The Michigan student section has come under fire in the past 3-4 seasons for due to students showing up very late to games (middle of 2nd quarter and beyond) or not showing up to games at all (hello UMass 2012 game).
In an effort to reward students who get to the game on time, Michigan AD Dave Brandon earlier this week announced that student seats are no longer assigned and are now first come-first serve (similar to Duke's famed Cameron Crazies).
Today, Michigan coach Brady Hoke went one step further by offering students who skip the extra tailgating and show up on time free donuts. At an appreciation luncheon for the the Michigan Athletic Dept. H.A.I.L. program. The comment was publicized by U-M athletic media relations intern Laura Raines and Jordan Maleh, the Athletic Department’s director of digital marketing.
Word from Coach Hoke: Free glazed donuts for all students before noon home games. #goblue
— Laura Raines (@itsraininglaura) April 24, 2013
Stay tuned. Coach Hoke, speaking to H.A.I.L. participants, promises glazed doughnuts to students during 'glazed doughnut' (noon) games.
— Jordan Maleh (@jordanmaleh) April 24, 2013
Maleh also tweeted Tuesday that Michigan’s student season ticket holders averaged a 75-percent show rate in 2012, including 3,405 no-shows against Michigan State. Hunter Lochmann, the department’s the chief marketing officer, also tweeted Tuesday that the average show rate at kickoff was just 50 percent.
Back to the Michigan Wolverines NewsfeedIn 2012, U-M Football Student Season Ticket Holder avg. show rate was 75%. High: 84.4% (MSU) vs. Low: 66.4% (Northwestern).
— Jordan Maleh (@jordanmaleh) April 23, 2013