Athletic Dept. hopes to attract fans with free games, food

The Triple Play starts tonight and runs through Sunday.

The special activities begin with "Break the Record Night" at tonight's women's basketball game against Stanford University. The game starts at 7 p.m. at the McKale Center.

"Break the Record Night" promotions include free Domino's Pizza for the first 1,000 fans, free T-shirts to the first 100 fans and a chance to go one-on-three against Wilma, Wilbur and the Noid for free pizza for a year.

Admission to tonight's game is free for all students with a UA identification card and $1 for everyone else.

The best attendance record for a women's game at McKale was set Jan. 23, 1993 against Arizona State University when 4,111 fans attended.

The women's basketball team has steadily increased its number of season ticket holders since 1993, said Steve Sullivan, director of marketing for the Athletic Department. He said as the team continues to succeed, ticket sales should continue to rise.

"There is not a better promotion than a winning team," Sullivan said.

Sullivan said awareness and support for the women's basketball team will continue to grow because of the recent Olympic gold medal-winning performance of the U.S. women's team and the introduction of two professional women's leagues.

Garrick Dorn, Athletic Department marketing assistant, said one reason for low student turnouts at the women's basketball games is because men's and women's games are usually in direct conflict with one another.

"The teams generally play at the same time and many students stay home to watch the men on television rather than coming out and supporting the women's team," Dorn said.

Dorn said he was wondering how many students would come out because tonight's men's game at Stanford University was originally being carried only by the fX channel on Jones Intercable.

However, Tucson CableVision announced yesterday it will broadcast the game on Tucson Channel 5, which is channel 13 on TCI's service, a TCI spokeswoman said.

TCI will broadcast the men's basketball game live at 8:30 p.m.

Scott Fosler, Athletic Department marketing assistant, said TCI's decision to carry the men's game will definitely have an impact on the women's game. Women's home games played at the same time as the men's have had generally lower attendance, he said.

Fosler said students have not supported women's basketball games all season.

"I think there are many students who don't even know that these games are free. It is something we are working on to try and raise awareness," Fosler said.

Saturday's baseball game against the University of California at Los Angeles at Sancet Field and Sunday's softball game against Stanford at Hillenbrand Stadium also include free giveaways. Both games start at 1 p.m.

Sullivan said marketing has increased in these sports over the past few years, but that has not necessarily meant an increase in home attendance.

While women's softball continues to draw large crowds because of the team's top-ranked status, the baseball and women's basketball squads have either stayed at the same level of attendance or experienced declines over the past three years, Sullivan said.

If a person attends all three events, they will be entered in a drawing to win a pair of airline tickets to various destinations.

Fosler said KFMA radio, Reno Air and Powerbar are also sponsors of this weekend's events.

Dorn added, "The only effort students need to make this weekend is getting out there. Everything is free for them."