GREAT GREAT GREAT STORY by Kraig from the Tribune. http://www.sltrib.com/collegesports/ci_13227382
Coming off one of the school's best football seasons, Weber State cannot employ the most successful marketing strategy in the program's history.
Nothing worked quite like the "Save Wildcat Football" campaign in 1994, when the administration threatened to drop the sport, citing a lack of support. The response was overwhelming, with average attendance of 12,853.
The Wildcats have not come close to those numbers since then, even with the spike of interest that accompanied coach Ron McBride's arrival in 2005. In a northern Utah market dominated by three major college football programs -- even some prominent members of the Wildcat Club also have Utah season tickets -- Weber State continually struggles to become the top attraction in its own hometown.
"We've fought that for a long time," said lifelong fan Mike Gale.
If the Wildcats are ever going to capture Ogden, this may be the year. They have a preseason top-10 ranking in the Football Championship Subdivision and return the offensive stars from the team that shared the Big Sky Conference title. Having won a first-round playoff game last November, WSU can promote a team with a genuine national championship opportunity.
WSU athletic director Jerry Graybeal hopes to sell 4,000 season tickets and is just now preparing his biggest marketing effort in advance of the Sept. 19 home opener, having determined that earlier pushes are futile. "Our people buy late," he
said.
For now, other gauges of interest are encouraging, including record Web site hits and Wildcat Club membership approaching 1,000 -- up from 700.
And then there's the unofficial, yet historically accurate, Mac-o-Meter: "You go in a supermarket," McBride said, "and people you don't know come up and say, 'Hey, we can't wait for football season.' You go to the gas station down here, and people you don't know come up and say, 'Hey, we're excited to watch your team play.' You go down 24th Street to a restaurant and people you don't know come up and say, 'Hey, we're excited for football season.' There seems to be a lot of interest in what we're doing."
Now, if those people and the people who do know Mac all come to the games, the Wildcats will have something.
WSU booster Curtis Breitweiser believes the buzz around town reflects "the anticipation coming true," in terms of where McBride is taking the program in his fifth season.
No matter what happens at Wyoming and Colorado State in the first two games, WSU should draw well for the home opener against rival Idaho State. After that, judging by history, Wildcat fans will act conditionally, basing their plans on the weather, the team's performance and conflicts -- including televised BYU and Utah games.
With his credibility as Utah's former coach for 13 seasons, McBride stirred interest when he took over the program and 17,593 fans packed Stewart Stadium for his debut. WSU fan Eric Neff said there were unreasonable expectations about McBride's immediate impact, and crowds thinned steadily until last season, when -- even after a rainy day resulted in a gathering of only 3,753 for WSU's upset of national power Montana -- the Wildcats' improvement drove attendance to more respectable levels.
The opportunity to win over fans on the fringe is "right there," Graybeal said. "In football, it's always been, 'Show me what you can do.' ... It's hard to capture that audience."
As he stood on the practice field this week, McBride wore a purple cap with a logo he helped develop in '05: a mountain and golden spike, representing Ogden. He wanted the Wildcats to become the community's team and has made himself available to the fans.
"Anything we ask of him, he does," said Becky Thompson, the Wildcat Club's executive director.
Still, McBride is not sure WSU football has achieved that No. 1 status in Ogden, and said of the current interest level, "It can die as fast as it rose."
So he's taking responsibility for extending last season's success on the field. The response is up to everybody else.
[email protected]
Coming off one of the school's best football seasons, Weber State cannot employ the most successful marketing strategy in the program's history.
Nothing worked quite like the "Save Wildcat Football" campaign in 1994, when the administration threatened to drop the sport, citing a lack of support. The response was overwhelming, with average attendance of 12,853.
The Wildcats have not come close to those numbers since then, even with the spike of interest that accompanied coach Ron McBride's arrival in 2005. In a northern Utah market dominated by three major college football programs -- even some prominent members of the Wildcat Club also have Utah season tickets -- Weber State continually struggles to become the top attraction in its own hometown.
"We've fought that for a long time," said lifelong fan Mike Gale.
If the Wildcats are ever going to capture Ogden, this may be the year. They have a preseason top-10 ranking in the Football Championship Subdivision and return the offensive stars from the team that shared the Big Sky Conference title. Having won a first-round playoff game last November, WSU can promote a team with a genuine national championship opportunity.
WSU athletic director Jerry Graybeal hopes to sell 4,000 season tickets and is just now preparing his biggest marketing effort in advance of the Sept. 19 home opener, having determined that earlier pushes are futile. "Our people buy late," he
said.
For now, other gauges of interest are encouraging, including record Web site hits and Wildcat Club membership approaching 1,000 -- up from 700.
And then there's the unofficial, yet historically accurate, Mac-o-Meter: "You go in a supermarket," McBride said, "and people you don't know come up and say, 'Hey, we can't wait for football season.' You go to the gas station down here, and people you don't know come up and say, 'Hey, we're excited to watch your team play.' You go down 24th Street to a restaurant and people you don't know come up and say, 'Hey, we're excited for football season.' There seems to be a lot of interest in what we're doing."
Now, if those people and the people who do know Mac all come to the games, the Wildcats will have something.
WSU booster Curtis Breitweiser believes the buzz around town reflects "the anticipation coming true," in terms of where McBride is taking the program in his fifth season.
No matter what happens at Wyoming and Colorado State in the first two games, WSU should draw well for the home opener against rival Idaho State. After that, judging by history, Wildcat fans will act conditionally, basing their plans on the weather, the team's performance and conflicts -- including televised BYU and Utah games.
With his credibility as Utah's former coach for 13 seasons, McBride stirred interest when he took over the program and 17,593 fans packed Stewart Stadium for his debut. WSU fan Eric Neff said there were unreasonable expectations about McBride's immediate impact, and crowds thinned steadily until last season, when -- even after a rainy day resulted in a gathering of only 3,753 for WSU's upset of national power Montana -- the Wildcats' improvement drove attendance to more respectable levels.
The opportunity to win over fans on the fringe is "right there," Graybeal said. "In football, it's always been, 'Show me what you can do.' ... It's hard to capture that audience."
As he stood on the practice field this week, McBride wore a purple cap with a logo he helped develop in '05: a mountain and golden spike, representing Ogden. He wanted the Wildcats to become the community's team and has made himself available to the fans.
"Anything we ask of him, he does," said Becky Thompson, the Wildcat Club's executive director.
Still, McBride is not sure WSU football has achieved that No. 1 status in Ogden, and said of the current interest level, "It can die as fast as it rose."
So he's taking responsibility for extending last season's success on the field. The response is up to everybody else.
[email protected]
