The University of Mississippi Athletics
STAFF BLOG: Krouse On Gamedays This Fall
8/21/2009 | Athletics
The Ole Miss athletics department's senior staff and leadership publish biweekly blogs on OleMissSports.com to offer fans added insight into the overall operation of the department. David Krouse has been associated with the university since 1995 and currently serves as the General Manager of Ole Miss Sports Properties.
August 21, 2009
Expectations for Ole Miss football have never been higher. Knowing this, our staff sat down this summer with those in control of our gameday elements, and made a few subtle adjustments that we hope will pay dividends for our fans this fall.
Rather than entering the field more than 30 minutes prior to kickoff and waiting on the sidelines, the Pride of the South Marching Band along with the Rebelettes will make a grand entrance less than 20 minutes before the game, accompanied by an exciting video presentation on the HD videoboard. Concluded by an exciting lineup of Celebrity Hotty Toddy's, fans will have the Rebels charged for the game.
Starting in September we will have a new look for OleMissSports.com. Take time to visit the interactive video elements that the media relations and video productions staffs have developed. Also, Rebelvision will continue to offer live press conferences and live men and women basketball games this fall, as well as live audio for everything.
Soccer and Volleyball will pilot the newly developed Rebel Rewards program designed to increase our attendance and awareness amongst Ole Miss Students. No cost to enter and points are tallied on their student ID cards. Among the eligible prizes are food coupons from our sponsors, Ole Miss t-shirts and tickets to upcoming events. Click here for our upcoming promotions.
Hopefully everyone has seen the new fall sports posters. We are really pleased with how the new wide format turned out, and we regret that we couldn't present these to the fans at "Meet The Rebels Day" as we have in the past. However, you can click here to order them online or you can pick them up for free at our sponsors in Oxford (Papa John's, Rebel Rags and Oby's) beginning Saturday.
Be Early, Be Loud, Be a Rebel!
November 18, 2008
BOWL ELIGIBLE! How great is that! Rebel fans have waited a long time to have their name mentioned for possible participation in postseason football. Once the season is completed, be sure to get all travel and bowl information right here at OleMissSports.com.
Ole Miss men's and women's basketball is underway and off to a great start. As we celebrate the first 100 years of Rebel men's hoops, don't be surprised if this team sets new scoring records as we progress during the season.
Rebel Sports Marketing continues to strive in making every effort to keep Ole Miss Athletics on top of the collegiate entertainment industry. If you've attended any Rebel sporting events, you've noticed the many promotions coordinated by our staff, which includes Marketing Coordinator Connie Braseth and Assistant Marketing Coordinator Brandon Hudspeth. I wanted to share a little insight on our promotions and sponsorships.
Mike Smith, Director of Collegiate Sports Properties, and his sales team call on different organizations and companies to be sponsors for Ole Miss athletics. The gameday sponsorships offer the unique opportunity to sponsor an "in-game" promotion, such as the Ashley Furniture Helmet Shuffle on the video board. This is a 3D graphic in which a football is placed under the middle helmet, and the helmets are shuffled around before the fans determine which helmet the football is under. Ashley Furniture also hosted an in-game promotion last year where one contestant would have the chance to kick an extra point during a game. If they made the PAT, the contestant would be asked back at the end of the year to kick for the grand prize of $20,000 in furniture. In-game promotions are a great way for sponsors to be seen in a different aspect other than signage in the stadium or commercials. Click here for our upcoming promotions, and click here if you are interested in sponsorship.
A special thanks to J. Stern, Rapheal Henry and Shane Sanford for making this first season with our HD video board so successful. One cannot imagine all the factors and tasks that have to completed in exact order on gameday to insure that fans take away the best experience possible.
From all of us with Ole Miss Sports Properties may we wish you a safe and happy holiday season. We look forward to 2009, and thanks again for all of your support.
July 18, 2008
Since I became the General Manager of Ole Miss Sports Properties a little over four months ago, it has been an extremely busy time. TeleSouth's role in the business of Ole Miss athletics continues to grow, and our staff runs full throttle during the summer months to get all the sponsorships, promotions, gameday coordination and multimedia operation (video, radio and TV) ready for the 2008-09 season.
The latest addition to the TeleSouth team is Mike Smith, who oversees our sales efforts as Director of Collegiate Sports Properties. He has collegiate sales experience at Georgia Tech and North Carolina and brings a wealth of experience in helping fit sponsors with our gameday efforts.
A major summer objective of our staff is developing and coordinating football gameday atmosphere and activities. We work with the spirit groups, band, media relations and coaching staff among others to orchestrate all that goes on, from the time the gates open two hours prior to kickoff to the postgame radio show. The gameday experience expects to take a huge step forward this year with the addition of the massive, new high definition video board. From a video and promotions standpoint, we plan to maximize our entertainment efforts and engage the fans like never before.
While football requires a wealth of preparation, it is not the only sport on campus, and our team is putting more and more time into marketing Ole Miss' Olympic sports. Marketing Coordinator Connie Braseth is currently working with the soccer and volleyball coaches and staff to increase awareness and support for those programs. Both teams have maintained success, and this year's promotions hope to ensure large crowds to support their rise to the top.
We join the rest of the Ole Miss family in anticipation of Andy Kennedy's and Renee Ladner's hoops teams, and our planning has already begun for both the men's and women's basketball seasons. We hope to make a big splash with this year's gameday experience.
A few upcoming events to make note of include Meet the Rebels Day on August 16 to kick off the 2008-09 athletics season. In addition, make your plans to attend Houston Nutt's weekly radio show each Thursday this fall, beginning August 28 at 7 p.m. We hope to see a great turnout for these and all of Ole Miss' home events this year.