It’s a bit ironic that the Athletic Department has turned to the authors of the Fire Glen Miller blog to lead its new marketing initiative.
But Wharton junior Justin Chang and several of his friends are at the core of both efforts. They are helping revamp the Red and Blue Crew, and in their new role, they will likely work with Glen Miller, the men’s basketball coach. Presumably unaware of their writing pastime, Miller has already offered a few marketing suggestions — “He’s really into the fact that his name matches a beer,” Chang said — and told the students that his door is always open.
Miller won’t be the only one opening up, as the Athletic Department is trying to make its coaches more visible throughout campus.
Chang, a former Daily Pennsylvanian contributor, said that he does not know whether the department is aware of his dual affiliation. University officials could not be immediately reached for comment on that issue.
“I wouldn’t expect it to be officially acknowledged in any way,” Chang said. “It’s a student-run blog, and I don’t feel like the Athletic Department really felt they had the need to be involved, since they didn’t say anything to us.”
In any event, the Athletic Department is still looking for ways to combat an unfavorable economic climate and stimulate more student interest in football, men’s basketball and the other 29 varsity teams, according to senior associate director of athletics Alanna Shanahan.
Financial constraints have not visibly affected turnout so far. Football season-ticket sales are on par with the past two years, with a renewal rate of over 90 percent for 2009.
And even though Saturday’s 14-3 loss to No. 2 Villanova was played on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, it drew 14,876 fans — 118 more than last year’s matchup with the Wildcats and over 2,500 more than the 2007 home opener against Lafayette.
But the economy did impact internal operations. Brian Head, Penn’s marketing manager who oversees the Red and Blue Crew, was forced to cut the budget of his essentially one-man department. (Head is currently in the process of replacing his assistant, Julie May, who left over the summer.)
“We asked him to make some strategic reductions, just from the standpoint of making sure we don’t overextend ourselves and making sure that we’re funneling those critical dollars to the key areas,” Shanahan said.
That’s where Chang and his former hallmates come in. They approached Head last March about fostering student enthusiasm for Penn sports teams. Specifically, they wanted to create some structure to the previously unorganized Red and Blue Crew.
The group is now student-run and designed more like a traditional club. It has a $500 budget for the academic year and three committees — rollouts, gamedays and special events. At its introductory meeting, Miller, women’s basketball coach Mike McLaughlin and football coach Al Bagnoli all made cameo appearances. So did 50 freshmen, set to join a dozen returners and the close-knit leading group. That turnout, both from the students and from those three coaches, is higher than in years past.
“They all came to the meeting to impress upon our student body and the leadership of this group to this point that your presence is really important,” Shanahan said. “We’re really looking to identify student leadership and capitalize on that leadership.”
“This is my fifth year here, and this is the first time that we’ve ever had students who are really committed to taking it on and making it successful and growing it from basketball attendance to all sports,” Head added. “In past years, it had fallen on one or two people to do it all, and it never works. So we’ve got leadership.”
The students are wracking their collective brains for creative ways to generate campus-wide buzz. They will chalk Locust Walk and man promotional tables in order to reach a broader audience than Head could flying solo. For basketball games, Chang mentioned possibly initiating a “white-out” or “blue-out,” where all fans don certain-colored garb. And for less high-profile sports, Shanahan wants to combine three of the Athletic Deparment’s arms: Quaker Days, a program run by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to encourage athletes to attend other teams’ games; the Red and Blue Rewards program, which was initiated last year to provide incentives for attending primarily second-tier sports; and the Red and Blue Crew.
“We can all appreciate that without a three-pronged approach, it’s going to be hard to drive attendance at a squash match or something,” Shanahan said. “But if you have those three entities working together and trying to build consistency in their calendar, than you have a chance.”
The chance to have an impact, on any sport, also increases with the coach’s presence. Last year, for instance, Miller had lunch at Hill College House with a couple of hand-picked Red and Blue Crew members. Specific events for 2009 are still unplanned, but Miller, McLaughlin and Bagnoli are all willing to do more. Penn also plans to reach out to its various season-ticket holders, especially those of basketball, to thank them for their loyalty throughout this tumultuous time in the economy and in the program’s performance.
More than anything, though, the Athletic Department will be relying on Chang. And though he’s willing to help fill the seats at every game, his focus is still on hoops.
“What will be realistic goals in year one will be to get the student section in basketball relevant again,” Chang said. “Building that club atmosphere — that’s ultimately what our goal is in year one.”
