So maybe this means that the demand is still there for Utah basketball if they could only put out a good product.
I think the athletic dept needs to get the NIL figured out quickly because I think Smith is a good coach that will do good things, if we give him the resources.
Getting the Huntsman full again and getting us back on top will take 2 major steps; Fans in the arena and NIL Support. I don’t know which needs to come first. But until we get both, we will never go past the first or 2nd round of the tournament. I think the fans will come back if / when we start winning. But no great high school allstar will come as long as he doesn’t get any sponsorships and the arena is only half full.
There are a few things that need to happen to get Utah basketball back. This might be pie in the sky type of a goal, but here’s my thoughts:
The MUSS needs to start supporting basketball again. We need around 2k students there regardless of who we’re playing or day of the week (Sunday is the only exception). We also need about 8k die hard fans to so show up. This shouldn’t be that hard. I think we sell about 8k in season tickets already. Maybe offer a promo that every football season ticket holder gets 2 season basketball seats for $100?? With 8 – 10k fans showing up to every game, Harlan can then start promoting basketball to the casual fan. Giving away 3 – 5k in tickets to Jr Jazz, high schools, car dealerships, fund raisers, etc., Utah can artificially fill the arena and get people talking about Utah basketball again. I know this doesn’t make the athletic dept much money initially and having an arena full of non paying fans isn’t ideal, but it’s embarrassing at how empty the Huntsman Center is right now. Getting people in the door who buy a drink and hotdog will more than make up for the “cheap” ticket they got by buying football season tickets.
After a few years, and after we start winning again, we can ease up on the free tickets and try and see if the demand is back on its feet again. Until then, go after the students, football season ticket holders, and those wanting free tickets to make sure the areana is full on its own merit.
With a good coach (who I think Smith is), NIL money, and full arena, Utah basketball will come back. We aren’t like other cities / universities that have never had the history and success we’ve had. Fans will come back. They just need a reason.
NIL is way more tricky and I’m willing to give Harlan a few more months to get some major sponsors on board but this needs to go hand in hand withe the attendance promos. With the transfer portal, we should be able to get talent here pretty quick. Salt Lake is a big city with a lot of Utah graduates. Getting $$$ in SLC shouldn’t be any harder than what BYU is doing in Provo.
Maybe I’m wrong but that’s what I would do if I was in charge.
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