Team supported many events, including Cocky’s Reading Express
Last week, the men’s basketball team’s “8k in 8 Days” community outreach tour brought basketball players to several local events and service efforts, including a Special Olympics program, Cocky’s Reading Express, the Richland County Sheriff Future Stars Camp, the Fort Jackson kid’s clinic and a visit Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital.
The initiative was designed to kick-start efforts to sell 8,000 season tickets this year. While in the past basketball promotions usually started in September or October, this campaign aims to build a stronger fan base for the team by stirring excitement early and by touching the community through service endeavors.
“Our goal is 8,000 season tickets, but Frank [Martin] preaches community service. He’s very involved, so we thought, what better way to reach out and touch the lives of 8,000 people, so events all through the next eight days will help us do that,” said athletics marketing director Josh Waters.
The campaign began Tuesday, when the official 2014-2015 non-conference schedule was released and team members participated in a Special Olympics event at Colonial Life Arena, and concluded with Martin’s appearance at a back-to-school donation event at Academy Sports on Harbison.
For Martin, his ability to make a lasting impact on the lives of South Carolinians is one of the most important aspects of his job.
“Going out into the community and trying to put yourself in a place where you can impact people in a positive way and when people can see us deeper than a coach or a player is a little bit more important than just shooting the ball or making a decision during timeout,” Martin said.
By building community support, team leaders hope to take advantage of the momentum from last year, when season ticket sales increased significantly despite the fact that the team had seen four consecutive losing seasons. Last season also included a renaming of the student section, now called “The Roost,” and saw increased student attention. Martin and university administrators hope to continue to build a community of fans around the men’s basketball team.
“The culture has to change — I’m not just talking about our locker room. I’m talking about everything,” said Martin. “And in 15, 18, 20 years from now, when this place is rocking and rolling … we want to make sure that everyone looks back at these guys as the guys that started that wave of momentum to build.”
While it has been many years since 8,000 season tickets were sold, Martin is optimistic about the future of the team, and considers the 8k in 8 Days program an opportunity to look beyond attendance and numbers — even beyond winning and losing.
“We’re just trying to make that connection with our fans that’s a little deeper than a game,” Martin said. “And when you do that, then your fans start coming because of who you are, not who you play. Not how many games you’ve won. They come because they believe in what your program’s about … That’s what we’re trying to do.”