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| (above) The Duke Lacrosse team is going to get a taste of PioNation today at Mile High Stadium |
The student section at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium is legendary for its raucous fans. But a report in the school's student newspaper, indicates that undergraduate interest has dropped off.
Screaming fans. Body-surfing mascots. The most wild and intense student atmosphere in college basketball has long-belonged to Duke.
Right?
Perhaps not.
A report in Duke's student-run newspaper, the Duke Chronicle, reveals that attendance in the famed student section at Cameron Indoor Stadium has declined in recent years. So much so, in fact, that the sections which are home to the "Cameron Crazies" have seen an increase in general admission tickets being made available.
The Chronicle reports that 650 undergraduates have attended the 10 Duke home games this season — a drop-off of 150 from the 2008-09 season.
"It has nothing to do with the revenue. We just want it to be full," Director of Marketing and Relations Mike Forman told the paper."If there were 1,200 students every game we would love it."
Declined undergraduate interest in home games, has forced the school's atheltic department to offer approximately 300 tickets per game this season. The tickets for the 1,200-seat section of bleachers that run along the sidelines of the court, have been priced at $65 a piece.
Meanwhile attendance at DU's sporting event has seen a rise in interest during the same period.
2 comments:
Students today have so many more entertainment options now at their fingertips the ever before - videogames, facebook, smartphones, 800 channels of TV, and much of it in HD, streaming video, etc.
Getting them off their butts/gadgets and into the arena takes bribery now. When I was at DU in the 90s, I would aquire maybe one or two free t-shirts in a year. Today's DU students get that every week.
At least people are recognizing that the students are an important component of the game night experience.
Its what separates DU games from the Outlaws, Avs, Broncos, Rockies & Nuggest.
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