[Leftcoast]

Please don't blame the fans ALONE for the lack of support when so many fan UN-friendly policies were put in place over the last few  years.

You don't double ticket prices and add an expensive PSL requirement as part of ticket renewal for your longterm fans without an impact on your fanbase.  And if you are dumb enough to do that while changing coaches, during the worst recession of a generation and while your program is experiencing its worst downturn of the previous 25 years then, well, we're lucky the results aren't worse. 

I know of quite a few season ticket holders who took the assault on their pocketbooks personally.  Very few cheerfully moved from their long term seats to affordable seats in the rafters.  Some moved on to Tara's team (an affordable winner!), some host viewing parties at their home while vowing to not buy another men's ticket, personally I gave up my 4 season tickets and now cherry pick a few interesting men's and women's games every year.  (My wife understandably argued that the rising cost of season tix to three Stanford sports was no longer justified.)

My guess is the stadium would still be mostly full without the above marketing blunders.  Long term this may pay off for the Athletic Department but Stanford will need to win a lot of new fans to replace the ones driven away.  That takes time.

[Leftcoast]

Please don't blame the fans ALONE for the lack of support when so many fan UN-friendly policies were put in place over the last few  years.

You don't double ticket prices and add an expensive PSL requirement as part of ticket renewal for your longterm fans without an impact on your fanbase.  And if you are dumb enough to do that while changing coaches, during the worst recession of a generation and while your program is experiencing its worst downturn of the previous 25 years then, well, we're lucky the results aren't worse. 

I know of quite a few season ticket holders who took the assault on their pocketbooks personally.  Very few cheerfully moved from their long term seats to affordable seats in the rafters.  Some moved on to Tara's team (an affordable winner!), some host viewing parties at their home while vowing to not buy another men's ticket, personally I gave up my 4 season tickets and now cherry pick a few interesting men's and women's games every year.  (My wife understandably argued that the rising cost of season tix to three Stanford sports was no longer justified.)

My guess is the stadium would still be mostly full without the above marketing blunders.  Long term this may pay off for the Athletic Department but Stanford will need to win a lot of new fans to replace the ones driven away.  That takes time.