There are students at the University of Akron who can’t find Rhodes Arena.
Some don’t know that their Zip Card allows them free admission to UA sporting events.
A fanatic like me who grew up in a basketball state and squinted over box scores in junior high finds that almost incomprehensible. One of my favorite childhood memories was the day my father tried to sneak us into a University of Louisville practice to see future hall of famer Wes Unseld, with “tried” being the operative word.
On the UA campus, it is cool only to attend men’s soccer games. That’s a culture envied by men’s basketball coach Keith Dambrot, whose Zips have recorded at least 22 victories for seven consecutive seasons and boast the nation’s longest current win streak at 16 games. UA (20-4, 11-0) has a chance to go undefeated in the Mid-American Conference, a feat no school has accomplished since the league expanded to 10 teams in 1975-76.
In his ninth year, Dambrot has to wonder why the Zips sell out Rhodes Arena only when facing archrival Kent State and 2012 NCAA Cinderella Ohio, which reached the Sweet 16 last season. The arena’s capacity is listed as 5,500, but one UA official said 5,200 is more realistic.
And Dambrot is not the only one wondering where the fans are.
“When I got here, I was amazed that a team that has gone to the final of the MAC seven years in a row cannot sell out [besides] the Kent State game,” Alex Abreu, a junior from Puerto Rico, said after a Feb. 2 victory over Ohio. “I was like, ‘This is unbelievable. I don’t see how this happens.’ We need to get students in here because we are top of the MAC, and there’s no reason this shouldn’t be the toughest place to play.”
To increase attendance — especially student attendance — Dambrot has found an energetic ally in Brad Swanson, hired 14 months ago as director of marketing and promotions. Swanson is targeting the 2,511 students who live in campus residence halls, a fraction of the total enrollment of 26,365, according to UA’s spring semester figures.
At Christmas break, Swanson set up a meeting with UA guards Abreu and Brian Walsh and a couple of members of the AK-Rowdies. To Swanson’s surprise, the players brought four teammates for what turned into a 90-minute brainstorming session on how the players could connect with students.
The result was what Abreu called “dorm-storming,” but the campaign involves much more than that.
Player appearances
When the spring semester began, players began making appearances at campus functions. For bingo night at the residence halls, players will show up to call numbers. If a comedian is putting on a show, a player will speak before it starts.
Zips players frequent Rob’s Cafe and Student Recreation and Wellness Center, handing out plastic “Think Bigger” bracelets. They distributed about 2,000 in the past month.
“It’s a way for our players to connect,” Swanson said after a Feb. 5 game against Central Michigan. “If they’re just walking around, nobody wants to talk to them. But if you offer them something, it’s a gateway to talking.
“And now we have something to talk about: the win streak, top 25 votes. It gains credibility when you’re talking to a student who doesn’t understand that we play Division I basketball and they can come for free. There are a lot of students on this campus who don’t realize that. And there’s some who don’t even know where we play.”
The push, which also includes engaging students on Twitter, seems to be paying off. In the past three home games, UA has drawn two of the three highest student attendance figures since Zip Cards were first scanned in the 2008-09 season. The high was 828 in an announced crowd of 5,770 for Ohio. No. 2 is 807 for Kent State in 2011, followed by 805 for Buffalo on Jan. 26. The latter was LeBron James bobblehead night. (UA is one of four college programs, along with Kentucky, Ohio State and Miami, Fla., partnered with James’ line of Nike equipment.)
Dambrot bobblehead next
Dambrot’s bobblehead will be distributed at the home game Saturday against Bowling Green.
Dambrot was clearly stoked by the standing-room-only crowd for the Bobcats, who defeated the Zips in last year’s MAC Tournament final. UA also debuted new black uniforms, which will make an appearance later this season and have morphed into a popular T-shirt being sold online and at the campus bookstore.
“To me, it was the best crowd we’ve ever had here. Now the trick is can we sustain it?” Dambrot said. “That helps take your program to the next level in a variety of ways. One, you’re not going to lose many because that crowd’s so loud. Two, it helps you recruit; kids want to play in those types of environments.
“They reminded me of the soccer crowd where we finally got that buzz going. We’re not just the stepchild; we’re up there with soccer now. That sounds kind of silly, but that’s the most students we’ve had. We finally kind of broke through. Our marketing department, our [sports information office], those guys deserve a lot of credit. They’ve gotten our guys with those kids.”
Walsh, a senior from Coraopolis, Pa., now pursuing his MBA, has taken the lead in the marketing blitz. He thinks nothing of approaching students on the treadmill and handing them a bracelet.
“I don’t have anything to do other than class and school, so I might as well go out and try to meet people and try to bring them to our games,” Walsh said last week. “I’m a social guy. I like to try to talk to everybody and be everyone’s friend.
“Students are more aware of soccer games, ‘Hey, what are you doing tonight?’ ‘I’m going to the soccer game.’ That’s what we’re trying to do with basketball.”
Swanson said Dambrot loves to push the envelope, even though Dambrot complains that at 54, he’s not as charismatic as recently departed UA soccer coach Caleb Porter, 37.
I don’t agree. If Dambrot can get the Zips into the NCAAs and win a game, students won’t care about his age. They’ll put on their black T-shirts, rub his bobblehead and head out the door for the nearest big screen with — as hard as it is for me to comprehend — a newfound passion for UA basketball.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
