MUNCIE, Ind. -- Whatever happened to that old school spirit? Even universities with winning teams and hallowed athletic traditions now find it difficult to keep students and faculty in the stands.

A study by sports administration students at Ball State University suggests that even die-hard fans need to be wooed with marketing incentives.

"The students looked at the reasons why the core fans--university faculty, staff and students--don’t attend and why, and they found that even in a university town it’s necessary to market a team in a way to generate interest," said Vance Tammen, assistant professor of physical education. "Even hardwood powerhouses like Kentucky and Indiana are seeing fewer faculty and students in their arenas."

Using e-mail, the students surveyed Ball State faculty and staff asking how many men’s basketball games they attended during the past season. The university has had winning teams for the last 11 years and played in post-season tournaments seven of the last 10 years.

Among those responding 331 said they did not attend any games, 63 attended one game, 81 attended 2-5 games, 179 attended five or more and 42 were season ticket holders. The survey generated a 36.3 percent response rate.

"Of the approximately 150 responses from people telling why they don’t attend, the reasons included not having time, living too far away, family commitments and expense," said Tammen.

Many people wanted lower ticket prices for children to encourage bringing families to games. Others objected to paying for game parking in campus parking lots for which they already pay parking fees.

When asked what would motivate them to attend more games, many offered a simple suggestion--discounted ticket packages for faculty and staff.

"It’s just human nature to want something cheaper," said Tammen.

Results of the study and proposals for increasing attendance from the campus community will be presented to the Ball State Athletic Department, but Tammen said the results may also apply to other athletic programs.

High school sports also are experiencing attendance problems. Tammen recalled his days as a gridiron player.

"Fifteen years ago a rural town of 2,000 in Indiana or Illinois would have 5,000 people out for a high school football game," he said. "Today they’ll get only 500. The number of fans attending games is decreasing because there are so many other games to watch on television."

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information about this story, contact Vance Tammen at (765) 285-1450 or vtammen@bsu.edu.)