Notes On A Scorecard
8/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | General
Aug. 9, 2010
NOTES ON A SCORECARDIt's a great time to be a Horned Frog!
This is the first edition of a weekly blog that will address issues and subjects within TCU Athletics. We want to make sure we keep all our constituents informed on key topics involving our program, student-athletes and coaches. The blogs will be archived on GoFrogs.com.
MOMENTUM
Coming off the most successful year at TCU, in the classroom, the playing fields, stands and Frog Club, we're looking to continue the momentum in the 2010-11 athletics season.
We have student-athletes that make you proud to be invested in TCU. In addition to our success in competition last year, our student-athletes also shined with the books. During the fall and spring semesters, TCU student-athletes posted their highest grade-point averages since we began tracking GPAs in 1998.
Our Athletic-Academic Services Office does an outstanding job. Our student-athletes understand they're at TCU to first and foremost earn a degree. A great example is Jerry Hughes and Daryl Washington from our BCS football team.
Both Jerry and Daryl did not redshirt and received their degrees in four years. In their final semester, with the NFL Draft looming and both of them routinely flying across the country to meet with various teams, Jerry and Daryl did not lose sight of their academic focus. Jerry posted a 4.0 grade-point average with Daryl at a 3.3.
MARKETING PLAN
The goal for 2010 was to paint the town purple through our loyal partners and fans in the community. Working with the football office on promotional materials and the slogan Let's Make Purple Reign helped us support Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief's initiative of Go Purple Fridays.
Tying together Go Purple Fridays with the community, we have worked with sponsors, alums, students and fans to offer discounts to those in purple. We have also created a season t-shirt that enables Frog Nation to unite as well as give back with $2 of each season t-shirt sold benefitting the Mayor's Initiative on Homelessness, Directions Home. The t-shirts and other TCU merchandise are available through our new on-line store on GoFrogs.com.
Through new relationships with WBAP, Budweiser, McDonald's and enhancing existing relationships with Albertson's, Marriott, the Parking Spot, Chicken Express, Boomerjacks and Pappas Burger, we have attempted to broaden the reach of purple and TCU Athletics through branding initiatives and loyal TCU supporters' incentives.
Our advertising reach has included new partners in WBAP, KLUV and the Legend 92.1 while also adding some network television advertising through a partnership with WFAA and the Fort Worth Visitors and Convention Bureau. Billboards, bus wraps and strategic advertising with the Star-Telegram and other print mediums are also in the works as well as an aggressive distribution of promotional schedule cards and posters throughout the Metroplex.
FOOTBALL SEASON-TICKET SALES RECORD SET
The excitement in our program is illustrated by the TCU, Fort Worth and surrounding communities helping us set an all-time record for football season-ticket sales. We've gone over the 16,200 mark with a month still to go before our home opener. Last year, we set single-season attendance records in football, soccer, volleyball and baseball. It's fashionable to watch the Horned Frogs.
Football season tickets are still available and single-game tickets are now on sale via our Web site (www.GoFrogs.com) and at the main ticket office in the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
In addition to our season-ticket sales record, we're also excited about a new scanning system that allows fans to purchase tickets and print them at home. This will help in avoiding will call lines and tickets lost in the mail.
FALL SPORTS GETTING UNDERWAY
Our football, soccer and volleyball programs have reported to campus and preseason preparations are underway. There's a buzz around our facilities. This is why we enjoy what we do.
Football was the unanimous pick to win the Mountain West Conference at the league's Media Days in Las Vegas. We also swept the preseason individual awards. However, as Coach Patterson will be quick to tell you, it's where you are in December, and not August, that counts.
SUPPORTING THE FROGS
We hope to see a Sea of Purple in the stands at Amon G. Carter Stadium this fall as well as at the Cowboys Classic, our Sept. 4 opener with Oregon State at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. The Beavers are ranked 22nd in the preseason USA Today poll. Student tickets for the Cowboys Classic will be available online from Aug. 21-25. They are $35 each with a limit of one ticket per student.
We appreciate your support of the Horned Frogs with the purchasing of season tickets as well as all our donor partners who made it possible for the TCU Frog Club to hit an all-time record last year with $4.45 million to support the Frog Club's mission of providing Scholarships for Champions.
If you're not currently a Frog Club member, join today at www.tcufrogclub.com and participate in upcoming events such as the Gary Patterson Luncheon Series and the Horned Frog Classic golf tournament.
All donor parking passes for the 2010 football season will be mailed by Aug. 27. A limited number of these coveted passes do remain. Get yours today at www.tcufrogclub.com and support all our student-athletes at TCU who benefit from your generosity.
KEEP IN TOUCH
If you ever have questions or concerns regarding TCU, please holler at me or one of our staff members, and we'll be glad to assist. All of you make TCU special and we value your input.
Go Frogs!
Christopher M. Del Conte
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
