The Sun Devils are looking to make game day a little more fun for the fans.
The Dennis Erickson experiment has come to an end and newly minted first-year coach Todd Graham is ready to take center stage as the ASU season is just around the corner. With much anticipation in the air, ASU wants to improve the game day experience for all ASU fans.
Graham and ASU’s top brass believe the football atmosphere has fallen a bit flat over the past decade and its time the school institutes a few new changes. From 2007-2011 ASU went 31-31 and the Tempe faithful were getting frustrated. The school hasn’t won a bowl game since 2005 when it edged Rutgers 45-40 in the Insight Bowl. This drought has killed the fan spirit. For ASU, this is all history as it’s time to welcome a new football revival for the fans.
ASU hired the acclaimed Disney Institute to provide consultation and training to ASU’s 500 plus game day employees. The university also plans to create a friendlier tailgating environment by adding more grass around the stadium. This will help cool the area from the desert heat and will create a conducive environment for kids to play. Pregame festivities will include a pep rally at the neighboring Wells Fargo Arena where the band will play live music while football players meet and greet fans. Additionally, Graham wants to relocate the student section from the lower and upper bowls to just the lower bowl. This way, the fans can be closer to the action. There are other game day experience options in the works to include students selecting uniform combinations for games and creating a new line-up for music to be played on certain offensive and defensive sets.
This change is good for the players, fans and most importantly recruits. But if Graham wants to create a football buzz he needs to win. It’s as simple as that. The 73,000 or so loyal fans who pack Sun Devil Stadium only care about winning, not the music being played when ASU lines up for a kickoff.
