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School Spirit

B

ballplayerz

Active member
So my dad went to washington state university (wsu) so i have been to pullman many many times. The town is small but it almost every building has something written on it about wsu, go cougs, wsu, something. I was on there website and stumbled across this thing that they have.. http://undefeatedfans.com/." onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. its all about how much pride coug fans have in there school. So got me thinking, what does weber have that is kinda like this? obviously we dont have college game day ever in town but weber has NOTHING!! no buildings have flags, or houses for that matter, no window paint, not even stickers on cars.. not even places across from campus relate to weber. can anyone tell me why? why out of 82,825 people in ogden can we not sell out 12,ooo seats at the Dee even once? Weber state is the only university where you go and see just as much other schools apparel as you do webers. walking thru the parking lots you see aggies and Y stickers all over. Maybe im not seeing the whole picture or im missing something but ive been going to weber state basketball and football since i was 5. my family has had season basketball tickets for 17 years. i get that ogden has alot of people who are not from weber state but come on. where are the alumni with atleast a sticker in the window or somethin. or the support for ogden city itself acknowledging they are a college town to weber and it needs its support. am i just crazy to think that if we can get more community and fan support the school itself would do better? (damn that was a long rant!) what do you guys think?
 
There are several reasons -but real briefly.

1. Commuter school v residential school
2. Competition with other FBS schools in the area for media coverage, recruits, fan interest.
3. Limited history of winning (yes, we have had a few good years, but not always consistent)
4. Smaller conference - Big Sky is great, but not at the same level as the Pac 10 as Wash St has.
5. All of these factors (and others) create a chicken and egg thing. How do you create a huge fan base and school spirit without addressing the issues listed above? Something has to break through first and then the rest comes later. I think if you win, then the rest follows.

Two examples come to mind of programs that have done this:
Boise and Montana. both come from the Big Sky and smaller markets. But, both have had some great success with football. It took winning and investment from their community (e.g., corporate sponsors) for them to rise to the level they are at right now. I think Weber is on their way - they have to do the following (IMHO) to get to the next level:
1. Win in the NCAA tournament. At least get through the first round for a couple of years and then you become a media darling ala Gonzaga and George Mason
2. Win a few games in the FCS playoffs - get to the final 8 or better a couple of times.

We are already close to this level, but not there consistently. When Weber goes to NCAA consistently and wins a game or two every year consistently, and also, when the football team goes to the FCS playoffs and makes it past the first 2 rounds, then Weber will be a school with more school spirit, fans, media coverage, etc. How do you manage to break through? That is a much more difficult question to answer at this time.
 
Boise and Montana both have an edge over Weber...

Montana is the states Flagship institution and Boise State is located in the capital, even though U of I in Moscow is the Flagship institution and the academic heavy weight (Boise State may be a powerful football program academically its on par with UVU and Dixie State).

The biggest problem in realtion to Weber State is apathy.
 
Oh and the professional staff isn't very committed...They are long termers. Get a good job and sit on it doing enough to keep it, but not enough to really build anything.
 
I agreee with Waldo. That makes sense. Also we could use a better marketing budget for our athletics department. They laid off the director and his assistant and never replaced him.
 
I think this is something every member on this board has complained about at one point. I've racked my brain about it several times. I've come to the conclusion that it needs to start with the students. I've decided this because I think one of the biggest problems is the alumni teaching their kids to be BYU or Utah fans rather than Weber. I grew up in the Ogden area and among my friends I was the only Weber St fan, largely due to my dad who took me to the games. If we can find a way to get the students to want to come then they will continue to come as alumni and then are more likely to teach their kids to like Weber. It's a trickle down effect.
 
I SEE HERE THAT HERE ON THE WILDCAT FANS FORUM, WE ARE ALL WINERS! :tothehand: I THINK WE SHOULD QUIT OUR JOBS AND RUN THE UNIVERSITY OF WEBER, STATE INSTITUTION. LETS START SOMETHING HERE! :coffee: DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I live out in West Point, I have a large Wildcat in shield logo on the back window of my car, and I fly a flag at my house when Weber plays.
 
I also have a sticker on my car and a flag but people just dont get it.. i think if you win (as we have done the past 3 seasons) you should get a little help from your community but it seems like no matter how well we do we are still last to get any attention. How is our marketing so screwed up? we are a university who should have resources all over. its sad and frustrating because we can all hope and hope the Dee will be filled somewhat on wed for the last home game but no word gets out about the game and our promotions. Is there anything that can be done? anything we can do to get us(weber) noticed? :wtf:
 
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