National columnist Jayson Stark dubbed Syracuse the “sports capital of the world” in 1987.

In 1992, the Syracuse football team averaged 49,325 fans in the 50,000-seat Carrier Dome.

Not too long ago, students packed a swath-of-orange, endzone-to-endzone student section, drooling over heroes like Pearl Washington and Donovan McNabb.

Those were the glory days of Syracuse athletics. They have passed.

Football attendance has dropped about 8,000 a game since 1992. The Orangemen have sold out two games since 1997, including zero during last year’s 10-3 season.

The athletic administration noted the sharp decline in attendance and decided to combat faltering ticket sales and rising student apathy. Its two-pronged attack includes the Fans First initiative and a marketing blitz across Central New York.

If the plan works, fans could see Dome improvements, such as a video-replay board. But if ticket sales continue to decline, the competitiveness of Syracuse athletics could suffer.

“Research shows that when people come here as freshmen, there’s excitement and a high percentage of people will go,” said Michael Veley, SU’s associate director of athletics for external affairs. “But by the time they become upperclassmen, their interest in games dissipates substantially.”

The problem is not unique to Syracuse. Attendance dropped for six of the Big East’s eight teams last year. That includes national champion Miami, whose attendance plummeted an average of 11,298.

Miami sold out just one game last season. Big East teams combined to sell out nine total, but six of those came from Virginia Tech. Boston College sold out the other two.

“It’s disappointing,” Miami head coach Larry Coker said. “I’ve been to places — Oklahoma and Ohio State — where you can’t get a ticket. I wish it were that way, but it’s not that way. Let’s face it, you have a lot of things to do in South Florida. You have beautiful weather and all of those things. That’s great, of course, but sometimes it’s not conducive to going to a football game.”

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The causes

Beautiful weather and sandy beaches may not be a distraction in Syracuse, but SU and Miami do share some common problems.

Members of the SU athletics administration cited everything from the declining Central New York economy to heightened academic standards at Syracuse for the drop in attendance.

Also, enrollment at Syracuse has steadily declined since the early 1990s, Veley said. Adding to the decline, SU attracts more international students than it used to, and many of them are unfamiliar with the rules of American football, he said.

But the biggest reason for the decline, Veley said, is television. Once, if fans wanted to see the likes of McNabb and Washington, a ticket to the Dome was the only option.

“Research shows you that six out of every 10 people will chose to stay home and watch a sporting event on television,” Veley said, “so the odds are stacked against you right from the get-go.”

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The implications

The Big East signed a new television contract with ABC Sports prior to the 2001 season. Although all eight conference teams share the contract money because of revenue sharing, those funds don’t begin to cover the lost ticket sales.

When the conference signs a television contract, each team receives a portion of the revenue in the first year and then a flat percentage each year for the duration of the contract.

“(The contract) may give you an initial boost, but dealing with that rising cost every year, it’s not enough,” said Rob Edson, associate director of athletics for finance and team services. “Also, because of the oversaturation of the marketplace, television revenue is not what it used to be. It’s not like 10 or 15 years ago when it shot through the roof.”

According to the athletics department, Syracuse football and men’s basketball make up 85 percent of the department’s revenue. Nearly all of that percentage comes thanks to ticket sales.

SU has been able to balance its athletic budget each year despite the lost ticket sales, but to stay out of the red, corners have been cut, Edson said.

“We haven’t cut anyone’s budget,” he said. “But when costs go up, the impact of that is like saying that we’re cutting your budget. We ask people to do the same things with the same amount of money, even though things are more expensive.

“It’s like your finances. If you’re doing well, you’re more likely to go out to dinner every night. If not, you’re probably going to be eating macaroni and cheese. I think that’s where we’re at right now.”

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The solution?

Introducing Fans First.

SU surveyed former and current season ticket holders, took advice from a group of public relations professionals and listened to suggestions from the Student Association to come up with a plan designed to enhance what Veley calls the “total fan experience.”

For the general public, SU has tried to make season tickets more affordable with packages like the SUper Saver Family Pack. Sixty-five dollars gets a family two adult and two youth tickets, two programs, a $5 concessions coupon and a parking pass. That package is available for the North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Rutgers games.

The upper rows behind the endzone in the third level can be purchased at a season-ticket rate of $99. A regular season ticket costs $140, a $5 increase from last year.

SU has also introduced an O-Zone Fan Section, an area in the lower east endzone geared for boisterous fans.

The administration has also addressed declining attendance in the student section. Based on suggestions from a Student Association task force, the student section is now general admission. That means no more assigned seats — at least for now. The plan has been implemented on a two-game trial basis.

“There’s definitely going to be a premium on owning a season ticket over purchasing an individual ticket,” Carrier Dome Managing Director Pat Campbell said, “because the kids with the season tickets are getting the best seats.”

To prevent chaos outside the Dome, the management has devised a plan where students receive wristbands designating which section they may sit in. Students can sit in any seat in that section.

But it’s not just about Syracuse anymore.

Over the summer, the administration drew a 100-mile radius around the city of Syracuse. From the Pennsylvania border to Watertown, from Rochester to Utica/Rome, SU has begun an extensive marketing campaign.

SU focused heavily on Rochester, which Veley said Syracuse considers its secondary market. For 10 consecutive Wednesdays, a group has traveled to Rochester — with Otto among the traveling party, of course — to visit restaurants and bars and stage parties.

The administration also hopes to build a database of 15,000 names and addresses of potential ticket-buyers in the Rochester area, Veley said.

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The Future

A video-replay board? Backs on the seats? More space in the concourse?

Fans shouldn’t expect these things tomorrow, if at all, but members of the administration suggested some improvements could happen if ticket sales rise.

Plans for a replay board have been discussed, Campbell said, but SU has yet to identify a funding source.

“(A replay board) is a reasonable expectation of the public,” Campbell said, “and it’s one we’re going to address in the near future, whether it’s this year, next year or the year after. We’ve had numerous meetings on video.”

But Edson said a replay board is only one of a number of improvements being considered, including a new indoor practice facility for football. The administration must consider whether replay will help attendance, he said.

“It’s risky to assume that a video board will do that,” Edson said. “I would say it’d be suicidal.”

The success of Fans First will influence the administration’s course of action. So far, administration officials say the results are encouraging.

Student season-ticket sales have jumped eight percent from last year, Campbell said. Because more students purchase tickets when they return to campus, he expects that number to climb to 10 percent by the start of the season.

Still, Edson urged patience.

“The important thing about the initiative is that we can’t change everything all at once,” he said. “In some cases it will have an immediate impact, in some cases it’s going to be very slow. It’ll be painful.

“In the end, we hope that we have a better appreciation for our fan base, and they have appreciation for some of our challenges.”

Published on August 29, 2002 at 12:00 pm