We need to have a CONSTRUCTIVE conversation about the Student Section

[Political Hack]

increasing the size of the band is a great idea.

[angusyoung]

I was in school 95-99. 95 and 96 no one stayed at the games because we sucked major balls. 97-99 it was packed from start to finish because we had a good to great team.

Students are going to leave the when the team blows because there are a ton of other things to do than sit and watch a shitty football game.

You guys are making an extremely simple issue very complicated. Bringing twitter, Facebook, social media etc. into this as if the students are different today than those that were students before the advent of those things is bullshit. No one wants to watch a shitty football game no matter what year it is.

Coming up with ideas like giving away free tvs and shit is ****ing retarded. Do you think someone that is purely in attendance to see if they win a big screen tv will be engaged and cheer loudly? **** no.

The answer to this problem is and will always be about the quality of the football team. Plain and simple and no raffle ticket giveaways will ever change that.

Put a team on the field that's going to whip the opponents ass and people will cheer their asses off. Remember Auburn in 2000 when they had Rudy Johnson? We didn't score but 17 points in that game but we destroyed the country's leading rusher and the crowd was one of the loudest ever in that stadium. And not a single flat screen tv was given away that day.

[mjh94]

no doubt about that. if that were to happen i think ED contributors could wear there ass out just as well!

Ha, I don't have any following me either...I just don't want that embarrassing ass picture being retweeted by every opposing fan on the interwebz, if you know what I mean.

[SaltyDawg]

Some sort of block seating would go a long way to keeping students in the game. Students have to get into the game (or start standing in line) 2-3 hours early before kickoff to get good seats. At halftime, you're already at 3.5 to 4 hours being in the game- most of which is spent standing. Block seating would eliminate this.

Also, completely agree about the 1 AM closing time for bars and frat houses. If you stay the whole game, you realistically only have about 2 hours afterwards (by the time you get out of the stadium and through the crowds to get where you're going). If this time was pushed back to at least 2 AM I think it would be a good start to keeping students there.

[TheRef]

Some sort of block seating would go a long way to keeping students in the game. Students have to get into the game (or start standing in line) 2-3 hours early before kickoff to get good seats. At halftime, you're already at 3.5 to 4 hours being in the game- most of which is spent standing. Block seating would eliminate this.

What do you mean by block seating? I'm slightly confused on this subject.

[bluelightstar]

What do you mean by block seating? I'm slightly confused on this subject.

Alabama and Auburn have seating blocks in the stadium for different student organizations. The different fraternities, sororities, ROTC, different groups like that have assigned sections and the rest is just open seating. The groups have to fill their blocks consistently or they lose them. Of course, Alabama has started an entire campaign of "PLAY FOR FOUR, STAY FOR FOUR" so people are leaving everywhere.

[SaltyDawg]

* Block seating will be available to recognized organizations based on their spirit point accumulation.
* Spirit points are calculated and maintained by the Student Government Association.
* The Student Government Association Spirit Program has reserved Sections 24-27 for Auburn University student organizations participating in the block seating program. For more information on the block seating program please contact the SGA office at www.auburn.edu/sga or 844-4240.
* Each student, regardless of block affiliation, must order his/her own tickets.
* Spirit block seating will be enforced until 15 minutes prior to kickoff. After kickoff, any unoccupied seats will be open to any student.

Cut and pasted from Auburn's website.

[Maroonthirteen]

Just win baby! Like someone else said. However since that only happens on occasion at State, I hope the new endzone section has a roomy concourse with strong wifi.

Long range, when I am close to dead, I see all stadiums having to install large comfortable chair backs through out the stadium to compete with TV. Thus reducing capacity and eliminating some student seating.

[SaltyDawg]

Student enrollment continues to increase every year, reducing the student section is not a viable option.

[Jack Lambert]

I think what we need, in the students eyes, is something to keep our interest in the game. Now, I'm not talking about a cheerleader getting a microphone and leading cheers because that doesn't work (look at Basketball two years ago). I'm talking about something that the students will rally around and start doing a lot more often. The "Hail State" after every first down isn't working and I don't see it working. It was a great idea, but an unrealized idea. I'm not sure how having the opposing team coming out from under the student section will affect the section. Maybe it will keep people motivated to stay so that they can heckle the opposing team as they run out of and back into the tunnel. It will be interesting to say the least. But for now, I'm not sure what to do.

The only way you are going to get them to stop leaving is to offer free beer or hot women to them on the way out the gates, when the 4th Q has finished. Other then that getting a 17 to 22 year old to think about anything else is almost impossible. It's game night and the women, party and beer is waiting.

[TheRef]

The only way you are going to get them to stop leaving is to offer free beer or hot women to them on the way out the gates, when the 4th Q has finished. Other then that getting a 17 to 22 year old to think about anything else is almost impossible. It's game night and the women, party and beer is waiting.

Haha...ain't that the truth. I'm 21 years old and the only reason I stick around most of the time during really bad, disgusting games is because I'm helplessly optimistic during the heat of the moment.

[Jack Lambert]

I am not sure how it works now but just make the students pay each week for their tickets. The tickets that don't sell put them on the open market or give to some military guy.

Or build some extra giant sky boxes for students and fill it with free food and drinks and if by some chance they do leave we will not know it.

[TheRef]

I am not sure how it works now but just make the students pay each week for their tickets. The tickets that don't sell put them on the open market or give to some military guy.

Or build some extra giant sky boxes for students and fill it with free food and drinks and if by some chance they do leave we will not know it.

How it works now is that before the season, usually the weekend before the first game of the season, they have a season ticket selling day where students go to the ticket office in the M-club building and pay whatever the going rate for season tickets is for that year and they get a student ticket for every home game. This year, the rate was $40 for a full set of season tickets. Most of the time, however, students buy the tickets then go online to sell them to other students who weren't quite so lucky as to get a set of season tickets which seems impossible since they don't sell out until almost 2 days before the first game. Regardless, then the students must have a student id (easily faked) and a ticket in order to get in. Talks are in place in order to set up an electronic system for buying student season tickets and having them directly on the id so that they can be scanned instead of having hard copies. This system (electronic purchase) is already in place in all of the other universities within the SEC.

[HereComesTheSpiral]

Turn the new gridiron club into a strip club and have the MSU dance team strip after the game.***

[TheRef]

Turn the new gridiron club into a strip club and have the MSU dance team strip after the game.***

Bow Chicka Wow-wow

[mjh94]

BEST suggestion i've seen/heard of. definitely makes them think about leaving.

* Block seating will be available to recognized organizations based on their spirit point accumulation.
* Spirit points are calculated and maintained by the Student Government Association.
* The Student Government Association Spirit Program has reserved Sections 24-27 for Auburn University student organizations participating in the block seating program. For more information on the block seating program please contact the SGA office at www.auburn.edu/sga or 844-4240.
* Each student, regardless of block affiliation, must order his/her own tickets.
* Spirit block seating will be enforced until 15 minutes prior to kickoff. After kickoff, any unoccupied seats will be open to any student.

Cut and pasted from Auburn's website.

[Barking 13]

Turn the new gridiron club into a strip club and have the MSU dance team strip after the game.***

I'll bring extra $ bills...***

[TheRef]

Alabama and Auburn have seating blocks in the stadium for different student organizations. The different fraternities, sororities, ROTC, different groups like that have assigned sections and the rest is just open seating. The groups have to fill their blocks consistently or they lose them. Of course, Alabama has started an entire campaign of "PLAY FOR FOUR, STAY FOR FOUR" so people are leaving everywhere.

We had a discussion on that for basketball seating. Only problem is people WILL be butthurt over their seat placement. Athletic Department doesn't want to hurt student's feelings and wants everyone to have an equal chance. Therefore, this won't happen unless some SERIOUS changes and concessions are given.

[Where'sWaldo]

A few suggestions:
1) I've been sitting in the student section for a long time and the biggest issue we have right now outside of not being a great team is the Jumbotron. Everything from the games, music, videos, etc has killed the atmostphere in the stadium. Things like a non enthusiastic dawg pound rock do mattter and should be addressed.
2) All frats should force the pledges to stay the entire game.
3) No gimmicks are going to keep students there. It comes down to psycology and making the stadium feel like "the place to be". Pay a DJ and marketing guru to find out the exact timing and what songs to play along with what a college age student or recruit would find fun and do it. It's not that difficult. One example of this is playing the "Bring em out, Bring em out" song when the team comes on the field. An energy is immediately created when that happens but we have to consistently do this throughout the entire game.

**The problem with blocking off seats is that it would create a late arriving crowd which is not what we want either.

[ShotgunDawg]

A few suggestions:
1) I've been sitting in the student section for a long time and the biggest issue we have right now outside of not being a great team is the Jumbotron. Everything from the games, music, videos, etc has killed the atmostphere in the stadium. Things like a non enthusiastic dawg pound rock do mattter and should be addressed.
2) All frats should force the pledges to stay the entire game.
3) No gimmicks are going to keep students there. It comes down to psycology and making the stadium feel like "the place to be". Pay a DJ and marketing guru to find out the exact timing and what songs to play along with what a college age student or recruit would find fun and do it. It's not that difficult. One example of this is playing the "Bring em out, Bring em out" song when the team comes on the field. An energy is immediately created when that happens but we have to consistently do this throughout the entire game.

**The problem with blocking off seats is that it would create a late arriving crowd which is not what we want either.

I just don't agree that not having a "great" team is the problem. Granted, if we were awful, I could understand because students wouldn't come to the game in the first place. However, our problem isn't getting students to the game. Our student section is mostly packed out for the first half. Our problem is getting students to stay after half time.

I like Auburn's solution.