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Jed Williams |
Last weekend, I took in the movie “21.” In case you haven’t seen it (and this writer enthusiastically recommends it), the premise centers on an MIT wiz kid who desperately needs money – as in $300K – to finance his Harvard Medical School education. To do so, he transforms from dumpy, robot-building geek to slick, Kate Bosworth-dating, card counting ace. And so the money flows and the story unfolds.
But that’s not the part that grabs my attention. Early in the film, our protagonist interviews for the most lucrative scholarship at Harvard Med. He does the standard song and dance – handing over his résumé, selling his wares, stating his need. The Dean’s impressed. But when it’s Harvard Med you’re talking about, well, everyone is impressive. So he leaves our hero with this question to ponder: “What makes you dazzle?”
It’s exactly the question that university athletics departments and college football programs far and wide, big and small, must ask themselves when it comes to “selling” their Spring Football product to the masses.
What makes you dazzle?
This should strike a chord at the University of Virginia – which doth profess to be a major player in the football business, certainly spends according to that notion, and expects similar commitment from its constituents. But when it comes to the annual Spring Football Festival – this Saturday at Scott Stadium – something is missing. Sizzle, spark, creativity, oomph … something. And the tepid attendance the last several years reflects that.
Sure there’s a raffle and “inflatable games” and Cavman gallivanting through pergolas and around goalposts. There’s face painting and ice cream eating and autograph signing. And yes, there’s even a game. Well, sort of.
But what there isn’t is dazzle. That you must build if they – as in Wahoo Nation – are to come.
For the common fan – he of the desk job, crunched budget, 2.7 kids, and air-tight schedule, attending a Spring Football Game isn’t a rite of passage, much as he might like it to be. And it’s the farthest thing from a crisp autumn gameday, where the world stops for 6 hours to appease your football fix.
It’s merely one of a multitude of recreational options measured against any number of conflicts and push-backs. The somewhat hokey phrase “spring has sprung” exists for a reason: soccer games, spring breaks, lake house retreats, family gatherings … and that’s on a light weekend. Bottom line: there’s a lot going on.
Couple those obstacles with weather variables (Saturday’s forecast – 70 percent chance of precip) and economic challenges (packing up the Suburban for a cross-state trek just isn’t as attractive at $3.43 per gallon!) and the deck is stacked against a mere scrimmage.
To get me through the turnstile, you can’t just ask me. You can’t just line up a bundle of activities and hope. You have to SELL ME, and I mean REALLY SELL ME. That’s why the Spring Football Festival must surpass Blue versus Orange and move above and beyond prizes and pom-poms. It has to be a full-fledged, tour-de-force extravaganza. The biggest party in town. A Spring Experience.
If you’re doubting whether or not this is possible, well, let’s look at a couple of examples.
First, Kansas State University, whose football program is led by Al Groh protégé Ron Prince. RP is now entering his third year on the sidelines at KSU, and his first two spring football ventures have been smash hits.
Just read the university release promoting the inaugural Fan Fest Weekend in 2006 and you’ll understand why.
“The inaugural KSU Wildcat BBQ Battle (proclaimed by the Governor as an official state bbq championship) kicks off Saturday’s full slate of festivities. Fan Fest Weekend will also include a carnival and midway, a children’s fun zone, live music, and a battle of the bands contest.”
Now that’s a party, an event, and a spectacle topped with purple and gray shoulder pads. It’s a concept that smacks of originality; one that oozes bigness. Somebody – or a whole lot of somebodies – invested a lot of right-brained creativity, then backed it up with bottom-line dollars. The result was a 30,000 person attendance explosion. They backed up 2006 with another turnstile-burning, rollicking spring throwdown in 2007. This in tiny Manhattan, Kansas … at a school without that much more football tradition than UVa, and certainly without any cultural advantages over Charlottesville.
If it can happen there, it can happen here. It need not be Georgia or Michigan or Oklahoma for football to work on a single day in April. Let KSU be a beacon of what can happen when an athletic department thinks outside the hashmarks and beyond the moon bounce.
Next, take Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators. This program, unlike UVa or KSU, is a bonafide football factory. The natives already eat, drink, and breath it at all times of the year. They’re just 15 months removed from a National Championship. Their quarterback – Tim Tebow – makes Chuck Norris quiver, and rumors persist that he in fact invented spring ball.
There’s no need to sell a spring game to a fanbase that’s already buying. Yet what does Meyer do – sell, sell, sell.
From the Gainsville Sun: “as part of a continuing effort by Urban Meyer to thank UF students for their support, the team is hosting a series of contests in which Florida students can demonstrate their skills against members of the football squad. The Fastest Student contest will allow contestants to test their speed vs. UF football players (originally designed as a dash against Gator flash Percy Harvin before injuring his heel). Participants can also win a chance to participate in one of the following contests prior to the Orange and Blue Debut: catch a pass from Tim Tebow, kick a 25-yard field goal, receive a kickoff from a Gator Kicker.”
Cool.
Interactive, student-oriented, mega-creative, and downright fun.
The examples have been set. Now, there are two unanswered questions for Virginia to consider. First, is a big-time football event worth it? And if the answer to question one is “yes,” then what is Virginia’s sales pitch?
It doesn’t take me two nanoseconds to respond to question one, and it sounds a lot like Marv Albert calling a clutch 3-pointer during the NBA Playoffs: “YES!!”
Football is the front porch through which so many access a school. In this case, it’s a unique way to connect with younger fans and extend your brand well beyond only those who can pony up for tickets in the fall.
Make the event free, keep it free (“F-R-E-E … that spells free”), and let it serve as a powerful outreach mechanism. The money spent will come back in spades through concessions, merchandise, and general good will.
Plus, whether or not you actually care if your school draws 9,000 or 90,000 to its spring gathering, the blue chip prospects that you’re donating big money to see sure seem to.
Take the case of Alabama Football in Nick Saban’s first year. Saban implored fans to show up in droves for the A-Day game last April. He insisted it would make a difference with the recruits who would shape the championship future of the Crimson Tide. They listened and responded to the tune of 92K. The school then exhaustively promoted the record turnout. Saban sold it to prospects. Those prospects noted it in interviews. And 10 months later, the nation’s number one recruiting class nestled in Tuscaloosa. Believe me (and Saban), it wasn’t a coincidence. The spring game played a role.
I understand that Virginia isn’t exactly Alabama, and that’s a good thing (unless you like a mean game of Bear Bryant trivia on a Friday night followed by some good ol’ gill net fishing). But football is football – almost everyone likes it, and every school yearns to excel in it. And recruits are the bloodline that make it possible. It doesn’t take a UVa sheepskin or a Crimson upbringing to understand that spring ball can be a potent resource.
We’ve answered part one. Now, onto fostering Virginia’s spring brand. I don’t have the perfect answer – not sure that exists – but it’s time to start exploring. I’m the farthest thing from a marketing savant, but what’s the harm in brainstorming.
A couple of thoughts:
First, if a school hopes to make its spring fling bigger than just football, then massive amounts of food – preferably tailgate grub – better be part of the deal. Maybe it’s a food festival, perhaps it’s a cook-off (bbq, chili, whatever), or maybe it’s a full bore, hot dogs and wings inhaling, Kobayashi-style eating contest. Whatever the case, back the food truck up to the stadium, and don’t pull out until the weekend’s over.
Next, music. If UVa, in conjunction with the city, can lure The Dave Matthews Band and The Rolling Stones to Scott, then I don’t think we’re being unreasonable to hope for one or two high profile, family friendly college town bands that would fit nicely in The Hook. These groups are everywhere (New Orleans: “Cowboy Mouth,” Gainesville: “Sister Hazel,” etc.), and I imagine they can be had for a modest sum.
Or if that’s untenable, then contact the soon-to-be-reincarnated “Gridiron Bash” and explore working into their rotation next spring. Before it was cancelled a few weeks ago (thanks NCAA … and next time gridiron gang, get clearance first), the Gridiron Bash encompassed 16 different schools, not all of them longstanding powers (Arizona State, Army, and Utah), and featured acts like Alan Jackson, Kid Rock, and Kelly Clarkson.
Okay, so those may not be award-winning ideas, but at least we’re hurling them against a wall to see if any stick. By all means Wahoo fans, join in.
Once UVa finds some ideas that do stick, sell the stuffing out of them. And get a jump on it early, as in February. Don’t wait, because spring isn’t slowing down. Wallpaper every dormroom, classroom, ballroom, henhouse, outhouse, and doghouse. Utilize media outlets throughout the state, including more dynamic, interactive forums like this one and their own website. Granted, Virginia currently has a page dedicated to this weekend’s activities. Now make it bigger. Louder. More unmistakable. Splash it everywhere. Change the spring football culture.
If Alabama can attract 92K and Virginia Tech nearly half that number, then why not aim higher in Cavalier Country? We demand as much of our fall football product; why not our spring?
To answer that question, Virginia must first ask: “Do I dazzle?”
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