The RoundHouse | 11/5/2018 2:47:00 PM

Wichita State student-athletes enjoy playing in front of crowds, the larger the better, and they don't really care who is there as long as they're yelling.
 
They do notice when their fellow students show up in significant numbers.
 
Take the first home volleyball match of the season, vs. Tulane on Sept. 21, when Wichita State students took more seats than usual in Charles Koch Arena and did all the usual student section things – yelling for the Shockers, ooo-ing at big hits, heckling opposing servers and holding officials accountable for calls that went against their team.
 
"Having a younger crowd there is always exciting and fun and they always bring fun dancing and cheering and energy, and that definitely has an impact on the energy we bring out on the court," Wichita State volleyball junior Alex Koon said. "We love our community and our campus."
 
Wichita State athletic department administrators watch that scene and want to see it more often. Wichita State students get free general admission tickets to all athletic events.  It is a benefit paid for with student fees and through Student Government Association's agreement to help pay for Charles Koch Arena building campaigns. For sports other than men's basketball, students can show their student I.D. at the ticket office for entrance.
 
"We've supported, through student fees, these free student tickets for many years now," said Andrew Martin, SGA director of public relations. "What's happening . . . is that students aren't using them. We want to work together to combat that."
 
Student tickets for men's basketball games are available at five locations – Charles Koch Arena ticket office, Heskett Center, Shocker Store at the RSC, West WSU Campus and South WSU Campus. One thousand general admission tickets are available for each game, released on a schedule throughout the season. Guest ticket purchases can be made at Koch Arena.
 
"Word of mouth is the most powerful thing," said Reggie McIntyre, director of fan marketing. "There's a lot of cool, new features – from QDOBA to charging stations. We have a lot of things to offer from an engagement standpoint." 
 
SGA and Wichita State's athletic department want to educate and entire more students into using tickets for all sports. They will use social media and advertising on campus to publicize schedules and pickup dates for men's basketball tickets. 
 
"Facebook, Twitter, print and all of our verbal channels in the Senate," Martin said. "That's the primary way we work together. We've mentioned a couple of other unofficial things, like how we might show up as an SGA at sports games, volleyball, basketball, as support."
 
Colleges around the nation are dealing with this issue, even for the highest-profile sports. In October, Alabama football coach Nick Saban griped about empty seats in the student section.
 
"Attendance is one of those things that everybody is focusing on," McIntyre said. "We want to start them young. We want students to know they affect all of our sports. They are truly the reason why our fan experience is key."
 
In the WSU ticket office, they are trying to learn how to reach groups that want information on-demand and conveniently, usually delivered to their mobile phone, while competing with growing TV and Internet entertainment options.
 
"We're trying to figure out where the gaps are, where we can get in to communicate with students," said Russell Wilkins, associate athletic director. "I would say 90 percent of what they get is on Twitter . . . some sort of social media – Snapchat, Facebook."
 
Wichita State starts attendance discussions from a good spot.
 
Earlier this fall, watchstadium.com's Jeff Goodman surveyed veteran men's basketball coaches in the American Athletic Conference, who voted Charles Koch Arena the conference's top game-day atmosphere.
 
"We want to see that across the board in all sports," McIntyre said. "Our student section can be the best in the country. That's always going to be the goal for us."
 
In 2017-18, Wichita State men's basketball ranked No. 34 nationally and No. 1 in the American Athletic Conference with an average of attendance of 10,787. In 2017, volleyball ranked No. 7 nationally with an average attendance of 3,401. Baseball averaged 2,083 fans for its 30 home dates in 2018.
 
"Once students coming to volleyball becomes more of a tradition, I think Wichita State volleyball will be even more special than it already is," Shocker senior Tabitha Brown said. "I hope the fans know we highly appreciate them and everything they do for us."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.