Zebra Frog
KMA
Sorry if it's been posted, but it was written by a Frog in Austin, sent to a Frog friend of mine (that doesn't read FFF), and is being forwarded to as many TCU alums that you know as possible.
I kinda like the idea of speakers in the Lots notifying people how much time is left before kickoff.
Read, copy, and e-mail should you so wish.
For TCU Decision Makers and Supporters,
This is being written from a very deep Purple Heart that is lamenting the lack of TCU Fan Support. My sole intent is express possible solutions that I have never heard from either the Administration or my TCU Trustee relationships. Every effort will be made to make this totally positive except for one area which will be obvious and can not honestly be excluded.
Problem: TCU does not receive the fan support it has earned. With the success TCU Football and Baseball has enjoyed initiated with Chancellor Boschini's administrative support followed by the several years of national growth under Coach Gary Patterson, TCU Football alone should be sustaining all TCU athletic programs and not have to be subsidized.
Lack of TCU fan support came into sharp focus this past week when: * Coach Patterson in a press article which was even printed in the Austin newspaper properly and politely, although maybe too gently, stated something like our team can use more fan support, & * after the TCU 41-0 win we drove back to Austin and happened to arrive in time to catch the national sports highlights for the top 10 BCS Teams. When it was TCU's turn a couple of plays were shown and THEN the national broadcast showed a forth quarter photograph of the almost empty east stands and the broadcaster stated, "where are the fans? Don't they know they have the sixth ranked BCS Team? All TCU leaders and fans should be embarrassed!
Solution: I sincerely believe TCU currently has the internal talent on campus to accomplish the goal of making TCU Sports financially sustain itself - without a great $$$ expenditure. However, the Athletic Department does not appear to have enough budget, staff publicity expertise or community relations to properly establish a TCU Fan Support Program. Which is why I, and many others, believe the Chancellor's Office needs to initiate such a program
Why the addressees for this message:
Chancellor Boschini - apparently has committed to major sports programs after first and foremost elevating TCU's academic standing as a public window to TCU. Any idea like this e-mail presents must start with the Chancellor's Office;
Coach Patterson - obviously the man in TCU Sports who needs a full stadium of loud fans every game. Coach Patterson appears to have utilized every option available to him in enhancing the TCU Football Program - and he now has asked for greater TCU Support in a most proper and gracious manner;
AD Christopher Del Conte - a man I have yet to meet and to who I wish great success. The AD's reputation that I have heard is that AD Del Conte is a superb money raiser and I hope this e-mail will help. The main "street" discussion regarding TCU's new AD is with this man coming from a small, relatively unsuccessful Rice Program, does he have enough experience to guide TCU to the elite echelon? I trust in the decision makers collective judgement who hired AD Del Conte and will support him in every possible avenue.
Dean of Neeley School of Business Homer Ereckson - With Dean Ereckson having turned the TCU School of Business into one of the finest in the nation, he may be the most important person in this idea as he can provide invaluable research and information to TCU for $-0- cost. Dean Ereckson, will either you or a selected segment of your students who are some of the finest young business minds around, as a class project or thesis prepare business plans on creating a TCU Fan Support Program commencing with selling out the stadium and coliseum for every game - and a continued increase of revenue? And upon completion will you Dean Ereckson, either give the best plans or his executive summary to the proper TCU entity for implementation?
For years I have heard discussion on how to get people into TCU stands-all with little success. Being stuck in Austin having to tolerate the UT bias helps me understand how wonderful Chancellor Boschini has been for TCU and I would not change anything that he has done or is doing for TCU, however is it possible for his Office to help in the manner suggested below - and possibly more. UT AD DeLoss Dodds has taken a so-so program and made it into one of the best in the nation. I have played golf with AD Dodds and through this contact many of my expressed ideas were developed.
While all TCU Fans are caught up in our current BCS Bowl Buster frenzy, let us be honest: * the BCS was created by the "haves" to keep the "have nots" out of the big $$$ bowls which results in the "haves" getting most of the $$$ pie and the pick of that years recruits to insure continued success and monopoly. Any regular season loss or even failing to beat the Vegas point spread can be justification for non-selection of a "have not" to the BCS; & * despite a school's record all the big bowls critically review fan attendance figures to see many bowl tickets the school will buy plus what support the MWC will provide in buying the unsold tickets.
All of you have attended games at other schools and recently at Clemson and BYU where you have heard sold out (nice ring) loud enthusiatic crowds benefiting the home team. Notre Dame is about the same size as TCU and it fills the stadium every week and travels many thousands to every game. Back to my Austin/UT experiences, when Mack Brown came to UT it was not a sell out every game and the fans were almost as restrained as our TCU Fans. Remember, that Mack Brown immediately started the most effective marketing program - come early, wear orange, be loud & stay late. It has worked wonders! Certainly the TCU Marketing Department can come up with something equally effective; again as a class/thesis project free to Chancellor Boschini's people?
The Current Negative Factor that must change and change now - the "cheerleaders" do not lead cheers! There appear to be three or four groups of dancing groups that wave pompons upon cue from the band which is usually a too soft gentle sound - there is NOT anything for the crowd to follow even if they want to yell. This is fine if one is a lower tier division II school where the school is not interested in BCS bids. Someone at TCU has hijacked the cheer leading roles as a most inappropriate dancing girl stage - and this must be reversed. TCU needs cheer leaders that lead direct stadium cheers and other simple cheers that get the crowd involved - move the dancing to a more appropriate stage that does not distract from supporting the Football Team. This inappropriate situation was confirmed by TCU's prior AD in a face to face discussion on this subject last year.
Simple suggestions: *give the restructured cheerleaders microphones/speakers so they can be heard (cheaper than so many dancing costumes), * set up a series of speakers in the tail gating areas which both motivate and give a count down to game time with emphasis being on getting into your seat thirty minutes before game time, * make each car going into a tail gating parking lot show a ticket for every passenger, this should minimize "all the game tail gating". If there are too few tickets for the car, require the unticketed members to go by a ticket at the nearest booth and then return for the tail gating party.
Last item - TCU past excuses for low attendance: * Being in the metroplex where the Cowboys play on Sunday should not adversely affect TCU's Football attendance. True football fans should want tickets to a successful TCU team and then on Sunday at Dallas; * More likely is that a larger percentage of TCU graduates are female rather than male, so if a TCU coed marries another school's graduate it is likely that the husband will prefer going to his school's football game. We can make excuses, or we can choose to take the last steps necessary to make TCU Sports become what Chancellor Boschini and Coach Patterson have started for us.
A solid business plan from the TCU School of Business should define every problem and present the steps required to get the community leaders and uninvolved TCU Fans involved centering on the demographics presentation on how much $$$ is brought into the community with another 15,000 to 20,000 <> fans at every home game. Fill the stadium, keep the good product and the ticket prices start increasing while concession and parking revenues sky rocket.
The Proud Purple can do this! If those of you who are copied on this agree, please forward these ideas to your Frog Friends and let our great Chancellor, Football Coach, Dean of TCU Business School and new AD know that you support such a TCU Fan Support Program. If you disagree my contact information is herein available to you.
Go Frogs,
I kinda like the idea of speakers in the Lots notifying people how much time is left before kickoff.
Read, copy, and e-mail should you so wish.
For TCU Decision Makers and Supporters,
This is being written from a very deep Purple Heart that is lamenting the lack of TCU Fan Support. My sole intent is express possible solutions that I have never heard from either the Administration or my TCU Trustee relationships. Every effort will be made to make this totally positive except for one area which will be obvious and can not honestly be excluded.
Problem: TCU does not receive the fan support it has earned. With the success TCU Football and Baseball has enjoyed initiated with Chancellor Boschini's administrative support followed by the several years of national growth under Coach Gary Patterson, TCU Football alone should be sustaining all TCU athletic programs and not have to be subsidized.
Lack of TCU fan support came into sharp focus this past week when: * Coach Patterson in a press article which was even printed in the Austin newspaper properly and politely, although maybe too gently, stated something like our team can use more fan support, & * after the TCU 41-0 win we drove back to Austin and happened to arrive in time to catch the national sports highlights for the top 10 BCS Teams. When it was TCU's turn a couple of plays were shown and THEN the national broadcast showed a forth quarter photograph of the almost empty east stands and the broadcaster stated, "where are the fans? Don't they know they have the sixth ranked BCS Team? All TCU leaders and fans should be embarrassed!
Solution: I sincerely believe TCU currently has the internal talent on campus to accomplish the goal of making TCU Sports financially sustain itself - without a great $$$ expenditure. However, the Athletic Department does not appear to have enough budget, staff publicity expertise or community relations to properly establish a TCU Fan Support Program. Which is why I, and many others, believe the Chancellor's Office needs to initiate such a program
Why the addressees for this message:
Chancellor Boschini - apparently has committed to major sports programs after first and foremost elevating TCU's academic standing as a public window to TCU. Any idea like this e-mail presents must start with the Chancellor's Office;
Coach Patterson - obviously the man in TCU Sports who needs a full stadium of loud fans every game. Coach Patterson appears to have utilized every option available to him in enhancing the TCU Football Program - and he now has asked for greater TCU Support in a most proper and gracious manner;
AD Christopher Del Conte - a man I have yet to meet and to who I wish great success. The AD's reputation that I have heard is that AD Del Conte is a superb money raiser and I hope this e-mail will help. The main "street" discussion regarding TCU's new AD is with this man coming from a small, relatively unsuccessful Rice Program, does he have enough experience to guide TCU to the elite echelon? I trust in the decision makers collective judgement who hired AD Del Conte and will support him in every possible avenue.
Dean of Neeley School of Business Homer Ereckson - With Dean Ereckson having turned the TCU School of Business into one of the finest in the nation, he may be the most important person in this idea as he can provide invaluable research and information to TCU for $-0- cost. Dean Ereckson, will either you or a selected segment of your students who are some of the finest young business minds around, as a class project or thesis prepare business plans on creating a TCU Fan Support Program commencing with selling out the stadium and coliseum for every game - and a continued increase of revenue? And upon completion will you Dean Ereckson, either give the best plans or his executive summary to the proper TCU entity for implementation?
For years I have heard discussion on how to get people into TCU stands-all with little success. Being stuck in Austin having to tolerate the UT bias helps me understand how wonderful Chancellor Boschini has been for TCU and I would not change anything that he has done or is doing for TCU, however is it possible for his Office to help in the manner suggested below - and possibly more. UT AD DeLoss Dodds has taken a so-so program and made it into one of the best in the nation. I have played golf with AD Dodds and through this contact many of my expressed ideas were developed.
While all TCU Fans are caught up in our current BCS Bowl Buster frenzy, let us be honest: * the BCS was created by the "haves" to keep the "have nots" out of the big $$$ bowls which results in the "haves" getting most of the $$$ pie and the pick of that years recruits to insure continued success and monopoly. Any regular season loss or even failing to beat the Vegas point spread can be justification for non-selection of a "have not" to the BCS; & * despite a school's record all the big bowls critically review fan attendance figures to see many bowl tickets the school will buy plus what support the MWC will provide in buying the unsold tickets.
All of you have attended games at other schools and recently at Clemson and BYU where you have heard sold out (nice ring) loud enthusiatic crowds benefiting the home team. Notre Dame is about the same size as TCU and it fills the stadium every week and travels many thousands to every game. Back to my Austin/UT experiences, when Mack Brown came to UT it was not a sell out every game and the fans were almost as restrained as our TCU Fans. Remember, that Mack Brown immediately started the most effective marketing program - come early, wear orange, be loud & stay late. It has worked wonders! Certainly the TCU Marketing Department can come up with something equally effective; again as a class/thesis project free to Chancellor Boschini's people?
The Current Negative Factor that must change and change now - the "cheerleaders" do not lead cheers! There appear to be three or four groups of dancing groups that wave pompons upon cue from the band which is usually a too soft gentle sound - there is NOT anything for the crowd to follow even if they want to yell. This is fine if one is a lower tier division II school where the school is not interested in BCS bids. Someone at TCU has hijacked the cheer leading roles as a most inappropriate dancing girl stage - and this must be reversed. TCU needs cheer leaders that lead direct stadium cheers and other simple cheers that get the crowd involved - move the dancing to a more appropriate stage that does not distract from supporting the Football Team. This inappropriate situation was confirmed by TCU's prior AD in a face to face discussion on this subject last year.
Simple suggestions: *give the restructured cheerleaders microphones/speakers so they can be heard (cheaper than so many dancing costumes), * set up a series of speakers in the tail gating areas which both motivate and give a count down to game time with emphasis being on getting into your seat thirty minutes before game time, * make each car going into a tail gating parking lot show a ticket for every passenger, this should minimize "all the game tail gating". If there are too few tickets for the car, require the unticketed members to go by a ticket at the nearest booth and then return for the tail gating party.
Last item - TCU past excuses for low attendance: * Being in the metroplex where the Cowboys play on Sunday should not adversely affect TCU's Football attendance. True football fans should want tickets to a successful TCU team and then on Sunday at Dallas; * More likely is that a larger percentage of TCU graduates are female rather than male, so if a TCU coed marries another school's graduate it is likely that the husband will prefer going to his school's football game. We can make excuses, or we can choose to take the last steps necessary to make TCU Sports become what Chancellor Boschini and Coach Patterson have started for us.
A solid business plan from the TCU School of Business should define every problem and present the steps required to get the community leaders and uninvolved TCU Fans involved centering on the demographics presentation on how much $$$ is brought into the community with another 15,000 to 20,000 <> fans at every home game. Fill the stadium, keep the good product and the ticket prices start increasing while concession and parking revenues sky rocket.
The Proud Purple can do this! If those of you who are copied on this agree, please forward these ideas to your Frog Friends and let our great Chancellor, Football Coach, Dean of TCU Business School and new AD know that you support such a TCU Fan Support Program. If you disagree my contact information is herein available to you.
Go Frogs,
