Where are the students?

[GOAPPS37]

I have a confession. I had not purchased season tickets for men's basketball since the Holmes Convocation Center opened back in 2000 (?). I did so then because I wanted guaranteed seats to see APP vs. Carolina. I like Carolina basketball but I was rooting for APP and I wanted to see how we would do against them. It was awesome to see Holmes packed that particular evening. I was thinking "what a great venue" to watch the Mountaineers! After that evening, I went to a few more home games and as expected witnessed a sharp decline in attendance throughout the year. Now, I can give you many lame excuses for not purchasing season tickets again for the next 14 years so I will just say I had not done so until Coach Fox came on board. From the moment we hired Coach Fox, I felt good about him. I had always witnessed him on the sidelines when he was with Davidson and coming from a successful program, I just felt confident he would guide our team in the right direction.

I see so much similarity between Coach Fox and Bobby Cremins who coached when I was at ASU from 1977-81. Two young men from New York with a lot of passion who want to succeed with players who have heart and ability and who perform well on and off the court. Several e-mail exchanges I have had with Coach Fox, he has always told me he wants his players to succeed the right way.....a way that the administration, alumni, and fans would be proud of.

Yesterday, I witnessed a lot of heart and passion displayed on the court from our players. And these young men can play too! The game was close throughout until we knocked in a couple of threes to pull away. It was an exciting game! As I walked out of the arena, I told my wife that it was a shame this game was only witnessed by a small crowd of folks (now I know the official attendance was 767). Most of the folks sitting near us were over the age of 70 and I do appreciate them supporting the men's program.....I sincerely mean that. But when you are 70 and over, it may be difficult for most of this age group to stand up and cheer and really get into the game. I mean to make some noise! I noticed a small group of college students close to the court who were cheering the APPS on throughout the entire game and I loved their passion! They were really into it! As I was watching them, I was wishing there were many more students in the arena to help this group make some noise. I know our players would have appreciated it.

When I lived in Justice, I can remember running to Varsity Gym to make sure I could get a seat for a Saturday afternoon game with the hated Furman Paladins in town. Varsity Gym was always rocking! I want that same atmosphere for the Holmes Center. The majority of our students missed an exciting game yesterday. Our players deserve more than the attendance yesterday. I am just hoping that I see more students come to the arena in future games to spend two hours of their time supporting coach Fox and his (and our) team.

[Yosef10]

Once football seasons over the student crowds get a little better, doesn't help we played Jacksonville yesterday. Also doesn't help we've been a perennial loser for years. Wins change all that.

PS. We don't always have to blame the students like is done in football game after game; Alumni have a responsibility to show support as well.

[appdaze]

There are a lot of things that are probably factors in this.

--More basketball games to attend to students pick and choose what they go to.
--For the most part a losing program for the past years.
--A lot more games during the week when students are doing other things.
--We aren't in the ACC
--Students didn't have any connection with the teams we played.
(case in point with this one, think about when we played charlotte and the Curry Davison teams, the Holmes was rocking.)
--The biggest reason is that we are not a basketball school and 90% of our students are at home watching UNC/DUKE/NCST/WAKE/anyone but us.....

[GOAPPS37]

I agree, winning will bring in people and I also agree that alumni need to support the team as well, but it is much easier for a student to leave his/her dorm, show their Student ID and spend only 2 hours supporting the team. Yesterday would have been a perfect day to watch the basketball team at 2:00, then go to a local bar to watch the football team play on TV at 5:00. 767 out of a student enrollment of 17,000 plus is disheartening.

I wasn't at the Tapp room after the game yesterday, but if I was a student and I see Coach Fox and his staff walk in after the game, I would have my rear end in a seat Tuesday night for Furman to show my support and appreciation for him reaching out to the student body.

Can anyone who was there let me know if this will be a regular thing for Coach Fox to do ?

[Rekdiver]

Probably a few were celebrating the win over Idaho....however when I see 7k or more students at a football game and the fervent support but why we don't see at least 2k at a game baffles me.

[AppDawg]

I agree, winning will bring in people and I also agree that alumni need to support the team as well, but it is much easier for a student to leave his/her dorm, show their Student ID and spend only 2 hours supporting the team. Yesterday would have been a perfect day to watch the basketball team at 2:00, then go to a local bar to watch the football team play on TV at 5:00. 767 out of a student enrollment of 17,000 plus is disheartening.

I wasn't at the Tapp room after the game yesterday, but if I was a student and I see Coach Fox and his staff walk in after the game, I would have my rear end in a seat Tuesday night for Furman to show my support and appreciation for him reaching out to the student body.

Can anyone who was there let me know if this will be a regular thing for Coach Fox to do ?

Fox and the team go to the tAPP room after every home game. Did it all of last year.

[hotrod2001]

I've never seen Holmes packed with the exception of the inaugural game when we brought UNC in to beat us down.

[diehardapp18]

I have a confession. I had not purchased season tickets for men's basketball since the Holmes Convocation Center opened back in 2000 (?). I did so then because I wanted guaranteed seats to see APP vs. Carolina. I like Carolina basketball but I was rooting for APP and I wanted to see how we would do against them. It was awesome to see Holmes packed that particular evening. I was thinking "what a great venue" to watch the Mountaineers! After that evening, I went to a few more home games and as expected witnessed a sharp decline in attendance throughout the year. Now, I can give you many lame excuses for not purchasing season tickets again for the next 14 years so I will just say I had not done so until Coach Fox came on board. From the moment we hired Coach Fox, I felt good about him. I had always witnessed him on the sidelines when he was with Davidson and coming from a successful program, I just felt confident he would guide our team in the right direction.

I see so much similarity between Coach Fox and Bobby Cremins who coached when I was at ASU from 1977-81. Two young men from New York with a lot of passion who want to succeed with players who have heart and ability and who perform well on and off the court. Several e-mail exchanges I have had with Coach Fox, he has always told me he wants his players to succeed the right way.....a way that the administration, alumni, and fans would be proud of.

Yesterday, I witnessed a lot of heart and passion displayed on the court from our players. And these young men can play too! The game was close throughout until we knocked in a couple of threes to pull away. It was an exciting game! As I walked out of the arena, I told my wife that it was a shame this game was only witnessed by a small crowd of folks (now I know the official attendance was 767). Most of the folks sitting near us were over the age of 70 and I do appreciate them supporting the men's program.....I sincerely mean that. But when you are 70 and over, it may be difficult for most of this age group to stand up and cheer and really get into the game. I mean to make some noise! I noticed a small group of college students close to the court who were cheering the APPS on throughout the entire game and I loved their passion! They were really into it! As I was watching them, I was wishing there were many more students in the arena to help this group make some noise. I know our players would have appreciated it.

When I lived in Justice, I can remember running to Varsity Gym to make sure I could get a seat for a Saturday afternoon game with the hated Furman Paladins in town. Varsity Gym was always rocking! I want that same atmosphere for the Holmes Center. The majority of our students missed an exciting game yesterday. Our players deserve more than the attendance yesterday. I am just hoping that I see more students come to the arena in future games to spend two hours of their time supporting coach Fox and his (and our) team.

I was one of those students near the court yesterday, and a lot of the guys that were with me were my fraternity brothers. We've already started talking about what we can do to make more games fun for everyone, especially the team as they deserve support. We're gonna try to get as much as greek life out to games as possible and just get rowdy. Not sure how big of a difference that will make but it won't hurt to try. If we could get an actual student section going students will keep coming to games, because in high school I led an awesome student section and that's one of the main reasons people came to games. The unity of a student section can be awesome. As a student I'm trying to figure out how I can help find a solution for this problem we have at App.

[hotrod2001]

I have a confession. I had not purchased season tickets for men's basketball since the Holmes Convocation Center opened back in 2000 (?). I did so then because I wanted guaranteed seats to see APP vs. Carolina. I like Carolina basketball but I was rooting for APP and I wanted to see how we would do against them. It was awesome to see Holmes packed that particular evening. I was thinking "what a great venue" to watch the Mountaineers! After that evening, I went to a few more home games and as expected witnessed a sharp decline in attendance throughout the year. Now, I can give you many lame excuses for not purchasing season tickets again for the next 14 years so I will just say I had not done so until Coach Fox came on board. From the moment we hired Coach Fox, I felt good about him. I had always witnessed him on the sidelines when he was with Davidson and coming from a successful program, I just felt confident he would guide our team in the right direction.

I see so much similarity between Coach Fox and Bobby Cremins who coached when I was at ASU from 1977-81. Two young men from New York with a lot of passion who want to succeed with players who have heart and ability and who perform well on and off the court. Several e-mail exchanges I have had with Coach Fox, he has always told me he wants his players to succeed the right way.....a way that the administration, alumni, and fans would be proud of.

Yesterday, I witnessed a lot of heart and passion displayed on the court from our players. And these young men can play too! The game was close throughout until we knocked in a couple of threes to pull away. It was an exciting game! As I walked out of the arena, I told my wife that it was a shame this game was only witnessed by a small crowd of folks (now I know the official attendance was 767). Most of the folks sitting near us were over the age of 70 and I do appreciate them supporting the men's program.....I sincerely mean that. But when you are 70 and over, it may be difficult for most of this age group to stand up and cheer and really get into the game. I mean to make some noise! I noticed a small group of college students close to the court who were cheering the APPS on throughout the entire game and I loved their passion! They were really into it! As I was watching them, I was wishing there were many more students in the arena to help this group make some noise. I know our players would have appreciated it.

When I lived in Justice, I can remember running to Varsity Gym to make sure I could get a seat for a Saturday afternoon game with the hated Furman Paladins in town. Varsity Gym was always rocking! I want that same atmosphere for the Holmes Center. The majority of our students missed an exciting game yesterday. Our players deserve more than the attendance yesterday. I am just hoping that I see more students come to the arena in future games to spend two hours of their time supporting coach Fox and his (and our) team.

I was one of those students near the court yesterday, and a lot of the guys that were with me were my fraternity brothers. We've already started talking about what we can do to make more games fun for everyone, especially the team as they deserve support. We're gonna try to get as much as greek life out to games as possible and just get rowdy. Not sure how big of a difference that will make but it won't hurt to try. If we could get an actual student section going students will keep coming to games, because in high school I led an awesome student section and that's one of the main reasons people came to games. The unity of a student section can be awesome. As a student I'm trying to figure out how I can help find a solution for this problem we have at App.

The same with football: Win and win often.


It's been a while since I graduated, but whenever I was there basketball seemed like an afterthought. We had some shimmer of brilliance when Buzz Peterson came in as coach but he soon left for "greener" pastures, TWICE. And ever since then minus the Holmes Center opener against UNC the attendance has always been a little blah. I'm not sure if it's improved since I was there but maybe it needs more promotion off the court and better results on the court and the place will begin to fill up some.

[Appersrule]

Win alot, and play on nights that Duke/UNC and State are not. Or schedule UNC and beat them.

[T-Dog]

Along with other factors mentioned above, part of the problem is marketing to students. I do feel like marketing will be better this season, but it's hard to undo neglect.

In the end, winning can cure a lot of woes. But it helps to have a good foundation to build upon.

[APPdiesel]

You're right the basketball program (from a marketing standpoint) has been neglected. I went to maybe 5 basketball games while I was in school. I remember a points program implemented right after I left where going to non-football events would earn you better football tickets. Now if that doesn't scream afterthought I don't know what does.

twitter.com/DieselOnRadio

[BUTCH1991]

Makes no sense to me why you wouldn't have at least a couple thousand students every game. I went to all the games when I was in school. It was free, it was a good social event, it's sports, and it's school spirit. Not to mention I enjoyed mouthing with TV Ted as he "tried" to referee.

[AppHoops]

I've never seen Holmes packed with the exception of the inaugural game when we brought UNC in to beat us down.

It was slam packed when Davidson came to town in 2009 while Curry was on the team. It was the year after their 2008 Elite 8 run.

[SpeedkingATL]

When I was at App I witnessed the horrible Maravich years and the sparse crowds at Varsity Gym. Then when Bobby arrived and turned the program around, immediately the Varsity started to be "the place to be" and would rock. Fox is doing as much as he can to revive what was a dumpster fire of a program and his teams are already much more interesting to watch than anything Capel coached. If students like "diehardapp18" can help mobilize part of the student body and help in marketing Holmes as a "great day/night out" and the team continues to improve then we can see a turnaround in attendance. The home crowd can make a difference and Fox and Angel deserve our support as do our athletes. They are our family; lets support them as much as possible both students and alums.

[bigdaddyg]

Was there during the Cantwell years. Games at Varsity Gym were rocking. As long as you didn't sit way down at the end seats were good. Maybe that is what made the difference. Just cram everyone into basically the style as Cameron Indoor and it gives the appearance of a much larger venue.

[GOAPPS37]

I just spent a few minutes googling ways colleges can improve attendance at sporting events and here's a list of ideas I found:

1. Students love discounts. Offer discounted food such as $1 hot dog or brat night, $4 pkg. for hot dog, chips & soda, $4 all you can eat tub of popcorn.
2. Promote Greek Night and recognize the group with the largest attendance with a cash prize to the organization.
3. Work with the faculty. At one university, professors offered 5 extra credit points for attending a game.
4. Offer Loyalty Points to students for attending the most basketball games and have prizes awarded to the top 5 winners at the last home game.
5. Provide a Free Tee Shirt night for each student entering Holmes.
6. Provide a sponsored post game party with either a DJ or live entertainment.
7. Studies show that students who follow the team on Facebook, Instagram, Snapshot, & Twitter are more likely to attend games. The basketball team needs to be promoted on all Social Media available.

You may say that some of these ideas are corny, but I am desperately searching for answers to solve our basketball attendance woes.


One thing that caught my attention reading several articles about college attendance to sporting events was the impact it has on potential recruits. If recruits see a large Holmes crowd supporting our team, the greater chance we have of getting that recruit to come play for us.

Also, to help keep fans in Kidd Brewer for the second half, offer free items to fans exiting the stadium AFTER the game.

We need to gather ideas on how to increase attendance especially at the basketball games and ways to keep the fans in their seats until after the game. If we do not reach the current student body while they are attending ASU, we will lose them forever when they become alumni. We need to get them interested in our athletic teams NOW!

I am always impressed when I go to a Minor League baseball game whether it is in Charlotte or Hickory of all the promotions they are offering during the game. Maybe our marketing folks can visit with some Minor League teams to gather ideas to make a night watching our basketball team an overall entertaining experience.

[T-Dog]

I just spent a few minutes googling ways colleges can improve attendance at sporting events and here's a list of ideas I found:

1. Students love discounts. Offer discounted food such as $1 hot dog or brat night, $4 pkg. for hot dog, chips & soda, $4 all you can eat tub of popcorn.
2. Promote Greek Night and recognize the group with the largest attendance with a cash prize to the organization.
3. Work with the faculty. At one university, professors offered 5 extra credit points for attending a game.
4. Offer Loyalty Points to students for attending the most basketball games and have prizes awarded to the top 5 winners at the last home game.
5. Provide a Free Tee Shirt night for each student entering Holmes.
6. Provide a sponsored post game party with either a DJ or live entertainment.
7. Studies show that students who follow the team on Facebook, Instagram, Snapshot, & Twitter are more likely to attend games. The basketball team needs to be promoted on all Social Media available.

You may say that some of these ideas are corny, but I am desperately searching for answers to solve our basketball attendance woes.


One thing that caught my attention reading several articles about college attendance to sporting events was the impact it has on potential recruits. If recruits see a large Holmes crowd supporting our team, the greater chance we have of getting that recruit to come play for us.

Also, to help keep fans in Kidd Brewer for the second half, offer free items to fans exiting the stadium AFTER the game.

We need to gather ideas on how to increase attendance especially at the basketball games and ways to keep the fans in their seats until after the game. If we do not reach the current student body while they are attending ASU, we will lose them forever when they become alumni. We need to get them interested in our athletic teams NOW!

I am always impressed when I go to a Minor League baseball game whether it is in Charlotte or Hickory of all the promotions they are offering during the game. Maybe our marketing folks can visit with some Minor League teams to gather ideas to make a night watching our basketball team an overall entertaining experience.

The main problem with a lot of these ideas is that it tries to get students in the doors, but doesn't help create an atmosphere. That's one of my major beefs with the promotions department.

In all honesty, the change is gonna have to come from the students themselves. Some brave souls need to stand front and center in the student section and go nuts the entire game. Over time, others will join them. That's better than any "free ______" promotion or Greek Night.

Honestly, I'd rather have 1,000 people with 50 students standing and going nuts the entire game than 2,500 with everyone sitting down because you build off that 50 students by promoting that atmosphere and it will grow.

Also, Minor League baseball is a different animal when it comes to promotions. I've worked in summer league baseball. It's more about getting people in to drink beer and eat than it is caring about the game because that's where the money is.

[AppDawg]

Its a one time a season thing, but I say we have a "throw back" game each year. Each season schedule a SoCon school, like FU tonight - or heck, GASO, and play the game in Varsity Gym. Go all out. Market the heck out of it. It needs to be while classes are in session. I want to say, midweek game, but a Saturday may be best as I am sure many Alumni would want to come up the Mountain. I know I would love to experience Varsity one more time.

It should be played in early January. Get students engaged before the meat of the schedule. That way when it is a huge success, the excitement is built and students want to be apart of it and come to the holmes dome and the team will be playing at home on a more regular basis. Before New Years, we simply are not home enough to build anything consistent.

Last and most importantly, WIN THE GAME. How many times over the years have we had a big promo, big crowd and the team lays an egg?

[moehler]

to me the two quickest, and most successful ways to get people in the seats, are the most obvious. 1. consistently winning, 2 quality non conference opponents. During the dark years of the Capel era, we seemed to be scheduling a lot of D2 teams, or very low ranking D1 teams. I almost got the feeling the athletic dept had given up trying to find quality, national known teams to travel to Boone. Based on the past, I would almost guarantee, our attendance would increase greatly, if we starting putting quality teams on the floor, against quality programs.