Article on why we're playing in Columbus tomorrow

[Falcon Fanatic]

Falcons give up home game for neutral site, aimed at recruiting, alumni purposes:

http://www.toledoblade.com/BGSU/2012/11 ... poses.html

GO FALCONS!!!
BEAT BUFFALO!!!!

[Falconfreak90]

Honestly, how many people would be at the Doyt tomorrow? 5,000? No students and a lot of people out shopping...

I am really digging this idea now...hitting the road in 6 hours.

GO FALCONS!!!

[zete]

Coach even admits BG has poor attendance. How disheartening it must be for players and coaches to come from the locker room on game day all fired up only to look up into the stadium and think, "WTF, this is it!"
That is one thing he hasn't been able to do - put fans in seats. Or any other coach for that matter.

[factman]

I don't know if this is true, but I think it might be a factor in attendance. Our current coaches and athletic administrators are much less engaged with the communiy, public and fans than they were 10-20 years ago. There was a day when there were Falcon Club luncheons every Friday before home games, post game party's after every home football game, that the entire coaching staff and their families would attend. The coaches and administration were out and about and part of the community and this created a feeling that you "knew" them and wanted them to succeed and supported them from your heart and not just your wallet. Say what you want, but BG is a small college town and that is exactly why many of us live and love it here. Bowling Green and Wood County are vital to the attendance at athletic events and cannot be slighted in pursuit of the almighty $$$$$ in the big cities. Those $$$$ are VERY important too, but there needs to be a balance and the same needs to said for the students at the university. They need to feel they know the coaches, the athletes and administrators and have another reason to support their school. Dr Mazey is very good at meeting and greeting and getting involved with the true fan base, but this needs to filter down thru the athletic department. Many of us have lost a lot of our passion for Falcon athletics, due the revolving door on the the east side of campus and this needs to be addressed as well as the lack of engagement with the community.

[MarkL]

You've got a point there factman. I'm not a student anymore obviously, but my last year on campus was when Clawson was hired. He expressed an interest to the fraternities and sororities in keeping BG football part of every day campus life. If a fundraiser would go better if a few football players made an appearance, he'd make sure it would happen.

An idea I had for a fundraiser a while back for my frat, never went through but still an awesome idea, would be to do a mock combine in the spring. During NFL draft, invite students to the field house where Falcon football players help time 40 yard dashes and the other running drills, spot in benches, etc and see how some students stack up against NFL draftees. I bet a few frats would make a frat event out of that. I know if I were around a bunch of us sure would have done that for bragging rights. $5 or $10 or so for each participant and I think you've got a seller, and have the NFL draft playing on TVs at the fieldhouse.. When a few brothers in my frat were talking about putting that together I reached out to Coach Clawson. He said absolutely, if that happens, have whoever organizes it reach out to him and he'll make sure some players make it there to help out with the event.

I think Clawson is willing to do this kind of outreach, even if he is super busy looking over film for the next game or reviewing recruit tapes or reviewing player performance or all his other duties. So ... Falcon Club leadership and/or athletic department ... I think a real opportunity exists here to revive Friday lunches with the coaches or post game parties at the Stroh Center or the Union Ballroom. Make the call to GC and Clawson and get the ball rolling on this.

[hammb]

I agree 10000% factman. I was thinking this when I saw Zete's post and wasn't sure if I wanted to put it in there or just start a new thread sometime.

I completely believe that BG absolutely NEEDS its coaches to embrace the community and market the program. They simply MUST become the face of the programs. I think Clawson has done a good job building a good team, but he is really lacking in this aspect of the job. Orr has been blah in hoops and has been HORRIBLE in that aspect of the job.

I know typically it's not something I would expect for a coach. They have enough on their plates trying to win games with a shoestring budget, but the bottom line is that this university needs that in order to have any fan support at all. My senior year our coaches were Urban and Dakich and both of these guys GOT that. They were fantastic at that. And because of their marketing of the program to the students and community they both got much better attendance than we've seen since. I'm not sure that '01 Urban Meyer team was any better than this year's team, but there was a helluva lot more excitement and attendance was much better.

If I'm hiring a coach at BG it's one of my biggest requirements. The guy must have personality and he must be willing to work marketing the program. It's far more important here than it is anywhere else. Urban and Dakich both saw that and used it well. I hope Clawson starts doing a better job of it because I think he can coach. Hopefully whoever we find to lead the basketball program will as well.

[Falcon Commander]

totally, Totally, TOTALLY agree with all these comments!!

ALL the coaches (from ALL the Sports) need to get out and connect with the community, the people, the fans and it will surely help interest and attendance!!

And it's so simple.

[Warthog]

I remember meeting Urban at Community Day at the City Park the Sunday before his first home game. He was out there asking people to come out to the game. I loved that he did that kind of stuff.

[Falcon Fanatic]

I don't know if this is true, but I think it might be a factor in attendance. Our current coaches and athletic administrators are much less engaged with the communiy, public and fans than they were 10-20 years ago. There was a day when there were Falcon Club luncheons every Friday before home games, post game party's after every home football game, that the entire coaching staff and their families would attend. The coaches and administration were out and about and part of the community and this created a feeling that you "knew" them and wanted them to succeed and supported them from your heart and not just your wallet. Say what you want, but BG is a small college town and that is exactly why many of us live and love it here. Bowling Green and Wood County are vital to the attendance at athletic events and cannot be slighted in pursuit of the almighty $$$$$ in the big cities. Those $$$$ are VERY important too, but there needs to be a balance and the same needs to said for the students at the university. They need to feel they know the coaches, the athletes and administrators and have another reason to support their school. Dr Mazey is very good at meeting and greeting and getting involved with the true fan base, but this needs to filter down thru the athletic department. Many of us have lost a lot of our passion for Falcon athletics, due the revolving door on the the east side of campus and this needs to be addressed as well as the lack of engagement with the community.

OUTSTANDING POST!!!