On Thursday, seemingly out of nowhere, former Stony Brook Football standout Victor Ochi took to Twitter with some thoughts about his alma mater and some of the decisions they’ve made with regards to the fan experience.
The thread continues for several more tweets, but you get the gist.
Judging by the reaction it received among a constituency of the Stony Brook fan base, Ochi’s comments seem to have hit a nerve, and not necessarily a new one.
For years, as Stony Brook has sought to expand and improve its Gameday experience, some of the decisions they’ve made have angered longtime fans. A large number of complaints are no doubt of the “I just don’t like change” variety, decisions that seem like an affront simply because they upset the status quo but are otherwise a net improvement or, at a minimum, harmless.
Think, for instance, of the inception of Seawolves Town, the pre-game area reserved for season ticket holders and their parking passes, where fans are invited to arrive early, set up a grill, blast some music, and commiserate with fellow fans.
“2019 looks and feels a lot like 2009 when it comes to awareness on the campus at large.”
When it was introduced, fans complained about the new cost, about their assigned parking space, about the layout of the area, you name it. But on the whole, the idea was sound and its execution was, by and large, good.
But other decisions are harder to comprehend, and it’s those decisions where Ochi — and many fans — have a legitimate case to make.
Perhaps the most controversial was the decision to forbid fans from leaving LaValle Stadium once they’ve entered, even at halftime. Coinciding with the introduction of alcohol sales near the north end zone, Athletics announced that fans could no longer retreat back to their cars during halftime and return to catch the final 30 minutes of action.
The reasoning was simple: Stony Brook wanted to drive more alcohol sales, which are by far the largest concession moneymaker. Why would anyone pay for a beer at an outrageous markup when they can walk a few hundred feet back to their car and grab one out of their trunk?
At the time, Athletics rationalized their decision by pointing out that no re-entry policies are commonplace at sporting arenas, which is true. You can’t leave MetLife Stadium at halftime and come back in the 3rd quarter (though, given the state of the Giants and Jets this year, why would you want to?).
But if we’re being honest here, Stony Brook is not the NFL, nor is it a Power 5 or even Group of 5 team. The Seawolves cannot afford to alienate fans while they’re still trying to built a culture of fandom across Long Island, and forbidding fans from returning to the game impedes those efforts. Is Stony Brook football really enough of a draw in 2019 to convince a fan to stick around past halftime if you can’t run out to your car, or your dorm, or wherever, to grab a bite to eat? An extra layer of warmth? A Miller Lite?
Ochi’s thread doesn’t even deal with this controversy directly, but focuses on another: the involvement of students.
Even as Stony Brook has grown in stature and success over the past decade, the one piece of the puzzle that has somehow always lingered has been buy-in by the students on campus. There have always been small, loud, dedicated pockets of fans in the student section, to be sure. But 2019 looks and feels a lot like 2009 when it comes to awareness on the campus at large.
Walking around on gamedays — even big ones, like men’s basketball games against Albany and Vermont, or CAA conference games — you’d be forgiven for not knowing there was a game on at all. That was true when I was still a student at Stony Brook, but as best I can tell it remains true today. Why? I used to think it had to do with the quality of the programs, but even after a decade of continuous growth and success, it still feels like there is very little buy-in by students on campus.
You can chalk it up to apathy, or to a student body that is more academically inclined, or any number of things. But that misses the bigger point: Stony Brook can and should be doing more to involve the campus in a bigger, and more sustained way. Efforts have been made — promotions, giveaways, etc. — and some have even moved the needle a bit. But building a culture requires a sustained effort, and Stony Brook hasn’t yet committed itself to the task.
On the contrary, as Ochi alludes to, it seems Stony Brook is in jeopardy of distancing students from the gameday experience. Student tailgates before football games were a rare occurrence to begin with, but on Homecoming, that section of the parking lot was the most raucous party on Long Island. Athletics has always been bothered by the fact that only a percentage of that crowd actually makes their way into the stadium for the game, but their response, if Ochi is correct, appears to be to shut the thing down rather than figure out how to engage those students and convert more of them into fans.
Ochi’s thread elicited plenty of reaction on Twitter, most of it in support. But one exchange from early Friday morning offered a glimmer of hope. It came from fellow Football alum Chris Blumenstetter, who responded to Ochi’s thread with a short one of his own.
Ochi is, without doubt, one of the big dogs in the Stony Brook Athletics orbit. He’s in an elite group of alumni who played in the NFL, and you can bet Athletics doesn’t want to alienate him in the future. The man’s got his own sandwich at Se-Port Deli, for crying out loud!
Rather than let these sentiments fester, Athletics has an opportunity. Sit down with stakeholders on campus. Invite Ochi back. And begin a new round of conversations about how to transform the fan experience — particularly the student experience— in a way that is beneficial for everyone.
This site was founded 7 years ago with one mission: to build enthusiasm and a culture of fan buy-in by providing coverage that is unique, incisive, unapologetic, and genuine. We’re not here to sugarcoat anything. When something needs fixing, we’re gonna call it out. This needs fixing. Victor Ochi called it out first, but we’re with him on this. A transformation is what’s being asked of Athletics. And they of all people should recognize that any transformation is best done together.
