re: How can we get more people in the PMAC in spite of our record?

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......I'm sure of course you'd have your old grandpa powers that be who would say that $5 & $1 dollar tickets are ludacrous...but only price the non-ranked opponents like that and they'd still bring in dollars from the concessions......It's stupid to have empty seats when you can just drop the prices......IMO LSU is being lazy on the whole situation

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Ticket prices don't generate interest. And while it may be true for some, it certainly isn't the main reason people don't go to games. As for the advertising, it's in the paper, it's online, they do radio spots. If you're unaware of a game, it's probably because you're not that interested to begin with.

Scheduling isn't really an answer either. Big name schools that care about basketball aren't going to come to Baton Rouge regularly to play because it will hurt their RPI, and they don't need to. Just like how the baseball and football teams don't travel to places that are "beneath" them.

Winning is the best way to generate interest and increase attendance.

i agree with your point, i just see empty seats as dollars lost I guess.

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If there wasn't a problem, few posts would have been made in the thread

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We have such a lag from winning to filling the seats. Whats funny is that there is a snowballs chance in hell that we could make the tourney this year....and people would get brackets and wonder how in the hell LSU is on there and not even know that we've been having somewhat of a turnaround.

I do enjoy the ideas of hey lets just play duke, unc, and Kansas.
Like every school in country dkesnt try to play them every year.

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i don't think duke will ever come to the Pmac lol

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They have in the past (Duke and Kansas). If LSU gets good again, there is always the Superdome(carolina) games. Those were great even with crappy seats. UCLA, Arizona, Houston,Michigan, UNLV and more have all played in PMAC.

One thing that has not been talked about too much in this thread is the students. LSU needs to promote the hell out of the games to the students. I've always thought of them as the base because the product is free. The students need to be leaders here and bring the place to life. We actually used to have a noise meter in a place called deaf dome. We can have that again, but it has to start somewhere (students). I know it's easier when the program is winning, but it is clear that an exciting brand of hoops is near. Get on board.

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How can we get more people in the PMAC in spite of our record?

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1. Skip and Alleva ruined the student experience and atmosphere. I don't blame them with taking some prime seats away from students, as they weren't coming. But the went overboard with it, and even if the team comes back, the student section never will. At the very least, the band need to move to the middle or upper level.

2. More outreach like Dale did to win back fans. The John Brady era eroded away what was a very good and loyal fan base. Now you are trying to appeal to a younger generation that didn't grow up with much LSU hoops success. This will take time.

3. Too much silence in timeouts. PMAC managers should travel to some Hornet games, and get some ideas. I am not saying take away the whole college experience, but you leave 30s to 1minute of nothing going on, people stop looking at the court and start playing on their phones.

4. Fix the seating. One row will have your knees in your chest, while the next you can spread out.

5. Schedule more interesting games. Play USL, would get a few more fans in, and it might be a good, cheap non-conference game they can schedule. Return a game to the Cajundome, could be a close road trip for fans to go to. Brady used to schedule games at Lakefront Arena against UNO, and sometimes games at NO Arena against Tulane or other non-conference opponents. This can generate some interest in nearby cities.

Set up some kind of Louisiana round-robin tournament, with some company sponsoring it. LSU gets bye first few rounds, so as not to lower strength of schedule. Small schools have play-in games. Winner gets the Raising Canes Box Trophy or something like that. Scheduling marquee names goes without saying. Was disappointed in Jones first schedule, as the games he scheduled were less interesting than the ones TJ did. Granted he didnt have much time, so we will see what happens next season.

Loved your ideas Lloyd.

And those of so many other posters.
I'm really heartened by how many responded to this thread. Most everyone had feasible suggestions or thoughtful comments.

It's pretty clear which areas fans would want addressed, and I'll summarize them later.
Some are easier to address than others. A lot can be done almost right away, like marketing, prices and the music/band. Stuff like re-configuring the PMAC maybe later, if ever.

Non-conference game schedule might be able to be arranged soon as well. I know CJJ is wanting more/better games. He inherited a half-assed effort form Trent this season.

I emailed the LSU marketing Dept., last year, asking for more publicity and didn't even get a "thank you for your interest" response. Nothing at all from them.

If anyone wants to tell "the powers that be" how they feel about lack of promotion of Men's basketball, see the email addresses below:

Athletic Dept
athletics@lsu.edu Joe Alleva Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics
vausbe1@lsu.edu Verge Ausberry -Senior Associate Athletic Director

Athletic Dept Marketing:
shanklin@lsu.edu Matt Shanklin-Assistant AD/Marketing
dnunes1@lsu.edu Daniel Nunes-Director of Marketing
lukelovell@lsu.edu Luke Lovell-Director of Fan Experience
ltaylor@lsu.edu Lauren Taylor-Assistant Marketing Director
pzernott@lsu.edu Pauline Zernott-Spirit Coordinator

Basketball Operations:
tkelsey@lsu.edu Tom Kelsey-Director of Basketball Operations

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I emailed the LSU marketing Dept., last year, asking for more publicity and didn't even get a "thank you for your interest" response. Nothing at all from them.

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This is typical of them and there is no excuse for it. They are one of the main roots of the problem. Dale Brown used to run the show for these people and they did not have to get off their arse. When Brady and Johnson were hired, it was clear to anyone with a brain that they did not have the personality to sell the program the same way. Those coaches could have probably done more, but the athletic dept needed to step up their game.

Coach Jones knows how Dale did it, but he needs the backing of TAF and the Ath Dept. to make it happen. Coach needs to be focused on his job. The head coach job today requires more time than it did in Dale's day. We need coach out there finding talent and making LSU better on the court.