Oakes is a rural school in Southeastern North Dakota, with a K-12 enrollment of 410. The athletic department supports 10 varsity sports, with programs competing in three facilities throughout Oakes (combined baseball/football field, high school gym, and the track facility). Oakes, ND has a population of 1.856, with 97% of the population being white. 25% of the population is over 65 years old, and the median household income is $55,842.
Customers of Oakes Athletic Department are both the student-athletes competing as Tornadoes, and the community that attends our events. The segments where comprised after looking at US census data, Oakes Area Chamber of Commerce data, school district information, and concessions revenue. Per Oakes’…show more content… • Jocks: These are the individuals that define themselves as athletes. Oakes 9-12 enrollment is 138, of which there are 47 multi-sport athletes in Oakes. These students play sports regardless of circumstance, and also attend home events, serving as the “leaders” of the student section. For the older demographic, these may be adults reliving their time in the spotlight vicariously, and attending games for every aspect of the sport.
• Teammaker’s: This demographic also contains both high school students and parents of high school students. Teammaker’s is the name of Oakes’ booster club, who is responsible for running concessions at all home events. All parents of Oakes’ athletes are technically in Teammaker’s, however, according to Leslie Dethlefsen, Teammaker’s president, the Teammaker’s has a solid base of 20 parents (M.Krause, personal communication, January 26,2 018). These individuals attend most events, and are there to run concessions, conduct 50/50 raffles, and doing anything else to assist the running of an event. Also in this group are students who work at games. This group includes pep band members, Tornado TV workers, and Student Council members assisting with the concession stand. Leslie stated the importance of keeping this group involved, as she figures the student…show more content… However, Oakes can still work to improve student attendance. The fringe attendees are also on the fringe of participating. Thus, fan rewards can increase customers on both angles, as getting the fringe student into an event can generate an interest for that student to go out for a sport and compete. Chris Fore, CAA, suggests a ticket system or point system, rewarding lesser publicized events (attending a girl’s basketball game would be worth more than attending football game) (Fore, 2013). Developing rewards at certain point values for students (could tie to concession stands) and then having an overall Fan of the Year, with a significant reward (would need to be determined with a consultation of
