LeRoyHoya
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 165
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Post by LeRoyHoya on May 23, 2005 22:22:48 GMT -5
There are plenty of benefits to the Hoop Club. First and foremost, I live 30 minutes from the University of Illinois. I'll be able to get tickets to the Illini-G'town game and most local fans will have to watch on TV. When I get tickets through the HHC for games at Notre Dame or any other away venue, the seats are excellent. When I make my yearly trip to DC, all I have to do is call the HHC for tickets to the home game and it's done. No dealing with Ticketmaster. It's one of the best ways to support the team for people outside the area. I started out at a modest $25. I have increased that every year since 1997 to around $200. As one poster indicated, the little things they send at the beginning of the season are nice to display on the desk. On occasion, a media guide will make its' way to Illinois. I wish I could do more, but I do my best to support a school I did not attend but have followed religiously since 1982. Now I'm looking to reape the benefits with a long run of NCAA appearances. GO HOYAS!!!!
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Gold Hoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,578
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Post by Gold Hoya on May 23, 2005 23:01:34 GMT -5
While at the Cubs game tonight, I got a phone call from campus reminding me to renew my HHC membership by June 30. The caller was an '01 alum who I often saw at games when I lived in DC.
This simple but important step - the personal touch - cannot be overlooked, and this is the first time I've ever received such outreach from HHC.
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FLHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Proud Member of Generation Burton
Posts: 4,544
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Post by FLHoya on May 24, 2005 0:09:11 GMT -5
Thanks everybody who responded to my post so far. I really like some of the things I'm hearing from everybody about why the Hoop Club's important to them. My week's a little crazy right now, but I do want to talk more about some of the responses that came up later on when I've got some time.
I do want to say one thing real quick: I think it was a great idea to offer that free Hoop Club membership to graduating seniors. Of all the posts above, the ones about the Hoop Club letting people maintain some kind of close link to the program--even if they live far away--were particularly good.
Keeping people connected to the school after they graduate is so important, the Hoop Club included. For people out of town, it's a no-brainer why the HHC is the best way to go. But I also know a lot of classmates of mine who still live in the DC Metro area and are in the "first real job/first real rent-paying experience" phase of their lives. And even though some of these people were just like me an went to every single game while they were in school, they just don't make it down to MCI as often or AT ALL anymore. From what they tell me, it's usually some combo of (1) don't want to pay $200 for YA tickets; (2) job/travel/living way down the Orange or Red Line keeps them from being able to make some games and they don't want to bleed away most of that $200; (3) just don't feel connected to the program anymore after leaving school.
Getting them in the Hoop Club would greatly help these people out. They would certainly feel more "connected" just by getting the news and emails and stuff. And even if they still couldn't afford $200 YA tickets, they might be able to go to a pre-game happy hour or BBQ or a meeting, just to become involved again on a small level. Anything that breaks down the barriers that are there (for whatever reason) helps. So I hope whoever's in charge keeps offering to bring more recent alums to the table.
I hope I can get to talking more about the points everybody brought up sometime in a few days.
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hoyahoyasaxa
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Sead Dizdarezvic doesn't write term papers. The words rearrange themselves out of fear.
Posts: 464
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Post by hoyahoyasaxa on May 24, 2005 8:14:23 GMT -5
(1) don't want to pay $200 for YA tickets According to guhoyas.com, young alumni tickets are going to be $300 this season ($200 is the special "discounted" rate for the class of '05)! Are they serious? Not exactly a way to get more young alumni to the games. I understand the seats are now in the more expensive section, but $300 is ridiculous. Why should I pay $325 for season tickets and a Hoop Club membership when I can pay full price for every Big East home game, plus one or two nonconference games, for about $200? So they're asking for essentially for $125 more, which will include games I probably don't want to see (vs. Howard, etc.). For me, the primary reason I would become an HHC member is to get better access to tickets. With the increased price, there's no incentive. That's why I don't think I'll be an HHC member this season. guhoyas.collegesports.com/genrel/051905aaa.html
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Post by TrueHoyaBlue on May 24, 2005 8:24:34 GMT -5
Without the pricing to back it up, I can't make this claim with absolute certainty, but my sense is that the "discount" referred to is the $200 price of YA season tickets, compared to $300 for regular (non-YA) season tickets. The special offer (in addition to the standard "discount" of YA prices) is the offer to waive the $25 Hoop Club discount. It looks like, under this plan, class of 2001-2004 alumni would be able to get the YA package for $225 (200 for the tickets plus a minimum $25 donation).
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FLHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Proud Member of Generation Burton
Posts: 4,544
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Post by FLHoya on May 24, 2005 8:43:28 GMT -5
Yeah, I don't know which it is either--whether that means non-discounted YA tickets will be $300 this year or that tickets in that section normally would cost $300 if you bought them from Ticketmaster/the Hoop Club. (My guess is the latter, like THB said)
In either case, I used the $200 b/c of the deal being given to the Class of 2005. And frankly, it still illustrates the point that many YA's who used to be die-hards don't come to games as often or at all b/c paying even $200 for season tickets is too much for them, esp. if they can't/won't go to every single home game. Also, that's why a good number of YA's get people to buy them student tickets. $85 vs. about $200 (and nobody's really closing the loophole here, let's be perfectly honest) just makes sense for essentially the same seats.
So I guess what I'm saying is for the time being, until I'm so far out from my GU graduation that it just doesn't make sense anymore, I'm still going the student ticket route, and HHC membership as a way to get tickets (and I realize the joining fee is "included" in the price) is a no-go for me and many YA's like me.
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Post by Nitrorebel on May 24, 2005 8:45:12 GMT -5
YB is absolutely spot on with the NUMBER of members of the HHC. 700 is really paltry when you think about it. It gives the admin a cop-out with McD renovations e.g. since it looks like people aren't really all that interested in Hoya hoops.
I can't begin to imagine the clout we would have with 5000 members (which is not that much again if you think of the thousands of alumni and local fans to tap into). We'd be considered an important part of the G-town community and have a voice at the table eventually.
And Jimmy, you have a great story!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2005 9:12:17 GMT -5
So I guess what I'm saying is for the time being, until I'm so far out from my GU graduation that it just doesn't make sense anymore, I'm still going the student ticket route, and HHC membership as a way to get tickets (and I realize the joining fee is "included" in the price) is a no-go for me and many YA's like me. Don't think of HHC membership as a way to get tickets - you've already got your way, and that's fine. I personally don't care if you still get student tickets, or pony up thousands of dollars for better seats, or troll in front of MCI Center for freebies. You'll be at the games, and that matters. But the number of HHC members matters, and the amount of money the Club has available to do positive things for the program matters as well. $25 gets you membership. Add the $25 to the $85 you're spending for student tix, and you're still well under the $200 that you're not willing/able to pay. And you'll have access to the events and benefits outlined by others in this thread. I know GU sucks a lot of money out of a lot of people, but $25 a year is well worth it, for you as a fan and for the program as well. $25 is easy for all of us. Unless you're working at Arby's. Which you're most certainly not. Because you didn't go to Syracuse.
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kghoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,992
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Post by kghoya on May 24, 2005 11:18:36 GMT -5
join the club...get season tickets if you are in town...go on the bus trips
its worth it for the free food at the pre game happy hours
well except that one time it was just peanuts
its really that simple people...sentence fragments will do the trick
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Post by Hilltopper on May 24, 2005 11:29:26 GMT -5
I have been a contributor, at varying degrees, every year since graduation. Never a ton, but whatever I could afford, to show my support. I have been meaning, for several weeks, now, to send in a check, but have not gotten around to it. Last night, GU came up on caller ID, and knowing that it would be someone asking for money, I did not answer. Checking messages later, I learned it was Hoya Hoop Club President Michael Karam, thanking me for my past support and asking me to continue to support the program. I was very impressed that our HHC president would make calls to someone that would not exactly be considered a "high-roller". So, not only will I be sending that check this week, it now will be a little bigger than I had planned.
Hoya Saxa!
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hoyahoyasaxa
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Sead Dizdarezvic doesn't write term papers. The words rearrange themselves out of fear.
Posts: 464
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Post by hoyahoyasaxa on May 24, 2005 11:45:33 GMT -5
So when is the deadline for joining the HHC this year if I want access to Young Alumni tickets for next season? Do I have to join first, and then they'll contact me about Young Alumni tickets, or since I live in the DC area will they send me something where I can join the HHC and also get season tickets? Basically, I am a confused person.
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lichoya68
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
OK YOUNGINS ARE HERE AND ARE VERY VERY GOOD cant wait GO HOYAS
Posts: 17,438
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Post by lichoya68 on May 24, 2005 12:29:03 GMT -5
good for you hiilltopper EVERY DOLLAR AND EVERY MEMBER COUNTS ,, go hoyas ,,go hoop club ,, ps mike karam has been a GREAT president, especially at listening to ideas,, getting youner members on the board .. etc.. im sure al bozzo will be just as energetic.. they want everyones suggestions and ideas ... to grow the club ...and mostly the team support.. go hoyas..i sit november yet
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YB
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 2,494
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Post by YB on May 24, 2005 13:16:10 GMT -5
To me, that's the big reason to join the HHC.... every dollar counts, every member counts.
If you don't think a paltry $25 counts, think of this....
If every GU alum in the DC area gave $25, we'd be at $1m, more or less. The GU admin wouldn't sneeze at that.
If 1/2 of the GU alums in the DC area- just those- joined the HHC, we'd be at 20K members, more or less. Certainly a louder voice than 700.
Mike Karam (who has been a wonderful President, and is a great Hoya fan) gets on the phone to ask people to re-up because he knows how crucial it is for the HHC to have all the Hoya fans we can in its fold, even at the lowest levels. Want a better MCI floor? join the Hoop Club. Maybe even a new arena? Hey, if the HHC taps inot its potential in membership and money, nothing is impossible.
And everything gets better with more members.
Truth is, HHC needs the Rally attendees, needs the recent graduating classes. Needs everyone's support. If you are on the fence and need more clarifying and convincing, drop me an email.
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nodak89
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Roy Roy Royyyyy!!!
Posts: 1,881
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Post by nodak89 on May 24, 2005 13:26:15 GMT -5
I was a new HHC member last year and remember seeing something about a kids version of HHC. I can't find anything online about it, and the paper brochure has long since biodegraded. I think the kids would get a t-shirt and some autograph party thing. Anyone with info on this? I would definitely sign up my 2 kids when I re-up myself this summer. ;)As if having the kids listen to (and memorize) "What's a Hoya?" wasn't brainwashing enough.
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hoyahoyasaxa
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Sead Dizdarezvic doesn't write term papers. The words rearrange themselves out of fear.
Posts: 464
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Post by hoyahoyasaxa on May 24, 2005 13:37:16 GMT -5
Truth is, HHC needs the Rally attendees, needs the recent graduating classes. Needs everyone's support. HHC needs to get MUCH better at advertising their presence to all of their target groups. Many of my friends who go regularly to the games have no idea of the HHC benefits, how to join, or even that HHC exists. I had no idea about HHC until I joined this board. If anything, I assumed it was like the other alumni athletic booster groups. I had no idea there were benefits for fans. Even joining is confusing. I know you just give $25 and earmark it to the HHC, but there should be some special page on guhoyas to join HHC and also one that describes the benefits (other than the PDF brochure they currently have linked. Most of my friends would jump at the chance to pay $25 and get all these benefits, but they have no idea how to do so. The only way I found out about YA tickets was through this board. The 20-or so GU alums in DC I keep in contact with from my class didn't know about the YA tix until I mentioned it and started buying them for games. If they advertised themselves better, I'm sure they would have a lot more members.
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YB
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 2,494
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Post by YB on May 24, 2005 13:57:52 GMT -5
Hoyahoyasaxa, I agree completely. I'm working on trying to make the HHC part of the website a LOT more amenible to advertising and clarifying things, questions, etc.
The Junior HHC has a host of different benefits. That should be on there.
What else do you all, as Hoya fans, want to know about the HHC and think should be on the site?
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lichoya68
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
OK YOUNGINS ARE HERE AND ARE VERY VERY GOOD cant wait GO HOYAS
Posts: 17,438
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Post by lichoya68 on May 24, 2005 20:00:12 GMT -5
their is a hoya jr. hoop club with some cool benefits.. i think you can go to guhoyas.com... and the to hoyasunlimited and then the hoop club.. for information...or call jen montgomery or alllison rubin.. at the dept of athletics.. and ask for hoya hoop or hoyas unlimited .. go hoyas ..beat whoever is next
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on May 24, 2005 20:39:39 GMT -5
Hoyahoyasaxa, I agree completely. I'm working on trying to make the HHC part of the website a LOT more amenible to advertising and clarifying things, questions, etc. The Junior HHC has a host of different benefits. That should be on there. What else do you all, as Hoya fans, want to know about the HHC and think should be on the site? YB, sounds great, and I am glad that you have website issues in your purview. I think a key feature is to incorporate the "tell-a-friend" features that already exist on GUHoyas in terms of the news stories into the HHC section so that folks can tell friends/family/fans about the HHC using their address books. I can't stress how critical this would be toward getting an informed public and more volume. I've seen the benefits and spillovers of it on a political campaign. You'll see increased traffic and more volume in terms of donations. Second, see if the HHC could get behind a concept of setting fundraising and/or membership goals and using the website as a means by which to chart real-time progress toward their achievement. I suggest this, not so much to parrot the undeniable success of the Howard Dean fundraising prior to his "I Have a Scream" speech but to suggest the efficacy of it and to draw attention to a problem that I've had with the HHC drives or deadlines in the past. I've literally had little information from HHC/GUHoyas et al. that identifies the procedures and processes of the fiscal year and when to donate so you receive the benefits of the current/following season. By establishing, publicizing, and utilizing some official fundraising mechanisms, the HHC message will be disseminated with greater volume and intensity. Third, incorporate the website into some automatically updated database of contact information. Please develop some means by which people can sign up for more information and act on it. I'm referencing the "We Are GU" signup of the early fall 2004 and how I was most impressed by it at the time but disappointed that I received nothing based on the contact information that I provided. I suggest this because I would be perfectly willing to donate to the HHC because I'd like to attend the open practice, and I'd like to get the ball rolling for seating priority in the future, but I have never received a personalized solicitation from anyone affiliated with the HHC. This may be a result of policies regarding students and solicitations, but it may also reflect some policies affecting people outside the Beltway who have not, in my view, been targeted with the same intensity because of the perceived lack of ability to provide them with reciprocal benefits. Fourth, create some level of transparency... I know this one is not likely to get very far, but it may be worthwhile to "declassify" certain portions of HHC meetings or to make policy issues known to the membership. People will be more willing to donate if they knew specifically what the HHC stands for. I say this as someone who typiclaly associates charitable giving with the American Red Cross and so forth and who has been exposed in too much detail to the world of political fundraising, which is obviously not tax-deductible. I've found that there is a greater likelihood of intense and high volume donations if people are aware of what a group stands for, irrespective to what it seeks to do, which may or may not be served by the group's policies. I say this in the context of the HHC because I have heard nothing in terms of what they're doing to advance the agenda of reform, to push the McDonough renovations, and so forth. With the program at a key crossroads, I believe that the communication of these issues and the HHC's stance would go a long way toward educating the public and improving the viability of the HHC itself. This has unintentionally turned into a white paper of sorts, but I figured that I'd pass along my preliminary thoughts. If I can think of anything else, I'll post it. Maybe FLHoya has some transferable ideas in his Generation Burton column.
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Gold Hoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,578
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Post by Gold Hoya on May 25, 2005 9:43:36 GMT -5
I've literally had little information from HHC/GUHoyas et al. that identifies the procedures and processes of the fiscal year and when to donate so you receive the benefits of the current/following season. HHC should establish membership durations of 12 months from the time of donation. Instead of the debate on "does my June 2005 to the FY2005 annual fund get me benefits in the 2005-2006 basketball season," my donation on June 10, 2005 whould make me a HHC member until June 9, 2006. Further donations would extend my membership by 12 months, just like with a magazine subscription. All of this would be tracked in a web-enabled database and displayed each time I log into a personalized myguhoyas.com portal. A good online application of this is the Dave Matthews Band Warehouse fan club ( warehouse.davematthewsband.com). Every time I log in, I can see the expiration date of my membership. Around 30 days before expiration, I receive a reminder that I'll lose my ticket priority if I fail to renew before expiration.
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DanMcQ
Moderator
Posts: 30,518
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Post by DanMcQ on May 25, 2005 10:32:06 GMT -5
HHC should establish membership durations of 12 months from the time of donation. Instead of the debate on "does my June 2005 to the FY2005 annual fund get me benefits in the 2005-2006 basketball season," my donation on June 10, 2005 whould make me a HHC member until June 9, 2006. Further donations would extend my membership by 12 months, just like with a magazine subscription. All of this would be tracked in a web-enabled database and displayed each time I log into a personalized myguhoyas.com portal. A good online application of this is the Dave Matthews Band Warehouse fan club ( warehouse.davematthewsband.com). Every time I log in, I can see the expiration date of my membership. Around 30 days before expiration, I receive a reminder that I'll lose my ticket priority if I fail to renew before expiration. You also already have the 'G Club' option of spreading your annual donation out over monthly payments. Then the deadline isn't a problem.
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