By John Owens
It feels like almost nothing good can come from the labor lockouts the NFL and NBA are experiencing right now. Fans don’t have teams to watch, and a major piece of the New Orleans’ post-Katrina identity, the Saints, are absent from the Superdome.
For Tulane fans, however, there is something extremely good that can come from the lockouts.
Dismayed fans will have to look elsewhere to satisfy their football and basketball appetites, and there is really only one outlet in New Orleans that provides both sports on a big stage: Tulane University. The Green Wave has a great opportunity to fill the void left by the Saints and the Hornets during their laborious (pardon the pun) negotiating process.
In order for Tulane to take full advantage of the lockout, it needs to prove to New Orleans that it has a product worth watching. That means aggressively selling the team’s strengths and stars to the general public. Standout sophomore running back Orleans Darkwa could lead the way, as he is potentially an NFL talent in the making. Darkwa embodies the image that Tulane wants their athletes to exude; that of high character both on and off the field.
One only needs to look at fellow Conference USA school Memphis to see the effect that one great running back, in Memphis’ case D’Angelo Williams, can have on a program. If Tulane can use Darkwa to promote the team, it could put plenty of fans in the seats.
In addition, Tulane needs to price tickets aggressively. The Green Wave should look to give reduced price tickets to Saints season ticket holders, directly targeting fans. It should also look to give added benefits to current season ticket holders, so they spread the message that Tulane athletic events are excellent experiences overall. In essence, Tulane needs to give extremely strong bang for the buck. If it can get even get a fraction of those fans, and keep them, the Green Wave could enjoy a fan base rejuvenation.
If football has a good shot to take advantage of the lockout, then basketball has an excellent chance.
Not only does the Green Wave need to fill far fewer seats in Fogelman than in the cavernous Superdome, the university also already has the base for this in place. Thanks to the new life Men’s Head Coach Ed Conroy has brought, Tulane basketball is already gaining more notoriety. That combined with the successes of Coach Stockton’s Women’s basketball program, makes Tulane basketball a much easier sell.
Tulane should apply the same principles to marketing as it should with football — aggressive pricing and providing a quality product while targeting Hornets fans — so it could easily cram Fogelman for home games.
And if the university could bring more fans for both football and basketball, the athletic department could take the first steps in rekindling the fan base in New Orleans. Tulane must plant the seeds if they want to regrow the athletic culture and appeal of Tulane. Putting fans in the seats is a great way to do that, and there has never been a better time to get fans in seats.
Even if they aren’t students.
If more fans, even non-students, went to games, it would encourage more students to attend. Why? Because more fans means a more exciting atmosphere for fans, and especially students, who feed off the energy of other fans. No longer would the Athletic department have to hide empty venues from recruits, which helps recruiting.
So why is this good for Tulane fans?
Because it could mean better Tulane Athletics, and a more exciting culture sooner rather than later, which is a pretty good thing.
John Owens can be reached at jowens3@tulane.edu
Photo Credit: Lee Saxon
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