Pat Fitzgerald personally asking NU season ticket holders to renew
Fitzgerald has been sending out personalized videos to season ticket holders in an effort to boost renewals after a disappointing season, and the Chicago Tribune provides a couple script examples:
Hi, YOUR NAME, this is Pat Fitzgerald, your head football coach here at Northwestern. This upcoming week, we’ll add a terrific group of young men to our football family with our recruiting class. Speaking of family, thank you for being a season-ticket holder. YOUR NAME, we need you now to step up again and renew those season tickets to give us the best home-field advantage in Big Ten football. I know you’re gonna be out there cheering us on loud and wearing your purple all season long. NAME, let’s go beat Stanford. Go Cats!
Others get this message:
I really want to challenge you to come out to support the Wildcats as we move forward to getting back to a championship level ... you’re part of the solution. We need you to continue to be a season ticket-holder and find a friend or two -- or 20! -- to be season-ticket holders, too.
All 10,000 season ticket accounts will be getting a message, phone call or letter from one of Northwestern's coaches.
January 28th, 2015 at 12:07 AM ^
This is really cool. It wouldn't work for Michigan though because we probably have 50,000 season ticket holders.
January 28th, 2015 at 12:14 AM ^
If you include students, probably a hell of a lot more. If DB and Hoke had stayed on this year, probably fewer.
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January 28th, 2015 at 12:32 AM ^
If Hoke and Brandon were kept on for 2015 I would suspect there would be more tears and anger than season ticket sales.
If hoke were still the coach this team would be lucky to win 4 games.
January 28th, 2015 at 2:24 PM ^
Lets not think about that
January 28th, 2015 at 12:34 PM ^
The average season-ticketholder has two seats though, so 50K is probably an accurate guess.
January 28th, 2015 at 12:09 AM ^
Just trying to rally the fans. And bring some $ to the program.
January 28th, 2015 at 12:11 AM ^
Just for the record I don't either. It's definitely original and if you read the Tribune article they quote a long-time season ticket holder that works in PR that was really impressed as well.
I'm sure they need the help and this is a good way to show appreciation to some of their biggest fans.
January 28th, 2015 at 12:17 AM ^
Good sales pitch. Still, I chuckled at this part: YOUR NAME, we need you now to step up again and renew those season tickets to give us the best home-field advantage in Big Ten football.
January 28th, 2015 at 2:18 AM ^
Best home field advantage?? I'm pretty sure NW is dead last even Rutgers and Indiana have a larger and louder crowd
January 28th, 2015 at 12:16 PM ^
Truth. As a former NU athlete I can confirm the stadium is half full of loud opposing fans and half (or less) full of NU fans who aren't too loud. That's how it was in my day. They switched NU to the other sideline so the camera would hide all the opposing fans better. But the empty seats show.
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January 28th, 2015 at 12:22 AM ^
Pat Fitzgerald should forever be known by the NU faithful as "Papa" Fitzgerald. Why Papa?
Because he's been known to say "Pa...pa...please buy NU season tickets!"
January 28th, 2015 at 12:30 AM ^
I'm really gonna miss your knee-slappers when me and Evan are at Dartmouth.
January 28th, 2015 at 10:28 AM ^
That was actually a bastardization of a joke a friend once told me about Hemingway:
"Why was Hemingway nicknamed 'Papa'? Because of all the times he was heard to say 'Pa-pa-please publish my story.'"
Still not that funny, but whatever. It breaks the ice at cocktail parties.
January 28th, 2015 at 12:23 AM ^
I really hope the "YOUR NAME" part is read in a different voice
January 28th, 2015 at 3:26 AM ^
" My name is Jeff"
January 28th, 2015 at 5:12 AM ^
you're an alcoholic.
January 28th, 2015 at 12:29 AM ^
They'd knock out all of their renewels in 10...15 minutes tops.
January 28th, 2015 at 12:39 AM ^
If Michigan did this, I have absolutely no doubt Enthusiasm Unknown to Mankind would win decisively over the massive season ticket list.
January 28th, 2015 at 5:23 AM ^
If he was asked to do this next year he would insist on in home visits to each season ticket holder.
January 28th, 2015 at 12:45 AM ^
So what?
I really think it's impossible for Michigan fans to realize how different life is in Evanston. It's an entirely different athletic universe than what we've used to. It's not surprising in the least that this is what Fitz needs to do to fill the seats. And, really, given the fact that he's basically still a god around campus, it's not all that unrealistic. Expectations are low. That's just how it is at a tiny private school in a conference of large, public state schools.
January 28th, 2015 at 7:30 AM ^
My husband used to go to Northwestern games when he was in high school for free. He would just show up and they'd let him in. Obviously, football there is bigger now than it was 30 years ago but yes, the idea of paying a lot for NW tickets is absurd to most Evanston people. If the AD ever pulled a Brandon and raised prices, the stadium would effectively be empty.
January 28th, 2015 at 12:27 PM ^
I actually get the sense that Fitz, while clearly still secure in his job, is starting to lose divine status over there. Back-to-back losing seasons after they'd gotten into the habit of annual bowl trips has started a bit of grumbling.
January 28th, 2015 at 12:54 AM ^
I've been a Northwestern season ticket holder the past two seasons for the sole reason of getting the Michigan game at a cheaper price. I don't think it is all that uncommon of a tactic either and it's worked in my favor.
For the OSU game in 2013, when both were in the top 25 and it was still early in the season, I sold the two tickets for nearly as much as I paid for the season. By the time the Michigan game arrived I was up $150 while still having tickets in hand.
This year didn't turn out quite as favorable but still went to the game for about $80/ticket. The big ticket price this year was Nebraska but it didn't rake in nearly as much as OSU the year before. Surprisingly, the Wisconsin tickets weren't selling as easily. Probably paid a little over asking price but over the two year span I was at least even.
Northwestern's 2018 schedule will be another fantastic opportunity to try this again. Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Duke, Illinois and Notre Dame at home.
January 28th, 2015 at 1:44 AM ^
If i was YOUR NAME i would totally do it!
January 28th, 2015 at 6:32 AM ^
Could you imagine if HARBAUGH? I would certainly HARBAUGH
January 28th, 2015 at 6:34 AM ^
So did YOUR NAME renew or what?
January 28th, 2015 at 6:46 AM ^
In another message, Fitzgerald says: “I really want to challenge you to come out to support the Wildcats as we move forward to getting back to a championship level ... you’re part of the solution. We need you to continue to be a season ticket-holder and find a friend or two -- or 20! -- to be season-ticket holders, too.”
I actually really like this one in particular because it gives fans a sense of shared ownership in the program and its ultimate success, which makes it much more personal. It's an appeal to emotion, sure, but a pretty positive and effective one if you're a Northwestern fan / alum, I would imagine.
January 28th, 2015 at 7:30 AM ^
With him jumping up and down having the Price is Right Name tag on.
January 28th, 2015 at 8:24 AM ^
Quality school, decent coach, in a great location. While I enjoy watching games at Ryan Field they really need to think about a new stadium. Right now it lacks that "big time college feel" that other campuses offer. As a Chicagoan I wish nothing more for their success...as long as it's not against Michigan.
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January 28th, 2015 at 8:34 AM ^
He forwarded it on to me. Pretty neat and very pesonalized although I am guessing they use the same 'Joe' take for all the 'Joe' and 'Joseph' ticket holders they have. He doesn't use the last night. Just first.
January 28th, 2015 at 8:34 AM ^
me of the thrice daily emails I receive from a certain political party begging for donations.
THE ELECTION IS TWO YEARS AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!
January 28th, 2015 at 9:07 AM ^
There but for the grace of Harbaugh go us.
January 28th, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
When I had Jets season tickets (cancelled them a few years ago), Rex Ryan would leave voicemails for every season ticket holder thanking them for buying season tickets and asking them to come out for every game (I think they were taped, but it was still kind of surprising to get a voicemail from Rex).
In addition, I have Rutgers season tickets and they have student athletes call you and thank you for donating money to the Rutgers scholarship fund (which is similar to the Michigan PSD system). The girl who called me was on the field hockey team, but I think almost every student athlete participates so it's kind of cool if you get called by someone that you've heard of (and otherwise, it still has a nice feeling to it, because they sound pretty genuine and happy to be getting a full scholarship, etc.).
January 28th, 2015 at 1:12 PM ^
Same here but in my case it was the Cleveland Cavaliers and one year they used Shaq to make the auto calls. I tried every way I could to get the "HI...THIS IS SHAQ" as my ring tone but couldnt do it. The recording itself was hillarious.