Attendance for day games was below night games in the 1960’s. This is not new!
To sell tickets:
Have a winning team
Play someone our fans care about
Play at night
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~225k. More than enough to fill 5 of our stadiums
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That’s a lot. Perhaps the administration should focus on mining this group for a faithful 35-40 thousand. There has to be a fix of some kind.
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Coogs continually talking about attendance.
Self-flagellation is the disciplinary and devotional practice of flogging oneself with whips or other instruments that inflict pain.
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Notice the bare concrete walls. I think that happened only during the 2014 season. The evidence backs up your statement that the photo is 10 years old.
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It would be the first thing I’d address as AD
Fundraising which he was tasked to do and he should add FB attendance/ how to fix it for a full stadium thru marketing and pricing etc.
UH should not be above studying what other similarly situated schools have done to increase attendance:
Rising to the Top of the Rankings
SMU Football has earned it’s place in the ACC Championship game and the Top 10 rankings nationally, but the numbers off the field are equally impressive, reflecting the school’s relentless efforts to fill the stadium with passionate fans.
- Game attendance has increased by 93% per-game compared to last season, while ticket transfers have increased by 180% over last year.
- Back-to-back sellouts (three games in a row) for the first time.
- Secondary market sales through SeatGeek, SMU’s Official Ticket Marketplace, jumped 960% year over year.
- Digital passes stored in mobile wallets have surged by 122%, reaching over 150K downloads this season alone.
These milestones highlight SMU’s dual success: championship-caliber performance matched by an enthusiastic, growing fan base.
“Our partnership with Paciolan has been a huge help as our team has navigated a major transition over the last year,” says Lauren Adee, Deputy Athletics Director and Chief Revenue Officer at SMU Athletics. “They come to the table as a thought partner and work closely with our team to bring our new ideas to life. Their access to best practices and commitment to innovation and service has made them a great partner.”
Digital Tools, Strong Results
SMU partnered with Paciolan’s Marketing Automation team to create targeted email campaigns:
- Send email reminders for upcoming games and season ticket renewals, which led to a notable increase in ticket purchases within one hour of sending the reminders.
- Send ticket purchasing surveys that had a 70% participation rate for two segments: regular and premium ticket holders.
In addition, SMU implemented Ballena, Paciolan’s 3D seat visualization and selection platform, to allocate season ticket holders to the new premium Weber End Zone Complex. At the same time, they expanded functionality to allow football season ticket holders to upgrade, add, or change their seat locations after the renewal cycle.
This strategy increased exposure and revenue for premium spaces and seat locations and enhanced customer experience by enabling season ticket holders to upgrade their seats annually.
And what was the outcome? Through the Ballena seat visualization platform, SMU’s existing season ticket holders purchased an additional 286 season tickets, demonstrating increased commitment from the expanding community ready to experience SMU’s chapter in the ACC.
In Closing
SMU’s entry into the ACC wasn’t just another conference realignment - it was a masterclass in preparation meeting opportunity. The Mustangs charged into the 2024 season with a clear vision, strong donor support, and an energized fan base. Their impressive rise to the top of the ACC standings proved what the athletics department knew all along: SMU was ready for this moment.
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Butts in the seats aren’t as important as eyes on the tv. Virginia tech’s new contract for their coach has ratings tied into the financial side. It is a brave new world.
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The Colorado game had at least 30,000
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Butts in seats help recruiting. The problem must be addressed on a number of fronts.
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Who did we loose?
Send this to our AD
Great idea so let’s mimic what smu did.
our AD needs to do this
Colorado drew 36,000
I remember that fine view of downtown from the 100 sections. Same view I saw when I watched my daughter@ UH softball facility. Now there are dorms who block that view as well. Can’t see that now from TDECU either since they built the indoor practice facility
That’s not from Saturday. They had black endzones
SMU vs Syracuse had about 34k like we had against TCU.
SMU vs East Tx had about 33k. Their numbers are still similar to ours.
Morning games for UH prove to show lower turnouts. SMU’s last game vs Louisville had around 33k. It’s not like SMU is doing miles better.
Fans show up more at later games with Big 12 opponents.
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The student section (bottom level) eventually was completely filled. This pic doesn’t show many students.
I think you bring up a good point! I talked to a lot of students on campus before the football season started and they didn’t think Houston was very good in football. Hopefully this season will get them more hope and a 10 more games next year!