The return of Carleton Ravens football has resulted in a rebrand of Carleton athletics, partly in an attempt to get the community excited for the upcoming season.
The rebrand can be seen through the Athletics Centre renovations and new fall orientation bags given to Carleton freshmen participating in the week-long event. The bags are now black, not the typical red, and the Ravens logo has been updated.
However, for the Varsity Athletics season passes, which are given to those who participate in orientation week, football is not offered.
These passes grant the owner access to all the regular season home games of the major varsity sports teams, such as hockey, basketball, and soccer, for no additional charge.
The football team is privately funded, unlike the rest of the varsity teams, but that does not mean football should not be included in the season pass.
It is unlikely that Ravens football will be able to fill the bleachers week after week just because of stylistic changes and publicity campaigns alone.
Football is not part of the traditional Carleton experience, and it’s unclear how many people will be interested in season passes when the team has yet to prove themselves on the field.
If the football games were included in the season passes, Carleton first-years would likely attend more games than if they had to pay for each game and become invested in the team. It’s these first-year students who are the most likely to keep buying tickets to home games throughout their time at Carleton, and the university needs to target that demographic.
