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Post by jmakins on Jul 20, 2005 12:50:40 GMT -6
Hello everyone,
I am the other half of Fury leadership this year. My name is Jeremy, and you can be sure that Sam and I are, and will be, working hard to get students in the seats this year.
We are definitely open and receptive to any and all ideas this message board may have relating to the Fury. We are both passionate about UIC Athletics, and determined to see a more consistent student turnout at the games.
We can use all the help we can get...we are actively recruiting students that would like to volunteer some of their time before and during the season. If there are any students on this board that would like to help out in any manner...passing out flyers, hanging up signs, talking to people, helping at game-days...please contact us.
I love the enthusiasm on this message board. It is a great place for Flames fans to congregate.
Thanks to all of you who support our program - there are many dedicated people in the Athletic Department that are working hard to continue the success of all our programs.
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Post by UICJason on Jul 20, 2005 13:14:58 GMT -6
Hey Jeremy...
You'll definitely find ideas on this board...not all good, not all bad. We'd love to have you as a member to discuss strategies or how things are going. Sometimes, we're tough, but everyone on here cares so much about making UIC Basketball a "real" program from a fan perspective that you have to take the happy with the angry.
We had planned on passing out flyers for this message board at Midnight Madness outside...but if we could get inside, it would be even cooler. A lot of us feel that the most popular programs all have message boards these days where people can congregate, criticize, ask questions and talk about recruiting. I know that the U can't get too involved promoting an outside website, but anything you can do to help is definitely appreciated.
Remember, you can get here easily by going to uichoops.com
Jason
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Post by UICJohn on Jul 20, 2005 14:06:46 GMT -6
I really think that little things can really help go a long way. By this I mean just some signs going up in the SCE and the dorms about the games, times, fliers, tables in the SCE on game days, etc. I was so surprised as to the number of students who didn't know that we had a pretty competetive basketball team, let alone a basketball team at all. Or that students don't even know you can get into the games for free!
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Post by Big D on Jul 20, 2005 20:08:20 GMT -6
Hey Jeremy...
I think some of the other guys mentioned some good ideas. I do think that flyers and posters would help tremendously...also, what about having a booth set up in the middle of campus or in SCE on gamedays...maybe you can take signups and pass out t-shirts. In the past, the Fury has only set up a booth in the Pavilion at gametime. This is great, and should be done, but the problem with that setup is that you're limiting signups to people that are already at the games as fans...we need to reach out to students all over campus that are not yet fans...
Also, what about Fury pregame outings? You guys could send out emails to the Fury members in order to notify them of these events. It doesn't have to be anything major, but just something extra to do. What about grabbing some food at Hawkeye's before the game. Maybe some of the older students could grab a couple drinks and some Italian food at Little Joe's on Taylor before the game (a few friends an I used to go there all the time before games)....
Finally, what about free bustrips to opposing arenas in the Chicago area....to Loyola, to Northwestern, and to Depaul? I think students would be interested in taking trips to other close arenas. I was hoping for a big Fury turnout last year for our big game at Depaul. Unfortunately, it was pretty sad. This may not be possible due to expenses but I'm sure some cost-effective travel situation could be coordinated.
I think you guys are already on the right track...you have to get these fans when they're freshman. Showing up at orientation is a great step...now you just have to keep them interested until October/November...like Chuck, I'm interested in how this will be done.
As for the messageboard, I'm glad you made your way here...we're just trying to get the word out any way we can. As previously said, we're hoping to pass out flyers at midnight madness.....
Don't be a stranger....feel free to bounce any ideas off of us....
[glow=red,2,300]Go Flames![/glow]
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Post by UICJohn on Jul 21, 2005 1:29:32 GMT -6
I think that pregame would be a great idea. Maybe even get some sort of deal with some place if you could actually guarantee a certain amount of students. Extra business for that given place could result in some sort of savings.
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Post by Chuck A on Jul 22, 2005 7:25:44 GMT -6
I remember a while back the Commons (dorms) on Halsted and Harrison had some type of competition. Either the dorm with the most students or the floor from a dorm with the most students at the game got something special. I think the RA's were responsible for letting the students on their floor know about the games.
I think there's great potential for this with Robinson and Beckham Halls in University Village on south Halsted. Also talking about a pregame get together at Hawkeyes, there's the new Morgans Bar and Grill on Halsted right across the street from Robinson and Beckham Halls. Also there will be another Sports Bar opening soon across the street from Morgans.
This fall has great POTENTIAL. I just hope we can MAXIMIZE it.
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Post by UICJohn on Jul 22, 2005 12:22:19 GMT -6
They did just open Morgan's on Halsted not more than a week ago. And most of the dormers in those two dorms are older students. The only tough part about people in those dorms is that it's a pretty decent walk from there, which might make students think twice about going.
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Post by FlameFan on Jul 22, 2005 15:02:28 GMT -6
Looks like a lot of solid interest. Hopefully it can be kept up so that the fan base can keep building.
Too bad some of these efforts were not undertaken last year, when we had the great schedule. Oh well, better lat than never.
I have been off the board for quite a while. Good to see things are still going strong on here.
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Post by Big D on Jul 23, 2005 15:33:44 GMT -6
I know that the U can't get too involved promoting an outside website, but anything you can do to help is definitely appreciated. Hey Jason, I just noticed today that UWM is "promoting" UWM's message board. The link is on their student club's website which is hosted by UWM. I'm shocked that we can't get a link to this board on the Fury page or something on UIC's site. I bet a few more people would end up here if there were a link on UIC's site...
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Post by Chuck A on Jul 26, 2005 16:01:49 GMT -6
They did just open Morgan's on Halsted not more than a week ago. And most of the dormers in those two dorms are older students. The only tough part about people in those dorms is that it's a pretty decent walk from there, which might make students think twice about going. Maybe the Fury leadership in conjunction with the Univerisity could have special buses running from the South Campus to the Pavilion. It's been done for Midnight Madness, so I don't see it being a problem for real games.
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Post by jmakins on Jul 29, 2005 12:49:10 GMT -6
Many of your ideas are things that we are currently working on. Here's a response to some of the above posts:
On having a presence on campus: we plan on having tables/booths set up at SCE and other hot spots on campus to inform students when the games are. We will be passing out and posting fliers on campus regularly throughout the season. We hope to have student volunteers that will help us with these efforts. Residence halls will be targeted!
Spreading the word: See above. Also, Samantha and I really want to talk to students and all the student groups/organizations on campus. We plan on attending many of the events happening on campus (Fun Fair, New Student Welcome, etc.) I always have Fury brochures with me, and I pass them out whenever I get the chance!
Bustrips to opposing games: I am a big advocate of having a presence at away games. There's almost nothing better than being in someone's arena and winning the game. Bus trips in the past have been based off of demand from students. This year, we are going to take a more proactive approach and build the demand.
Pregame gatherings: This sounds like a great idea, and we are hoping to have a gathering place for Fury members. A pregame spot may also be a great place for uichoops.com members to meet up with one another.
We have had, and will have busses running from Dorms on campus to the Pavilion for men's basketball games. The busses run one hour before and after the game. Free of course for UIC students.
We really want all students living on campus to get hammerred with info about all of our athletic programs. We do plan on having specific promotions and season-long contests for those students living in residence halls.
Thanks for the ideas, and keep the input coming. Again, if any of you can help out in any way (donating promotional items, lending a hand, etc.) please let me know. E-mail is the best way to get ahold of me.
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Post by UICJohn on Jul 29, 2005 14:56:29 GMT -6
Love all of those ideas. And I think simple things like booths and posters would make the biggest difference in the end. You mentioned buses to away games, buses from the dorms to the Pavillion, etc. I think those are great things but people didn't really know much about them. Like I said, my friend didn't even know that tickets were free to students! I remember the only way I heard about bus trips to Milwaukee and such were by email and by uicflames.com. Not everybody checks stuff like that. I plan on being at alot of the games. Having some pre-game thing would interest me, definitely.
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Post by MrFrontrow on Jul 30, 2005 11:14:53 GMT -6
Raise any students grade point average .5% for attending 10 games. if this sounds like a bribe call it the Mayor Daley incentive.
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Post by Jason T on Sept 9, 2005 16:54:58 GMT -6
I apologize in advance for not reading the new posts in this older thread I initially started. I guess now that basketball season is almost here, I'll have to get into the habit of reading newer posts before I say anything. I'll also be able to come here on a regular basis again now that "basketball vacation" is over.
But from what I've read in the more recent posts in this thread, it sounds like Samantha has this goal of getting more and more UIC students and alumni to come out to the Pav this season. Getting more students to come out is certainly one way of helping increase the Flames' popularity in the media. I mean after all, the Chicago media spends too much time talking about DePaul, even if their team is having a lousy season.
But of course, the main ingredient to getting more fans to come out is having a winning basketball program. I dunno yet how good the Flames look on paper this year, but I hope this will be a decent year (if the program is calling this a rebuilding year for the Flames.
A "decent year" to me would be a lot similar to way the last season ended (without that loss to Loyola in the conf. tourney). I hope the talent on this team will be good enough to avoid another one of those seasons with 7-11 wins all season.
I'll be looking forward to seeing the Flames play in person again. It might be even better to see the Pav packed with fans again like in the 97-98 season. When the fan support was there for real. I bet it's been years since they had fans in the upper deck at the Pav. Actually, they probably had fans up there at the Loyola games when the Bailey brothers played for their respective teams.
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Post by UICJohn on Sept 9, 2005 18:40:32 GMT -6
Actually Jason, the last time they had fans in the upper deck was the Georgia Tech game But that was the only game like that last season. As far as the talent, it is there. Whether it will all blend and turn us into a winning team this season, we all have to wait and see.
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