Interesting that Akron-Canton get biffed this year.
Actually, last year too. Just couldn't attract more than 30 or so fans. Tried several venues with disappointing attendance. Don't blame Athletics for skipping Akron-Canton.
I really like our AD and his staff, but my experience has been that they are not willing to accept suggestions for dealing with fan interest/involvement issues. I, for example, have suggested several times that they need to conduct focus groups in NE Ohio and other key markets to find out why more alumni don't become involved in athletic events. To my knowledge that has never happened. I suggested that Athletics invite families of incoming freshmen to attend Caravan events -- a good friend whose two daughters have ended up in Athens told me they would have been very interested in attending a spring Caravan event if they had known about it. Again, my perception is that Mr. Schaus will say he appreciates your input but it then ends up in the round file. I complained about the egregious quality of our Web feeds and was assured someone would look into it for me. Never heard a word back. I have two-three other examples just from my personal experience…and I am someone who has donated pretty generously to a variety of projects. How many zeros must there be in your check to have them listen to you?
So, yes, we didn't see robust growth in Akron-Canton attendance, but we can ultimately blame ourselves. And our solution apparently is to give up?
I hope what I'm about to relate doesn't come across as boasting because that certainly is not my intent.
Facts: From 1995-2000, I served as head of the Akron-Canton Alumni Chapter. I was surprised to learn that, back then, some 5,000 Ohio alums lived in our chapter area. Once when I got clearance to invite Cleveland Chapter alums to an event, I learned that its territory included some 10,000 alums. Today? One would tend to think that well more than 15,000 alums inhabit the Cleveland/Akron/Canton area.
During those years I had only a handful of alumni email addresses. So we - my late bride Lynne worked with me - mailed postcards and made phone calls to alums. Here are some events we organized and approximate attendance numbers:
* Wine tasting at Wolf Creek Winery on a Saturday afternoon. Attendance about 110.
* Pre-gamer in CSU's arena drew about 100.
* Pre-gamer at the Rubber Bowl drew some 300. It didn't hurt that I had received confirmation from Jim Grobe that he would attend, sign autographs and pose for photos.
* Basketball pregamer in Kent's Student Center. More than 100 alums packed into the room I'd reserved. Even though it was a basketball game, I recruited Grobe and his wife Holly to attend and to hand out raffle prizes, and of course I let alums know the Grobes would attend. Larry Hunter made time to attend.
* Other pregamers drew similar numbers.
After 6 years I let Alumni Relations know it was time to get new leadership blood for the chapter. Anointed was a young Ohio alum who worked at U of Akron. I briefed him a couple times on what we'd done and how we'd done it. I gave him my accumulated alumni contact information. He seemed enthused. Sadly it quickly became apparent that he either didn't have the time to invest to succeed as a chapter leader or wasn't so inclined. The chapter crumbled. It hasn't recovered.
I have no doubt that committed, energetic leadership could once again lead to strong turnouts for alumni events - including Bobcat Caravans - in the Akron-Canton area.
In more recent years, as a Bobcat Club rep, I had as a tool email addresses. Effective use of that tool could be central to revitalizing alumni activities in this area.