in order to build spirit. To get students more involved we thought it would be a fantastic idea to offer these students that join Niner Nation Gold some incentives. These incentives could include an exclusive tailgate spot in either Black or Silver lot, where students that join NNG can tailgate closer to the action and help build tradition with such activities as the Niner Walk. We have noticed that the Black lot hasn’t been as full on game days, and would love it to be packed to show Alumni and the opposing fans how much we love our university. This would give the student body the opportunity to be close to the action on game days and finally feel a part of Charlotte Forty-Niner football. As a student member of NNG, you would also get an exclusive spot in the stadium in the student section on or close to the 50 Yard line. As a student attending the games, I have noticed that the student section is lacking leadership during the games, and this could be an excellent opportunity to have the ability to lead the rest of our student section in cheering , creating the best game day environment for the team and our university. We feel that this will give students the incentive needed to attend the games, (for all sports), and to be loud as a group, and feel connected with the university that they love so much. We appreciate all that you do Mr. Spease for our Athletic Department and the hard work you put in trying to connect our student body and Athletics, especially football.
Sincerely
Drew Lewis[/quote]
Excellent idea with the NNG incentives. Especially the tailgating lot idea. I would love to have some students tailgating in the Black lot alongside 49er Club members.
I haven’t really looked at the tailgating guidelines but are students not allowed to walk over and tailgate in the black lot? I agree there is a big disconnect between students and alumni when it comes to tailgating simply b/c the student tailgate area is so far away.
I would also like to hear some ideas from current students such as yourself Drew as to what it will take to keep students in the stands for the duration of the games while also realizing that this is going on nationwide not just in Richardson Stadium.
Drew,
Thanks for reaching out! Good student feedback is critical to finding the solutions that most of us in college athletics are searching for in reaching today’s student consumer. To take it somewhat point by point:
· Student lot relocation – we have been evaluating that and think we will have some workable options for next year in terms of the Silver Lot on North campus. Cuts the walk in half. This is something we looked at doing this year, but was soundly rejected by many students who preferred the insulation of being in a “student-only” area on east campus. We may end up with both Silver lot AND the existing lot as options. We recognize and embrace the energy students bring to the table for all of our games, and truthfully students drive the atmosphere at any venue across the country.
· Black lot NNG tent/spaces – quick discussion on that here leads me to believe this would be very doable – but would need student leadership to make this a destination location for students. Our thoughts are a tented area (we provide) in the Black lot which NNG members could gather before the games and be closer to the Niner Walk and the stadium. People would bring their own tailgating supplies and congregate there. Possible issues with that would be IF we go with Silver Lot for students, or possibly even Silver Lot AND the existing space on east campus – this would provide a third option, which could serve to dilute the student crowd which now would be disconnected over 3 lots. Need to still evaluate the benefits or unintended consequences of this.
· Preferred seating - I think we can look at preferred seating, but were discouraged from doing that in the past because essentially all students are financially (maybe not emotionally) invested at the same level. Right now, the preferred seating locations are first come first served, but we understand that is counterproductive for those “super” student fans that want to tailgate as late as possible and not have to be at the stadium when the gates open.
· Student section leadership – Looking at some “yell” leader concepts for next year, possibly including some elevated platforms with amplified sound. Because of some seating configuration restrictions (visiting seat accommodations, Conference USA regulations on who can sit directly behind the visitor’s bench which is between the 30’s, etc), we end up with a somewhat disconnected student section that creates some challenges. Working through those.
One of the more pressing issues is student utilization of tickets. While it is easy to tag it as a marketing failure and students “don’t know about games”, we have generally found that only about 65% of those people that bothered to claim a ticket actually use the ticket. So, these students not only know about the games, but actually make some effort (claim, print, etc) which confirms their acknowledgement of a game……but then don’t show. If the students showed up at a 90% rate, we would be having much less heartburn on this issue.
Certainly need to continue to find effective ways to reach this target demographic with the information about the game – but more importantly to get them to take the next step after they have already shown an interest.
On a side note, this student trend isn’t new, as I interact with a number of my BCS/Power 6 colleagues that are searching for that magic bullet as well. If someone really had it, they should drop out of school or quit their current job, and offer their marketing prowess in the college market. I know dozens of high resource schools that could make them a rich person.
Again, thanks for the proactive feedback. Any and all options are on the table!
Darin
[quote=“NormsNinerNation, post:196, topic:27722”]Drew,
Thanks for reaching out! Good student feedback is critical to finding the solutions that most of us in college athletics are searching for in reaching today’s student consumer. To take it somewhat point by point:
· Student lot relocation – we have been evaluating that and think we will have some workable options for next year in terms of the Silver Lot on North campus. Cuts the walk in half. This is something we looked at doing this year, but was soundly rejected by many students who preferred the insulation of being in a “student-only” area on east campus. We may end up with both Silver lot AND the existing lot as options. We recognize and embrace the energy students bring to the table for all of our games, and truthfully students drive the atmosphere at any venue across the country.
· Black lot NNG tent/spaces – quick discussion on that here leads me to believe this would be very doable – but would need student leadership to make this a destination location for students. Our thoughts are a tented area (we provide) in the Black lot which NNG members could gather before the games and be closer to the Niner Walk and the stadium. People would bring their own tailgating supplies and congregate there. Possible issues with that would be IF we go with Silver Lot for students, or possibly even Silver Lot AND the existing space on east campus – this would provide a third option, which could serve to dilute the student crowd which now would be disconnected over 3 lots. Need to still evaluate the benefits or unintended consequences of this.
· Preferred seating - I think we can look at preferred seating, but were discouraged from doing that in the past because essentially all students are financially (maybe not emotionally) invested at the same level. Right now, the preferred seating locations are first come first served, but we understand that is counterproductive for those “super” student fans that want to tailgate as late as possible and not have to be at the stadium when the gates open.
· Student section leadership – Looking at some “yell” leader concepts for next year, possibly including some elevated platforms with amplified sound. Because of some seating configuration restrictions (visiting seat accommodations, Conference USA regulations on who can sit directly behind the visitor’s bench which is between the 30’s, etc), we end up with a somewhat disconnected student section that creates some challenges. Working through those.
One of the more pressing issues is student utilization of tickets. While it is easy to tag it as a marketing failure and students “don’t know about games”, we have generally found that only about 65% of those people that bothered to claim a ticket actually use the ticket. So, these students not only know about the games, but actually make some effort (claim, print, etc) which confirms their acknowledgement of a game……but then don’t show. If the students showed up at a 90% rate, we would be having much less heartburn on this issue.
Certainly need to continue to find effective ways to reach this target demographic with the information about the game – but more importantly to get them to take the next step after they have already shown an interest.
On a side note, this student trend isn’t new, as I interact with a number of my BCS/Power 6 colleagues that are searching for that magic bullet as well. If someone really had it, they should drop out of school or quit their current job, and offer their marketing prowess in the college market. I know dozens of high resource schools that could make them a rich person.
Again, thanks for the proactive feedback. Any and all options are on the table!
Darin[/quote]
GREAT info! Thanks for sharing. More transparency between the AD and the fanbase - such as this, would do wonders with how we can relate and work with the AD.
[quote=“Mr. Bojangles, post:194, topic:27722”][quote=“NormsNinerNation, post:192, topic:27722”]Mr. Spease,
My name is Drew Lewis, and as a loyal student of this university and a diehard Niner fan, I would like to discuss some of the suggestions that a few fellow students, and alumni have thought of to enhance the 49er game day experience. I noticed a few days ago that you responded on Twitter, stating that you have begun evaluating the options to get students closer to the action during tailgate on game days; I think that is an excellent idea. As a student I feel disconnected from the University on game days, and find it hard to build tradition with the lack of connection that the students have now. The options that we have come up with coordinate the help of the Niner Nation Gold program, which the University already offers now, in order to build spirit. To get students more involved we thought it would be a fantastic idea to offer these students that join Niner Nation Gold some incentives. These incentives could include an exclusive tailgate spot in either Black or Silver lot, where students that join NNG can tailgate closer to the action and help build tradition with such activities as the Niner Walk. We have noticed that the Black lot hasn’t been as full on game days, and would love it to be packed to show Alumni and the opposing fans how much we love our university. This would give the student body the opportunity to be close to the action on game days and finally feel a part of Charlotte Forty-Niner football. As a student member of NNG, you would also get an exclusive spot in the stadium in the student section on or close to the 50 Yard line. As a student attending the games, I have noticed that the student section is lacking leadership during the games, and this could be an excellent opportunity to have the ability to lead the rest of our student section in cheering , creating the best game day environment for the team and our university. We feel that this will give students the incentive needed to attend the games, (for all sports), and to be loud as a group, and feel connected with the university that they love so much. We appreciate all that you do Mr. Spease for our Athletic Department and the hard work you put in trying to connect our student body and Athletics, especially football.
Sincerely
Drew Lewis[/quote]
Excellent idea with the NNG incentives. Especially the tailgating lot idea. I would love to have some students tailgating in the Black lot alongside 49er Club members.[/quote]
Agree!
My tradition has been to drink rolling rock (green beer) during every tailgate including all of the away games I’ve been to. I tried Heineken at one away game because the stores around Charleston Southern last year didn’t stock rolling rock. Heineken didn’t work. I love my tradition and I will do it forever, but if anyone else would like to join in and add to the people drinking rolling rock during tailgates, feel free. GO NINERS!!
Hey I’m always down for some Rolling Rock