<p>He went to the Tulane-Tulsa football game at the superdome. They showed a close-up of him and his 6 friends in the end zone after the fumble recovery and score. Wasn't too hard to spot him in that very sparse crowd :( What can we do do drum up some support for the sports teams?!?!?! He goes to some of the baseball and basketball games too. Sure would be great if there was a little more school spirit. What can be done? (besides playing better, of course. The baseball team is pretty good!)</p>
<p>So much can be done to try to drum up sports attendance as part of the social life at Tulane. I would say the first thing is to build it up more on the campus tours so the incoming freshman get excited. Football is tuff cuz the superdome is so big and far from campus, but basketball could be the big draw, like it is for Duke. On the tours, take students into the basketball arena - after all it is right on campus - and talk about some traditions, some great stories etc. Build anticipation. Then, just like the pro teams do, have give-aways on game nights - t-shirt night or free popcorn night. Throw a tailgate party in the quad before the opening game etc. Maybe let the fraternities take the lead on this.</p>
<p>I have to say I was really surprised that we didn’t go into the basketball arena on our campus tour. But now that I think about it, we didn’t go into many buildings. They should add the interiors of the basketball arena, the library, the theatre and 1 or 2 impressive/historic academic building to the tours. Sorry to get off topic - my mind wanders.</p>
<p>Well, the free tickets for students is a draw! Maybe they need to have some tailgating parties!</p>
<p>Once they built the Superdome, leading to the razing of Tulane Stadium (the original Sugar Bowl), it became very hard for Tulane to fill the seats. For those of you that are not aware, the old stadium was on the north side of Willow, where McAlister dead ends. The Aron and Willow Street Residences are there now. I am not saying they had a choice, they didn’t. It was a very old structure and once the Saints stopped paying rent, there was no way to maintain it to code. So without a competitive team, it is just a tough sell, even for free.</p>
<p>Off subject slightly, but a lot of people may not be aware that Tulane was a real power prior to WWII. There used to be a trophy case in what is now the LBC where there were national championship and other high level trophies and plaques for not only football, but tennis and other sports. I wonder what happened to those. In the Reilly center? Anyway, once the war was over and the GI Bill took hold, the big state schools really took over, with only a handful of private schools remaining competitive, such as Notre Dame. Just a historical tidbit.</p>
<p>Also, the attendance was about 28,000. I know that pales in comparison to a Michigan or LSU, etc. but it actually is not terrible. The Superdome is just cavernous.</p>
<p>Agree that the superdome is humongous, but the students joke that they can sit on the 50 yard line with no problem!! Rice’s statium is also huge, and they sometimes also play at Reliant stadium, even bigger. I love bff and lollygal’s ideas. They should really work harder to promote school/team spirit and support.</p>
<p>As a student who attended his first Tulane football game, it seems like the biggest obstacle to attendance is merely the quality of the teams! Though I totally agree with prior posts suggesting that the school should emphasize spirit a little more through tours, it is hard to get fired up about the athletic programs when the teams rarely perform well. When the Green Wave was down 17 points only 10 minutes into the game, it wasn’t hard to find students saying something along the lines of, “There’s no point going to the BYU game next week.” Although many students were in attendance for their first taste of Tulane’s football program, it is hard to retain them in future weeks when the team isn’t competitive. </p>
<p>Schools like Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, and USC regularly attract 100,000 fans to games because they are generally solid football programs that contend for national championships. These achievements tend to breed school spirit more than anything else. On a separate note, college basketball culture seems to function much like football - the schools that are famous for tremendous student support (i.e. Duke, North Carolina, Pitt, UConn) are the same ones that regularly appear in the NCAA tournament. </p>
<p>Regardless, if students and alumni value pride in their teams, I think the first and most critical step is simply to focus on making those teams competitive on a national stage. Whether this should be a priority for a school is a completely different discussion. At any rate, getting blown out by Tulsa doesn’t help the cause.</p>
<p>I agree with iDebate. I would only point out that all those programs he mentions (and he could have added Texas, Oklahoma and many others), with the exception of USC, are large state schools. They have the obvious advantages of a much larger student body to draw from as well as a huge in-state alumni base, boosting attendance. USC is also larger than Tulane, and has far more alumni in the LA area than Tulane does in NOLA.</p>
<p>Re: Fallenchemist </p>
<p>I totally agree. Becoming a premier football program as a smaller, private college is usually a tough task because of these factors. </p>
<p>On the other hand, college basketball has many thriving teams from schools in this group. Duke, Gonzaga, Wake Forest, Georgetown, and Villanova immediately come to mind as elite programs without enormous populations of students. </p>
<p>For that reason, perhaps college basketball should be the future of Tulane athletics. Considering how weak Conference USA has become after the exodus of teams to the Big East, a bid to the NCAA tournament isn’t impossible with a couple of years of strong recruiting.</p>
<p>Is the Fogelman basketball arena scheduled for any upcoming renovations? It got a face lift a few years ago, but it really needs some major plastic surgery.</p>
<p>How does the basketball team look this year? Anyone know? Didn’t the women’s team perform well last year? That could be the start.</p>
<p>Well, the Green Wave was 14-17 last year, so I am guessing that they don’t have a lot of talent to work with. </p>
<p>It looks like they are bringing in three freshmen according to the Wave Report - two are rated as three (out of five) star recruits, and the other is a two star recruit. In short, it doesn’t look like they will be adding a superstar who will add immediate depth to the team. </p>
<p>On the other hand, the team is graduating only one senior from last year, so the returning players will have a lot of experience. </p>
<p>In theory, next year could be solid should several players have breakout years, especially because their conference is unusually weak. We’ll see, I guess.</p>
<p>^^ Which team, idebate?</p>
<p>Not to get off topic… or perhaps back on topic… 
How exciting for the OP to see her (or his?) DS on TV!!! That would be a thrill!</p>
<p>Sorry JYM. That info was about the men’s team. I’m not sure about the women’s team, though.</p>
<p>Didnt Tulane host a big woman’s basketball tournament this past year?? How’d that go? Was it well attended??</p>
<p>And thanks, Grizzmom!! Yes, it was seriously cool to see DS on ESPN. But it wasn’t hard to pick him out in the crowd :(</p>
<p>Time for a smaller stadium near campus – again. FYI, for you trivia buffs, I attended Super Bowl VI (1972) with my grandfather at the old Tulane Stadium. It was so cold that day – I think maybe the last time for an outdoor SB in NO.</p>
<p>For Homecoming/parents weekend, they use some outdoor stadium across town (I forget the name…) but it isnt easy to get to. A stadium near campus would be great. Where would they put it?? Is there any land around campus they can buy up? That’d be sweet.</p>
<p>Harvardgator - Nope, it was there one year when I was attending, which was 1973-1977. I think it was 1975. Guess it had to be, since the Superdome was completed in 1976. Anyway, it was also very chilly for that one, in the low to mid 40’s and felt colder.</p>
<p>I love your idea for a smaller stadium near campus, but I won’t hold my breath. Stimulus money, anyone?</p>
<p>^^^ It would definitely provide both construction and university employee jobs!</p>