TicketsAs anyone who has been to a Cincinnati women's home game in the last several years can attest, there haven't been very many fans in the seats; to change that, the team is going to need the support of the community. But there are a lot of challenges when it comes to building a fan base from the ground up.
Behind the scenes, there are a lot of people working to get people to buy into Cincinnati women's basketball. "You have to put a product out there that entices people, or intrigues them," said Dana Rieger, director of women's basketball operations. "There are fans out there. We just have to find them."
In recruiting a fan base, a lot of the burden falls on head coach Jamelle Elliott. She represents the face of the program; student athletes come and go, but the idea is that Elliott's regime will be around for a much longer period of time. This will give the program a sense of longevity lacking in recent seasons.
Elliott also brings with her the name recognition of the University of Connecticut, one of the most consistently successful basketball programs in America over the last 15 years. With her in place, the athletics department can really kick it into high gear in terms of getting the word out.
Rieger pointed out that the program is initially at a disadvantage because they have come in recently from all over the country and don't have many local connections. However, through the far-reaching arms of the university community, they know people who know a lot of people. Here is a cool example she shared with me: through the alumni offices on campus, the team found out that there are 85 UC alumni living in Anchorage, Alaska. The team is going to reach out to these potential fans when the team goes to Anchorage in late November to play in the Great Alaska Shootout.
Make no mistake about it: the fan is just as integral a component to a team's overall success as anything else. When fans buy in, when the team starts winning, the fans will start to identify with the team and feel like they're truly a part of something special. "We all have a part of this," Rieger said. "It's not just the head coach, it's not just the coaching staff, it's not just the administration. Everybody has a hand in this."
Next week, I'll be taking a look at the challenges of building a fan base through the eyes of the university's sports marketing department, so stay tuned!
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