Fan engagement with the Univ. of Minnesota's three revenue sports is a "serious problem," which has led UM AD Mark Coyle to launch a "series of smart initiatives designed to give fans more voice and better benefits with their financial commitment," according to Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Doyle "created a new fan advisory board that will allow fans to offer feedback and suggestions directly to Coyle and his leadership staff." Roughly 550 people "applied for the board." Coyle "wants the group to consist of 25 to 30 fans from a cross-section of interests." Final vetting is "being completed, and the board will meet regularly starting in May." Coyle said, "We want honest feedback. We don’t want people to tell us what they think we want to hear. We want to hear the good, the bad, the ugly." Scoggins predicted the board's "No. 1 discussion topic" will be "pricing." Coyle: "We're trying to be conscious of our market. If people are telling us, 'Hey, the cost for a football single-game ticket is crazy or it's an awesome price, our market will tell us.'" Planning is "underway internally to lower some football single-game ticket prices for nonconference games and possibly lower-profile Big Ten games." Meanwhile, Coyle last year "commissioned a football survey during the season." The top three reasons fans "listed for why they might not renew their tickets were: 1. Price exceeds value and benefits; 2. Affordability of tickets/overall cost of attending; 3. The team is not headed in right direction." Coyle: "It was consistent with what I had been hearing and what I had been seeing" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 5/2).
