Changing Spring Game Culture

There was a good article today written in the IDS about Glass and Kraft's efforts to create a great spring game environment. To read the whole article click here. Here are a few highlights from the article. This year's Spring Game will see a ton of changes that will make the atmosphere very game like. I encourage all fans to come to Memorial Stadium and watch all the progress this Hoosier team has made this spring.

Glass, Kraft and the rest of the administration have two goals with the annual Cream and Crimson Spring Game: create a festive atmosphere and create traditions similar to those of basketball’s Hoosier Hysteria.An IU linebacker from 1997-99, Kraft said he knows firsthand how barren the Memorial Stadium stands can be for April action. “I’ve played in spring games where the parents were the only ones there,” Kraft said.

Now a member of the athletics department since June, Kraft said the front office can no longer accept that. “We really haven’t put 100 percent into it from an administration standpoint. No one’s fault of their own, it’s just times have changed,” he said.In changing the culture of a program, the administration has to be willing to think outside the box, Glass said. Last season, coinciding with the new North End Zone facility, Glass added game-day experiences such as Kick for Keeps and Knothole Park to regular-season games. He also lowered student ticket prices to $5 for all games. The changes left an impressionable mark on the season. Average attendance in 2009 spiked to 41,833 people per game, 10,051 more than 2008 and the highest average since 1992.

Now, Glass said, the same decisions have to be made to turn the spring game into a must-see event. But before such a big change can happen, the department is making small changes.During the game, the scoreboard and corresponding video board will be on. The Marching Hundred will play, and fans are permitted to bring their dogs to the stadium. The Hoosiers’ new uniforms will also be unveiled Saturday, set up on mannequins throughout the stadium. But that’s where the small changes end and the bigger vision begins.

The stadium’s east side — where fans are asked to sit — will be split into Cream and Crimson sides. Fans will know their side when they arrive, as — depending on which gate they enter — the first 3,000 fans will receive a free cream or crimson T-shirt. As each side scores or makes a stop, crimson- or cream-clad fans will win a prize. Fans will have a chance to text plays in, either helping their own team or sabotaging the other. Random prizes — including an opportunity to kick from the 40-yard line for a year’s free tuition — will be awarded throughout the game. Kraft said he hopes the division and desire for free things will create a friendly competitive atmosphere and establish new traditions. “We really said, ‘OK, this is what we’re going to do. We’re going to focus around this game.’ And guess what? We’re going to do it next year,” Kraft said. “You’ve got to start somewhere. “We talk about changing the culture, and it’s believing in success, saying ‘It’s Indiana, we’re going to go root for them and have fun.’” Kraft said he’s been asked questions about how the department will bring basketball back.

The 100-plus years of traditions will get that program back on track, but football doesn’t have that luxury, he said. “When we go to a bowl game this year, is the culture going to be changed? No,” Kraft said. “When we go to two bowl games back-to-back, is it going to be changed? No, but we’re getting there.“To me, it’s consistency, it’s focus and dedication.”