December 15, Dear Mike, Jeff, and Brad: Subject: Student Attendance

Transcription

1 1 December 15, 2011 Mr. Mike Money Marketing Director Mr. Jeff Kallin Assistant Sports Information Director Mr. Brad Lewis Marketing Assistant Clemson University Athletic Department Clemson University Clemson, SC Dear Mike, Jeff, and Brad: Subject: Student Attendance In response to your request about declining student attendance, attached is a recommendation report for increasing student attendance at athletic events. We have collected data through initial surveys, focus groups, post-focus group surveys, and personal interviews. Through analyzing our data, we have found the root problems and determined possible solutions towards increasing student attendance. We thank you for the opportunity to work with you on this project, and we hope that you find our recommendations to be constructive and effective in the long run. Sincerely, Professor Ashley Cowden s Student Attendance Business Writing Team 811 Strode Tower Clemson University Clemson, SC wrh Enclosures 1

2 2 IMPROVING STUDENT ATTENDANCE AT CLEMSON ATHLETIC EVENTS Prepared for Mike Money Jeff Kallin Brad Lewis Prepared by Bryce Ferry CJ Stephanson Dave White Dorothy Gasiorowska Jordan Burns Kayla Halchak Liz Johnson Seth Addis Whitney Hafford December 15, 2011

3 Contents IMPROVING STUDENT ATTENDANCE AT CLEMSON ATHLETICS EVENTS...2 Executive Summary...4 Introduction...5 Methodology...5 Primary Research...6 First Survey...6 Focus Groups...7 Second Survey...8 Secondary Research...10 Recommendations...11 Discussion...11 Conclusion...12 Appendix A...13 First Survey Questions and Data...13 Focus Group Data...15 Second Survey Questions and Data...16 Appendix B...18 References

4 4 Executive Summary This report presents recommendations regarding the Clemson University Athletic Department s request for help in determining why student attendance has been declining for home sporting events. In recent years, Clemson has noticed a decrease in student attendance at many athletic events including football, men s and women s basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball in spite of the university s recent success in its athletic programs. The research group has identified sources responsible for causing the issue and has developed possible solutions through the use of surveys, focus groups, and personal interviews. To gather information about the declining attendance at Clemson athletic events, an in-depth, online survey consisting of 10 questions was distributed to 318 undergraduate students at Clemson University. The questions focused on three main areas: how students find out about athletic events, what influences their decision to attend games, and whether or not they typically leave early. After analyzing the results of this survey, the responses were used to create eight face-to-face focus group meetings, and also to explore current tactics that similar universities are using to promote student attendance at their own athletic events. After this information was obtained, a second, more specific, five-question survey was created. This second survey was distributed online through Facebook to 423 undergraduate Clemson students. These questions emphasized three main areas: how to best inform students of athletic events, how to get students to the games, and how to keep students at the games. The first survey provided insight into what influenced students the most to attend home football, baseball, basketball, or soccer games. Results show that interest, or lack thereof, in the sport was the biggest influence, accounting for 74%. School pride was a close second with 68%, while parking was the least influential with 14%. The focus groups provided significant feedback and generated several ideas, including suggestions to keep students from leaving events early by having halftime entertainment, such as a crowd member shooting a penalty kick against the tiger at soccer games or a dizzy-bat contest during baseball games. The focus groups also generated concern about the costliness of food and beverages at athletic events. Participants offered suggestions about the possibility for students to be rewarded for going to smaller athletic events by receiving coupons for concession discounts. Based on the information gathered from this research, the following five recommendations will help the Clemson Athletic Department to effectively reach the student body, inform them about athletic events, and convince them to attend for the duration of the events. First, the Clemson University Athletic Department should provide the student body with one weekly , which summarizes all upcoming athletic events and includes promotions and giveaways at each event. Secondly, they should begin stamping student tickets of those who attend the entirety of any one athletic event, which may be used as a coupon for food or beverages at the next athletic event (or to be used with promotional sponsors and restaurant partners, if the aforementioned is not possible). The third recommendation addresses the idea of giving away free prizes to a specific number of students, who arrive at games early or stay until the end. The fourth recommendation implements a raffle at athletic events for a free, temporary carpool parking-pass to be given out to one student. Lastly, the final recommendation is to implement halftime attractions at athletic events that will encourage participation from the student body.

5 In conclusion, the conducted surveys, focus groups, and additional research indicate that simple, inexpensive implementations can be made in order to increase student attendance at home Clemson athletic events. Based on the information and student opinions that have been collected, these recommendations will increase student awareness and presence as well as participation. With a timely and smooth implementation, these recommendations will make certain that students interest is maintained and the overall experience as a Clemson Tiger continues to be a memorable one. 5

6 6 Introduction The Clemson University Athletic Department has requested help in determining why student attendance has been declining for home sporting events as well as in finding ways to mitigate and reverse this trend. In recent years, Clemson has noticed a decrease in student attendance at many sporting events including football, men s and women s basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball despite the fact that the university has had recent success in its athletic programs, such as trips to the ACC Championship, NCAA Tournament, and the College World Series. Decreased student participation at athletic events is a problem for Clemson University Athletics, because student attendance affects not only the outcome of games, but also the celebrated memories of Clemson students and their experiences. Therefore, discovering the most effective way of reaching students and increasing student participation at athletic events is essential to the university. Through the use of surveys, focus groups, and personal interviews, the research group has identified root causes of and possible solutions to declining attendance. After analyzing these results, recommendations have been made regarding the best methods to reach students, attract them to athletic events, and keep them in attendance for the duration of each game. This report explores the fundamental research conducted with a resulting series of educated recommendations as well as plans for implementation. Methodology To gather information about the declining attendance at Clemson athletic events, an in-depth, online survey consisting of 10 questions was distributed to 318 undergraduate students at Clemson University. The questions focused on three main areas: how students find out about athletic events, what influences their decision to attend games, and whether or not they typically leave early. After analyzing the results of this survey, the responses were used to inspire in-depth discussion within eight face-to-face focus group meetings. Each focus group meeting consisted of five to seven undergraduate students currently enrolled at Clemson University. In addition, secondary research was conducted in order to compare and explore current tactics that similar universities use to promote student attendance at their own athletic events. The feedback obtained from the initial survey, the focus group meetings, and the secondary research was used to create a second, more specific survey consisting of five questions. The questions focused on three main areas: how to best inform students of athletic events, how to get students to the games, and how to keep students at the games. Overall, the primary focus of this second survey was to see how effective certain incentives to increase student attendance would be. There were 423 students who participated in this online survey. Primary Research First Survey

7 7 This section summarizes the results and findings from the first survey distributed to a sample of the Clemson student body. A complete breakdown of this survey s results is available in Appendix A. Out of the 318 students surveyed, 60% were female and 40% were male, and they were primarily upperclassmen (junior or senior standing). When asked how often they attend home games for each sport (rating on a scale of rarely, sometimes, often, or always), 80% of the participants indicated that they always attend football games, and the majority indicated that they sometimes attend men s basketball and baseball games but rarely attend men s soccer and women s basketball games. Using an identical scale, an impressive 97% of participants reported that they always know when football games are occurring, with indications that they always or often know when men s basketball and baseball games are happening. Nevertheless, 58% reported rarely being aware of women s basketball games and 84% reported either sometimes or rarely being aware of men s soccer games. When asked about how often they leave these events early, students indicated that they sometimes leave baseball games early, while rarely leaving early for football and men s basketball games. Finally, the survey asked participants to rate the factors that typically affect their decision to attend any of these athletic events. The results are displayed in Figure 1. Ultimately, students indicated that school pride and interest in the sport are the primary factors for influencing attendance at athletic events. How often do the following influence your decision to attend (or not attend) home football, baseball, basketball, or soccer games? Interest/ lack of Opponent Clemson's Ranking/ Record School Pride Academic Priorities interest in the sport Parking Travel Weather Access to Student Tickets Often 51% 40% 68% 43% 74% 14% 22% 22% 41% Sometimes 32% 31% 21% 40% 22% 26% 36% 54% 29% Rarely 17% 29% 10% 18% 4% 60% 42% 24% 30% Figure 1

8 8 Focus Groups This section summarizes the results and findings from the focus group meetings. A complete compilation of the suggestions gathered is available in Appendix A. The team constructed an excel spreadsheet with all of the responses from the first survey and examined them in order to narrow down the issues to be addressed in the focus groups. In-depth questions were created and asked in eight different focus group discussions to determine what students thought about the more significant findings. The first survey produced some surprising findings as to how unaware people are about women s basketball games and men s soccer games, so the in-depth discussion questions created for the focus groups touched upon these issues. For instance, some of the questions asked included, If you didn t know a game was going on, what would be a good way to inform you of the game times, and If you leave before the end of sporting events, what incentives could the Clemson University Athletic Department give you to stay the whole time? The focus groups provided significant feedback and generated several great ideas. For example, students suggested having a master calendar of athletic events on the Clemson website that students can link to their Google calendars through their accounts. Another idea to stay more informed about events is to have an electronic message board that displays the activities. Because this may be a more costly, long-term objective, students also suggested adding the time of the event and the opponent to the signs that are currently displayed on Library Bridge on the day of athletic events. Furthermore, students would like to see the athletes out on Library Bridge promoting their games in order to make the players more visible. The students had several ideas specific to basketball. One suggestion was to combine the two student sections that currently sit across from each other. Though this would cause the section to wrap around part of the coliseum, many students would strongly prefer having one unified area for the students to sit, rather than being split up and beside the band. A participant also suggested holding a 5 v. 5 pick-up game during halftime of women s basketball games to promote attendance. Teams could be required to sign in during the first quarter in order to be eligible, and the teams who are chosen to compete would not be announced until half time with the hopes that they would stay to watch the competition and then stay for more of the game. When asked about how to keep students from leaving events early, participants suggested halftime entertainment such as a crowd member shooting a penalty kick against the tiger at soccer games or a dizzy-bat contest during baseball games. Students also said they would be more inclined to stay throughout baseball games if there were more crowd interaction and involvement in addition to the activities that currently occur during the seventh inning stretch. Similarly, several participants indicated that they would like to create a fourth-quarter tradition during football games, such as playing a certain song that involves crowd or student participation. Another suggestion to promote attendance involved raffling off a faculty or carpool parking pass that one lucky student could use for several weeks. Finally, one of the most vocalized topics in these discussions was costliness of food and beverages at athletic events. Participants suggested that students could be rewarded for going to

9 9 smaller athletic events by receiving coupons for concession discounts at more populated events, like football and basketball games. They also suggested having restaurant promotions within walking distance, such as Moe s or other restaurants downtown, instead of having deals with venues like Taco Bell and Bojangles that require people to drive. Second Survey This section summarizes the results and findings from the second survey distributed to a sample of the Clemson student body. A complete breakdown of this survey s results is available in Appendix A. After reviewing the comments and suggestions that the participants made in the focus groups, the team constructed a word document with three headings and grouped the suggestions from the focus groups into those headings. The three main areas of focus were: how to best inform students of athletic events, how to get students to the games, and how to keep students at the games. The questions were developed in a way that would allow the students to choose what they found to be best option. The questions were specific, listing many of the recommendations that were given in the focus groups to see if a greater population of students agreed with those recommendations. The second survey boasted 423 participants, of which 54.7% were females and 45.3% were males. Over 70% of the students polled were upperclassmen. This survey presented ideas that were suggested through the first survey and the focus groups. First, participants were asked to identify the best way to inform the student body about athletic events. About 67% of students chose a weekly with a summary of all events, rather than individual s for each sport. Figure 2 outlines the other choices and their response counts. Figure 2

10 10 The next question was focused on keeping students at athletic events longer, so the survey proposed three halftime entertainment options for various sports and asked students whether they would like to see this event or whether it did not matter to them. About 75% of the respondents said that they would like to see a dizzy bat contest at baseball games. Similarly, 62% would like to see a contest where a student can shoot a penalty kick against the tiger during halftime of soccer games. Finally, 168 students responded that they would like to see a 5-v-5 pick-up basketball game during halftime of women s basketball games. The final question asked students to indicate whether they would find certain services or promotions appealing, or whether the listed options would not affect their decision to attend the games at all. From this, 85% of students replied that discounted food options or coupons are important to them. It is recognized that this may not be entirely in the realm of the athletic department s control, so the survey also asked about several other promotions. About 75% of the students prefer giveaways, such as scarves and t-shirts, which are given to the first number of attendees to arrive at athletic events. Several focus group participants expressed that this type of promotion is more influential than giveaways during the games (whether the items are t-shirt tosses or bigger items, like an ipad), because students know that they can earn the item based on their own decisions and actions rather than having a random chance of winning. Nearly 65% of respondents would like CatBus routes or shuttles on game days. More specifically, students mentioned wanting rides to parking lots during football games and the horseshoe for basketball and baseball games. Finally, 224 participants responded that they would like the two student sections for basketball to be combined.

11 11 Secondary Research This section summarizes the findings of research conducted as a means of evaluating what tactics other universities athletic departments use to raise student awareness of athletic events, promote students to attend, and keep students at the events for the whole time. Universities selected for this research were based on similarities in size, conference, as well as athletic reputation and prestige. The three schools evaluated in comparison to Clemson were University of Georgia, Virginia Tech, and Auburn. Georgia Georgia uses a weekly to inform students of all the athletic events going on during that week. They also use signs on campus and athletic websites to provide information about the events. One interesting way that UGA raises awareness about athletic events involves the athletes wearing a neon-colored shirt during class and throughout the day on game days. This approach is designed not only to let the students know that a particular sport has a game that day, but also to spark conversation and encourage interaction between the students and athletes in order to further increase attendance. Georgia also gives away free t-shirts, shooter sleeves, and other UGA athletic apparel to students in attendance. Virginia Tech Virginia Tech traditions are a huge part of student participation at the games, and they also help keep students at the game for the entire time. Two important traditions include: enter sandman, where the fans jump up and down while Metallica plays and the football team enters the stadium, and shaking the keys, where fans and students jingle their keys on third downs for the opposing team. Another activity is the team walk, which takes place before the game. About two hours before a football game begins, the players, coaches, dance team and cheerleaders walk to the stadium outside the athletic complex. This is very similar to Clemson s Tiger Walk. One final tradition incorporates participation of students and fans in The Hokey Pokey at the end of every third quarter. This allows for the crowd to get involved by dancing along to the song. Virginia Tech also uses numerous promotions for its athletic events including halftime shows, knit hats, croakies, and key chains. Auburn A few big traditions at Auburn are the Tiger walk and Toomer s Corner. The Tiger walk allows fans to line the streets to cheer on the tigers as they walk from Sewell Hall to Jordan-Hare Stadium. Toomer s Corner involves toilet-papering two trees whenever there is a cause for celebration. Another tradition, Tiger Nights, \takes place every Homecoming weekend on the night before the football game, and it features inflatable games, concerts, a free midnight breakfast at the student union, and interactive games.

12 12 Recommendations Based on the preceding information, the following recommendations will help the Clemson Athletic Department to effectively reach the student body, to inform them about athletic events, and to convince them to attend for the duration of the events. The overall objective of these recommendations is to increase student attendance at Clemson University Athletic events. Provide the student body with one weekly , which summarizes all upcoming athletic events and includes promotions and giveaways at each event Stamp student tickets of those who attend the entirety of any one athletic event, which may be used as a coupon for food or beverages at the next athletic event (or to be used with promotional sponsors and restaurant partners if the former is not possible) Give away free prizes to a specific number of students who arrive at games early or stay until the end Implement a raffle at athletic events for a free, temporary carpool parking pass to be given out to one student Implement halftime attractions at athletic events such as: o Dizzy bat between mascot and chosen student after Baseball innings o Kick a penalty shot against the tiger at halftime of Soccer games o 5-v-5 basketball game at the halftime of Women s Basketball games Discussion The most popular recommendation, which was also found to be the most beneficial and effective, was to send weekly s to students that summarize all athletic sporting events for the upcoming week, in addition to adding more signs across campus. Sending this weekly and adding more signs will increase awareness by reaching the entire student body and could potentially result in greater interest towards and attendance at all athletic events hosted by the Clemson Athletic Department. This will be sent out at the beginning of the week with details about each sporting event, including the date, time, location, and opponent. Each event will also be advertised with signs around campus at least one week in advance. This method of increasing student awareness will inexpensive to the athletic department and will have a high impact on increasing student awareness. Next, stamping student tickets of those who remain for the entirety of a game and using them for future promotions would encourage students to stay at athletic events for their duration and to attend less populated sporting events. During football games, gate workers already stamp the hands of fans who exit. Therefore, this would not require any extra time, money or personnel. The idea is that instead of stamping hands during the fourth quarter, the workers would begin stamping tickets. These stamps would be required in order for fans to redeem food promotions with restaurant sponsors, such as Taco Bell. Furthermore, students have indicated a very strong

13 13 interest in obtaining food discounts at sporting events, so these stamped tickets could ideally be used as a coupon at future Clemson athletic events. Another popular recommendation was the institution of pregame and postgame giveaways at each sporting event. The pregame giveaways will increase student attendance and motivate them to come to the game, while the postgame giveaways will keep students at the event until the end. The postgame giveaways will be of higher value than pregame giveaways in order to maintain attendance throughout the event. Pregame giveaways will be distributed to a fixed number of students on a first come, first serve basis. Some examples include but are not limited to: food coupons, scarves, towels, and water (especially before hot, outdoor games). Postgame giveaways would be given away to a very limited number of students depending on the magnitude of the giveaway. The most popular postgame giveaway was determined to be carpool parking-pass orchestrated through Clemson Parking Services. A member of the research group has already spoken with a Parking Services representative and confirmed that this is feasible and free, so this option would require minimal effort on the part of the athletic department. Some other postgame giveaways include: ipads, ipods, local restaurant or grocery store gift cards, and tickets to various events hosted by CLEMSONLiVE. Most of these options would require budgeting from the athletic department, but the fact that 75% of students surveyed indicated that promotions of this type would influence them to attend more events suggests that there would be a high return on this investment. Lastly, new halftime shows that emphasize student involvement would help to keep students at events. Having a halftime show that gets the student body involved and encourages them to participate will help to keep people at the game during halftime. For example, the athletic department could put on a dizzy bat competition with students during the 7 th inning stretch at baseball games. At the soccer games, a penalty kick shootout would take place during halftime with participants from the crowd. Another idea was to have a 5-versus-5, student basketball game at women s basketball games, or a game of knockout among students at men s basketball games. These activities are all free and relatively easy to implement. Furthermore, these proposals all received significant support from surveyed students, as detailed in the Primary Research section of this report. Conclusion In sum, the conducted surveys, focus groups, and research indicate that simple, inexpensive implementations can be made in order to increase student attendance at home Clemson athletic events. Based upon the information collected, these recommendations will increase student awareness, presence, and participation, while keeping the students engaged in the university s athletics. If correctly implemented, these recommendations will make certain that students interest is maintained, and students will continue to be a major force cheering on the Clemson Tigers for years to come.

14 14 Appendix A First Survey Questions and Data What is your academic class? Response Response Percent Count Freshman 4.7% 15 Sophomore 21.7% 69 Junior 49.4% 157 Senior 24.2% 77 answered question 318 skipped question 0 What is your gender? Response Response Percent Count Female 60.4% 192 Male 39.6% 126 answered question 318 skipped question 0 Where do you live? Response Response Percent Count On campus - campus housing 31.8% 101 Near campus - (i.e. downtown Clemson) 13.2% 42 Off campus 55.0% 175 answered question 318 skipped question 0 How often do you attend home games for: Always Often Sometimes Rarely Response Attend Attend Attend Attend Count Football Baseball Men's Basketball Women's Basketball Men's Soccer Other Sports (Please specify which "Other Sports" you attend, if any) 61

15 15 answered question 302 skipped question 16 How aware are you of games for the following sports? Always Often Sometimes Rarely Response Aware Aware Aware Aware Count Football Baseball Men's Basketball Women's Basketball Men's Soccer How do you hear about these events ( , signs on campus, etc.)? 220 answered question 302 skipped question 16 How do you usually obtain your tickets for athletic events? Response Response Percent Count Regular Student Distribution 56% 54 IPTAY Collegiate Club 61% 60 Student organization block tickets 176% 180 Family/Friends 6% 6 Other (please specify) 7 answered question 300 skipped question 18 How often do the following influence your decision to attend (or not attend) home athletic events for football, baseball, basketball, or soccer? (Check all that apply) Often Sometimes Rarely Opponent Clemson's ranking/record School Pride Academic Priorities Interest (or lack of interest) in the sport Parking Travel Weather Access to student tickets Other (please specify) 10 answered question 301 skipped question 17 Response Count

16 16 How often do you leave these events early? Often Leave Early Sometimes Leave Early Rarely Leave Early Do Not Attend Football Baseball Men's Basketball Women's Basketball Men's Soccer Please specify why you typically leave early, if applicable 142 answered question 301 skipped question 17 Response Count Focus Group Data Master calendar on Clemson website, signs around campus and in major buildings Basketball games combine student sections, even if it s in the corner Electronic tickets 2 nd half promotions Tradition at the end of the game to keep students (like the rock/running down hill) Team advertising for games out on library bridge similar to what Volleyball team does smaller sports need to be more visible on campus IPTAY rewards are too unrealistic make them more obtainable Half-time at women s basketball game 5 vs. 5 quick game on the court, get to play in Littlejohn, would have to sign in the 5 people before the game starts Campus with weekly breakdown of all sports, not thousands of different s--just schedule (game & time); NO advertisements Put schedule of games on Clemson.edu website Be early incentive make it be first 500 there and you could get it, make it more obtainable Having food promotions within walking distances like Moe s so no driving drunk If they do send want to know how competitive team is, know team stats in the At soccer games half-time get to kick a penalty kick with the tiger (Basketball distribution reserve extra tickets for people who really want to go and are willing to camp out) If you go to obscure sports get a coupon/reward that you can use at football games in concession stands Tiered block seating o Each organization has a block split into two sections w/ people attending more games (seniority/priority) in the better seated section & people not attending as much in the worse seated section o Cap on block seating

17 17 Baseball games get student section more involved in the games besides just the 7 th inning stretch since they are far out If you show student ID, get discount on concessions FOOD AND DRINK need to be cheaper If you go to game, you get a voucher for the next game. Vouchers are given out in second half of game Ticket is stamped when you leave at the end of the game (instead of hand stamp) must have ticket stamped to get promotional offers (like Taco Bell) encourages students to stay the whole time Need to put a time on the boards on library bridge advertising games Electronic message board (library, in front of Littlejohn) Need more advertising for basketball distribution Offering free ipad instead offer paw points for TigerStripe Offering parking spot Free scarves from soccer games Second Survey Questions and Data What is your academic class? Response Response Percent Count Freshman 8.7% 40 Sophomore 20.6% 95 Junior 39.3% 181 Senior 31.5% 145 answered question 461 skipped question 0 What is your gender? Response Response Percent Count Female 54.7% 252 Male 45.3% 209 answered question 461 skipped question 0 What is the best way to inform you about athletic events? (pick 1 or 2) Response Response Percent Count Master Calendar on Clemson website 24.8% 105 Signs around campus (library, bus stops, dining halls, etc.) 42.6% 180

18 18 Schedule on TV screens in dining halls and academic buildings 15.4% 65 Summary of events on Blackboard 9.2% 39 Weekly with summary of all events 66.7% 282 I do not attend athletic events 2.1% 9 Other (please specify) 17 answered question 423 skipped question 38 Would you like to see student involvement at half time of athletic events? Doesn't matter to me Would like to see Kick a PK against the tiger at soccer games Play 5 v. 5 pick-up games in Littlejohn at women's basketball games Dizzy bat contests at baseball games answered question 426 skipped question 35 How much would the following influence you to attend events? Doesn't matter to me Would like to see Gameday Catbus routes or shuttles to horseshoe, parking lots, etc Giveaways to early guests (ex. first 100 students get a t-shirt) Coupons for discounted food Combining the two student sections for basketball games answered question 426 skipped question 35 Response Count Response Count

19 19 Appendix B References "Auburn Tigers - Auburn University Official Athletic Site - Marketing and Promotions." Auburn Official Athletic Site. Web. 01 Dec < Dinich, Heather. "ACC's Best Game-day Traditions: Virginia Tech - ACC Blog - ESPN." ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports. 26 Feb Web. 01 Dec < "Georgia Traditions." University of Georgia Athletics. Web. 06 Dec < Mosley, Quenton. "Auburn Football: The Traditions We Cherish Bleacher Report." Bleacher Report Entertaining Sports News, Photos and Slideshows. 21 June Web. 01 Dec < "Traditions of AU." Office of Communications and Marketing - Auburn University. Web. 01 Dec < "Virginia Tech Athletic Events and Promotions." Virginia Tech Athletics. Web. 02 Dec <