One other thing that I wanted to mention about the Fordham game is how they packed the place.

We arrived about two hours before game time and after walking the campus were welcomed into the gym reception area.

There were at least ten events people planning the logistics for the game.

there was a Fordham will call table, a Loyola will call table and three separate tables for the three groups that were being brought in.
They also had a customer service desk and a ticket purchase desk for the general public. All clearly marked and at least two ombudsmen people walking around to answer questions. They were also kind enough to let my wife and I wait in the student union which was really closed. So we got to sit on comfortable chairs with working tables while waiting for our tickets.

That said, then here came the groups. Each was dealt with separately and then each was escorted into the gym. It worked very well. There had to be approximately 400-500 kids with escorts. They got their "Go Rams" and "Fordham" pre printed signs. They got refreshment coupons for redemption and a program for the game. Again, the logistics were superb.

They also sat behind the visitors second half basket. I wonder if this might have affected our shooting since we had only 31 second half points at that basket.
What impressed me most was, as the groups left each kid got a Fordham Christmas tree ornament in a box as a memento. All very well done.

Now consider this is the Bronx and not the best area in New York and think about how the Fordham admin team pulled this together to bring an extra 400-500 people to the game. How many of those kids will remember this experience and share it with their friends and neighbors?It was certainly an effective way to create a better home court advantage.

I have heard time and time again how Loyola is going to bring in student groups and yet I have not yet seen it happen. With the MVC season upon us, we will need all the fans we can get to offset how some of these teams will travel to the Joe. It would be a shame to be outnumbered in our own place. But I am afraid it is going to happen. I also hope this losing streak does not deter the students from filling their section. The admin has done a good job of getting the students to attend so far. Lets hope it holds hope.

I am all for Loyola providing free escorts at the game!

25 yr sreak I'm impressed by what you wrote. I too, for many years felt that Loyola could do a better job of bringing groups in. Always felt you start with the immediate neighborhood and work your way out. Local private and public schools should have groups brought in on different nights. Local Parishes such as St. Gertrude, St. Ines, St. Ignatius, etc. could have their own nights. Have seperate nights for LU's Water Tower campus and Maywood Medical Center. These ideas are especially needed when school is out of session. That having been said student attendence should be better for a PART commuter school when it's a semester break. Create a Commuter Student Night and give out free food and drink with a student ID if you have too to get them back on campus. Fordam must have been on Christmas break and they had to be creative to fill the place.

Streak - I'll bet given your profession, you are full of ideas for LU following that game. Given that Fordham is a Jesuit school in a similar environment to LU, we should be modeling them! I wonder if our admin has contemplated sending anyone out there to learn best practices. They had 3k attendees for a mediocre non-conference game with students gone and a 4 PM weekday start. LU would be thrilled to get that for a Saturday conference game at this point! I do see they're averaging only 2,000/game. Maybe that they were 4-1 at home going into Monday helped.

You can say what you want but going to game in a gym that is 33% full is depressing. Do whatever it takes to fill the gym. We started to build the house with out a foundation. It was like because
we said we were going to reinvest in basketball people would show up and dish out the $25.
It appears that they have been working on students...It has been better and rowdier. However...I would be giving tickets away for free...For example at the Gold Outing which is up to $250 give away a four pack to each player. Have class reunions revolve around a basketball game........THere has been a gap for so long.......Make it a family thing. KIds under 12 come for a couple of bucks.
Someone should be given the job with no restrictions other than filling the place........Then you can start to raise prices and think of this as a money maker.
And we need publicity which the Valley should help with as well as now having a couple of Chicago kids (Doyle,Ingram) but all the Chicago teams are struggling...lets work together to create a product. I would love to see even one double header preferably at the UC. How bout this....NU v Duke and LU v Cincinnati with a City/Suburban high school game.(these high school games used to outdraw the Northwestern games at McGaw Hall) They usually included a couple of the top recruits in the nation
Anyway FILL THE GYM GO RAMBLERS

"However...I would be giving tickets away for free.."

Bad Idea..

If you start giving away tickets for free... people who take advantage of it will become accustomed to this tactic and never want to pay for tickets when Loyola eventually gets good. Free tickets never translates into new Season Ticket Holders.

The game against Fordham was clearly a very well, pre-planned, Field Trip day and I would certainly hope Loyola would stay away from this sort of game. As a season ticket holder, who in the hell would like to go to an afternoon game during the work week? Well, except for the 75% of you who are retired.

You must NEVER give tickets away for free--That then is what the product is worth in folks' minds--Free=zero=nothing !! Charge something ! Certainly a Di 1 game is worth at least the price of a movie at the Mall. Now then do your thing to bring groups in--Grammar schools, High Schools --Boys and Girl Scouts--Holy Name Societies -Senior groups ! PROMOTE !!
But for Heaven's sake , give them a WINNER !! You do this, then they will come on their own--
Fr G , and Alumni (givers) have done and are doing their parts--BUT now the Ad and those at that level must do theirs---

PROMOTE and WIN !!

It can be done--but it takes positive and hard work. It starts by going out and getting !!!

Giving away free and deeply discounted tickets worked for Creighton.

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Giving away a free ticket to one game to get people to try for the first time or come back and see the new place is understood as a celebration of something new or worthwhile and worthy of breaking a Habit of not even thinking or knowing or having the impulse to want to go. And I think the " we really want you to come see our product" is better than OMG I paid $25 to sit in a 75% empty stadium......that says the product is not worth seeing. FILL THE GYM.
GO RAMBLERS

They are giving out free tickets in the neighborhood for the two remaining home games over break.

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