Give every student a free drawing stub at start of game. Must stay to end of game for 100, 200 or 300 pizza coupons. Also a grand prize of $500 cash or a $1000 textbook coupon. Must stay to middle of 4th qtr or end of game. Start calling numbers at timmouts with big prize at end of game.

Alan I'm with you here. That Demi Lovato Cool for the Summer song is low grade porn. All rules of music composition are tossed out to build the track for a two second attention span.

Yes Cool for the Summer is lingo for a summer break relationship until you go back to your regular relationship in the summer. Great thing to expose kids to sitting in the stadium.

I pay no attention to the music, but that stuff is highly questionable, especially when we try and sell ourselves as quality family entertainment.

C'mon Alan. Can you truly claim this is concert week in the Swank household without including Paul McCartney's show in Columbus?

Being new to Bobcat games, I have no idea why this is so, and I really don't want to tread on tradition here, but I think it's odd that our cheerleaders, (whose job it is to encourage the crowd), do not cheer in front of the students or the band. They do travel to a different corner of the stadium at each quarter, and I guess that's nice so everyone can see them, but they don't really have a home base. At almost all the college games I've ever been to, the cheerleaders stay put, and they are by the students and the band. I actually watched our cheerleaders battle for space with the opposing cheerleaders because they were in the same location, cheering to the same fans. They should not be anywhere near each other!
Imagine if they were by the students and band when they held up all those signs that say "Go Cats!" etc. Also...and this is a whole other topic...if our video board was better it could do a lot more to amp up the crowd.

I pay little if any attention to the music other than the 110. I'm so focused on the game I dont notice.

Could someone clue me in to what they play. Ok other than the Lovato song.

I have no regard for those who leave after halftime.

Agreed. I don't like it myself, but it's ironic that a bunch of old men are whining about this doggone newfangled music in a thread discussing how to retain the interest of younger people at the game. Anyone on this board is going to games no matter what. Hint: The music is not for you.

As to solving this problem, it's worth noting that this is mostly a nice problem to have -- at least students come to our games in the first place.

The doggone newfangled music might sound better if it was emanating from a better sound system.

There's truth in crazy's statement. The other game that I can recall that had virtually no student defections after the 110 played was the Pitt game -- national TV on a Friday night. Also, the Toledo game when UT was ranked had a much less than normal attrition rate in the second half. Again, the variables mentioned were in play -- quality opponent and national TV. I guess ESPN3.com webcasts don't cut it!

No, I think that they are leaving to protest that Irons did not start at RB. ;-)

Fascinating thread! I really don't have additional thoughts on the students leaving early concept. I left early to go hang out with some friends that didn't attend the game Saturday. I also left early during the SE Louisiana game to, as PerimeterPost said, enjoy Athens. Mrs. Country and I went to check out the local brew scene that we'd not yet enjoyed. Both games were blowouts in my mind, and I too am in the "length of College Football games is obnoxious" camp. I'm also more of a basketball fan, with the pace and length of the game being a factor. I've said since I started coming to more OU Football games that I've come down for the whole experience, not just the game. I love the tailgating, and just enjoying Athens & Campus on a fall day, to go along with the football game and band performances. Conversely, I've made trips from CBus for hoops just for the game itself.

Contrary to WishIwasAtLucky's, I don't think there's any way that beer keeps noticeably more people/students there, but maybe I'm off base. Maybe Schaus and his staff should work on a Survey Monkey.

With regard to music, I don't see what's wrong with mixing it up. You're going to have ages ranging from 5-85 in the building. I'm good with some rap, country, 60's rock such as the Beattles, and so on. The one thing I am against: playing more 110. The 110 is fantastic, don't get me wrong, but if you see the majority of the game day experience, you get a whole lot of 110 most of the time. Is it fair to say some "casual fans" would like more music, less 110?

The noise part of the crowd is an interesting one. I feel like OUr crowd is really more into the game at a basketball game. Maybe that goes back to the pace/length of the game, maybe it's the fact that there's a roof, I don't know. My opinion used to be that it was quiet in Peden, but if you're down by the field, it's noticeably louder than it is over on the student side, or somewhat high up in the corners.

You are accepting the premise that winning (i.e., not losing) is an important part of the attendance/crowd-fervor equation?