Univ. of South Carolina men's basketball coach Frank Martin and his staff "recently launched the '8K in 8 Days' campaign, geared toward reaching 8,000 fans after eight days of taking the team into the community," according to David Cloninger of the Columbia STATE. The goal is to "reach 8,000 season tickets by November and keep promoting the brand" of South Carolina basketball. Coming off back-to-back losing seasons "makes it tougher" to increase ticket sales, but South Carolina had a 90% "season-ticket renewal rate for last season." The team finished the year in the "top six of attendance in the SEC with the biggest per-game increase in the conference, and finished 41st nationally in attendance." The school averaged 10,074 fans per game for 18,000-seat Colonial Life Arena "despite the team's record." The "8K in 8 Days" campaign begins tomorrow when the school announces its "non-conference schedule on Twitter." The campaign will "feature Twitter Q&As and interactive activities, and fans who have already renewed their tickets or buy during the campaign will be eligible for daily prizes." South Carolina Associate Dir of Marketing Josh Waters said that sales are "a little ahead of where they stood at this time last year and hopes the campaign will push them far ahead." While 8,000 is the goal, the school "hopes to keep growing until CLA is packed" (Columbia STATE, 7/19).
