Head football coach Ted Roof and players were supposed to attend a pep rally at the Great Hall Thursday night, but when students didn't show up, the team was told not to come. Roof and the Athletic Department have launched a number of initiatives to boost attendance, but Thursday's aborted pep rally raises questions about whether they will be successful.
When the Athletic Department organized a Thursday night pep rally in the Great Hall, officials thought the event would be the beginning of renewed student support for the football team. But so few students attended the rally that organizers had to tell head coach Ted Roof and his players to stay home.
“I didn’t want to make them do this,” said Bart Smith, director of promotions for the Athletic Department, as he bemoaned the poorly-attended event. “There is nobody here.”
In recent years, students’ interest in football has revolved more around the tailgating atmosphere that exists in the parking lots than around the games themselves. Last season, the main student tailgating area was often packed with as many as 1,000 people, many of whom never entered the stadium.
Beginning with Saturday’s matchup against Maryland, the Athletic Department is making a major push to boost student attendance at home football games by reaching out to the student body and employing a myriad of promotions.
“Overall [students] like the tailgating area,” Smith said. “The idea was to just help encourage them to come into the game once we start it.”
Roof himself is spearheading part of the effort to increase attendance and involvement. In a rare e-mail to the entire undergraduate student body, Roof urged students to attend the game and support the team.
“We’ve been talking to a lot of groups in the community. We’ve been e-mailing people. We’re doing some things for some students, making ourselves available, speaking to different groups on campus,” Roof said. “They’ve been pretty receptive. We need that support.”
In his first full year as head coach, Roof has tried to make himself and the program more visible in the community. Roof, the team captains and freshman players met with 1,200 members of the Class of 2008 Sept. 2 as part of the annual “New Devils Night.” Another pep rally is scheduled for next Friday as part of the University’s Oktoberfest celebration, but Thursday’s low attendance may result in a change of plans, Smith said.
Saturday the focus will be on encouraging tailgaters and other students to attend the game, especially in time for the noon kickoff. In a recent focus group held by the Athletic Department, students said they often forgot when the game would begin. Members of the promotions staff will walk through the Blue Zone parking lots Saturday to alert students.
“I am all for tailgating as long as it is done responsibly and the students enter the game when it starts,” Athletic Director Joe Alleva wrote in an e-mail. “Fans don’t do the team any good in the parking lot.”
After concerns about safety and vandalism, University administrators sat down with members of the Athletic Department to discuss tailgating. Athletic officials wanted to continue to allow tailgating with the hope of luring them into the game.
“We did have a discussion about tailgating on two levels: To make certain that the environment that was being created in the tailgating area was fun but also safe at the same time,” said Sue Wasiolek, dean of students and liaison with the Athletic Department. “We realized that the students are so attracted to the tailgating that they are sometimes not going to the games or going to the games very late. That concerned us because we wanted our football team to be supported.”
Although tailgating restrictions have been discussed for several reasons, avid tailgater David Kingsland, a junior, thinks that limits on tailgating would be counter-productive.
“The administration should be trying to bolster tailgating and make it more welcoming for students,” Kingsland said.
While students are being encouraged to come to the games and support their peers, the Athletic Department has also been trying to generate larger crowds from the larger community. Last year the Blue Devils drew an average crowd of just over 20,000 people for their home contests—a rather small number in comparison to most of their ACC counterparts—but season ticket sales are up this season.
“I’ve been to the first three games—at Navy, at Connecticut and at Virginia Tech,” Wasiolek said. “All three of those stadiums were filled. They were very energized and provided just a fabulous atmosphere for college football. I think our team deserves that this Saturday when they come back home.”
Smith and other members of the Athletic Department have instituted new policies to appeal to families and other season ticket holders. Continuing a practice that Roof began last season, the coach and his players will walk off their bus, through Krzyzewskiville and into Wallace Wade Stadium two hours before kickoff each Saturday, stopping to interact with fans.
On gamedays, K-ville will also be transformed into “Devil’s Alley,” where food will be sold and performances by bands, a capella groups, step shows and a variety of other forms of entertainment will rotate from week to week.
As Roof continues to campaign for support from the student body he also realizes that the team must have some success on the field in order to attract people to the games. The team’s 0-3 record has likely dampened potential enthusiasm.
“We’re going to do everything we can to gather some support and get as many people here as we can, but at the same time we’ve got to put a good product on the field so that people keep coming back,” Roof said.
Athletic attendance in recent seasons shows that winning yields larger crowds. Mimicking anything similar to the Cameron Crazies in Wallace Wade would be an ideal situation, but student creativity cannot be forced and must evolve on its on.
“Winning is obviously an important part of this whole process,” said Jon Jackson, assistant director of athletics for communication and media relations “The atmosphere we have in Cameron is the best, and we want the atmosphere in Wallace Wade to be one of the best. The students know how critical of a part of the basketball situation that they play. It’s just as critical in football and other sports.”
Head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has attributed some of the team’s success to the pivotal role that the Duke student body plays as the sixth man. Roof made a similar plea in his e-mail Thursday as he asked fans to become the team’s 12th man.
“Having your fans, having your student section going crazy when you come out that’s definitely something that you look forward to,” sophomore co-captain Ben Patrick said.
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