Mike Traini had a very nice and long article with UMass Associate Athletic Director for Sales and Fan Experience Alan Pandiani.

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Some snippets from the article follow. In most cases there are extended details on the topics quoted and many more not quoted as bowl eligibility expectations, Coach Whipple and AD Ryan Bamford commitment to improving UMass Athletics every year.

Quote:Away game ticket sales for this season are moving well, said that as UMass fans there are essentially eight home games this year with UConn and BC on the schedule. Mentioned that during a conference UMass hosted last week on marketing for New England’s Division 1 schools, UConn’s representatives stated that they were projecting 6,000-10,000 UMass fans being in Hartford for that game. Believes that Georgia will be the best team UMass has ever faced, potentially a top three team in the nation.

Home game ticket sales as of now for McGuirk games, in order, are USF, Charlotte, Duquesne, Coastal Carolina, and Liberty. We were surprised to see UMass’ Homecoming game last on the list, but Pandiani believed that was a facet of a later-than-usual date for Homecoming and did not express concern. BYU game is moving well, says that a Mormon church group purchased 1,000 tickets last week and intend to buy more. BYU fans travel very well and the chance to see the Cougars at Gillette in November is a draw for their supporters.

A large part of Pandiani’s job description is dealing directly with fans, and he says that he has continued to get a great deal of quality feedback from the Minutemen faithful that he’s been able to put towards improving their experiences with the department both on and in between game days.

“Student attendance is the number one thing I’m asked about,” Pandiani said. “Without a doubt what I hear most about is, or was, an indoor practice facility, and students. I give a lot of credit to UMass fans because they understand the building process. I’m grateful for the people who have stuck with us, and what we’re optimistic about that this is a year that things start to pay off for people.”

Students absolutely love being where they are in Lot 11. UMass students love to be congregated in groups more than any other school I’ve ever seen.

While students may enjoy the Lot 11 experience, there were issues last season with ending their tailgate sometimes 30 to 40 minutes before the ensuing football game kicked off. According to Pandiani the school has taken strides to ensure that experience is smoother this year, stating that the administration has worked closely with their campus partners in order to make sure that the student tailgate will go right up until kickoff in the fall. Additionally the department will be employing a DJ this year who will be situated on top of the field hockey press box at Gladchuk Field who will be in charge of the music for the tailgate as it’s taking place. Pandiani said that the department likes the idea to both eliminate the wall of sound that developed last year when kids were able to bring in their own amplification devices for their music, and to allow them to have a way to grab everyone’s attention easily if they want to make an announcement or perhaps have a special guest address the crowd.

The announcement of the new Militia Student Rewards app was a welcome one for many UMass fans as it was a step towards increasing student participation and attendance. The app is designed to award points to students who check in at certain times during all sporting events and then put those points towards prizes that are available throughout the year. According to Pandiani, UMass is already over 25% of the way to their initial goal on app downloads.

“Our goal is to have 4,000 downloads before October 1st,” Pandiani said. “We currently sit at about 1,200 downloads from the new student orientations from kids who have come through and engaged with The Militia at tables during orientation.”

The department believes the rewards app will help them in a number of ways, not the least of which is having students, as Pandiani puts it, “get some skin in the game.” Going forward students won’t be able to get any giveaway item without the app, and they will have to prove that they have met the necessary point threshold in order to receive a particular item on any given night.