Rebels shoot for more fans

Over the past three seasons, coach Lon Kruger has done a lot to establish UNLV's home-court dominance.

The basketball team he puts on the floor is the biggest part of the equation. What might go unnoticed are Kruger's marketing-related efforts aimed at putting fans in the seats.

Since the start of the 2006-07 season, the Rebels are 42-3 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Attendance is making a steady climb while Kruger tries new ways to move the crowds in bigger numbers.

"The main thing, which we've done the last couple years especially, is to put a team on the floor that's really going to compete hard and is fun to watch," he said. "I think fans appreciate that more than anything else.

"The fans who have been here have been much more active. The crowd is impacting the results more."

UNLV (5-0) swept four home games last week, but its degree of schedule difficulty will rise when California (4-0) visits at 5 p.m. Friday for a third-round game in the Global Sports Classic.

The top four teams in the eight-team field are 18-0. Cincinnati (4-0) plays Florida State (5-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The winners of Friday's games meet at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, after the losers square off at 5.

"You've got three other teams there that are all really good," Kruger said. "Hopefully the fans will turn out, have a good time and enjoy some good basketball."

The Rebels' average attendance after four home games is 12,238. Through four home dates last season, the average attendance was 11,312.

"We had a big jump in attendance as compared to the four early-season games last year," Kruger said. "So I guess we've got to use that as a barometer, and hopefully that correlates to continued growth."

UNLV has been more aggressive in its marketing approach this year by using an increased number of radio and TV spots and newspaper advertisements to raise awareness for a team that is 62-15 over the past three seasons.

The theme of the ad campaign is "The Rebelution has begun," and players such as seniors Wink Adams, Joe Darger and Rene Rougeau appear on commercials and billboards.

Rougeau said he thinks the crowds should be bigger. He hopes fans will more frequently pack the Thomas & Mack, which seats 18,500 and is one of the largest arenas in college basketball.

"I believe it's subpar right now," Rougeau said of UNLV's home attendance. "We've got to do a lot better than this. I give it like a C-plus right now. We've got to step it up a lot.

"We've got to get the city more involved with us. The fans we see every night, though, they definitely deserve an A-plus. I guess the more and more we win, the more people will come around, so it's only a matter of time."

Season-ticket sales have seen a bump because of the Rebels' success. When UNLV reached the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 in 2006-07, the total for season tickets sold was 4,676.

That number jumped to 5,440 last season, and it has increased 37 percent to 7,463 for this season.

To make tickets more affordable for fans, an end-zone balcony season ticket was offered for $90 this season, and 1,180 were sold.

Kruger promotes the program in a variety of ways.

One move he made was to add D.J. Allen as the program's director of community outreach and marketing. Allen reports to associate athletic director Perk Weisenburger, who oversees UNLV's marketing and promotions.

"What we've done is we've added kind of a full-time marketing component over and above what has existed there the last three years," Kruger said. "I think that has been reflected in the work that's been done.

"The fans are much more involved and the student section is much bigger than it was a year ago in November. Hopefully it will keep going that way."

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.