Things looked promising seven weeks ago, when orange-clad fans filed into a filled-to-the-brim student section before the Syracuse football team kicked off its home opener against North Carolina.

“It’s one my proudest moments since coming to Syracuse,” said Michael Veley, Syracuse’s associate director of athletics for external affairs. “The student body showed up in full force.”

Six losses later, student-section attendance has dwindled. Ditto for ticket sales.

Syracuse’s two remaining home games, against No. 3 Virginia Tech and No. 1 Miami, are not sold out. The athletic department announced yesterday it will offer a free men’s basketball ticket to select December games to anyone who purchases a ticket to either of the two remaining football games.

The Virginia Tech game, which will be played Parents Weekend (Nov. 9), has 2,000 unsold seats, said Pat Campbell, manager of the Carrier Dome. For Miami, 8,000 seats remain.

Because Syracuse hosts Miami on Nov. 30, two days after Thanksgiving, that game was left off student season-ticket plans. And because many students will likely be out of town that weekend, it may not sell out.

“Athletics is no different than any business,” Veley said. “If you have some unsold inventory, you try to package that inventory and move it the best you can. It’s a great value for fans.”

A $13 value, to be exact. That’s how much an adult ticket costs for men’s basketball games in December. Fans can choose any game that month, save Georgia Tech on Dec. 21.

That leaves one of six non-conference teams: Colgate, Cornell, UNC-Greensboro, Binghamton, Albany or Canisius.

“We’re hoping that will sell out our final two football games, while giving fans a chance to see our basketball team,” Veley said. “Plus, we’re hoping it will fill up the lower bowl for some out-of-conference opponents.”

But the administration never expected it would need a special promotion to sell tickets to see two of the top three teams in the country in the same month.

Plus, Syracuse’s poor season coincides with the department’s launching of the Fans First Initiative, a plan to combat student apathy and waning Dome attendance.

To improve the gameday atmosphere, the administration set up a Fun Zone on Hendricks Field adjacent to Lawrinson Hall and designated a section behind the third-level east end zone as the O-zone, intended for zealous fans who stand for the entire game.

Evaluations of Fans First will continue, the administration said, regardless of on-the-field performances.

“The football season itself has not had any impact materially on the Fans First Initiative in terms of wins and losses,” said Rob Edson, Syracuse’s associate director of athletics for financial and team services. “It wasn’t based on wins and losses. It was based on reaching out to the fans.”

But that might be difficult if declining ticket sales cause revenue to drop. Some of the improvements the administration suggested Fans First might bring – such as a video-replay board for the Dome — could be put on hold.

“I’m not going to lie to you,” Edson said, “if we’re going to a (Bowl Championship Series) bowl this season, we’d probably feel a whole lot better about the fact that someone says, ‘Hey, we’re going to be able to do X, Y and Z.’

“Any time you’re dealing with a budget, you project what you believe to be realistic. Then you have a series of priorities, or needs. Those needs might get ticked off the list if revenues are down.”

So that fans understand this, the administration plans to establish an open line of communication, Edson said.

Director of Athletics Jake Crouthamel began that process Monday, when he explained how Syracuse evaluates its football program.

Crouthamel emphasized that SU’s evalutations of head coach Paul Pasqualoni and his staff are “not a snapshot” and not based on “knee-jerk reactions.”

The athletics department has taken a similar approach to Fans First.

“It’s going to go on,” Edson said. “It was going to go on whether we were undefeated at this point in our season or otherwise.”

Published on October 31, 2002 at 12:00 pm