CONSULTANTS

PRODUCT ANALYSIS
The University of South Dakota offers students the chance to watch Division I
level sporting games such as football and men’s and women’s basketball. While USD has
much to offer to students while attending the game, not all the students see the sporting
events as a past-time event. It is important to look at what the University does for the
sporting events and how the students feel about the efforts and results of the games.
The University of South Dakota holds an outdoor tailgate for every home football game
and there is a student tailgate section and an alumni section. In the past the student
section and the alumni section were together, but due to construction on campus they
have been split. We discovered in our focus group, that the students did not like to be
separated from the alumni section. It is important to students to be connected with the
other half of the USD community.
According sporting events offers a chance for students to socialize with one
another and support their fellow students by cheering them on at games. The
atmosphere of the Dakota Dome during game days relates to the social experience for
students. If the students are not pleased with the atmosphere (due to rough crowd
or lack of school spirit) it severely affects their mood at the game and often leads the
students to leave the game. It is important to keep the atmosphere of the Dakota Dome
full of energy and school spirit to keep students at the game and happy.
The University offers a student section in the Dakota Dome and tickets are
required to gain entrance. Tickets can be picked up in the Muenster University Center
on select days at select times and are available until sold out. But what do the students
think about the ticket pick-up? The results from our survey concluded that students did
not like the process of getting a ticket. Most students do not have time to wait in a line
to pick-up a ticket or did not want to wait in a line. Then in our focus group students
suggested a swipe method at the entrance to solve this problem. They also suggested
“over-selling” the game due to students who get a ticket but then decide not to attend
the game; therefore wasting a ticket another student could use to gain entrance. If
the students are not willing to get their tickets it is crucial for USD to change the ticket
method to increase student attendance at games.
The number of tickets acquired by the students’ increases when team’s record is
better. In addition when the Coyotes play against competitors that are better known this
increases student attendance. There is no surprise that game day tickets are distributed
the quickest for Dakota Days or when the opponent is South Dakota State University.
The sense of a long school rivalry motivates students to attend the games to support
their school; Dakota Days has been around for 100 years and it is a long standing
tradition at USD. Following traditions is very important to colleges as well as their
students that leads to why these events tend to have higher attendance.
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