Is this really going to add revenue or just cause more season ticket holders to non-renew? I would imagine quite a few long time fans are on the brink of calling it quits.
That's a calculation they'll have to live with. Sports tickets are fairly inelastic though.Is this really going to add revenue or just cause more season ticket holders to non-renew? I would imagine quite a few long time fans are on the brink of calling it quits.
You’re in the minority. Paint whatever colorful picture you want— we run a Micky Mouse operation. We’re on the short list of NIL disasters. The time to raise premiums was years ago in order to get out in front of this thing. Now they decided to wake up from their naps and send a ridiculous email at a ridiculous time to notify us that they are raising prices amidst the biggest failure of a season in the history of our program. We are nothing short of a train wreck.I can’t understand why there is so much negativity. There are 100 different ways the school could have handled the announcement and I guarantee someone here would have found a way to complain about it. Whether they made the announcement now, after the UCONN game, offered a signed basketball, or a free dinner with Coach Sha it doesn’t change the bottom line which is we need money to compete and like every school in America part of it has to come from the fan base. Period. A lot of schools are increasing their ticket sales to pay players so why shouldn’t we. You would think after this season people would be on board to do whatever we can to not have a repeat but all I have seen is complaint after complaint about how an email was sent. We don’t even know the amount yet. It may not even be all that much but if everyone buys in it may make a difference. We complain more than any other fanbase in regards to NIL. You really don’t see as much complaining on other boards.
If you can afford it great but if you can’t understandable but we don’t need more negativity.
I think sending the warning email will cause more people to think about it and bolt. If I was SHU, I would wait to do ticket renewals as late as possible this offseason, preferably after the program gets some good/positive news. I think raising it after this terrible season is bad move in general, but if you need to raise it, just put it in renewal packet with higher rate and maybe explanation in letter at that time. Maybe in the summer there will be less sting from this season, and hope of a new season.You’re in the minority. Paint whatever colorful picture you want— we run a Micky Mouse operation. We’re on the short list of NIL disasters. The time to raise premiums was years ago in order to get out in front of this thing. Now they decided to wake up from their naps and send a ridiculous email at a ridiculous time to notify us that they are raising prices amidst the biggest failure of a season in the history of our program. We are nothing short of a train wreck.
Doing it now will let them know how much additional revenue this will generate.I think sending the warning email will cause more people to think about it and bolt. If I was SHU, I would wait to do ticket renewals as late as possible this offseason, preferably after the program gets some good/positive news. I think raising it after this terrible season is bad move in general, but if you need to raise it, just put it in renewal packet with higher rate and maybe explanation in letter at that time. Maybe in the summer there will be less sting from this season, and hope of a new season.
Not true. Season ticket money is not due now, usually do not have to commit until mid summer at the earliest if renewing. Pirate Blue payments do not count for next season until new fiscal year.Doing it now will let them know how much additional revenue this will generate.
It sucks but it's what college athletics has become.
Good point but I still think info will flow as to non-renewals etc.Not true. Season ticket money is not due now, usually do not have to commit until mid summer at the earliest if renewing. Pirate Blue payments do not count for next season until new fiscal year.
The best time to do this would have been last year after winning the NIT.You’re in the minority. Paint whatever colorful picture you want— we run a Micky Mouse operation. We’re on the short list of NIL disasters. The time to raise premiums was years ago in order to get out in front of this thing. Now they decided to wake up from their naps and send a ridiculous email at a ridiculous time to notify us that they are raising prices amidst the biggest failure of a season in the history of our program. We are nothing short of a train wreck.
Not really as at that time revenue sharing wasn’t legal yet.The best time to do this would have been last year after winning the NIT.
Not really as at that time revenue sharing wasn’t legal yet.p
Bingo. If everyone is going to complain at least understand the facts. Revenue sharing wasn’t even allowed last year so there would have been no point in raising ticket prices as it was not legal to pay directly to athletesThe best time to do this would have been last year after winning the NIT.
If you've only been a ticket holder for just over 10 years, you've seen one of the better eras of SHU basketball. This one year is nothing compared to the decade of futility from 2006.As a loyal season ticket holder of over a decade who sat through most of the horrible games this season (as well as through some mediocre seasons past, as well as a few good ones) . . . You can't be serious. This might be "doing something" but it's something dumb that isn't going to make much of a marginal dent in the problem. So what's the plan -- we're going to keep hiking prices until it's like going to a Yankee or Nets or Knicks game, where you can't afford to bring your kids or grandkids anymore, and forget about being a season ticket holder unless you're super rich or corporate? That level of price hike is the only thing that might make some difference, but it ain't gonna happen because people with that kind of price elasticity for sports tickets in the NY-north NJ market have plenty of other things to spend on.
Come on, Pat. Holding your breath and being angry at a way to raise NIL funds is counterproductive to the results you want.Understood. But supply and demand and leverage are also things when it comes to business and the price of goods.
Right now Seton Hall basketball has no leverage and probably not much demand for them to be increasing prices on tickets.
They had to know or had to see it coming though. Of course these are the same people who think our NIL situation is fantastic so there’s also that.Bingo. If everyone is going to complain at least understand the facts. Revenue sharing wasn’t even allowed last year so there would have been no point in raising ticket prices as it was not legal to pay directly to athletes
None of them think it's fantastic. They are relying on donations from a fanbase that has always had mothballs in their wallets, aside from a few. When they do something to raise revenue -- and make no mistake, it's not about anything but money anymore -- more complaining.They had to know or had to see it coming though. Of course these are the same people who think our NIL situation is fantastic so there’s also that.
What is seeing the roster going to tell you? Look at RU. If I told you we had 2 top 5 draft picks most would be talking final 4. Go back and read the board about our good gets late. Nobody said we’re going to be brutal. People dive head first into the overhype every damn year and it’s even worse when it’s with a coach they love. I think the responses to the gonzo and Sha years are very similar in that people get excited over nothings. And similar people always found the negative in Orr and Willard years. So considering we’re in the Sha hype zone I expect the overhype no matter who we bring in. You might as well just renewThey increased prices last season and did it in April. They scammed me then, so I am not doing shit until I see the roster this year. It is what it is.
And if Felt personally called me I would tell him this.
I can’t understand why there is so much negativity. There are 100 different ways the school could have handled the announcement and I guarantee someone here would have found a way to complain about it. Whether they made the announcement now, after the UCONN game, offered a signed basketball, or a free dinner with Coach Sha it doesn’t change the bottom line which is we need money to compete and like every school in America part of it has to come from the fan base. Period. A lot of schools are increasing their ticket sales to pay players so why shouldn’t we. You would think after this season people would be on board to do whatever we can to not have a repeat but all I have seen is complaint after complaint about how an email was sent. We don’t even know the amount yet. It may not even be all that much but if everyone buys in it may make a difference. We complain more than any other fanbase in regards to NIL. You really don’t see as much complaining on other boards.
If you can afford it great but if you can’t understandable but we don’t need more negativity.
I understand what you're saying, but why should folks just be expected/shamed/coerced into constantly giving a free pass to the Athletic Department and University for lacking creativity, offering no value, etc? It's clear they are the ones shrugging their shoulders but that doesn't mean we have to.
If they want money, give us a reason to provide it to them. Once again, as they always do, they just stick their left hand out with nothing to offer in the right. In this case, they actually reach into our wallet as I can't have my season ticket unless I pay for the latest cry for help. People of this board, myself included, have offered suggestions and provided examples for months and, in some cases, years on things that could be offered to provide actual value to the fanbase. In many cases, those things cost very little or even $0. But alas, those in the position to effect said changes are either too incompetent, too uninspired, or too hamstrung to either entertain these ideas or come up with some more satisfactory ones of their own.
You know why we complain more than any other fanbase in regards to NIL (which I don't believe, by the way)? It's for the same reasons that have been mentioned above and throughout this thread - look at what this fanbase gets in return for their Pirate Blue donations and NIL donations - it's been embarassingly poor compared to all of those schools.
You reap what you sow.
Ticket, media rights and sponsorship revenues are the revenues allowed to be used to pay the players so it does make sense. Pirate Blue contributions/revenues still cannot be used to pay NIL or players directly under House v. NCAA is that correct?If you want to revenue share to pay the players, you need to generate revenue. This is one way and could be clearly seen coming.
That is not correct, Pirate Blue donations have always been a part of school athletic revenues and not considered a collective.Ticket, media rights and sponsorship revenues are the revenues allowed to be used to pay the players so it does make sense. Pirate Blue contributions/revenues still cannot be used to pay NIL or players directly under House v. NCAA is that correct?
If you want to revenue share to pay the players, you need to generate revenue. This is one way and could be clearly seen coming.
Precisely, I don't understand how someone would've expected anything other than this as one of the levers needing to be pulled.
Yup, both ticket price increase and seat donation increase for my seats.Season ticket renewal emails in your email box now!
What are other fanbases getting? I honestly don't know.
I do know that a hell of a nice watch was offered at a good price (granted, more than I've ever paid for a watch), so I sent the $400 and got it back when not enough people responded to this creative attempt at providing value for the NIL. But please keep blaming the administration for all of it. I believe that John and Jamie (correct me if I'm wrong) had to help prop up the campaign for "The Hall" hats, too.
Name one thing that’s been positive about SH & NIL. There isn’t anything. Thus the negativity.I can’t understand why there is so much negativity. There are 100 different ways the school could have handled the announcement and I guarantee someone here would have found a way to complain about it. Whether they made the announcement now, after the UCONN game, offered a signed basketball, or a free dinner with Coach Sha it doesn’t change the bottom line which is we need money to compete and like every school in America part of it has to come from the fan base. Period. A lot of schools are increasing their ticket sales to pay players so why shouldn’t we. You would think after this season people would be on board to do whatever we can to not have a repeat but all I have seen is complaint after complaint about how an email was sent. We don’t even know the amount yet. It may not even be all that much but if everyone buys in it may make a difference. We complain more than any other fanbase in regards to NIL. You really don’t see as much complaining on other boards.
If you can afford it great but if you can’t understandable but we don’t need more negativity.
I will keep blaming the administration for it, actually. They are the ones selling the product, and we are the customers. Businesses that blame the customer don't last very long and never have. Some customers are certainly easier to sell to than others, and I will readily admit that this customer base is a difficult one for many reasons, but it's the job of the business to figure out what they need to do to close the sale.
You're talking about a $400 watch and a $100 hat. They were nice items, very nice actually. But peddling random merchandise on an infrequent basis, even if deemed a successful campaign, isn't going to put a dent in the deficit that this administration put us in as a result of years of indifference and low effort. In those cases, they weren't successful campaigns.
How well does a $400 watch resonate to a family of 4? Or a $100 golf hat to a recent female alum? Probably not very well, and the results are indicative of that. But you know what might resonate well?
1. Meet and Greets.
2. Watching practice.
3. Shooting ball with the players.
4.Getting quarterly tours of the facility and campus.
5. Having pregame events that don't require me to also spend $60 so I can get a few beer tickets that are worthless to my 5 year old.
6. Having former players available for photo opps on the concourse throughout the season.
7. Why can't I buy a signed basketball, jersey, or team poster? These used to be easy to get, now they are impossible.
There's a reason why I bought a brick for the practice facility right away - it was something that made me feel connected to the program. They should (and I hope they did) put that entire facility up for naming recognition. Each locker, each room, etc should all be up for grabs for naming.
It doesn't need to get complicated, but you need to do more than what we are doing. Go look at Maryland's NIL membership. It's a very simple tiered subscription plan with very clear, very tangible, and very appealing benefits. No ambiguity. No veiled promises of things in the future. It's all right there, easy for someone to understand what they are getting in return.
Instead, defenders of our situation just expect people to continue treating this like it's some kind of charity endeavor, when it's become the furthest thing from. Meanwhile, just about everything I mentioned above has extremely little, if any, monetary outlay. But our program needs to commit to doing them, and make it clear what it takes to participate in or receive them.
I will keep blaming the administration for it, actually. They are the ones selling the product, and we are the customers. Businesses that blame the customer don't last very long and never have. Some customers are certainly easier to sell to than others, and I will readily admit that this customer base is a difficult one for many reasons, but it's the job of the business to figure out what they need to do to close the sale.
You're talking about a $400 watch and a $100 hat. They were nice items, very nice actually. But peddling random merchandise on an infrequent basis, even if deemed a successful campaign, isn't going to put a dent in the deficit that this administration put us in as a result of years of indifference and low effort. In those cases, they weren't successful campaigns.
How well does a $400 watch resonate to a family of 4? Or a $100 golf hat to a recent female alum? Probably not very well, and the results are indicative of that. But you know what might resonate well?
1. Meet and Greets.
2. Watching practice.
3. Shooting ball with the players.
4.Getting quarterly tours of the facility and campus.
5. Having pregame events that don't require me to also spend $60 so I can get a few beer tickets that are worthless to my 5 year old.
6. Having former players available for photo opps on the concourse throughout the season.
7. Why can't I buy a signed basketball, jersey, or team poster? These used to be easy to get, now they are impossible.
There's a reason why I bought a brick for the practice facility right away - it was something that made me feel connected to the program. They should (and I hope they did) put that entire facility up for naming recognition. Each locker, each room, etc should all be up for grabs for naming.
It doesn't need to get complicated, but you need to do more than what we are doing. Go look at Maryland's NIL membership. It's a very simple tiered subscription plan with very clear, very tangible, and very appealing benefits. No ambiguity. No veiled promises of things in the future. It's all right there, easy for someone to understand what they are getting in return.
Instead, defenders of our situation just expect people to continue treating this like it's some kind of charity endeavor, when it's become the furthest thing from. Meanwhile, just about everything I mentioned above has extremely little, if any, monetary outlay. But our program needs to commit to doing them, and make it clear what it takes to participate in or receive them.
I will keep blaming the administration for it, actually. They are the ones selling the product, and we are the customers. Businesses that blame the customer don't last very long and never have. Some customers are certainly easier to sell to than others, and I will readily admit that this customer base is a difficult one for many reasons, but it's the job of the business to figure out what they need to do to close the sale.
You're talking about a $400 watch and a $100 hat. They were nice items, very nice actually. But peddling random merchandise on an infrequent basis, even if deemed a successful campaign, isn't going to put a dent in the deficit that this administration put us in as a result of years of indifference and low effort. In those cases, they weren't successful campaigns.
How well does a $400 watch resonate to a family of 4? Or a $100 golf hat to a recent female alum? Probably not very well, and the results are indicative of that. But you know what might resonate well?
1. Meet and Greets.
2. Watching practice.
3. Shooting ball with the players.
4.Getting quarterly tours of the facility and campus.
5. Having pregame events that don't require me to also spend $60 so I can get a few beer tickets that are worthless to my 5 year old.
6. Having former players available for photo opps on the concourse throughout the season.
7. Why can't I buy a signed basketball, jersey, or team poster? These used to be easy to get, now they are impossible.
There's a reason why I bought a brick for the practice facility right away - it was something that made me feel connected to the program. They should (and I hope they did) put that entire facility up for naming recognition. Each locker, each room, etc should all be up for grabs for naming.
It doesn't need to get complicated, but you need to do more than what we are doing. Go look at Maryland's NIL membership. It's a very simple tiered subscription plan with very clear, very tangible, and very appealing benefits. No ambiguity. No veiled promises of things in the future. It's all right there, easy for someone to understand what they are getting in return.
Instead, defenders of our situation just expect people to continue treating this like it's some kind of charity endeavor, when it's become the furthest thing from. Meanwhile, just about everything I mentioned above has extremely little, if any, monetary outlay. But our program needs to commit to doing them, and make it clear what it takes to participate in or receive them.
This is an excellent post, but the point is, there should have been enough people to make the $400 watch and $100 hat ideas a success. But there weren't. Our giving rate was under 10% for many years, and the same problem exists. The pregame gatherings have been very well done, too, for years -- your child not being of drinking age isn't a fair criticism of those. It's unlikely to hit on a promotion that is going to appeal to everyone, but the ones that SHOULD have appealed to the largely male population of this board -- with the most vocal critics -- did not.
That said, your ideas of what they should be doing have merit, and don't seem to require too much effort.
Great post.I will keep blaming the administration for it, actually. They are the ones selling the product, and we are the customers. Businesses that blame the customer don't last very long and never have. Some customers are certainly easier to sell to than others, and I will readily admit that this customer base is a difficult one for many reasons, but it's the job of the business to figure out what they need to do to close the sale.
You're talking about a $400 watch and a $100 hat. They were nice items, very nice actually. But peddling random merchandise on an infrequent basis, even if deemed a successful campaign, isn't going to put a dent in the deficit that this administration put us in as a result of years of indifference and low effort. In those cases, they weren't successful campaigns.
How well does a $400 watch resonate to a family of 4? Or a $100 golf hat to a recent female alum? Probably not very well, and the results are indicative of that. But you know what might resonate well?
1. Meet and Greets.
2. Watching practice.
3. Shooting ball with the players.
4.Getting quarterly tours of the facility and campus.
5. Having pregame events that don't require me to also spend $60 so I can get a few beer tickets that are worthless to my 5 year old.
6. Having former players available for photo opps on the concourse throughout the season.
7. Why can't I buy a signed basketball, jersey, or team poster? These used to be easy to get, now they are impossible.
There's a reason why I bought a brick for the practice facility right away - it was something that made me feel connected to the program. They should (and I hope they did) put that entire facility up for naming recognition. Each locker, each room, etc should all be up for grabs for naming.
It doesn't need to get complicated, but you need to do more than what we are doing. Go look at Maryland's NIL membership. It's a very simple tiered subscription plan with very clear, very tangible, and very appealing benefits. No ambiguity. No veiled promises of things in the future. It's all right there, easy for someone to understand what they are getting in return.
Instead, defenders of our situation just expect people to continue treating this like it's some kind of charity endeavor, when it's become the furthest thing from. Meanwhile, just about everything I mentioned above has extremely little, if any, monetary outlay. But our program needs to commit to doing them, and make it clear what it takes to participate in or receive them.
How many team signed basketballs could they have sold after last years NIT championship!? Sadly, we’ll never know! 😡I don't disagree. The reality is there should be enough people to make the $400 watch and $100 hat ideas work, and fact it didn't means to me that it either wasn't advertised well, or the audience they tried reaching with it is entirely disenfranchised at this point. Those were two creative ideas, probably the first ones in a long time. Unfortunately, it failed and now anytime anyone ever questions anything, it's going to be met with "we tried once, and it failed". We're going to have to try a lot more times, and get more creative, and work hard to fix this. So again, my chief complaint is that I don't believe the athletic department is truly invested in doing any of that. They have a history of half-assing an attempt at something periodically - if it works, we often never see it again. If it fails, it's used as a crutch for not attempting anything for years.
I listed 7 reasonable actions the University should be doing on an annual, semi-annual, quarterly, or routine basis. I'm sure myself and others here and out in the wild could think of dozens more. The great thing about ideas that don't cost much is, whether they attract 1,000 people or 30, you've made that many customers happy at virtually no expense. Me personally, I'd have tried setting up an NIL membership with all of these as perks before trying to peddle merchandise at premium prices.
For NIL to succeed, the people on this board are not the primary concern or target. We need to get he recent alums committed early at really affordable rates. We need families with kids choosing to get on board because there is a plethora of activities and entertainment that come with their commitments and their scarce disposable income. We need wealthy alums that we haven't hit yet, the ones who maybe aren't invested in basketball, to be given perks at the University that interest them. Not everything has to revolve around basketball. Maybe NIL memberships can unlock naming rights to other things on campus, free rentals of campus space for their private events, etc. We often discuss how the basketball program and athletics make or break the University, and yet all we ever talk about is perks, benefits, etc involving athletics.
I paid $750 for a brick because it meant something to my family. My son can grow up and hopefully see our name on the building and be excited and proud about that. $750 is a noticeable hit to my wallet and I felt that for a month or two. Conversely, I did not pay $400 for a watch because, although I really liked the watch, there was far less justification for me in spending that. We don't have the fanbase to be able to sustain ourselves on frivolity. We have to offer people something more. Experiences. Connection. Memories. People are more willing to pay for those.
How many team signed basketballs could they have sold after last years NIT championship!? Sadly, we’ll never know! 😡
The university seems to be afraid of success and hard work.I had a really nice 10 year or so stretch, enjoyed getting a signed poster at the Homecoming/University Weekend every year. Sometimes I'd win signed jerseys or basketballs from the Beefsteak dinners. I thought offering a signed NIT champions poster would have been inexpensive to produce and a slam dunk to sell and make quick cash on.
Even if logistically they couldn't get all the players...I'm sure something signed by Kadary, Al, and Dre would have sold equally as well. It's like they are allergic to easy money.
This is what I was told on the phone today but checked my account and it's $106 more than last year. I think I'm more pissed and really considering not renewing because of the incorrect information than the actual increase at this point. $30 I could swallow, the $106 seems like a huge slap in the face after the fact.Haha my donation went up $15 per ticket and $32 total for the pair for the price. I’ll be back for sure. Basically $2 a game per seat
Amen. I've proposed some of those ideas a few times over the last 3 years. All of them would cost almost nothing to produce but all are unique experiences/things that fans would be interested in. They aren't things that can be bought, so they are the types of exclusive benefits that should be made available for different giving levels. Encourage peopleI will keep blaming the administration for it, actually. They are the ones selling the product, and we are the customers. Businesses that blame the customer don't last very long and never have. Some customers are certainly easier to sell to than others, and I will readily admit that this customer base is a difficult one for many reasons, but it's the job of the business to figure out what they need to do to close the sale.
You're talking about a $400 watch and a $100 hat. They were nice items, very nice actually. But peddling random merchandise on an infrequent basis, even if deemed a successful campaign, isn't going to put a dent in the deficit that this administration put us in as a result of years of indifference and low effort. In those cases, they weren't successful campaigns.
How well does a $400 watch resonate to a family of 4? Or a $100 golf hat to a recent female alum? Probably not very well, and the results are indicative of that. But you know what might resonate well?
1. Meet and Greets.
2. Watching practice.
3. Shooting ball with the players.
4.Getting quarterly tours of the facility and campus.
5. Having pregame events that don't require me to also spend $60 so I can get a few beer tickets that are worthless to my 5 year old.
6. Having former players available for photo opps on the concourse throughout the season.
7. Why can't I buy a signed basketball, jersey, or team poster? These used to be easy to get, now they are impossible.
There's a reason why I bought a brick for the practice facility right away - it was something that made me feel connected to the program. They should (and I hope they did) put that entire facility up for naming recognition. Each locker, each room, etc should all be up for grabs for naming.
It doesn't need to get complicated, but you need to do more than what we are doing. Go look at Maryland's NIL membership. It's a very simple tiered subscription plan with very clear, very tangible, and very appealing benefits. No ambiguity. No veiled promises of things in the future. It's all right there, easy for someone to understand what they are getting in return.
Instead, defenders of our situation just expect people to continue treating this like it's some kind of charity endeavor, when it's become the furthest thing from. Meanwhile, just about everything I mentioned above has extremely little, if any, monetary outlay. But our program needs to commit to doing them, and make it clear what it takes to participate in or receive them.
Sadly the university has no desire to built the fan base, build a donor base or expand the university’s following. Status quo is the way they go unfortunately. Like I said, they are afraid of hard work and success. They could really blow the roof off things with very minimal effort but they choose not to.Amen. I've proposed some of those ideas a few times over the last 3 years. All of them would cost almost nothing to produce but all are unique experiences/things that fans would be interested in. They aren't things that can be bought, so they are the types of exclusive benefits that should be made available for different giving levels. Encourage people
Many of those ideas/events can be managed by Onward Setonia volunteers if they would be sought out and empowered to do things by the Athletic Department.
Good and fair post; I'll take a slightly different slant on it. I'd rather have the item than the event, but that's the point: Diversifying the opportunities helps you attract a range of people by appealing to them across the board. You couldn't make me go to a practice or a meet-and-greet, but I know plenty of people who enjoy them. As engagement opportunities, they are appealing and useful. Anything that builds real rapport and human connection between fans/alums and the players and staff is a win. I think it's a fact of life that the four-year guy is going to be a rarity anymore, but even if you give people a chance to get to know them a little bit for the time they're here, it builds the bond a little bit and make it all seem a bit less transactional. Then it becomes less "guys taking my money to play here for a year then leaving," and more "I helped support Player X over his time at Seton Hall and I feel all right about it because he was a good kid who helped my son with the release on his jumper," or whatever it is.I will keep blaming the administration for it, actually. They are the ones selling the product, and we are the customers. Businesses that blame the customer don't last very long and never have. Some customers are certainly easier to sell to than others, and I will readily admit that this customer base is a difficult one for many reasons, but it's the job of the business to figure out what they need to do to close the sale.
You're talking about a $400 watch and a $100 hat. They were nice items, very nice actually. But peddling random merchandise on an infrequent basis, even if deemed a successful campaign, isn't going to put a dent in the deficit that this administration put us in as a result of years of indifference and low effort. In those cases, they weren't successful campaigns.
How well does a $400 watch resonate to a family of 4? Or a $100 golf hat to a recent female alum? Probably not very well, and the results are indicative of that. But you know what might resonate well?
1. Meet and Greets.
2. Watching practice.
3. Shooting ball with the players.
4.Getting quarterly tours of the facility and campus.
5. Having pregame events that don't require me to also spend $60 so I can get a few beer tickets that are worthless to my 5 year old.
6. Having former players available for photo opps on the concourse throughout the season.
7. Why can't I buy a signed basketball, jersey, or team poster? These used to be easy to get, now they are impossible.
There's a reason why I bought a brick for the practice facility right away - it was something that made me feel connected to the program. They should (and I hope they did) put that entire facility up for naming recognition. Each locker, each room, etc should all be up for grabs for naming.
It doesn't need to get complicated, but you need to do more than what we are doing. Go look at Maryland's NIL membership. It's a very simple tiered subscription plan with very clear, very tangible, and very appealing benefits. No ambiguity. No veiled promises of things in the future. It's all right there, easy for someone to understand what they are getting in return.
Instead, defenders of our situation just expect people to continue treating this like it's some kind of charity endeavor, when it's become the furthest thing from. Meanwhile, just about everything I mentioned above has extremely little, if any, monetary outlay. But our program needs to commit to doing them, and make it clear what it takes to participate in or receive them.