EDITORIAL: An embrassing marketing flop

There's no excuse for the Athletic Dept. failing to sell out last night's basketball match against Kansas. It's just a shame that 900 more screaming fans could filled the stands had it not been for inadequate marketing by Penn. The inability to sell approximately 10 percent of seats is absolutely unacceptable and shocking, and especially disappointing considering that Penn hired a new marketing director for the express purpose of increasing attendance at home games. Hundreds of seats in the Palestra were empty not because of a lack of interest, but because the Athletic Department, with new marketing head Bill Richter, didn't find ways to fill the house. The Penn-Kansas match was enormous and could have attracted a crowd from throughout the city. But as has been the case since the start of the year, the University yet again failed to properly market a hallmark sports team. In this case, the only discernible attempts at attracting Philadelphians were a few advertisements in local newspapers. Compare that to billboards for Temple University's football and basketball programs, and it's easy to understand why there were empty seats at such an important game. In addition to paying more attention to the regional audience, Athletic Department officials should make it easier for Penn students to attend games. And we don't mean a few more fliers in the dining halls. For example, basketball tickets should be sold on Locust Walk, and a permanent ticket office could be set up in a student center like the Perelman Quadrangle, when it opens, or maybe in one of the high rises. It's likely that many students assumed the game was already sold out without even trying to buy tickets. These misconceptions could easily be eliminated through game-day advertisements and sales throughout campus. At a school as basketball-crazy as Penn, it just doesn't make sense to have tickets that go unsold. And combined with a promising Quakers team that could take the Ivy League title, it's clear that a better job with marketing would have made a big difference. The Athletic Department couldn't even sell out a popular Penn team playing against a nationally ranked opponent in an historic match. What'll happen when they're actually faced with a challenge?