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| Pacaar Hall, home of UW Foster School of Business..and my new favorite MKT 460 course |
This morning's bright-and-early lecture and discussion at Pacaar Hall for MKT 460 could not have gone better! It was somewhat relieving and refreshing to be able to share with our target student audience the challenges we face with student attendance.
Though only half of the course will be conducting research on Dawg Pack behavior and mindset on behalf of our department, the entire class was engaged, honest, thoughtful, and ready to immerse themselves in this project. As the client, I laid out our struggles and what questions we want to shed some light on - particularly with Men's Basketball. The student groups - 4 groups of 5 students - will identify their research questions and will devise this survey and focus group material on a topic that so many prominent athletic departments across the country are confused by - declining student attendance and engagement at events.
To have a working knowledge of our Men's Basketball game day experience (this is where we have seen the steepest decline - MBB Dawg Pack tickets are down 22% from 2012-13) all 40 students will be sitting in the Dawg Pack section during two Men's Basketball games on Wednesday, Jan. 12 vs. Stanford and Saturday, Jan. 15 vs. Cal.
Below is an outline I used to lead discussion and to lay out our dilemma. While this document organized my thoughts, I did not share it with the students, as the instructor and I both wanted them to see the direction they take the project. I look forward to attending their presentation later this quarter on Monday, Mar. 10 as this data has the great potential to provide insight into the mindsets and behaviors of UW students and the Dawg Pack and how we can meet the Dawg Pack where they are at.
MKT 460 – Husky Athletics UW
Student Engagement
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Instructor: Marty Matthews
·
Questions (ALL):
a.
I
feel that attending Husky Athletic events other than Football is an important
part of my college experience (Likert)
b.
Husky
Athletic events are exciting and entertaining (Likert)
c.
I
feel that Husky Athletic events are a valuable investment of my time and
financial resources. (Likert)
d.
#
of events likely to attend or attended this academic year (list sports)
1. Game
Day Experience: What experiences are
important? What do students want more of? Less of?
a.
Anthem
& halftime entertainment
b.
Funny
skits
c.
Food
d.
Giveaways
– t-shirts, bobbleheads, food, sunglasses, etc.
e.
Contests
f.
Mascots
g.
Cheerleaders
h.
Music
i.
Band
j.
Videos
k.
Stats
and game information
l.
Concourse
entertainment
m.
Concessions
n.
PA
Announcer and live mic emcees
2. What
do sports mean to the UW student’s college experience? Note: exclude Football
a.
Attendance
at college sports as part of college experience
b.
Connection
to sports teams
c.
Access
to sports programs, Athletic department, facilities
d.
Is
it cool to go to Olympic sporting events (non-Football and Men’s Basketball
events)?
e.
I
have pride in what it means to be a Husky.
3. UW
Student entertainment options – What activities compete for students’ time and
entertainment dollars?
a.
Concerts
b.
Movies
c.
Sporting
events
d.
Campus
events
e.
Recreational
activities
f.
Parties
g.
Gaming/videogames
h.
Studying
i.
Etc.
4. Why
buy MBB tickets?
a.
Peer
influence
b.
Price
c.
Basketball
fan
d.
History
of the Dawg Pack
e.
History
of Husky Men’s Basketball
f.
Recruiting
class
g.
Number
of games
h.
Quality
of tea
i.
Quality
of opponents
j.
Status:
Difficult ticket to get, valuable
5. Why
attend/not attend MBB games? – MBB Dawg Pack specific
a.
Reasons
for attending
b.
Peer
influence
c.
Price
d.
Excitement
around program
e.
Connection
to athletes
f.
Played
the sport before
g.
Entertainment/fun
h.
Quality
of the team
i.
Game
day experience
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