Baylor University administrators think football fans do not do the school much good sitting at home on the sofa.

They want them at games.

In the wake of the near-death of the Big 12 Conference, Baylor will start a new marketing campaign encouraging fans to fill the seats at Floyd Casey Stadium.

Only 31,702 fans were in attendance when Nebraska came to Waco last season, and Husker fans appeared to outnumber Baylor’s.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald, file

Baylor kicks off its 2010 season with a Sept. 4 opener against Sam Houston State.

With the impending defection of Colorado and Nebraska from the league, the message has been reiterated: Football is king, and the king must be appeased.

“No question that with conference realignment, there’s a greater sense of urgency that we really need the Waco community to support Baylor football,” BU athletic director Ian McCaw said. “Realignment revealed that football is what drives conference affiliation, particularly when you’re determining the value of TV contracts.

“It’s critical that Baylor fans rise up and fill the stadium to support the team.”

In a video to Baylor supporters on the school’s website (link), BU President Ken Starr said the university is in the midst of a “time of challenge” and issued his own plea to football fans.

‘Fill the stands’

“We need to demonstrate to the Big 12 that we are supporting our athletic programs across the board, and that begins on Sept. 4,” Starr said. “We need to fill the stands at Floyd Casey Stadium for the opener against Sam Houston State. I ask you to be there. Get those tickets.”

Baylor’s multimedia marketing campaign, titled “Rise Up,” gets under way July 12. It aims to encourage and strengthen the program’s core fan base while casting a wider net to hook new fans.

McCaw said the game against Sam Houston State also will be deemed Community Day.

The athletic department is working with United Way of Waco in targeting and attracting what McCaw called “nontraditional fans.”

Baylor has provided the United Way with an allotment of tickets, which the organization plans to distribute to its member agencies.

Last season, Baylor averaged 36,306 fans at its six true home games, but those figures account for season ticket sales and not actual bodies in the seats.

At the Nebraska and Texas games in particular, the crowd for the visiting team appeared to outnumber the fans in green and gold.

Nevertheless, McCaw is encouraged. He said that season ticket sales for the upcoming year have proven brisk during the summer, with around 10,000 tickets sold compared with a little more than 8,500 at this time last year.

“We actually have just a limited number of premium seats left,” he said.

Energized by the Bears’ road victory over Wake Forest in the 2009 season opener, 40,147 fans came out for the home football opener versus Connecticut at Floyd Casey Stadium last September.
Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune-Herald, file

Last season, Baylor launched a spirit program in which it provided local businesses complimentary tickets in exchange for the business promoting Baylor football by displaying posters, pennants and apparel.

About 530 businesses took part in the program in its inaugural season; more than 850 businesses have signed up for the upcoming year.

Will that buzz linger throughout the season? Maybe, maybe not.

Ultimately, the most significant factor in pushing fans through the turnstiles is how many wins Baylor has on its ledger. The Bears haven’t made a bowl game since 1994, and, not coincidentally, the school hasn’t averaged as many as 40,000 fans since 1995.

“There is a direct correlation between success and attendance,” McCaw said. “We think the football team’s prospects for success this year are terrific, both with the team we have coming back and the schedule. We open with Sam Houston and Buffalo here, then we go on the road for a couple of games before coming back to open Big 12 play against Kansas.

“We think we have a great chance to build some early momentum.”

bcherry@wacotrib.com

757-5714

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