Student attendence at Football games

[108498]

I pay for sioux extra every year. I see the attendence as well on screen. You want to see a empty invirment go to northern col game. The sioux get the fans. Hard hearted fans as you say. Only problem is they are to worried about their beer and pride to stand and cheer throught the games.

[Siouxperfan7]

Here's a great idea to increase attendence at football games. Every home game, give a "free tuition for a semester" prize to students. Must be present to win and give it away at the end of the 3rd quarter. That way the students that come to the game wouldn't leave at halftime. If you were a student at the game, why would you leave?!!! They have done it before at women's hockey I think and that increased the attendance for that game. UND Athletic department pulls in enough money to be able to support that.

[JohnboyND7]

Here's a great idea to increase attendence at football games. Every home game, give a "free tuition for a semester" prize to students. Must be present to win and give it away at the end of the 3rd quarter. That way the students that come to the game wouldn't leave at halftime. If you were a student at the game, why would you leave?!!! They have done it before at women's hockey I think and that increased the attendance for that game. UND Athletic department pulls in enough money to be able to support that.

That is a really good idea. Would only cost the school around...$25,000 for the year? And increase attendence...well worth a try.

[dakotadan]

UND has done this with most sports. It is really a big draw for the students. But I say don't give it away until after the game is over.

[Irish]

No idea what thats about, but I know for certain that there are no student tickets left when you log in the green and white account to buy some.

Strange - every game I have been at there are many empty seats around the band - as many as 4 or 5 rows

Can anybody close to the athletic dept. check to see what is going on?

[UNDColorado]

Strange - every game I have been at there are many empty seats around the band - as many as 4 or 5 rows

Can anybody close to the athletic dept. check to see what is going on?

It could be that the students do have the tickets but don't make it to the game for one reason or another (beer). I missed a few games back in the day because the party was too fun to leave. Not a good excuse at all but I would bet on that as a major contributor to lower than average attendance.

The semester tuition for football is a great idea!

[goyotes]

Student attendance is a problem at pretty much all colleges - no matter the level of play. South Dakota tried the free tuition drawing at the end of the 3rd quarter for a couple of years and it kept a few more students in the bleachers, but resulted in a stampede to the exits as soon as the drawing was done. I think bribing students to stay at the game probably does more harm than good as it cheapens the product.

In my opinion, you need to do all you can to turn the game into an event. Always more fun to attend a game when the venue is filled to capacity and the crowd is fully engaged. Putting a winning team on the field helps. Playing rivalry games helps, especially rivals with fans who travel well.

You also need to incorporate other traditions that keep the students and all fans around such as "jump dance" at Wisconsin between the 3rd & 4th quarters or the "Interlude dance" at UNI basketball games.

[Cratter]

You also need to incorporate other traditions that keep the students and all fans around such as "jump dance" at Wisconsin between the 3rd & 4th quarters

UW "Jump Around"

[siouxforeverbaby]

UW "Jump Around"

Dear God, NO!!!! As much as I appreciate how into that the UW students are....that is pretty much all that they are into....their choreography.

[PhillySioux]

Dear God, NO!!!! As much as I appreciate how into that the UW students are....that is pretty much all that they are into....their choreography.

Dont forget F-Bombs.

[IrishSiouxFan]

It's not fair to compare the enthusiasm of the Wisconsin student section in football to UND. They play in one of the best football conferences in the country and they do so in a stadium that is rich in tradition and culture. The Alerus Center will never be able to create an authentic UND game day experience because it doesn't look or feel like UND. I'm not blaming the Alerus for the poor student turn outs but it is a part of the problem. The Alerus sends off this vibe that says "this is where mediocre football is played", where as the Ralph says "this is one of the finest hockey facilities in the world for one of the finest hockey programs in the country because UND is worth it, be proud of your school!". I think the the Big Sky will do a lot in terms of selling more tickets to games, but students aren't interested because we don't play in an FBS league on national television.

[Irish]

UW "Jump Around"

When's the last time an NAIA school went to their stadium and gave them a beat down?

[Siouxperfan7]

It's not fair to compare the enthusiasm of the Wisconsin student section in football to UND. They play in one of the best football conferences in the country and they do so in a stadium that is rich in tradition and culture. The Alerus Center will never be able to create an authentic UND game day experience because it doesn't look or feel like UND. I'm not blaming the Alerus for the poor student turn outs but it is a part of the problem. The Alerus sends off this vibe that says "this is where mediocre football is played", where as the Ralph says "this is one of the finest hockey facilities in the world for one of the finest hockey programs in the country because UND is worth it, be proud of your school!". I think the the Big Sky will do a lot in terms of selling more tickets to games, but students aren't interested because we don't play in an FBS league on national television.

Did you ever go to games in the Alerus from 2001 to about 2006? The place was packed. 11,000 plus. Students packed to the upper level. Students standing the entire game yelling at the top of their lungs every time the other team had the ball causing countless false start penalties. It was a great atmosphere for football. Obviously nothing like Wisconsin but still great. It was a place to watch great football played by a school with a rich tradition. Students have been interested for years. Because it is their school, their team. Trust me...I was there for those games and the atmosphere was great. Better that the new Ralph at the time. Yes, that's right. The atmosphere in the Alerus was better than the Ralph when they first opened. I have seen what type of atmosphere the Alerus was and I know that it can return to that. We just need fans to get interested in the team again. To be interested in football. And that starts with the students. The heart and soul of the fan base. These are your classmates, your friends playing. UND football will return to greatness again. We all need to support them and go to the games.

[fightingsioux4life]

Did you ever go to games in the Alerus from 2001 to about 2006? The place was packed. 11,000 plus. Students packed to the upper level. Students standing the entire game yelling at the top of their lungs every time the other team had the ball causing countless false start penalties. It was a great atmosphere for football. Obviously nothing like Wisconsin but still great. It was a place to watch great football played by a school with a rich tradition. Students have been interested for years. Because it is their school, their team. Trust me...I was there for those games and the atmosphere was great. Better that the new Ralph at the time. Yes, that's right. The atmosphere in the Alerus was better than the Ralph when they first opened. I have seen what type of atmosphere the Alerus was and I know that it can return to that. We just need fans to get interested in the team again. To be interested in football. And that starts with the students. The heart and soul of the fan base. These are your classmates, your friends playing. UND football will return to greatness again. We all need to support them and go to the games.

The move to Division I and the corresponding decrease in the quality of home games (Sioux Falls, Black Hills State) has lead to a decrease in interest in the program. The move to the Big Sky Conference (assuming the ND Legislature does what it needs to do next week) will breathe life into this program.

[Irish]

It's halftime of the Sioux Falls game - anyone still wonder why the students aren't fired up?

[iramurphy]

UND students who attended game were good and stayed and made noise. UND student body as a group is pathetic. Poor turnouts at FB, weak turnout at VB. Hockey turnout by students this year less than in the past. UND band does a great job for FB and hockey but the students really can make a great atmosphere. The students can give us a home field advantage at the Alerus. I wonder if they are all over at the Phi Delt house smoking dope? Faison will need to communicate with Student Govt. and the Greek organizations to see if he can get some support. (tell the Phi Delts to meet at your office though). Does the UND Student Body President do anything to help? How about the Greek Council? Might want to meet with them this winter to see if we can't get something started for BB this winter and get the momentum going for this fall. UND needs to be planning ahead for possible move to FBS down the road and we need the students to be able to do it.

[UNDColorado]

The student support is a joke; plain and simple! What burns me is the students seem to have the "we have better things to do" mentality, but I know from experience that there really is not. Even if the excuse is that they are partying, the game was at one; you cant tell me that you are drinking from noon to 2 AM on a regular basis.

It just boggles me that no students are showing up. Last Saturday I went to Arizona at Colorado and those students showed up in full force to support a 1-8 team at the time. They were loud and proud and CU pulled it out. In Boulder there are a ton of things to do at any given time and they still showed up.

There is no excuse for UND students not to show up. They are pathetic right now.

[Feff]

In some defense of the students, there were a lot of people that didn't show up this last game and throughout this year. With that said, yeah, the student section sucked and continues to suck for just about every sport besides hockey (of which it is still down a little from last year). There was a Great West championship being played for volleyball and I saw hardly any students. There was a women's hockey game following that, again barely any students (hell, barely any fans). Today at the women's basketball game I would be surprised if there was even 20 students there total (excluding the band but hey, maybe including them). Something has to be done and it starts with active student organizations trying to make these events that students WANT to go to. Whether they are lazy or just apathetic, it is disappointing to see.

[PhillySioux]

In some defense of the students, there were a lot of people that didn't show up this last game and throughout this year. With that said, yeah, the student section sucked and continues to suck for just about every sport besides hockey (of which it is still down a little from last year). There was a Great West championship being played for volleyball and I saw hardly any students. There was a women's hockey game following that, again barely any students (hell, barely any fans). Today at the women's basketball game I would be surprised if there was even 20 students there total (excluding the band but hey, maybe including them). Something has to be done and it starts with active student organizations trying to make these events that students WANT to go to. Whether they are lazy or just apathetic, it is disappointing to see.

Works at other schools.

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