Sixty-five students of professor Heidi Parker’s Principles of Sports Management 205 course will try to break the attendance record for an NCAA field hockey game Saturday when No.1 Syracuse hosts No. 9 Connecticut at 1 p.m. at J.S. Coyne’s Stadium.

The introductory course was given the assignment three weeks ago on a 50-dollar budget as a first-hand overview of the sports industry, management and marketing sales.

‘What we’re trying to do is get the word out,’ Parker said. ‘We have the No. 1 team in the country, and they are worth coming out to support.’

The highest attendance for the Orange this season was Sept. 19, when 257 came to see Syracuse’s 3-0 win over then-No. 11 Louisville.

The current NCAA field hockey attendance record is 1,734, set by Maryland in 2007.

To gain attendance, students of Parker’s course have posted ‘Be a part of history!!!’ flyers throughout campus and at dorms, contacted University Union and have placed advertisements in local radio stations.

Some students were assigned to local high school field hockey programs to create interest for Saturday’s game and to reach out to the community.

Syracuse field hockey team manager and sports management student Jana Ebert contacted Syracuse’s athletic department, who will help provide raffles.

‘We have tickets for Syracuse Crunch (ice hockey) games, Syracuse football games, some items signed by the SU (men’s) basketball team, and also we are trying to get signatures from NBA players,’ Ebert said.

The students chose Saturday’s game against Connecticut to maximize attendance. For an attendance of 500, students will receive 100 percent on the assignment; if they break the NCAA record, students will be able to drop a test grade.

‘It’s one of the biggest home games on the field hockey schedule,’ Parker said. ‘UConn is ranked in the Top 25. It’s a conference game, so hopefully it’ll be a huge draw.’

edpaik@syr.edu

Published on October 16, 2008 at 12:00 pm