Let students in free?

[cedarvalleykid14]

Rick Brown has written the article to make the case. I'm for it. Link here: http://www.press-citizen.com/story/...udent-tickets-iowa-board-of-regents/31386987/

I'm not a fan of this reporter's work, but I think he's right on this. With the amount of TV money flowing in, there's no reason why students--without whom there would be no universities--shouldn't be able to see games for free. And I'd do the same for basketball.

Northwestern and another Big Ten school or two give students free admission to football games, and if NW can afford it, well, it's pretty hard to make the case that Iowa can't.

If even a few of those free admissions lead to more alums becoming lifelong Hawkeye football fans, that would more than makeup for the loss of revenue now. If ya don't hook 'em now, it'll be almost impossible to hook 'em later.

So ya...let the kids in free. Show your student ID and c'mon down. If they're gonna party, let 'em do it in historic Kinnick Stadium and breathe some life back into the place.

 

[Cardsnhawks]

Absolutely agree with this suggestion. It is preposterous to me that Iowa has not yet taken this step. First come, first serve ... and free.

 

[codflyer]

Rick Brown has written the article to make the case. I'm for it. Link here: http://www.press-citizen.com/story/...udent-tickets-iowa-board-of-regents/31386987/

I'm not a fan of this reporter's work, but I think he's right on this. With the amount of TV money flowing in, there's no reason why students--without whom there would be no universities--shouldn't be able to see games for free. And I'd do the same for basketball.

Northwestern and another Big Ten school or two give students free admission to football games, and if NW can afford it, well, it's pretty hard to make the case that Iowa can't.

If even a few of those free admissions lead to more alums becoming lifelong Hawkeye football fans, that would more than makeup for the loss of revenue now. If ya don't hook 'em now, it'll be almost impossible to hook 'em later.

So ya...let the kids in free. Show your student ID and c'mon down. If they're gonna party, let 'em do it in historic Kinnick Stadium and breathe some life back into the place.

Maybe carve out a section for students that want to pay for better seats, and then open up the rest to anyone with a student ID?

 

[theIowaHawk]

I'm all for them letting them in free, but I find his reasoning strange and suspect.

Tuition goes up $100 in the second semester and he believes that $1M means nothing.

What I really don't get is the University giving current students a short-window discount...it doesn't apply to incoming? The new freshman are exactly who we need.

I'd agree with a split section as posted above, but think it would be hard to do. Students push down, pack in, squish hard...when they want to. Trying to "rope it off" just probably wouldn't work. But hell, everything should be up for discussion right now.

As a complete overhaul I would leave the upper student section (used to be) as single tickets, and give the students the lower 30 of 124 (next to current section), allowing for better seats, 15-20ish yard line, and keeps the students closer to the field, as opposed to all the way up.

Maybe take out a few rows at concourse level to really separate students/non.

 

[theIowaHawk]

Also, I like the new alumni price reduction and would like to see them go even farther. Say:

1-3 years out from graduation $200
4-5 years out $250
6-8 years out $300

That would allow must alum to hit age 30 while also saving significant money and earn priority points. They should be well hooked by then.

Would save them, what, ~$1,100 per ticket over that time?

 

[10kHawk]

All for it I would even pay more, however the Iowa students interning in my office this Summer told me price isn't a barrier to thier attendance. They just want to party.

 

[theIowaHawk]

All for it I would even pay more, however the Iowa students interning in my office this Summer told me price isn't a barrier to thier attendance. They just want to party.

So where do they go instead? Do they just not watch the game altogether?

 

[10kHawk]

Granted a small sample but these two young ladies said they tailgate / house party before the game near the stadium but then either head downtown or to another party when game starts. Watching the game in any form was secondary.

 

[theIowaHawk]

Granted a small sample but these two young ladies said they tailgate / house party before the game near the stadium but then either head downtown or to another party when game starts. Watching the game in any form was secondary.

That sucks, and I don't know how you solve that. I would doubt Iowa fans who are angry/upset/fatigued and not buying tickets are still watching the games...therefore winning will bring them back. If watching isn't important, I'm not sure what you do.

Getting it back to an "event" would certainly help...but it was wins that made it an event in the early 2000s, not anything the marketing dept did.

So I guess we should just win more, a lot more.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

I would absolutely let them in free in 2015 - good idea. Basketball too. Carve out some inexpensive student tickets for those that want reserved seats.

If the student section is packed in 2015 and students are actually turned away, charge $10 a ticket next year, or $5. Fill those seats!

Students make the games fun. A crazy student section is actually part of the draw to a college game - it energizes the crowd.

Get the kids there, and it will help bring the adults too.

 

[Kinnick4Ever]

First, Rick Brown's work is exceptional. Very respectable sports reporter/columnist.

Second, it's an intriguing idea but it won't solve the fundamental attendance problem. Iowa football just isn't very exciting right now because it's been exceptionally mediocre, expensive for what you get, and bordering on boring. The "play it safe" style of play--while not necessarily wrong from a coaching perspective--is a fan turnoff when you're struggling. These are all fixable issues but it's going to take a lot of fixing--mostly figuring out ways to beat the best teams in the division--to win back the fan base.

 

[theIowaHawk]

Why limit to Kirkwood students? Why not every Iowa Juco? Open it wide and just say any registered student at a public college?

 

[cedarvalleykid14]

Lots of good points being made here in a rational discussion. I appreciate that. And I really love the comments from several that it's the students who set the tone for college sports events. One reason I would give up the big screen and living room more often, for both football and basketball, would be knowing that Kinnick and Carver would be up for grabs because of the big, rowdy, energized student section. Big Ten football and basketball shouldn't be confused with a day at the ballet or the opera. We need the students--lots of students--and we need them to be engaged.

 

[Hawk_82]

Many of the non revenue sports are free to students, doesn't mean the stadium is packed. I agree they should be severely discounted, but it still needs to mean something when you have tickets to a game. when it's free, it becomes a throw away ticket and just a fair weather fan.

When I was a student I could sit at the 30, makes games a lot more fun when you have a good seat. today's students get the worst of the worst . TV provides much better views, I'm surprised we have as many students attend as we do considering how bad the team has been recently

 

[Hawk_82]

TV is not the same as it was 15 years ago. I bought a 32 inch tv for $1400 in 2003. Today I could buy a 55inch for less than $500. kids live in a world consumed by TV, it is going to take more than a free ticket to get them up off the couch or to make them stop drinking for 4 hours. (of course there are going to be die hards, but fans who grew up as hawkeyes are going to get fewer and fewer as the years go on. Access to other games has made it so easy to watch other teams that a young person does not have any reason to watch a boring hawkeye game anymore. JMO.

 

[dawgs_04]

Cost has nothing to do with it. Free tickets will simply cost the athletic dept $1 million. They spend more on booze at the bars while watching the game than they would on tickets. Well, guys spend more on booze haha.

If the tickets are free they'll pick and choose which games to attend. Nice weather? Decent opponent? Yup! Crap weather or crap opponent (almost every game!), they'll stay home.

Kids would rather drink than watch the snooze fest. Meaningful games will help. The last time Hawks played a hyped up match was 2010 and that was disappointments all over the place. Seniors and even grad students have seen nothing fun.

Another relevant thing is the horrible cell phone service. I hate it and I'm on my phone half as much as the younger folks.

 

[dawgs_04]

I would be a bigger supporter of this for basketball. Getting extra kids in the 15k seat arena makes a bigger impact than the 70k stadium.

Basketball is a harder sell because of so many games at random times and weekday games. Flexibility would be beneficial.

 

[Suterman]

Here are the top reasons, in order, why students do not go to the games. A direct survey from the horses mouths,

1 (secondary market, “I can get tickets to the games I want to attend”)

2 (finances, “I know student tickets are the cheapest…but they still cost too much for me”)

3 (social activity, “my friends didn’t buy, so I didn’t”)

4 (academic demands)

5 (academic and real life demands)

6 (alternative location preferred because of amenities)

7 (game time)

8 (wins and losses)

9 (style of play, opponents, “environment”)

10 (schedule of games – two games after Thanksgiving Day)

11 (“connectivity”)

 

[MITCH492]

Let's pack the house. Free tickets to everybody with freewill donations accepted at the gates.

 

[theIowaHawk]

Here are the top reasons, in order, why students do not go to the games. A direct survey from the horses mouths,

1 (secondary market, “I can get tickets to the games I want to attend”)

2 (finances, “I know student tickets are the cheapest…but they still cost too much for me”)

3 (social activity, “my friends didn’t buy, so I didn’t”)

4 (academic demands)

5 (academic and real life demands)

6 (alternative location preferred because of amenities)

7 (game time)

8 (wins and losses)

9 (style of play, opponents, “environment”)

10 (schedule of games – two games after Thanksgiving Day)

11 (“connectivity”)

Thanks for the post.

I don't get #1, as it doesn't really explain anything. Ok, so they can go to any game they want.............so why don't they go?

The finances thing is bullshit, and always has been. I was a poor student, I understand. I'm not using that as an anecdote, I will use statistics: Tickets were more expensive and 2-3x as many students attended. So, I generally dismiss this response. Although, I'm on board with making them free, I'm not sure anyone here believes that they will all of a sudden have a 10k+ sellout.

3. This is probably the #1, and by far most critical, point, and unfortunately it is circular. When Student A doesn't get tickets neither does Student B, but then neither does Student C, which may in fact be the reason Student A didn't get tickets in the first place. If it isn't the "place" to be there is a much lesser turnout. It becomes the "place to be" by being the place to be. I would guess that 8, 9, 10, 11 play a big part in this.

4. Academic demands are always real and extremely important. I remember a lot of what I learned at Beer Pong 101 on Melrose Court. Let's stop pretending that the students are actually a) sober and b) doing anything but partying during these times. The ones with the real Academic conflictual concerns aren't going to the games regardless of 1-11.

I'm not sure exactly what #6 means, but my guess is this means Bar = Beer, Kinnick = . I've posted many times on this point, I get it, I'm just disappointed that so many students think the (largely nonexistent) security at the games is so frightening and effective that they can't bring in any booze. Come on guys, get creative, Beer Gloves for everyone.

7. Again, I think this has little impact....because the students are there anyways, tailgating away.

8. This is #2, only behind what I said is actually #1 - The "place to be", and the place to be is the one where you win....a lot.

9. I think this just equals W/L, because they aren't just not showing up for Non-Con, they aren't showing up to Big Ten, even against the normal "big ones" like Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois.

10. This was always a concern, some students will show up for this and some won't. Other than not scheduling after Thanksgiving, this can't be "fixed".

11. Yeah, the AD should work on this. It is dumb, but important for this new age of ADD, so let them have it.

 

[Suterman]

I know what you are saying TheIowaHawk but these are the survey results, in the order that they appeared. We don't get to rearrange the results as we see fit. The results are what they are.

 

[Rustys Dad]

I say let 'em in. Would rather have butts in the seat then empty corners at Kinnick. You need student involvement. Iowa has plenty of other revenue resources. Get 'em inside; let them spend some money on concessions, etc. Better to have a warm body in the seat than nothing at all.

 

[Herky58]

Noise at south end of Kinnick important when opposition tries to score

Let the student in-----a gear idea

 

[icu81222]

Free tickets
Free beer

That'll do it.

They are already doing live music this year. Maybe they give away free tickets to a few select games, then next yr free booze!