Fans Looking Out for Fans: Council Embarks on Second Season
Monday, August 17, 2015 | Football, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Rett Croley graduated from the University of Florida in 2000, but in the 15 years since has remained a steadfast supporter of UF athletics. Not just season-ticket holders for home games, Croley and his wife, now settled in the Atlanta area, make annual road trips to see the Gators at other Southeastern Conference venues. They're also loyal to their local teams, the NFL Falcons and MLB Braves.
In other words, Croley knows about being a fan.
“Why can't we have a bobble-head game?” Croley asked. “Fans love it. And it sells tickets.”
Yep, bobble-heads can be a popular item and it's a safe bet Croley or someone else on the UAA Fan Advisory Council brings up that idea -- and many more -- as the 15-member committee dives into its second year of existence. The 2015 FAC met for the first time Saturday -- on Gators “Fan Day,” appropriately enough -- and thus began its mission of finding new ways and exploring new concepts to make an afternoon or evening at “The Swamp” the best it can be.
The immediate reaction after reading the previous paragraph likely has something to do with how the Gators are doing on the field. The council, of course, has nothing to do with red-zone offense, third-down conversions, special teams or anything between the lines. Those matters will be left to Coach Jim McElwain and his football staff.
The FAC's charge is what's going on in the stands, concourses and suites.
“The council talks about issues and generates ideas, and those are taken to the UAA,” guest service coordinator Jenn Mereby said. “From there, the UAA looks at if or how we can make a suggestion happen or how we might address a concern.”
The FAC, whose members vary from students all the way to top-level booster contributors, are locked in on improving the fan's game-day experience. The inaugural FAC, which debuted in August 2014, started the conversation and put down a baseline with such touches as eliminating the student ticket lottery (and thus awarding loyal first-come, first-serve” students), adding post-game fireworks, suggesting video board upgrades, more replays and game-day updates, and rowdy canned music.
What's in store for 2016 will be up to the new group.
“The common denominator is everybody is a big fan and wants to enjoy the experience when they're here, so hopefully we can kick around ideas coming from the diversity we offer as a group and say, 'Here's what I like, here's what I'd like to see more of,' ” said Cindy Wilsbach, an FAC member now living in Tampa. “I'm years out from being a student, but I would love to see the kind of participation from the students like when I was in school.”
Bailey Gaul, a senior advertising major from Melbourne, is one of two students on the council and shares Wilsbach's vision of rallying that section.
To do so, access to social media is paramount.
Gaul hopes one day to work in stadium customer service. She knows how frustrating it can be for fans to go to an event and be disconnected from the social media world for four hours. It deprives them from texting friends, Snapchatting photos and keeping updated with other games.
“Those are the kinds of things that can make the game-day experience more appealing to millennials,” she said. “I live and breathe football season, so I'm totally focused on the game, but there are others who are going to be part of a party -- for the event -- and how they enjoy game is just as important.”
The inaugural FAC spent a lot of time on big-ticket-item talk, be it replacing the bleachers with chairbacks, new video boards, better audio system, just to name a few things. All worthy suggestions, albeit long-range projects that cost a lot of money.
One of the charges of the 2015 committee, Mereby said, will be to keep its collective eye on matters that can be addressed realistically and in the short term; issues that are “hypothetically in their control and tangible within two years or maybe even within two games.”
Croley intends to talk about more food options, including booths or tents of popular local fare.
Imagine Leonardo's pizza (or garlic rolls) in the south end zone concourse.
“Again, it's important that we focus on things that we can control,” Croley. “Hopefully, some ideas that come up we can see them through and see them put in place. Then we can say, 'Hey, we came up with this idea, it was implemented and it was a success.' That should be the goal for all of us.”
