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Post by Gary McCarrick on Oct 29, 2014 20:39:12 GMT -5
Creating a new dedicated Grizz Gang thread to discuss important topics throughout the season. This will be the voice of the Grizz Gang members and fans alike.
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Post by oudrummer on Oct 29, 2014 22:34:00 GMT -5
I'll be happy to have a regular Grizz gang for all games. At it's peak just a few years ago that section was consistently packed. Dantheman had them humming like a true machine. They've faltered the past few years.
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Post by grizzgang on Oct 30, 2014 10:06:10 GMT -5
Grizz Gang's presidents in the last couple of years haven't seen eye-to-eye with some of the marketing strategies of the athletic department and this caused Grizz Gang to become a organization of the school and not be ran by athletics. Do to this the Grizz Gang's budget was next to nothing for a few years.
After several meetings this summer and a new Athletic Director, we now have a great working relationship with athletics because we see that we need each other.
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Post by oudrummer on Oct 30, 2014 10:10:12 GMT -5
That's really good to hear. Keep on posting here and get members of the GG to post here too!! More people posting means more people talking about the programs. The more people talking, the more are at games.
Also, on a more personal note, I recommend making sure to work with the band. They're at every game and existed before the GG. When the 2 loudest sections of students work together and well, that's when the orena gets loud and crazy. Sometimes there's a disconnect between the two sections though. As someone that I feel can say created some of the best environments in the orena , that was the key. Band and GG on the same page going crazy the whole game.
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Post by tmgeneral on Oct 30, 2014 11:23:32 GMT -5
I hope the addition of 500 more students at OakView Hall means more student attendance at games. What a boost it would be if you could get an extra 100 to the games
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Post by arsenal926 on Oct 30, 2014 16:33:33 GMT -5
There are definitely a lot of positive things going for the Grizzgang this year.
1. This years freshman class has completely stepped it up in all parts of on-campus participation. Whether it's packing RHA meetings, or simply staying at OU over the weekend, I'm very confident there's a huge number of students who have every intention of giving the Grizzgang a chance.
2. There's actually an awesome home schedule this year. In years past there's typically a large student section for the first couple of games, but the matchups are so unappealing(rochester college, grand valley, other assorted D2 teams) that it's hard to create a consistently good atmosphere. So with that in mind, I think the OU marketing department should put a HUGE focus on that first game against Western Michigan and basically pretend the exhibition games don't exist. If we can create a good to great atmosphere in the first real home game the chances of maintaining student attendance will be way better. The consistency was certainly lacking last year, but there were a few games where we saw the impact a student section can have on a game.(UIC, YSU, and obviously Detroit)
3. I really hope the athletic department is planning to bus a whole bunch of students to the Detroit game again. Just looking at the schedule, that's probably something that will need to be done before the end of the fall semester if we want a lot of students to attend.
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Post by grizzgang on Nov 3, 2014 9:50:51 GMT -5
We agree 100% with your 3 points!
1. There has been several freshman asking how they can join Grizz Gang already this year and we are excited to have them with us!
2. GG has been telling the athletic department that we HAVE TO market that first game at the O'rena. We told them students on campus have to know there is a game that day and not just walk on by the O'rena like nothing is going on. Their solution was to put up A-Frames on campus to let people know but I think we need more (any ideas?).
3. I have been told that there are going to be several buses available to take everyone (GG, alumni, families, ect.) to Detroit on January 10th. Oakland University now has a contract with Trinity buses and they are giving us a deal on the buses. The game plan is to go to the womens game, get on the buses and then head to Detroit.
GG is also trying to plan another bus trip for another game this season. We are selling the construction vest (its our "theme" this year since Oakland is under construction, in our fight song says the job is never done, and the motto is grizzlies at work) to rise money for this bus trip. It is most likely going to be the Valpo game.
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Post by arsenal926 on Nov 3, 2014 11:08:27 GMT -5
2. GG has been telling the athletic department that we HAVE TO market that first game at the O'rena. We told them students on campus have to know there is a game that day and not just walk on by the O'rena like nothing is going on. Their solution was to put up A-Frames on campus to let people know but I think we need more (any ideas?). This is probably a little outside the box, but what about something like Bruce Pearl did at Auburn. ( )Create some ridiculous video in the largest lecture on campus and just spread the content around. There's so many signs on campus that I can't see that doing much of anything.
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Post by blackandgold on Nov 3, 2014 12:40:05 GMT -5
2. GG has been telling the athletic department that we HAVE TO market that first game at the O'rena. We told them students on campus have to know there is a game that day and not just walk on by the O'rena like nothing is going on. Their solution was to put up A-Frames on campus to let people know but I think we need more (any ideas?). Strong marketing to the residence halls is a good step. Many students will be hanging out in their rooms or lounges on Wednesday night (the 19th, the first home game) with no idea there is a Division I college basketball game going on between Oakland and a team that was in the tournament last year, Western Michigan. Provide the schedule posters to the RAs so they can hang up the schedules on every floor in the residence halls by the elevators, in the lounges, etc. Ask Housing or the individual Hall Directors if they'll give you an email list of the RAs so you can send reminders of upcoming games and any events/promotions that the Grizz Gang is doing as part of the game. I seem to remember RAs always eager for good info to pass on to their residents. See if the Grizz Gang can get on the agenda for each residence hall meeting or an RHA meeting for 5 minutes to give an introduction to the Grizz Gang, the benefits of being a member and coming to the games, and highlight upcoming games/promotions.
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Post by oudrummer on Nov 3, 2014 14:49:47 GMT -5
In this day and age, it's alllll about social media. GG needs to be posting and tweeting. Follow people on twitter and build hype. If the athletics page, GG, Pioneer Pete and the Grizztalk can all get people communicating, it can go a long way. Especially that first game, it needs to be a campus event.
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