OT: Short meeting with Athletics on 10/20. What should I bring up?

Cougar Football
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Hey all, I’m bringing up a few things to Athletics. Anything I should bring up?

No stupid stuff about Football firing and hiring coaches, obviously. This can be feedback about gameday, advertising, involvement on campus, etc.

I’m bringing up a few things already:

  1. Analytics and the opportunity for students in the Computer Science department to bring something to the table on it. I’ve been reading papers for the past few months, and have had a few ideas myself. Code is so open source these days, students can whip up things from anything and everything.

  2. Student involvement from the Bauer college to work on optimizing stuff. Some kind of internship or resume credit at least.

  3. The return of Chug a Lug park to Baseball to draw in crowds or getting stuff up on the smaller sports (example volleyball)

  4. Adjusting how students are notified of games. Social media isn’t really it, but it’s sort of universally agreed upon

Anything I can bring up? Might not bring it all up, but a few things related. Have all stuff by Wednesday night. Gameday experience? Tailgating? Other stuff?

Context: This meeting sort of sprouted from a potential compliance issue from another Texas school

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I really like #1.

My only suggestion is to perhaps include the Young Alumni with #2 to optimize Fan Engagement in Tailgating and see if what else can be done to increase alumni & current student attendance…perhaps this would tie in to #4 as well.

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Did they fix the wrecked plaque at the baseball stadium for the College World Series 2nd place 1967 team ?

Are there still vast bare spaces on the walls, etc of TDECU ?
Can you ask if there is a process to get more UH student art in there ? Or anything to add to the curb appeal?

Does UH/Hilton own any food trucks ?

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If students have to be notified about games, then it should be a clear indication that they don’t care.

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I for one want turkey leg hut and waffle bus back.

If you could also please bring up making Cullen a first come first serve street parking and around entrance 14 for tailgate.

If you could also ask them to add food for basketball.

I don’t really have anything to add. They added the coffee and fixed the sound i was requesting

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More like there are too many and nobody knows where it can be found, etc.

A huge source I’d bring up is like, two days before a basketball game on a weekday we put flyers under a bunch of freshman and sophmore dorms.

The student section sold out the next morning.

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Thank you for being our voice.

  • Ask them what happened to “Inside Cougar Athletics” on AT&T SportsNet? It was listed in the cable guide, so it must have been planned, but has disappeared. A marketing mistake. Makes us look minor league.
  • I would like the highlights shown on twitter @UHCougarFB to have the radio call, not the television call. Esch, TP and JB do a great job and their call of the game captures the excitement of true Cougar fans.
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Nobody knows where it can be found? What do you mean?

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Maybe. Let’s figure out a way to make them care and get them involved.

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Exciting that there is a voice from the students for athletics. Excellent direction!

Just some reactions to the proposed list.

#1. This is fun for coders but how does it increase the gameday experience or put more butts in seats? Seems like a great project for student in CS to learn to code but low benefit to athletics.

#2 Same as #1.

#4 This one baffles me. Instead of thinking of more mediums to communicate game times, it’s a deeper issue about how to change the student college culture of wanting to make games. When we want to buy something online we typically research the product a ton before buying it. I don’t think the root cause here is the lack of info already available but rather the lack of wanting to know the info (lack of wanting to buy in). flyers are a great idea regardless.

Thoughts:

  • Target more student organizations. They’ve bought into the college experience more, so make sure they get out to games by focusing on their needs.
  • Increase young alumni involvement into student organizations. They are recent grads and still want to be part of the college life and through sports seems like an easy path for that connection to happen.
  • If specific majors are going to be targeted , like CS and Bauer majors, make sure there is a crisp business need that’ll be addressed by the introduction of an app or process change. Otherwise it’ll become a science project with no legs to benefit athletics.
  • While I agree that casting a wide net is good, going into specific student orgs/groups will render better results and word of mouth may be a stronger tool than any other approach when working with current students.
  • this is hard. Glad someone is taking charge of it.

Just my two cents.

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Ask them what a potato is.

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When is a live coog going to be roaming the sidelines again?

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Make sure they know you are a real coog
Tell them we are this close too

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I would say number 3……but also, I would ask them where they land on the whole eat the sub, don’t eat the sub thing first.

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Perhaps having “Football Ambassadors” similar to what basketball has done. Also, if they decide to vote on a live Cougar on campus, there is plenty of land on the corner of Cullen BLVD. and Cougar Village Drive.

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The blank front concrete facades on the third decks need to be made into a ring of honor. I have tweeted this and emailed but nothing. Between each stairwell is blank concrete, and it is the perfect place to put the names of UH Football greats and their numbers. Ware, Kingler, Kennum, Oliver, Phillips, and the list goes on. We are not taking very much pride in our traditions when the names of UH Football greats are etched into some metal signs outside the stadium. It is about time instead of bare concrete on the third deck facades we have a ring of honor instead. It cant be that difficult or costly to make some canvases with the names and numbers to put over the concrete.

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Oh that one is just to develop something in house that can be used to UH’s advantage and not other Universities

For Bauer, yeah they can handle that part.

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Full disclosure I have a BBA.

Bauer business school

What has been our biggest issue?

Lack of U of H pride
Alumni not attending games
Clear disconnection from current and past U of H students

What does the BAUER business school offers?
A degree in business
Is marketing part of our business school curriculum?
Are study cases part of our business school?

CAN SOMEONE in our Bauer School FOR ONCE EVEN CONSIDER A CASE STUDY to get alums and current students to sell out every home game?

I am personally asking you to push this idea forward. This could be one of the very best case study for our BAUER students.
It not only serves a business purpose but it also involves them directly to U of H.

I will add another point.

Hilton school

What are Hilton and…Mr. Fertitta known for?

HOSPITALITY

It is INEXCUSABLE that we do not have the very best stadium hospitality. You could respond that we have a stadium operator.
Fair enough but consider the following:
Did the Hilton school or the Landry’s group exist before TDECU?
Off course they did.

You see, understand the disconnect?
We have all the tools IN HOUSE to sell out every home games.
It is long overdue that this bs, yes bs status quo stop.

Bauer school
Hilton school
Fertitta/Landry’s
…and we suck at getting people’s attention?

Get the above figures heads locked into a room until they come up with a plan.
That my friend is your goal.
WILL YOU DO IT?

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Ask Pez what the pricing plan is to sell out the stadium in the big 12, with family packs etc to get that upper deck sold out.

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Easy - $$$ to produce that stuff