LHU Sports Research: Increasing Attendance and School Spirit

LHU Sports Research
Lock Haven University
Charles Elkerton
Aaron Lagana
Miranda Tressler
Blake Walker

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary........................................3
Introduction.....................................................4
Secondary Research........................................4-12
Qualitative Research.......................................12-17
Quantitative Research.....................................17-37
Conclusion.......................................................36
References.......................................................37
Appendix.........................................................38-51

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Executive Summary
This report researches the attendance rates of the Lock Haven University, LHU, athletics and
student beliefs in regards to the programs. This research was undertaken to attempt to overall
improve the atmosphere of the university. Generally, a school with a good fan foundation can
ultimately generate a good atmosphere for the university.
We gathered the information through three different mediums which included secondary
research, primary research in the form of qualitative research as a focus group, and quantitative
research as an online survey. The focus group consisted of seven students on campus who had an
interest in improving LHU athletics. The online survey received a total of 160 respondents. The
survey was advertised through social media, and emailed to specific groups across the university.
Our secondary research uncovered a multitude of competitors that included the Hangar 9, Roxy
Movie Theatre, Penn State University, football games on TV, Price Auditorium (HAC) Movie
Nights, Central Mountain Football, Nittany Mall, Parking, and Greek Life. Each of these
competitors pose an immediate threat to the attendance of the LHU athletic events. We found
that Lock Haven University social media a small portion of the student body.
Our qualitative research shows a strong interest in the athletic programs at Lock Haven
University. We were able to determine what the students wanted most when attending the
athletic events to improve their overall experience. This includes an introduction to the trolley
system, a uniformed student section, and an ability to tailgate before the games. This allows the
students to gather together with friends and other students to form a higher school spirit before
the game.
Our quantitative research confirmed the findings from the focus group by showing the want for
the trolley services, tailgating opportunities, and a uniformed student section. We were also able
to identify that students at LHU believe they have school spirit as an individual. However, they
do not believe that the university as a whole has school spirit. This shows that the student body
does not believe they know how to properly show their pride.
Upon completion of this research, we were able to conclude that the university would benefit
greatly from utilizing the trolley system during games for transportation of students and
community members to and from the games. In addition, having opportunities for the students to
turn their athletic experience into a positive socialization event would be very beneficial to the
university as a whole.
Our recommendations include the allowance of tailgating, trolley services, uniform student
section, increase in advertisement and social media. This would allow Lock Haven University
athletics to become a well sought after experience and event.

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Introduction
This report will hopefully discover why the attendance of the LHU sports games is not
extraordinarily high. We will analyze the main competitors and research why they may receive
more student attendance than Lock Haven University athletics. Our research will include the
main competitors within the town of Lock Haven as well as other universities and what their
school pride is compared to ours. We will attempt to uncover all the details behind why the
attendance at sporting events is not as high as the university would like to see. We will compare
the different social media sites of all the competitors and analyze the differences of each and why
they may have more followers and so on. We will hopefully discover the negatives and positives
that LHU has when it comes to their sports teams.
To start, we will begin by using secondary research to find the statistics of all the schools part of
the PASSHE system, and other forms of higher education in Pennsylvania. We will then conduct
qualitative research in the form of a focus group. We will finish our research by conducting
quantitative research through an online survey with Survey Monkey.
Secondary Research
By using research that was already completed, our objective is to figure out where Lock Haven
University stands when compared to the other schools in Pennsylvania. This will be
accomplished by comparing Lock Haven University’s enrollment, town sizes, and social media
buzz to other Pennsylvania schools. We will identify and analyze the main competitors of LHU
sporting events, the demographics and psychographics of our target market.
Target Competitors
The following is data regarding number of times the golhu.com website was visited and how
many times the LHU hashtags were used. As of April 1st, 2015, LHU was ranked number 70 out
of 316 with Twitter followers among the other NCAA Division II schools. LHU had 2,784
Twitter followers (Spatafore, Doug).
Golhu.com
Number of page viewers over the last 30 days 9,314
Number of unique and new views per day over the last 30 days 2,030
#LHUALLIN #HavenNation
107 12,322
We researched competitors and we found that the top ones for Lock Haven are Hangar 9, Roxy
Movie Theatre, Penn State University, football games on TV, Price Auditorium (HAC) Movie
Nights, Central Mountain Football, Nittany Mall, Parking, and Greek Life. We found that many
students would rather go to one of these places than to a LHU football game on a Saturday
afternoon.

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Hangar 9
The Hangar 9 is a popular bar and lounge in Lock Haven. They only permit people of 21 years of
age or older inside though. Because of this they only affect a portion of our target market, but
that portion is crucial for getting the younger students to come out. The Hangar allows students
to drink and watch football games on Saturdays. No person is allowed to drink on Lock Haven
grounds and that includes the parking lots for the games. The Hangar is also televising the first
couple LHU football games in the bar so the eligible students would much rather be at the bar
watching them on television while they are drinking. They are able to steal the students from the
games just because of the option to drink before and during the game. While Lock Haven cannot
allow them to drink during the game, they could find a way to let them drink before the game in
the parking lots. Hangar 9 is only on Facebook, but the page is down a lot. People are going to
have trouble keeping up with them if their Facebook is difficult to find.
Watching Games on Television
A good amount of the college football fans on campus already have their favorite big time
college teams they root for. If they play during the same time as the LHU games then the
students would rather watch other games on television rather than go to the game. The bigger
schools garner much more support compared to Lock Haven. This usually comes down to
tradition. The students watch games on television week in and week out and the schools have
earned the respect of the students and they will support a team with a rich history rather than
watch our teams perform. It is all perspective, Lock Haven is known for having a horrible
football team because our records show us losing time and time again. You constantly hear about
big games on the news, but even being on campus only a handful of students even know who our
football team even plays next. These big schools have big social media pages. They are
everywhere. The Lock Haven football team has a Facebook page, but it only has a measly 71
likes. That is it. It is a very well designed page, but because the lack of faith and excitement the
team generates nobody really cares about them.
Penn State University
Penn State is huge compared to Lock Haven. Their enrollment for 2015 was 40,514 students.
When you compare that to Lock Haven’s enrollment, 4,521, it is no wonder that they generate
more of a buzz then we do. If you also compare Lock Haven’s population of 10,025 to State
College’s population of 41,757, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that our students would rather go to
State College for a game then stay here and watch Lock Haven. Penn State is also known for
football. The majority of students that attend Lock Haven are from in-state or from New Jersey.
Both of those areas are mainly Penn State orientated due to the school’s tradition and influence
in the world. If students had tickets to a Penn State game, they would much rather go there than
stay here. The Penn State Facebook page has 366,341 likes, their Twitter page has 111,000
followers. Lock Haven has 8,171 likes on Facebook even though 24,695 people have been to the
page. Currently, their Twitter has 1,982 followers which is horrendous considering the Lock
Haven Crushes twitter page, a page in which students can tweet about who they find hot or sexy
on campus, has 2,312 followers. Also, the amount of followers has decreased since the April 1st,
2015 ranking of the NCAA Division II schools, which was 2,784. There is no wonder why Penn
State is stealing our students on the weekends. They have so much more life than this campus.

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Price Auditorium (HAC) Movie Nights
HAC stands for the Haven Activities Council which hosts a majority of the events on campus.
They email students every week with the movies they will be playing on Friday and Saturday
nights. They play newer movies which are free to students. Most students would rather see a free
movie and not walk far to see it than take the hike up to Jack Stadium to watch a game. These do
not have a massive attendance, but they are still potential students who could be attending the
games. Students know more about what movies are playing in Price every week than the local
sporting events. In the weekly emails the HAC movie is huge and at the top of the email and then
all the athletics are small and somewhere in the middle of the page which is the worst spot to put
something of importance. Most people remember the beginning and the end of documents. It
should be big with a picture at the top of the page because many students just click and delete
and only have a glance at the top of the page and all they see when they do that is the movie.
They need to make the athletics more noticeable.
Roxy Movie Theatre
The Roxy is a local theatre in downtown Lock Haven. They mainly advertise locally and to
locals of Lock Haven. However, they do have an agreement with the Student Parsons Union
Building on campus where you can get a discount on movie tickets with your student ID. They
show about three to four movies a week and are mainly new releases. This is a way for students
to get off of campus and explore downtown. Students could rather enjoy going to the Roxy over
a football game because they can see a matinee show versus at Price where they are only at
night. It is an inexpensive way for students to occupy their time. They have 4,193 likes on
Facebook and they do not have a Twitter or Instagram page. This is because they are not
targeting just strictly the younger generation, so they go with the most common form of social
media in order to get their name out there.
Central Mountain Football
Central Mountain is the local high school in Mill Hall, PA. It lies in the Keystone Central school
district. The high school overall has a higher attendance than LHU does at football games. The
high school students attend football games more for the social aspect. They typically enjoy going
to games, and look forward to the Friday night lights. The school makes the games and the
promotion of them big and so then the students actually want to go. The high school games
actually have a committed student section, which already means they have more school spirit
than LHU. Another issue with people going to the high school games on Friday’s is that they will
not want to go to the LHU game on Saturday. People will most likely not want to go to a football
game two days in a row. Even though the games are on separate days, they are still competing
for attendance and Lock Haven is losing. Overall, the Central Mountain High School Facebook
page has 1,527 likes. They do not have a Twitter or Instagram account nor do they have a
reoccurring hashtag about the school or football team.
Nittany Mall
The Nittany mall is very similar to the Lycoming mall. However, it is located in State College.
This is a little longer of a drive than Lycoming mall, but it is still only about 45 minutes. Here,
there are several more options of dining and shops to choose from. Many students prefer to go to
State College for a whole day since there is a bigger university right there in town as well. Since
the population of State College is 41,757, they attract more students from other schools because

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they are not limited dining or shopping options and it is more of a big-city feel but not as big as
New York City. On Facebook, they have only 1,107 likes and they have no Twitter page. Just
like the Lycoming mall, they do not have an Instagram either. However, they as well have a
#NittanyMall that is trending on Instagram. This could be that their main marketing is in the
town of State College and mainly by word of mouth. Word of mouth is one of the fastest and
easiest ways to market something relatively quick.
Parking
The parking on campus plays a huge rule in the attendance to the games. Many people do not
want to have to pay for parking or they always have trouble finding a place to park due to Hubert
Jack Stadium’s parking lot being relatively small. People who attend the games have the option
to park at the student recreation center, or the parking lot by the Charlotte-Smith field and walk
up to the football field. However, with people who are older- they do not necessarily want to
walk all that way. Since there is not that much parking, many people may just choose not to
come at all. Also, if there were the trolleys or another shuttle service to transport people then
they may not mind the lack of parking as much and still attend the football games or any other
games that go on. Parking is an indirect competitor because of the lack of parking availability.
People are less likely to attend a game or event unless it is a special event such as graduation or
even homecoming if there is a lack of parking. This could also affect the town people from
attending the football games because they want to be able to come to a game and just park, not
have to walk a long while to get to the game. If they do not have any family members or real
reason to be there, they may not want to make that effort to go to the football games.
Greek Life
There are many options of Greek life on campus. On the LHU campus, about six percent of
students are in a Greek organization. For sororities there are; Sigma Sigma Sigma, Alpha Sigma
Tau, Zeta Tau Alpha and Sigma Kappa. For fraternities there are; Alpha Sigma Phi, Alpha Chi
Rho, Phi Mu Delta, and Kappa Delta Rho. As being such social sororities and fraternities, there
are many events held on the weekends. The sororities do many sisterhood retreats and do many
philanthropic events. Each Greek organization has a philanthropy that they raise money for.
They may do small events on campus, or even bigger events on the weekend such as a concert, a
5k run or even Relay for Life. These events may be held on the weekends, and this hinders
people who are in Greek organizations to be able to attend football games or any other sporting
events on campus. Each Greek organization on campus has a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
This is because many students communicate fast and through social media. This generation
needs to communicate and broadcast mainly through different social media sites in order to get
their names out there in a positive way.
Target Market
Our target market will be families with children ranging from the age 5-12, and college students
(18-23).
Demographics
The ethnicity of Lock haven is primarily Caucasian with a total of 93% of the population. The
remaining 7% is composed of 4% African American, 2% Latino or Hispanic, and 1% of two or

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more ethnicities. The educational levels in Lock Haven consist of 82% having graduated for at
least high school and 20% of the population having graduated with their Bachelor’s degree or
higher. People under the age of 18 is composed of 16%, under 5 as 6% and 65+ at 12% of the
total population of Lock Haven. Lock Haven is composed of 58% Females and 56% Males (State
& Country Quick Facts, 2015). Lock Haven University consists of 58% females and 42 % males.
The ethnical break down of Lock Haven University consists of 10% African American, 2%
Hispanic, 1% Asian, 1% international, and 85% Caucasian (About Lock Haven University,
2015).
We are targeting families with children ranging in age from 5-12 because if we can get the
younger children to come, they might want to comeback every year or every game. Also, if the
family has a good experience at the game, they might tell other families about it and then they
may come to the game. Lock Haven’s median household income is $25k, which is $28k below
the national average. 40.2% of the population is at or below the poverty line which is 27% higher
than the national average. This means that the residents of Lock Haven have lower disposable
income than most of the country does. Residents will most likely be trying to find a cheap form
of entertainment that is relatively close to home.
Lock Haven football games are typically less than ten dollars per person which is a reasonable
amount to spend on a family of four. Also, the games themselves are within a 5 mile radius of
town. A typical Penn State game can cost up to $100 a ticket and is a 30-40 minute drive from
Lock Haven. Not only can that be up to $400 for a family of four, but you also have to pay for a
parking pass. The children in the car may get rowdy, impatient, and tired before they even get to
the game. It is more reasonable for a resident of Lock Haven with kids 5-12 to attend Lock
Haven athletic events. We could make pamphlets or flyers and send them to local businesses to
handout during the week. Also, we could make a printable schedule on poster paper and ask
businesses to hang them up in their windows or on their doors. Sending out small schedules out
in the mail to residents may also help increase attendance at the games.
The target market of college students makes sense due to the fact that they attend here. We
would target them through social media and more signage throughout campus. Lock Haven itself
sends out an email during the week which tells the students what activities are being held on
campus. However, this tells them all that they can do on campus not just athletic events. If Lock
Haven would send out a separate email to the students, it may increase awareness of the games.
The social media that Lock Haven uses can increase the number of followers that they have.
Lock Haven athletics use Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to try to inform students about what
events are taking place. Lock Havens social media has 3,147 followers on twitter, 813 followers
on Instagram, and 1,300 likes on Facebook. They can increase social media awareness of
students by announcing their usernames at the game and adding it to the programs, flyers, and
signs.
 Census.com
 Twitter.com/HavenAthletics
 Instagram.com/havenathletics
 Facebook.com/lhuathletics

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Psychographics
The psychographics of college students is primarily connected with their amount of internet
usage as compared to any other generation. In addition to their internet connectedness, they also
are very great at working in teams and seek social opportunities (Here Come the Millennials!
Who They Are and How They Affect Your Business, 2014). Many college students spend their
time between academics, social opportunities, and life essential activities
School Enrollment and Social Media
(Multiple Twitter and Facebook searches, 2015)
School Enrollment 2015 Facebook Twitter
Bloomsburg 9,319 22,497 9,557
East Stroudsburg 6,204 14,314 5,077
Edinboro 5,595 17,343 6,987
IUP 12,130 40,168 9,565
Kutztown 8,562 23,783 8,570
Lock Haven 4,521 8,171 1,982
Mansfield 2,587 1,378 2,350
Millersville 7,171 15,535 2,350
Shippensburg 6,305 19,712 5,880
Slippery Rock 7,587 19,053 6,366
West Chester 13,844 21,051 11,300
California University 6,706 19,134 5,882
Cheyney 997 4,241 1,881
Clarion 4,906 13,757 4,744
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
Bloom
ESU
Edinboro
IUP
Kutztown
LHU
Mansfield
Millersville
Shippensburg
SlipperyRock
WestChester
CalU
Cheyney
Clarion
School Enrollment and Social Media
Facebook Twitter Enrollment 2015

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These statistics show us how each of the PSAC schools are doing in social media. The current
enrollment shows how many students are at the school as well so the graph compares the
enrollment and how many followers/likes they have on their official school pages. We see that
Lock Haven’s Facebook page has 8,171 likes compared to its 4,521 current students which is
pretty good. However, we have 1,982 followers on twitter. Other schools like Kutztown have
almost 3 times as many likes than students and about the same amount of followers on twitter as
the amount of students. If we can figure out what they are doing to get so many people we can
use it to not only promote our sports, but also promote the school. These others schools are doing
phenomenal in their social media campaigns, which would make one wonder why Lock Haven is
not doing better than it is.
Enrollment and Town Size
School Enrollment (2015) Town Population (2013)
Bloomsburg 9,319 14,519
East Stroudsburg 6,204 9,780
IUP 5,595 6,610
Kutztown 8,562 5,008
LHU 4,521 10,025
Mansfield 2,587 3,606
Shippensburg 6,305 5,545
Slippery Rock 7,587 3,668
West Chester 13,844 18,968
California University 6,706 6,585
Cheyney 997 3,017
Clarion 4,906 4,936
Penn State University 40,514 41,757
Pittsburgh 17,694 7,913
Temple 28,408 1.553 (million)
Bucknell 3,600 5,733
Lehigh 5,034 75,018
King’s College 487 41,108

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(Multiple Twitter and Facebook searches, 2015)
These statistics show the difference between the enrollment at the university and the size of the
town that the university is in. As you can see, Slippery Rock has 7,587 students enrolled in 2015
with only 3,668 for the occupants living in the town. Lock Haven has 4,521 students enrolled in
2015, with only 10,025 as the population. Whereas a similar school, Bloomsburg University, has
over 5,000 more enrolled in 2015 (9,319) with only more than 4,000 in population (14,519)
when compared to Lock Haven. Even California University has more students enrolled and with
only a 121 person difference in their town population. If we can figure out what these
universities do and how we can be a high competitor with them, then maybe we could solve the
attendance of athletics. Maybe these universities have more well-known or advertised athletics
teams than Lock Haven does. Hopefully we can figure out what can make LHU’s athletics
attendance improve and what the difference is between our main competitors in universities.
Reasons to Conduct Primary Research
From our findings from the secondary research, there was substantial reasoning to believe that
our competitors were a more attractive option than the LHU sporting events. In addition, there is
no current research that shows how Lock Haven University students view the athletics. Finally,
we need to conduct further research to find out what would make the sporting events more
attractive to the LHU student body.
-
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
Bloom
ESU
Edinboro
IUP
Kutztown
LHU
Mansfield
Millersville
Shippensburg
SlipperyRock
WestChester
CalU
Cheyney
Clarion
PSU
Pitt
Temple
Bucknell
Lehigh
King'sColege
Enrollment and Town Size
Enrollment 2015 Town population (2013)

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Qualitative Research
The goal of the focus group was to help us further determine any issues or unknown factors
regarding the low attendance at Lock Haven University athletic events. We formed a focus group
that consisted of seven LHU students who have shown an interest in the school’s athletic
programs. The group consisted of three seniors and four juniors. The goals that we came up with
are:
1. Experiences and initial thoughts regarding the programs
2. Student expectations of collegiate athletics and the experiences at Lock Haven
University’s athletics
3. Advertisement and information regarding the athletic events
4. Alternatives of going to the games
5. School spirit and the importance of sports
Description of Research Method
Our sample size out of the total population was seven Lock Haven University students which
consisted of four juniors and three seniors which is approximately 0.2% of the Lock Haven
University population. We used a judgement, nonprobability sampling type for our focus group.
It is nonprobability sampling because the probability of selecting each sampling unit is not
known along with the sampling error. It is judgement sampling because we assumed that the
group was a representative of the target population and they met the requirements of the study.
Focus Group Analysis
There were four juniors and three seniors who participated in this focus group. We asked
multiple questions regarding the Lock Haven University sports and the average student’s
attendance to these sporting games. We asked these seven students approximately twenty
different questions.
We found that on average, the students stated that they attended only one football game and that
they did not know when the games were, were not here on weekends that much, or because the
football team is not that good. LHU football actually broke their record for the largest losing
streak in 2012. The majority of the students claimed to have only gone to about one sporting
event since they have been a student at LHU. There were 57% of the students surveyed who said
that they thought of the wrestling team when asked what their first thought of when they hear
LHU athletics. They said they chose wrestling because they are in the division 1 (D1) in the
NCAA. Only 28% of the students surveyed said that when they first hear of LHU athletics they
think of the women field hockey team because they are also division 1 like wrestling. Women’s
field hockey and wrestling are the only D1 sports at the university.
There were only two out of the seven people who stated that they only receive notifications of
athletic events each week via email. The others said that they received no emails or any other

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form of notifications, mainly because they live off campus. There were 71% of those surveyed
who claimed that they knew it was football season but had no idea what team they played next.
There was only one person who said they knew it was soccer season, and the other person said
that they do not know of anything going on except for high school sports within the area.
When asked what they expect at a sporting event, every person said that they expect competition,
entertainment, enthusiasm, and an overall exciting atmosphere. However, the number one
response was that they expect tailgating. There was one participant who said that when they
attend an LHU event they, “I expect a bunch of old people sitting there, that’s about it. I don’t
see a student section- just for LHU though”. We then asked if the school allowed tailgating in the
parking lots, would they be more likely to attend an LHU athletic event and why. There was an
absolute 100% response that they would all attend an LHU event if tailgating was allowed. Many
said, “Tailgating is fun even if sober, even though I do like drinking,” and, “I am of age to drink
and was able to drink alcohol and if able to drink, then yes, responsibly of course”. They all
agreed that if they were of age to drink then they would enjoy tailgating, and drink responsibly of
course. Another individual said, “Definitely would want to go because all friends would want to
go to drink and hang out”. If tailgating was allowed, then maybe more and more students would
show to the main LHU athletics events.
We then asked what would they rather do than attend an LHU athletic event. The biggest
response was, “I would rather watch grass grow”. One responded, “I agree, anything else, it’s not
fun to go- I dread going because our team always loses and it’s not fun to watch that”. Another
stated, “Waist my money somewhere else like a bar, at least there I can have some fun, even if it
is two beers and shooting pool. That is more fun. It’s like, you go sit- yay that’s the end for
football. PSU is tailgating, student section, vendors, waves, student section emphasis, and
morale. If the whole school says the football team sucks- the team is gonna lose, you gotta hype
shit up- there is a better chance”. Then we asked if it would automatically make a game better if
a lot of people were at one of these games or if there was a coordinated theme, such as a white
out. The response was that it depends solely on the sport, and if the sport is good in general.
However, football never wins even when lots of people attend the games. One individual said,
“There is nothing to cheer for,” and, “People won’t cheer by themselves”.
When the focus group was asked what they felt was more important, fan atmosphere or athletic
success, the response was almost a landslide. About 71% said that the fan atmosphere was most
important. One student was quoted, “Fan atmosphere is more fun. If everyone is having fun and
then even 30 years of a losing streak- I don’t care as long as I am having fun,” and another was
quoted, “Depends on sport for hand and hand- a good football team will mean a lot of people
there. That doesn’t always work for all sports though. Field hockey wins a lot and I never went to
a game. PSU basketball is bad and lots of people still go. They could do one dollar hotdog night,
giveaways, half time shows, give them almost more of something to do. Mainly for the selling
experience- not just the sport itself”. When asked to rate the east of access to the LHU facilities,
71% said it was about a five out of ten. There was one who rated it a two out of ten and they said
their reason why was, “Because the rugby field is way out there. I don’t get how PSU can have
all their fields’ right there but here you can’t walk there. A school with 45,000 students can do it,

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but we can’t? Why? Rugby field is way too far away. It is a very uninviting atmosphere”. The
one student who rated it a five out of ten said, “Rugby and baseball are good examples. The
football stadium is too small. PSU is HUGE compared to us and PSU is a hop and a skip
compared to us. And this night and day reverse is bull shit, I want the same shit”.
Each individual stated that club sports seem to be more successful than an actual division sport.
One person stated, “I think so, most of the time the club sports have a better atmosphere than a
division sport because it is more enjoyable- division you have to win or be criticized”. Since it
seemed to be that a majority of the individuals enjoyed rugby, we asked that if the university
allowed the rugby team to play on the football field, would they think there would be more
attendance. The majority claimed that, “Would rather go to a rugby game, but football might take
precedence due to town being behind the football team more. The one time I stopped in to the
Old Corner and the whole place was filled just for the LHU football game.”
A uniform student section was definitely one of the highest topics discussed during the focus
group. One individual said, “It is kind of a challenge due to lack of seating currently. It is hard to
judge how much to block off for the students. Sure student section would be good, there is
nothing wrong with having one. It makes the stadium louder and make it seem like people care
more”. Another student said, “They are more fun, I enjoy it a lot more. More of an atmosphere
would be better like other schools that have it. Right now it’s like you sit next to the 80 year old
smoking or the baby. Having one could increase the townspeople to come”. Relating to this same
question, it was asked if they would prefer a rowdy student crowd or a family friendly crowd.
There were 86% who said they would prefer something in-between. There are appropriate times
to be rowdy, like when they score a goal, and then there are moments to be calm as well.
The one comment that stood out the most, was when they were asked if LHU had school spirit
and how they would interpret it. This comment was, “No school spirit. Not too rowdy or hyped
up about sports, it is hard to get it at LHU. People don’t try to get it, they seem to like the
mellowness. It is almost like they don’t want there to be school spirit. To increase the spirit they
could do pep rallies (fun ones, no talking the entire time), and definitely tailgating”. It was stated
that they never see any commercials regarding LHU athletics and that if they advertise more then
maybe more people would go. One person said, “Nothing is cool when they do advertise; they
need to be more cool and ecstatic. This would increase school spirit if they increase the
advertising. Not only the students but even the employees don’t support, even the football
players don’t like to play”.
We then asked what they thought of LHU athletics within the community would help. One
person said, “Athletes to promote more could hand out flyers or schedule and just promote in
general. People who know more about Greek life due to their campus present compared to
sports. If football teams wear jerseys the Friday of a home football game, this would let people
know more about when they play and hopefully produce more excitement”. The last question
was one of the most important, how important is athletics to choosing a college? The main
answer, “None at all, but if I was big into sports I would choose a school based off sports and
programs. It’s a possible getaway- with a winning team, this opens more doors for more
enrollment”.

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Goal Analysis
Experiences and initial thoughts regarding the programs
The most common sport for people to attend at LHU is football. However, the experiences
people have at these games is usually not good. All of the people in the group said that they did
not have a good time at the game. They complained about how there was no atmosphere and the
team didn’t play up to expectations. There were 57% of people in our group who only ever
attended one game and 43% who have attended two of the games and never went back due to the
lack of entertainment. There was 29% of our group who have also attended the basketball games.
There was not as many negative experiences at these games, but the big issue again was the dead
atmosphere at the game. Within our focus group, people have attended a game or two for other
sports, such as the lacrosse, rugby, and soccer games, but stopped going because they were
usually one of the only people in attendance. They all think that all LHU sports are bad except
for wrestling and field hockey. Even though those two sports are perceived as good, they do not
attend these matches because of the boring atmosphere and lack of knowledge involving times
and dates of the games.
Student expectations of collegiate athletics and the experiences at Lock Haven University’s
athletics
There are many factors that go into an experience at a sporting event. We discovered that 100%
of people expect to tailgate before the game. They said that tailgating is vital to their experience.
It sets the premise for the rest of the day. They believe that tailgating will increase how excited
they are during the game and how much fun they have. For once in a game they would want a
great atmosphere. They want to be able to get rowdy and be as loud they want. They would like
to see their team win of course, but we discovered that winning isn’t everything. Our participants
stated that they would rather have a great fan atmosphere than a team with a winning record. The
game itself is the main event, but to the students the outcome of the game has the least amount of
impact on their overall experience. Students would like to have a great atmosphere and a team
that wins, but ultimately the atmosphere is more important. People expect easy access to the
stadiums. They expect good parking and an easy walk up to the stadiums. They expect the
location of the stadiums to also be right in or next to campus. It should be easy to walk from
campus to the location of the athletic event.
The experience here is not the group’s ideal experience for attending an athletic event. The
biggest issue the group discussed was tailgating. They are not allowed to tailgate on university
propriety and stadium parking lots. They feel like they are missing out on one of the most
essential parts of attending a game. Without tailgating it is hard to get in the right mindset and
motivated for the game because nobody is excited, which leads to a poor atmosphere in the
stadium. During the games at Lock Haven University, the atmosphere is dead which makes the
experience dull and boring. We asked our participants to rate the ease of access of the stadiums
on a scale of one to ten, one being hard and 10 being easy, they gave an average rating a little
below a five. Their main issues were involving the baseball and rugby fields being too far away.
The hill up to the football stadium is horrible to walk, and the one participant referred to it as a
“heart attack hill”. Another issue they mentioned was that the seating at some of the events was
inadequate and the fields were not maintained as well as they should have been.

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After the group told us what they expect when attending the games and the experience that they
received here, they made some suggestions that would make their experience better here at Lock
Haven University athletic events. One of their suggestions was to have the trolleys transport
people to and from the fields, which would help solve the walking and parking issue. They also
said they want to be able to tailgate. During the tailgates they would prefer to have alcohol there
if the students are legally of age to drink, but even if no alcohol was permitted they would still be
happy to go. They said that alcohol would be a bonus at the tailgates. However, the real thing
they want to do is just be able to have fun with friends, play games, eat, and just relax in the lots
before the games. They also thought to believe that a uniformed student section would increase
the atmosphere during the game. They feel like they cannot be as spirited as they want to during
the games right now. The one participant said that “…right now it’s like you sit next to the 80
year old smoking or the baby.” They want local residents to attend the game, but they want to be
sectioned off from them. We should have the students in their own section so that they can feel
free to be as rowdy as they want without ruining the experiences of the families that attend.
Advertisement and Information regarding the athletic events
The students said that they do not feel very informed about the athletic events on campus. They
know that the football team is in season, but do not know when, where, what time, or who the
team plays next. Many of them know what sports are currently in season here, such as football,
because they have general background knowledge of what sports play in what seasons, but that
was the extent of what they know about the teams here. Nobody knew what team any of the in-
season sports play next. They said that the only time they get notified about an upcoming game is
through weekly emails regarding all upcoming events the university has. They said they would
go to the game if the school advertised it more. If the school put up banners or posters around
campus and in the dining hall they would be more willing to go to the games. Not only did they
say that they would be more willing to go, but they also said it would make them more excited
for the teams and increase school spirit. On a daily basis, our group said that they have seen zero
advertisements for any of the sports on campus for the three to four years that they have been
attending here.
Alternatives of going to the games
This was very eye opening. Our participants came up with a long list of alternatives of going to
an athletic event here. One of our participants answered by saying, “I’d rather watch grass
grow”. While that may be a bit extreme, it was a common opinion. Only 43% of our group stated
that they would rather go to a Penn State game, or watch other teams play on TV. There was
29% of our group that said they would rather go to a bar. They just want to be able to have fun
and they said that literally anything else is more fun than watching a game here. If their friends
went they would be more willing to attend, but nobody seems to show any interest in attending.
School spirit and the importance of sports
The group also talked about the lack of school spirit. They said it is hard to have school spirit
when the school does not promote itself. You never hear anything about how great the school is
or any positive feedback. The sports teams have a chance of making people proud of the school,
but since they lose all the time people don’t want to go. Since the school doesn’t hype up the
games or anything, it is hard to get people into them. The best and most passionate any one has
been was when the football team finally won a game breaking their losing streak. That was their

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chance to build something and improve, but even after that nothing was promoted, and people
still did not care because the school did not make a big deal. If the school cared more about it
then the students would too. The sports play a role in college life, so it is very important. The
group believes that having great sports doesn’t increase enrollment, but it does open up more
doors and might make more people check out potentially enrolling here. It brings life to the
school. It can make the students feel like more of a family. Sports are important to a school and
the students want to love them.
Limitations
The limitations for this research include convenience sampling, limited time, a small focus
group, the possible occurrence of group-think, and some people were showing up due to an
incentive. The convenience sampling is due to the members of the focus group were people who
were just available at the time. There were only seven people in the group, and we were only
allotted an hour to conduct the focus group. During our focus group, members of the group
started repeating the responses from the person before them, or just a general consensus within
the group. Some members in the group were there for just extra credit, and did not have a sincere
interest in bettering the LHU athletics.
Quantitative Research
The objective for the quantitative research was to determine if our focus group accurately
represented the rest of the student body of LHU. We will determine this through a Survey
Monkey online survey distributed to the student body. For our survey, we want to determine
what the student body is looking for in attending the athletic events. In our survey, we will
attempt to determine LHU’s school spirit as a whole and in each student. Finally, we would like
to determine if the LHU community is even interested in bettering the athletic programs.
Description of Research Methods
We will conduct a survey on Survey Monkey. We require a minimum of 70 respondents in order
to ensure the most accurate results. We promise anonymity in order to ensure that the
respondents will feel more comfortable about answering truthfully. We will distribute the survey
through word of mouth, on social media, as well as via email.

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0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Did you attend the LHU Homecoming Game?
Male Yes Male No Female Yes Female No
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Do you feel that LHU has schoolspirit?
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Do you have schoolspirit for LHU?

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Limitations
The limitations of our Survey Monkey online survey include convenience sampling, skipped
questions, and lack of people from outside Lock Haven University. In addition, people may have
been less inclined to pick an out of season sport than an in season sport, and there was also a
constrained time period.
Our survey was a convenience sample because we contacted people at the utmost convenience.
There was a large magnitude of questions that were skipped during the survey. The sports that
are not in season at the time of the survey could be less inclined to be thought of by the
respondents. There also was a constrained time period because we had roughly ten days to
receive a minimum of 70 responses.
Conclusion
The overarching conclusion of our research suggests that the student body wants to see an
improvement in school spirit and their experiences at Lock Haven University sporting events. In
addition, the atmosphere of the athletic events is a key factor to the student’s overall enjoyment
and experience. This includes tailgating, specified student sections, and a rowdy atmosphere.
Taking a look at our statistical analysis, we have determined that students individually have
school spirit, but when asked about the school overall they did not believe LHU had any school
spirit. This goes to show that people have school spirit, but they do not know how to express it.
They believe that sporting events can be the key to improving the overall spirit of the school.
Also, they believe that a trolley system would ease the parking situation for the locations of all
the different fields.
Recommendations
Our recommendations are to start supervised tailgating at the athletic events, create a uniformed
student section, and to utilize the trolley system. In addition, there should be an increase in
advertising included on campus and on social media. We believe there should be supervised
tailgating because it is another opportunity for students to hang out with their friends and meet
new people. Having a uniformed student section would provide students the opportunity to
collectively be together and rowdy, while all this would be separated from the families attending
the game. We suggest utilizing the trolley system because this would allow the parking situation
of our athletic events to be more convenient as an ease of access to all fields. Finally, we suggest
having on campus advertisements to allow more students to be aware of when athletic events are
taking place. Social media would help connect with more students due to the psychographics of
the students.
We recommend contacting the President and Provost of the university to determine why
tailgating is not allowed, and to gain their perspectives of the athletic programs. There would
need to be an assessment about a uniformed student section and where this could be located at
each athletic facility. There could be more research in other universities and their athletics
programs that have a high attendance rate of the student body.

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References
About Lock Haven University. (2015). Retrieved from Lock Haven University:
http://www.lhup.edu/About/?_ga=1.210369877.1115519057.1442774494_
Here Come the Millennials! Who They Are and How They Affect Your Business. (2014, August
7). Retrieved from Get Busy Media: http://www.getbusymedia.com/here-come-the-
millennials-who-they-are-and-how-they-affect-your-business/
Multiple Facebook Searches. 2015. Retrieved from: www.facebook.com
Multiple Twitter Searches. 2015. Retrieved from: www.twitter.com
Spatafore, Doug. Director of Sports Information and Marketing, External Relations and
Communications Department
State & Country Quick Facts. (2015, September 3). Retrieved from United States Census
Bureau: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/42/4244128.html
Survey Monkey. (2015, December 2). Retrieved from:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/analyze/16mB60ynXbP_2BHgNw8f9QUf2OTiZ8Wm_
2BK1BVblFzONQo_3D

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Appendix
Focus Group Transcripts
Blake Walker
Senior
Junior
Junior
Senior
Junior
Junior
Senior
1) What sporting events have you attended at LHU and how often?
Football-2 times, volunteering and went with friend
Football 10, basketball 2, lacrosse-men’s 1---football for pink out week, basketball to support,
lacrosse—friend on lacrosse team
One football game—don’t know when games are, not here on weekends too much, not very
good---losing streak/poor record
One football game—normally work on weekends, not impressed with first time
One basketball game—freshmen year, just been too busy to go
Rugby and football once or twice, convenience, transportation (hard to get to), always busy
Soccer--2 and football—1, priorities
2. What is your initial thought when you hear LHU athletics?
The two times we were on ESPN for football
Cause of our field hockey team and wrestling team—D1
Wrestling, good at it and women’s sports. Everything else isn’t very good, most excited about
football win in 2012---only time
Good wrestling, football not that great
Collegiate sporting school, girls are really good, excited to see them win
Football team sucks, baseball team isn’t that bad—lots of friends
Wrestling and field hockey
3. How well informed are you about the upcoming athletic events eachweek?
None, has no idea about LHU athletics schedule except for that the schedule is in handbook
Knows when they are only because of emails
Knows where to get them via student activities email, no one tries to find out where the LHU
games are at, would be nice to have a sign somewhere to remind people, no one cares
Not informed at all, off campus, no emails
Just emails
If there was more moral towards game I would know, but do not know right now
Not informed at all, don’t check emails that much
4. Are you aware of the current athletic teams in seasonat LHU and tell me what team they
play next?
I don’t know who is playing except what I know from High school and season of sports, no idea
what the hell is going on
No idea

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Football season, not sure who they play next, not sure next home game, maybe Saturday, soccer
(mens and women), is it softball season?, idk that’s what I got
I know it’s football season, I believe baseball season, soccer seaon, no clue who next
Football, field hockey, volley ball I guess, soccer and idk who they play next
Football, that’s all I know
I know its soccer season, football, that’s its, not sure
5. What do you expect when attending a sporting event in general?
Obviously Alcohol, enthusiasm,
Entertainment, enthusiasm
Competition (why he asked if it was in general or for lock haven)
Exciting atmosphere
My team winning
Tailgating
A bunch of old people sitting there, that’s about it, I don’t see a student section—just for LHU
though
6. If the school allowed tailgating in the parking lots, would you be likely to attend an LHU
athletic event? Why?
I would at least go to the parking lot, yes because drunk people are more fun than sober people
half the time and entertaining to watch
Yes, more hype about going to football game after
I am of age to drink and was able to drink alcohol and if able to drink, then yes, responsibly of
course
Yes, I grew up in State College and tailgating is more exciting
Defiantly would want to go because all friends would want to go to drink and hang out
Tailgating is fun even if sober, even though I do like drinking
I’d like to go mostly for the food, but if you were drunk itd be more fun
7 What would you rather do than attend an LHU athletic event?
Almost anything else because it is more entertaining than watching our team lose
I agree, anything else, it’s not fun to go—I dread going because our team always loses and its not
fun to watch that
Watch grass grow because when you go to a football game, which is the most exciting thing to
go to and its pathetic, women’s lacrosse is like a pick-up game, should be no stands due to no
one there—no scoring, no excitement
Go home and see PSU game, I live in State college, more exciting and close, no atmosphere here
like here. If away game, go work or watch PSU on TV
If I could attend it I would, I just can’t, always busy
Waist my money somewhere else like a bar, at least there I can have some fun, even if its 2 beers
and shooting pole is more fun, its like go sit yay that’s the end for football. PSU has tailgating,
student section, vendors, waves, student section emphasis, moral, if whole school says football
team sucks—teams gonna lose, hype shit up—better chance
Spend time with friends because I didn’t know anyone there, not sure why friends don’t go
If ton’s of people at one of these games, would it automatically be better?
Depends on sport, if good sport in general but football never wins even with lots of people
Must have a good team and good crowd
Need something to keep people entertained, can’t let people be boring
Nothing to cheer for

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Won’t cheer by themselves
With white out??
Even with white out still very boring---their football team is too far gone that it wouldn’t help
If more people go to field hockey games and are really good and white out then I would go, want
to be part of something that is memorable
12. Whats more important fan atmosphere or athletic success? Why?
Prefer fan atmosphere or winning team
Fan—first high school was really good and great atmosphere, second high school was horrible
and lost every game and still had good time, third—no one showed up and no vendors and no fun
Need to promote more
Fan atmosphere is more fun, if everyone is having fun and even 30 yrs losing streak don’t care,
just have fun
Fan atmosphere, but with winning record increases more fun
Atmosphere, more fun like give aways and events
Fan—filled stadium is fun, wet campus, very fun
I mean high school I went to, but only stuck with 8 friends---prefer team win instead of big fan
base. You need a team fan base, but they go hand and hand
Depends on sport for hand and hand---good football team=lots of people there, that doesn’t
always work for all sport. Field hockey wins a lot and never went to a game, PSU basketball is
bad and lots of people still go. $1 hotdog night, give aways, half time shows, almost more of
something to do, family even almost, selling experience—not sport itself
Do you think rep of PSU helps in general?
Yes, schools in our division such as IUP might have more of a turn out
8. On a scale of 1-10, what is the ease of access to LHU athletic facilities? Why?
5---easyto get to via walking or driving, but bitch to walk to, more willing to if having a trolley
5 or 6--not bad but would utilize trolley if it ran
2- because rugby field is way out there, doesn’t get how PSU can have all fields are all right
there but here you can’t walk there, a school with 45k students can do it, but we can’t? why?
Rugby fields way too far away. Very uninviting atmosphere
3—rugby fields way too far away, along with baseball, not hiking over there. Even with trolley
service wouldn’t go due to no seating, poor grass
5-bad areas, great view at football field but have to drive or walk. But fields across river is far
and confusing
5-rugby and baseball good example, football stadium is too small PSU is HUGE compared to us
and PSU is hop and skip compared to us, night and day reverse is bull shit, I want the same shit
5—because of long walk, would be more willing to go with trolley service
Club sport vs division sport if more successful?
I think so, most of the time the club sports have a better atmosphere than division sport, because
it is more enjoyable---division you have to win or criticized
Rather go to club sports because quiditich team seems good and football just loses, for club
sports it is better record and atmosphere
At lock haven, club because of rugby because it is the only sport that interests me, normally I
would rather watch fb or bb but not here
Only two sports I watch are football or rugby and I would choose rugby because of better record
Either or doesn’t matter because likes all the sports, just loves football games
Doesn’t feel difference, sport is a sport, as long as having fun and have a good time

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Doesn’t matter as long as I have my friends
If school allows rugby team to play on football field more attendance and why
More entertainment and closer, so yes
Never been, but more willing to attend game there
Would rather go to rugby game, but football might take precedence due to town being behind the
football team more, old corner filled for football game
If rugby played up there, definitely go and watch it
Yes, it’s a game and just like to watch it
Watch either or, if on field I would go more often, doesn’t know if it would have more
attendance because everyone believes football is the sport of every college and that’s why it
might be ahead
Would rather see a rugby game, but agrees on attendance
11. How do you feel about uniform student section?
More fun, enjoy it a lot more, more atmosphere would be better like other schools that have it,
right now its like sit next to the 80 year old smoking or the baby . could increase townies to come
Student section would be beneficial because more students would go and they can get hyped if
they want to and not be next to everyone else putting in danger
Kind of a challenge due to lack of seating currently, hard to judge how much to block off. (space
not an issue) sure student section would be good, nothing wrong with having one and makes the
stadium more loud and make it seem people care more
Benefit for sure, people more excited, more loud
Yes, if the students wanted to do it they could do it now if they wanted to (if student section at
other events increase attendance) yes
Student section benefit all the sports, going to have kinks at first, hockey games are great
atmosphere and not interfering with families, less problems with local residences
Get the students more involved and attract more because they see their friends going and want to
go with
21. Would prefer a rowdy student crowd or a family friendly crowd? Why?
In-between mark, enjoy a rowdy atmosphere but too rowdy is annoying, good in-between to not
be too annoying
Agree, if they are scoring and doing well be rowdy, but mellow out at important times, mellow
during the game, get annoyed after awhile
Loud and hype as possible, make noise, don’t be there to be comfortable if are go home, make
lots of noise—why there
Should be rowdy but extent, some family atmosphere just not throwing people
Rowdy with some calmness, such as 4th and 8
Mix of both, time to be rowdy and not to be
Rowdy, but student section be rowdy so family can enjoy still too
13 How do you interpret school spirit at LHU? Why?
No school spirit, not too rowdy or hyped about sports, hard to get it at LHU---don’t try to get it
get, seem to like the mellowness—almost don’t want it to be. To increase the spirit---pep rally
(fun ones, no talking the whole time), tailgating
If sports team support other organizations then others would go. With no help now, people don’t
want to help them
Not good but no terrible, when we won in 2012---there was some school spirit, not a whole lot
for to be excited about.

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(after 6:05 all but 3 left)
10 How many times a day do you notice advertisement for athletic games?
Zero times a day, if advertise more people would go. Nothing is cool when they do advertise;
need to be more cool and ecstatic. Would increase school spirit if increase the advertising. Not
only the students but even employees don’t support, even the football players don’t like to play
20. Do you think LHU athletics involvement within the community would help?
Yes I do, a math teacher would paint face to support
Athletes to promote more could hand out flyers or schedule and promote in general. Knows more
about greek life due to their campus present compared to sports. If football team wears jerseys
the Friday of a home football team would let people know more about when they play and
excitement
How important is athletics to choosing a college?
None at all, but if I was big into sports I would choose a school based off sports and programs,
it’s a possible gateway---with winning team, opens more doors to more enrollment
Aaron Lagana
Senior
Junior
Junior
Senior
Junior
Junior
Senior
What sporting events have you attended at LHU and how often?
Football-2 times, volunteering and went with friend
Football 10, basketball 2, lacrosse-men’s 1---football for pink out week, basketball to support,
lacrosse—friend on lacrosse team
One football game—don’t know when games are, not here on weekends too much, not very
good---losing streak/poor record
One football game—normally work on weekends, not impressed with first time
One basketball game—freshmen year, just been too busy to go
Rugby and football once or twice, convenience, transportation (hard to get to), always busy
Soccer--2 and football—1, priorities
2. What is your initial thought when you hear LHU athletics?
The two times we were on ESPN for football
Cause of our field hockey team and wrestling team—D1
Wrestling, good at it and women’s sports. Everything else isn’t very good, most excited about
football win in 2012---only time
Good wrestling, football not that great
Collegiate sporting school, girls are really good, excited to see them win
Football team sucks, baseball team isn’t that bad—lots of friends
Wrestling and field hockey
3. How well informed are you about the upcoming athletic events eachweek?
None, has no idea about LHU athletics schedule except for that the schedule is in handbook
Knows when they are only because of emails

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Knows where to get them via student activities email, no one tries to find out where the LHU
games are at, would be nice to have a sign somewhere to remind people, no one cares
Not informed at all, off campus, no emails
Just emails
If there was more moral towards game I would know, but do not know right now
Not informed at all, don’t check emails that much
4. Are you aware of the current athletic teams in seasonat LHU and tell me what team they
play next?
I don’t know who is playing except what I know from High school and season of sports, no idea
what the hell is going on
No idea
Football season, not sure who they play next, not sure next home game, maybe Saturday, soccer
(mens and women), is it softball season?, idk that’s what I got
I know it’s football season, I believe baseball season, soccer seaon, no clue who next
Football, field hockey, volley ball I guess, soccer and idk who they play next
Football, that’s all I know
I know its soccer season, football, that’s its, not sure
5. What do you expect when attending a sporting event in general?
Obviously Alcohol, enthusiasm,
Entertainment, enthusiasm
Competition (why he asked if it was in general or for lock haven)
Exciting atmosphere
My team winning
Tailgating
A bunch of old people sitting there, that’s about it, I don’t see a student section—just for LHU
though
6. If the school allowed tailgating in the parking lots, would you be likely to attend an LHU
athletic event? Why?
I would at least go to the parking lot, yes because drunk people are more fun than sober people
half the time and entertaining to watch
Yes, more hype about going to football game after
I am of age to drink and was able to drink alcohol and if able to drink, then yes, responsibly of
course
Yes, I grew up in State College and tailgating is more exciting
Defiantly would want to go because all friends would want to go to drink and hang out
Tailgating is fun even if sober, even though I do like drinking
I’d like to go mostly for the food, but if you were drunk itd be more fun
7 What would you rather do than attend an LHU athletic event?
Almost anything else because it is more entertaining than watching our team lose
I agree, anything else, it’s not fun to go—I dread going because our team always loses and its not
fun to watch that
Watch grass grow because when you go to a football game, which is the most exciting thing to
go to and its pathetic, women’s lacrosse is like a pick-up game, should be no stands due to no
one there—no scoring, no excitement
Go home and see PSU game, I live in State college, more exciting and close, no atmosphere here
like here. If away game, go work or watch PSU on TV

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If I could attend it I would, I just can’t, always busy
Waist my money somewhere else like a bar, at least there I can have some fun, even if its 2 beers
and shooting pole is more fun, its like go sit yay that’s the end for football. PSU has tailgating,
student section, vendors, waves, student section emphasis, moral, if whole school says football
team sucks—teams gonna lose, hype shit up—better chance
Spend time with friends because I didn’t know anyone there, not sure why friends don’t go
If ton’s of people at one of these games, would it automatically be better?
Depends on sport, if good sport in general but football never wins even with lots of people
Must have a good team and good crowd
Need something to keep people entertained, can’t let people be boring
Nothing to cheer for
Won’t cheer by themselves
With white out??
Even with white out still very boring---their football team is too far gone that it wouldn’t help
If more people go to field hockey games and are really good and white out then I would go, want
to be part of something that is memorable
12. Whats more important fan atmosphere or athletic success? Why?
Prefer fan atmosphere or winning team
Fan—first high school was really good and great atmosphere, second high school was horrible
and lost every game and still had good time, third—no one showed up and no vendors and no fun
Need to promote more
Fan atmosphere is more fun, if everyone is having fun and even 30 yrs losing streak don’t care,
just have fun
Fan atmosphere, but with winning record increases more fun
Atmosphere, more fun like give aways and events
Fan—filled stadium is fun, wet campus, very fun
I mean high school I went to, but only stuck with 8 friends---prefer team win instead of big fan
base. You need a team fan base, but they go hand and hand
Depends on sport for hand and hand---good football team=lots of people there, that doesn’t
always work for all sport. Field hockey wins a lot and never went to a game, PSU basketball is
bad and lots of people still go. $1 hotdog night, give aways, half time shows, almost more of
something to do, family even almost, selling experience—not sport itself
Do you think rep of PSU helps in general?
Yes, schools in our division such as IUP might have more of a turn out
8. On a scale of 1-10, what is the ease of access to LHU athletic facilities? Why?
5---easyto get to via walking or driving, but bitch to walk to, more willing to if having a trolley
5 or 6--not bad but would utilize trolley if it ran
2- because rugby field is way out there, doesn’t get how PSU can have all fields are all right
there but here you can’t walk there, a school with 45k students can do it, but we can’t? why?
Rugby fields way too far away. Very uninviting atmosphere
3—rugby fields way too far away, along with baseball, not hiking over there. Even with trolley
service wouldn’t go due to no seating, poor grass
5-bad areas, great view at football field but have to drive or walk. But fields across river is far
and confusing
5-rugby and baseball good example, football stadium is too small PSU is HUGE compared to us
and PSU is hop and skip compared to us, night and day reverse is bull shit, I want the same shit

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5—because of long walk, would be more willing to go with trolley service
Club sport vs division sport if more successful?
I think so, most of the time the club sports have a better atmosphere than division sport, because
it is more enjoyable---division you have to win or criticized
Rather go to club sports because quiditich team seems good and football just loses, for club
sports it is better record and atmosphere
At lock haven, club because of rugby because it is the only sport that interests me, normally I
would rather watch fb or bb but not here
Only two sports I watch are football or rugby and I would choose rugby because of better record
Either or doesn’t matter because likes all the sports, just loves football games
Doesn’t feel difference, sport is a sport, as long as having fun and have a good time
Doesn’t matter as long as I have my friends
If school allows rugby team to play on football field more attendance and why
More entertainment and closer, so yes
Never been, but more willing to attend game there
Would rather go to rugby game, but football might take precedence due to town being behind the
football team more, old corner filled for football game
If rugby played up there, definitely go and watch it
Yes, it’s a game and just like to watch it
Watch either or, if on field I would go more often, doesn’t know if it would have more
attendance because everyone believes football is the sport of every college and that’s why it
might be ahead
Would rather see a rugby game, but agrees on attendance
11. How do you feel about uniform student section?
More fun, enjoy it a lot more, more atmosphere would be better like other schools that have it,
right now its like sit next to the 80 year old smoking or the baby . could increase townies to come
Student section would be beneficial because more students would go and they can get hyped if
they want to and not be next to everyone else putting in danger
Kind of a challenge due to lack of seating currently, hard to judge how much to block off. (space
not an issue) sure student section would be good, nothing wrong with having one and makes the
stadium more loud and make it seem people care more
Benefit for sure, people more excited, more loud
Yes, if the students wanted to do it they could do it now if they wanted to (if student section at
other events increase attendance) yes
Student section benefit all the sports, going to have kinks at first, hockey games are great
atmosphere and not interfering with families, less problems with local residences
Get the students more involved and attract more because they see their friends going and want to
go with
21. Would prefer a rowdy student crowd or a family friendly crowd? Why?
In-between mark, enjoy a rowdy atmosphere but too rowdy is annoying, good in-between to not
be too annoying
Agree, if they are scoring and doing well be rowdy, but mellow out at important times, mellow
during the game, get annoyed after awhile
Loud and hype as possible, make noise, don’t be there to be comfortable if are go home, make
lots of noise—why there
Should be rowdy but extent, some family atmosphere just not throwing people

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Rowdy with some calmness, such as 4th and 8
Mix of both, time to be rowdy and not to be
Rowdy, but student section be rowdy so family can enjoy still too
13 How do you interpret school spirit at LHU? Why?
No school spirit, not too rowdy or hyped about sports, hard to get it at LHU---don’t try to get it
get, seem to like the mellowness—almost don’t want it to be. To increase the spirit---pep rally
(fun ones, no talking the whole time), tailgating
If sports team support other organizations then others would go. With no help now, people don’t
want to help them
Not good but no terrible, when we won in 2012---there was some school spirit, not a whole lot
for to be excited about.
(after 6:05 all but 3 left)
10 How many times a day do you notice advertisement for athletic games?
Zero times a day, if advertise more people would go. Nothing is cool when they do advertise;
need to be more cool and ecstatic. Would increase school spirit if increase the advertising. Not
only the students but even employees don’t support, even the football players don’t like to play
20. Do you think LHU athletics involvement within the community would help?
Yes I do, a math teacher would paint face to support
Athletes to promote more could hand out flyers or schedule and promote in general. Knows more
about greek life due to their campus present compared to sports. If football team wears jerseys
the Friday of a home football team would let people know more about when they play and
excitement
How important is athletics to choosing a college?
None at all, but if I was big into sports I would choose a school based off sports and programs,
it’s a possible gateway---with winning team, opens more doors to more enrollment

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Copy of Survey Monkey
Thank you for considering participating in this voluntary and anonymous survey. We are
interested in your opinions about the attendance rates of Lock Haven Universities athletics.
Your responses will be completely confidential. You do not have to answer any particular
questions and you can stop if you fell uncomfortable. The survey should take less than 11
minutes to complete. Your completion of this survey acknowledges your voluntary consent, that
you are at least 18 years of age, and you understand you may withdraw from the survey at any
time. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact Dr.
Luke Haile, Institutional Review Board Chairperson, at LUH2415@lhup.edu or 570-484-3021

LHU Sports Research: Increasing Attendance and School Spirit

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