Originally Posted by
ricks68
While talking to 2 volunteers working in the museum area prior to the UNC game that are involved with the games, this subject came up. One of the volunteers is also a member of the admissions committee. She stated that the attendance has been off for a while now. Both volunteers were in agreement that the reason was because the make-up of the student body has become more increasingly diverse. As a result, many of the new students the past few years are from backgrounds that are unfamiliar with college basketball.
I decided to delve a little more into this aspect of the problem of decreasing undergrad attendance by questioning some students I met at the bonfire that appeared to me to be underclassmen with Asian ancestry. Of the group of 4 students that I talked to, only one knew a little about basketball prior to arriving at Duke. All four knew nothing about Duke basketball, in particular, before arriving at Duke. None of the 4 attended the UNC game because they did not want to stand in line for any time period, as they said it would take away from time they wanted to use for academic purposes. They, therefore, rarely attended any games, if at all.
I gave these students a brief Duke basketball history going back to the Vic Bubas era, emphasizing the advantages of becoming a member of "the Duke bball club", and how it would enhance their Duke experience. I have no idea if my little history lesson will have any effect on them regarding Duke bball, but they were in the Main Quad during the bonfire, and seemed like very nice kids that are not any different from any of us alums here on the Board-------other than having a cultural background that didn't include enough of an interest in college basketball.
I hope that someone in the Administration involved with the bball program can somehow reach out to these "uneducated" students and show them how beneficial the complete Duke "experience" can be, and the positive effect that it can have on the rest of their lives.
Go Duke!
ricks