Syracuse hosted its biggest football crowd of the 2018 season Saturday night when North Carolina State came to the Carrier Dome.

Luring 40,769 people to a football game wasn’t luck or happenstance, but in part the culmination of months of work and a week-long blitz from Anthony Di Fino, Syracuse associate athletics director for business development. Prior to the game, Di Fino highlighted two main groups SU targeted to fill the Dome: Students and residents of nearby cities and towns like Rochester, Watertown or Utica.

“To market a game in six days, that to us is the toughest part,” Di Fino said. “Being able to turn around and say, ‘OK, this is primetime.’”

The first step for Di Fino and his team is getting people to the game. That’s done in part with steady ticket-sales advertising from the moment the schedule is released, to more specific game-week appeals, Di Fino said. In the week leading to the North Carolina State game, SU Athletics spent on digital ads targeted to nearby cities and towns — Di Fino named Rochester, Utica, Watertown and Binghamton as examples.

In recent years, Syracuse struggled pulling crowds from these areas as the Orange stumbled to three-straight 4-8 finishes. While Di Fino views the football team as independent from what he does — he aims to put on the best game day experience possible, regardless of the game on the field — he ultimately cannot separate the two.

“It’s up to the team to do their job,” Di Fino said. “We know when our team gets going, the fans get going.”

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And just having tickets for sale isn’t always enough, Di Fino said, so SU’s creating more incentives for people making an hour-plus drive to Syracuse.

Brian Konkol, the dean of Hendricks Chapel, came to SU with an idea for an event, Di Fino said. On Saturday, SU Athletics partnered with Hendricks Chapel to host “Faith and Family Day.” The event involved a gathering at Hendricks, activities on the Quad and specific sections of seats for the game. Game tickets via the event were discounted to $10. After the game, those who bought tickets were invited onto the field.

Syracuse has hosted similar-styled events, like “Scout Day” or “Youth Football and Medical Appreciation Day,” in the Carrier Dome already this season.

“I’m still responsible from the second you leave your door to the time you leave the Dome,” Di Fino said on Wednesday. “We gotta give them a great experience.”

This season, Di Fino said, SU Athletics is doing a competition among Greek Life organizations on campus, tallying wristbands from each football game, specific to each group. At the end of the season, the winning group will receive a $1500 donation to their philanthropic fund from SU Athletics. This football season has also marked the debut of Syracuse’s new student ticketing system, where students earn points based on attendance at sporting events.

Involvement like the Greek competition plus the new ticket model and even gimmicks, like a costume 100-yard dash for a pair of courtside seats at the SU men’s basketball home opener at halftime on Saturday, have contributed to a spike in student attendance. Syracuse’s student attendance for football games was up by more than 30 percent, Di Fino said on Wednesday.

“They’re attaching themselves to this team,” Di Fino said of the student body.

Students are Di Fino’s prized demographic. He understands the importance of a full student section, from the direct reflection on the university, the state of the football team to the general gameday atmosphere.

Even the addition of a few thousand students to the crowd can equal the effect of 10,000 regular fans, revving up the crowd and driving the in-game experience.

There are factors out of Di Fino’s control, too. The weather, despite Syracuse playing in a Dome, can hurt attendance. If it’s snowy and potentially dangerous, or rainy like Saturday, attendance can dip. Other big acts in town or community events can sap away fans. Di Fino also has no control over wins and losses.

When the wins are coming, everything’s good.

“You see a lot more second-, third-time buyers coming back,” Di Fino said.

Published on October 28, 2018 at 9:58 pm

Contact Andrew: [email protected] | @A_E_Graham