CATCHING A CROWD
Coaches everywhere are taking new approaches to bringing large, loud crowds to their volleyball games. Attracting families, new students, and fans of other sports are all proving to be successful strategies.
By Nate Dougherty
Nate Dougherty is a former Assistant Editor at Coaching Management.
When the goal is to fill the stands with loud, pumped-up crowds, Creighton University Head Coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth offers a secret weapon: “The squeal of little kids is louder than anything you can imagine,” she says.
After taking over a team in 2003 that averaged just a few hundred fans for home games, Booth helped turn that tenet into a marketing strategy. And it worked. The Bluejays cracked the top 20 in average attendance in NCAA Division I in 2007, and recorded the second-highest single-match attendance on Sept. 2 against Cal Poly. It was all done by marking to families—with whom the team creates lasting connections.
Her strategy is just one of many that volleyball coaches are testing out in their arenas. Whether you’re looking to attract families, students, or fans of other sports, there are a host of new ideas to choose from.
Kids Place
When she first took the job at Creighton, Booth sat down with a friend to brainstorm about how to bring more kids to games and connect them to Bluejays players. What the two came up with was the Bluejay Buddies program, which offers any child in eighth grade or younger a season ticket, a Bluejays T-shirt, a ball, and admission to a clinic put on by the team for $25. Parents of Bluejay Buddies can buy season tickets for $30—they normally sell for $65—as long as they bring a child with them.
“We also do group promotions, so almost every match there’s something going on,” Booth says. “It can be Girl Scout night, YMCA night, or breast cancer awareness night. If we offer a great product to fans, they’ll come back, so we do whatever we can to accommodate them.”
To keep the crowd entertained during breaks in the action, Creighton provides activities throughout the match. Between the second and third games, for instance, there might be a “Human Bowling Ball,” where a fan enters a huge inflatable ball and runs around trying to knock over giant pins. When the team returns to the court, the Bluejay Buddies form a human tunnel and players high-five the kids as they run by.
One of the most popular promotions comes after the game, when the players remain in the arena for up to 45 minutes signing autographs. “A lot of other schools will have autograph sessions where the players just hang around the court, but we have them sit at a table, which makes it easier for shy kids to get in line,” Booth says. “It ensures there’s no uncomfortable feeling of having to approach the player to ask for an autograph.
“I let all the players know how important it is for them to make the kids feel special,” she continues. “I tell them, ‘Don’t just look down and sign your name. Make eye contact and take a few minutes to talk to them.’ We can forget how much the kids look up to the players, and I’ll often hear people in the community say how nice our players were to their child or friend. That goes a long way.”
The connections Booth and her players create not only help fill up the stands, but also ensure the program’s viability in the future. “My staff and I hope to be here a long time, and we want second graders to dream about becoming Bluejays, just like the players they idolize now,” Booth says. “Eventually, that creates a buzz in the community and people want to be part of our program.”
Volleyball Game Here
The University of Nebraska has no special gimmicks to get fans to attend its matches. They don’t even have a marketing budget to promote the team. So how has it put together a string of 100-plus sellouts and consistently packed the arena with raucous fans? Certainly, being a former national champion helps, but according to Head Coach John Cook, it’s really the culmination of a long-running program to tap into the school’s other successful teams and make fans feel close to the action.
“The phenomenon began 20 years ago, when the program first started piggybacking off our great football crowds,” Cook says. “The team would schedule matches for Saturday afternoons after home football games. Outside the stadium, the volleyball coach would put out a standboard sign that said, “Volleyball Game Here” with an arrow pointing to the arena. It also said they’d get in for a reduced price with their football ticket stub. As 70,000 people were leaving the football stadium, they saw this sign and it really started to get people in the door.
“It was a risk, it was creative, and it worked,” he continues. “A lot of people who walked in didn’t know a thing about volleyball, but once they started watching, they were hooked. Just like in business, you have a better chance to sell your product if you can reach a larger audience. The more people walking by your sign, the better the odds are they’ll come in the door.”
It’s an approach the team still uses today with great success. And whether the football team wins or loses, the crowds are already in the mood to cheer on Huskers volleyball. “If the football team wins, the fans are naturally excited,” Cook says. “But even if they lose, fans come in so geared up, they don’t want volleyball to lose, too.”
The team’s attendance strategy also involves the arena itself. The 4,030-seat Nebraska Coliseum creates an intimate environment where fans feel connected to what’s happening on the court. “Volleyball is a sport that needs to be played in an arena where fans are close to the action,” Cook says. “You want them to be right next to the court so they can appreciate the speed and athleticism of the game. That creates a great environment.”
Cook says small changes can also help fans feel like they’re part of the action. Before home matches, for instance, the Huskers announce every player on the team and have them throw an autographed ball into the crowd.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say, ‘Wow, I caught Sarah Pavan’s ball,’” Cook says. “It makes people feel special and creates another connection between the players and the crowd.
“In the last few years we’ve also put in 32 courtside seats that cost ticket buyers $2,500 for the season,” he continues. “They are nice leather chairs that are very special—besides being comfortable, the people in them are literally part of the action. They’re getting hit with volleyballs and players are diving into them. In the last three seasons only two of the 32 seats have become available.”
Cook says volleyball also needs coaches willing to get out into the community. “If I break down my time, one third of it is spent coaching, another third is management, and the final third is spent in the community connecting—talking to groups and going to events,” he says. “As coaches, we might want to just work on X’s and O’s and have someone else handle the marketing duties, but it can’t be that way if we really want to draw good crowds. Volleyball coaches have to find ways to make those connections that get people to become fans.”
Reaching Out to Students
When Head Coach Ibraheem Suberu took over at Pittsburg State University, attendance was near the bottom of NCAA Division II. But Suberu knew he could bring those numbers up by doing some simple outreach to students on campus, and thanks to those efforts, the Gorillas have led the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in attendance for the past six seasons.
Suberu started by using his position as a professor to bring new students out to Gorillas games. He worked with faculty members to come up with a program called “Stand and Cheer with Gorilla Volleyball,” which requires new students to attend the first match of the year as part of their freshman experience class. Suberu even turns it into a competition, giving the professor who brings the most students a chance to sit on the bench as a guest coach.
“As part of welcoming students to the university, professors put on their syllabi that they have to attend the match,” Suberu says. “This game becomes a social interaction that allows our students to get to know each other and the faculty. Because the professor who brings the most students gets to be a guest coach, they’re all working very hard to get everyone to the game.”
And it works, usually bringing 90 percent of the freshman class to the match. Though it helps being a professor himself, Suberu says any coach can reach out to faculty to get them involved in the program.
“The stronger the relationship coaches have with faculty, the better we can connect them and their students to our program,” Suberu says. “It’s also a big plus for our student-athletes to see their professors in the stands cheering them on.”
To keep students coming back, Suberu makes sure the program gives them what they want most. “We do a lot of giveaways—things like T-shirts and coupons from local businesses,” Suberu says. “Students know that when they come to one of our matches, they’ll have an opportunity to watch good volleyball and also be able to pick up some free things. For students, anything free is good.”
Suberu also taps into the fact that volleyball is the second most popular sport in terms of participation worldwide. “Typically we have 400 to 500 international students at Pittsburg State every year, and all of them know volleyball as a global sport,” he says. “So we work with our International Student Association to make sure there’s a volleyball game on its list of activities every year.”
The game then turns into an unofficial welcome party for the international students, who are encouraged to bring flags and wear traditional clothes from their countries. “The turnout is always great on that night, and between game two and three our director of international students acknowledges the contributions of the international students to our community,” Suberu says. “After the game we set aside time for players and students to mingle, which helps them develop relationships.”
Suberu says putting more fans in the seats has in turn led to more wins for the team. “Having such a great atmosphere has helped us with recruiting because when prospects see 1,000 people in the stands shouting and having a great time, it makes a big difference,” he says.
“Historically, our sport is not one that school organizations put on their calendar like they would for basketball or football games,” Suberu continues. “But any coach can tap into the student community to set up programs like we’ve done. Every organization you make a connection with has the potential to increase attendance.”
A Social Event
La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, Calif., takes a similar approach, making its volleyball matches as much a social engagement as a sporting event. “I’ve been to a lot of high school games where only the parents show up to cheer,” says Head Coach Pat McDougal. “Here, we make volleyball games more of a social event so the spectators feel like they’re coming to a party.”
A group of raucous students known as “The Noise Boyz” don crazy hats and glasses and make dramatic entrances. Before the game, players from the school’s freshman, j.v., and varsity teams huddle around each other and do the “Sha-booya” dance, with each player coming up with a cheer to rhyme with her name. And once the match has ended, the fans and players stick around to eat pizza and mingle.
The atmosphere doesn’t come without some work from McDougal and his team. On gamedays, student-athletes make a video message to hype the event, and McDougal communicates with the boys’ coach to make sure the teams are supporting each other.
“The boys’ varsity coach encourages his players to go to the games, and he’ll sit on the bench with me,” says McDougal. “He’ll also toss some balls to my players during warmups, and when his players show up he makes sure to talk to them.”
Those connections have helped bring some of La Costa Canyon’s rowdiest fans—many of the “Noise Boyz” are from the boys’ volleyball team. They, in turn, recruit friends from other teams to go to the games. In the stands, they make up cheers and throw T-shirts into the crowd. The trend has caught on, with one of La Costa Canyon’s rivals adopting their own version of the “Noise Boyz.”
The “Sha-Booya” dance helps make players from all three teams feel part of something larger. “There are many programs where the freshman, j.v., and varsity teams are separate entities, but that’s not what it’s like here,” McDougal says. “Because of the way we connect the teams, the freshman and j.v. parents stay for the varsity game and are very vocal. It helps to create that supportive atmosphere for the entire program.”
The gametime fun didn’t come overnight, but was the result of years of careful attention to fans’ responses. “When trying to get this kind of crowd for your games, the important thing is to start small,” McDougal says. “Do little things to promote the team and build from there. Anything you do to make it more exciting, like having players throw signed balls into the stands, goes a long way. It’s so much more fun when you have crowds like we do—there’s really no comparison.”
The Right Channels
Colorado State University Head Coach Tom Hilbert knows his team’s games offer fast-paced action, great bursts of athleticism, and athletes who are accessible to fans. But he also knows that getting the word out about his program is a big part of getting more bodies in the stands. So he taps into a number of channels that let potential fans become aware of the excitement the games offer.
“An important first step in trying to get people to come to games is to attract credibility, and the way you get that is through the media,” Hilbert says. “You have to talk to beat writers—call and remind them there’s a match this weekend against a big rival. You need to reach out because the media is not used to giving that kind of attention to volleyball.
“I also spend a lot of time year-round speaking to community groups,” he continues. “If I talk to 70 people in a rotary club and five of those people come to our game, that works to build our base. Those people talk to other people, and word spreads. Find out who is willing to help you spread the word.”
To reach a broader audience, the team offers family nights featuring ticket and concessions packages and sells group tickets to major employers in the area. Because both the volleyball and women’s basketball teams share a similar marketing strategy—selling the athletes as good students and role models—the two share contact lists and marketing information.
Hilbert also uses student-athletes as ambassadors. “There’s an event in our community called ‘Neighborhood Night Out’ when there are block parties and ice cream socials throughout the city,” Hilbert says. “We have pairs of student-athletes hit two parties each, passing out schedule cards and shaking hands.
“When people in the community get to know these young ladies, they become real fans, not fair-weather fans who just come when we win,” Hilbert says. “It’s important for student-athletes to know that every time they’re out in the community, they’re building bridges and making friends for our program.”
From there, Hilbert makes sure he’s delivering a product that will keep fans engaged. “You want to pay careful attention to the experience you’re offering them,” Hilbert says. “I get the school band for one game a year, and I’ve been advocating that we need them more often. If you can get someone handling music and a good PA announcer, the environment becomes so much more fun, and that creates tradition. We have a promotion in which every time we successfully block for a point, we throw a prize into the stands. That really gets fans excited and cheering for our blocks.
“You’ve got to make your volleyball game a fun and interactive event,” he adds. “If someone is new to volleyball, they will love watching the sport, but it makes the experience that much better if you do a lot of great extra things.”
