The “ReVITALEization” of Titan basketball, 1973-79
May 12, 2020 21:03:17 GMT -5
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Post by Rogobob77 on May 12, 2020 21:03:17 GMT -5
My six years (1973-79) as an undergraduate and grad student at the University of Detroit neatly overlapped with the tenure of Dick Vitale, his four seasons as head coach, the last two as Athletic Director. That stretch was one of the most successful ever on the court in terms of Titan basketball wins and losses, and it was also a golden era in terms of overall game experience at Calihan Hall. There were numerous elements Vitale introduced in the marketing and promotion (M&P) realm to generate fan interest while he was at U-D, and I thought I would share some of what I remember from that history in this post.
Vitale was a great recruiter and more than adequately equipped to handle the X and O’s, but where he really was a unique difference maker was in marketing the program — he eventually made the couple hours spent watching a game in the “Big House” at McNichols and Livernois a can’t miss experience for many metro Detroiters. Unlike most college coaches, he was personally invested and directly involved in the big picture and small details of M&P, and from day one on the job said it was his dream to see a “sold out” sign on the Memorial Building (as it was called backed then) box office window.
One of my earliest memories as an incoming freshman was reading about Dick moving into one of the campus dorms for a couple weeks right after he got the U-D job. It was part of a process to build foundational relationships with the student body with hopes that they would respond by supporting the basketball team.
Vitale would pop up everywhere on campus to talk up his Titans. I remember him speaking at a scheduled meeting of the Chemistry Club where he answered questions and encouraged the handful of students gathered to attend games. As he gained visibility in the general community, Dick would appear to accept just about every invitation to speak at events like a CYO banquet. He would hold “press conferences” with high school students interested in pursuing sports journalism. Dick would regularly join other local celebrities in charity activities such as telethons. He would promote the Titan program with by shooting hoops set up in area shopping malls. Titan Roundball Luncheons came into being as a way to increase alumni interest. It seemed like Vitale was just about everywhere.
Vitale has a deep appreciation of U-D hoops tradition and Titan basketball legends and would use this as an edge in the pitch to recruit players. I recall a poster he developed showing Dave DeBusschere and Spencer Haywood guarding each other in an NBA game with the heading “Will You Be the Next University of Detroit All-American?” Vitale also developed relationships with Detroit Pistons players, and started a summer hoops camp with Bob Lanier.
I recall that pre-Vitale the upper bowl seats in the arena were all green in color. One of the first things he did was “color-brand,” recruiting fraternity members to paint the seats in the red-white-blue scheme that still stands today.
Not sure if it was in his first season, but I remember that large army surplus search lights were brought in and stationed just outside the front entrance of Calihan to create visual interest and a sense of excitement even before you entered the building.
As the team took the court for pre-game warmups, there was always upbeat synchronized music blaring. I remember “Getaway” by Earth, Wind & Fire and “Get Down Tonight” by KC & the Sunshine Band as typical selections. On occasions when the Titans were playing a school they had lost to in the prior meeting, you might hear “The Payback” by James Brown on the loudspeakers.
Eventually the pregame warmup period took on an almost circus-like atmosphere. In addition to the team players hitting the arena floor, there was a bevy of folks circling around the court on unicycles, dancers, guys juggling basketballs, etc. Some of this stuff was copied from elements that the University of Minnesota introduced in the early 1970’s during the Bill Mussellman era. (A good article on Mussellman at m.startribune.com/basketball-met-the-circus-during-musselman-s-years-at-the-barn-dec-22-2014/286476671/ )
Player introductions were jazzed up before every game. The entire team was introduced, not just the starters. The arena was darkened and the Titans crashed one-by-one through a spotlighted paper barrier held in place by a large circular rim as names and hometowns were announced. In a later version called “TitanVision,” the rimmed hoop was replaced by something that resembled a television set.
It was during this era that a mascot was introduced (in the 1975-76 season), hence the birth of “Tommy Titan.”
Vitale was ever the showman. I recall hearing the story of how he promised his team that he would do the “Hucklebuck” if they could somehow find a way to upset Dayton on the road. When the Titans got the W with a buzzer beater basket, he danced at mid-court which I read later really ticked off the Flyer coach and AD.
Media savvy Vitale was always a regular on local TV sports shows and radio programs. He was a frequent guest on J.P. McCarthy’s popular WWJ morning radio show and would often invite the listening audience to call his secretary if they wanted to check out a game and there would be complimentary tickets made available. (I remember a “Titans Love In” game against Marshall where essentially all members of the community were invited to attend the game for free.) Eventually Vitale had a prerecorded daily spot on rock radio station WRIF where he would spout his opinion on various sports topics.
Vitale added pizazz to the Titans uniforms, and U-D was one of the first schools to adopt the untucked jersey style.
Vitale started the tradition of having an annual midnight event to kick off the first minute the team could begin pre-season practice. Celebrities were invited to coach intra-squad games open to fans, I recall Detroit Tigers Mark Fidrych and Ron LeFlore taking on this role. As it was allowed back then by the NCAA, Vitale scheduled pre-season “Titan Caravan” intra-squad games at local high schools.
Vitale saw the legendary “Dancing Gus” the hotdog vender do his thing at a Detroit Tigers baseball game, and personally recruited him to hawk hotdogs and gyrate in the upper bowl sections of Calihan once the college basketball season rolled around.
There was a brand rolled out for the student cheering section — U-D students pretty much completely filled up all the lower bowl of Calihan by the 1977-78 season and were provided with “Bleacher Screecher” emblazoned tee-shirts to wear to games. For little kids, a “Titan Toddlers” club was formed. For the general population there was an opportunity to join the “Titan Slam-Dunk Fan Club.”
Titan games made way to prime time local TV, with the 1977-78 season games against Toledo, Michigan State, Dayton and Marquette broadcast live on WJBK Channel 2. All the games were on the radio, WBRB-FM.
There were a multitude of special promotions in place each season, including Family Nights, preliminary games with involving local high schools, Youth Days, Ford/GM/Chrysler Alumni Nights, etc.
In the 1978 season, attendance at Calihan Hall averaged 8,349 fans. Pretty much every game was filled to capacity. There were cops directing traffic in surrounding neighborhood streets whenever the Titans were in town.
Some may say the fans came in droves because the Titans won a lot of games back then and their style of play made them an exciting team to watch. True to a large degree, but I would argue that the way Vitale marketed the program was in large part responsible for the popularity of the program as well.
And then the decade of 1970’s ended and much of the groundwork that Vitale had established came to an abrupt halt. Larry Geracioti was hired as AD to replace Vitale (when Dick took the Pistons coaching job), and it soon became clear that the new guy was cut from a much different, more conservative cloth. I remember the first home game in the Willie McCarter coaching era — the arena lights remained on and the Titan starting five were introduced off the bench. It seemed so strangely different. Gone in what seemed like a flash were the searchlights, the familiar songs of the pre-game soundtrack, the razzle dazzle, etc. In the immediate seasons to follow, the performance of the team steadily declined, the caliber of recruits diminished, and the number of fans coming to games plummeted (average attendance fell by more than 50%, to 3,795 by 1981). They say nothing lasts forever, but I’ll always remember those revitalized days in the late ‘70’s when Calihan Hall was the place to be for Detroit sports fans.
Vitale was a great recruiter and more than adequately equipped to handle the X and O’s, but where he really was a unique difference maker was in marketing the program — he eventually made the couple hours spent watching a game in the “Big House” at McNichols and Livernois a can’t miss experience for many metro Detroiters. Unlike most college coaches, he was personally invested and directly involved in the big picture and small details of M&P, and from day one on the job said it was his dream to see a “sold out” sign on the Memorial Building (as it was called backed then) box office window.
One of my earliest memories as an incoming freshman was reading about Dick moving into one of the campus dorms for a couple weeks right after he got the U-D job. It was part of a process to build foundational relationships with the student body with hopes that they would respond by supporting the basketball team.
Vitale would pop up everywhere on campus to talk up his Titans. I remember him speaking at a scheduled meeting of the Chemistry Club where he answered questions and encouraged the handful of students gathered to attend games. As he gained visibility in the general community, Dick would appear to accept just about every invitation to speak at events like a CYO banquet. He would hold “press conferences” with high school students interested in pursuing sports journalism. Dick would regularly join other local celebrities in charity activities such as telethons. He would promote the Titan program with by shooting hoops set up in area shopping malls. Titan Roundball Luncheons came into being as a way to increase alumni interest. It seemed like Vitale was just about everywhere.
Vitale has a deep appreciation of U-D hoops tradition and Titan basketball legends and would use this as an edge in the pitch to recruit players. I recall a poster he developed showing Dave DeBusschere and Spencer Haywood guarding each other in an NBA game with the heading “Will You Be the Next University of Detroit All-American?” Vitale also developed relationships with Detroit Pistons players, and started a summer hoops camp with Bob Lanier.
I recall that pre-Vitale the upper bowl seats in the arena were all green in color. One of the first things he did was “color-brand,” recruiting fraternity members to paint the seats in the red-white-blue scheme that still stands today.
Not sure if it was in his first season, but I remember that large army surplus search lights were brought in and stationed just outside the front entrance of Calihan to create visual interest and a sense of excitement even before you entered the building.
As the team took the court for pre-game warmups, there was always upbeat synchronized music blaring. I remember “Getaway” by Earth, Wind & Fire and “Get Down Tonight” by KC & the Sunshine Band as typical selections. On occasions when the Titans were playing a school they had lost to in the prior meeting, you might hear “The Payback” by James Brown on the loudspeakers.
Eventually the pregame warmup period took on an almost circus-like atmosphere. In addition to the team players hitting the arena floor, there was a bevy of folks circling around the court on unicycles, dancers, guys juggling basketballs, etc. Some of this stuff was copied from elements that the University of Minnesota introduced in the early 1970’s during the Bill Mussellman era. (A good article on Mussellman at m.startribune.com/basketball-met-the-circus-during-musselman-s-years-at-the-barn-dec-22-2014/286476671/ )
Player introductions were jazzed up before every game. The entire team was introduced, not just the starters. The arena was darkened and the Titans crashed one-by-one through a spotlighted paper barrier held in place by a large circular rim as names and hometowns were announced. In a later version called “TitanVision,” the rimmed hoop was replaced by something that resembled a television set.
It was during this era that a mascot was introduced (in the 1975-76 season), hence the birth of “Tommy Titan.”
Vitale was ever the showman. I recall hearing the story of how he promised his team that he would do the “Hucklebuck” if they could somehow find a way to upset Dayton on the road. When the Titans got the W with a buzzer beater basket, he danced at mid-court which I read later really ticked off the Flyer coach and AD.
Media savvy Vitale was always a regular on local TV sports shows and radio programs. He was a frequent guest on J.P. McCarthy’s popular WWJ morning radio show and would often invite the listening audience to call his secretary if they wanted to check out a game and there would be complimentary tickets made available. (I remember a “Titans Love In” game against Marshall where essentially all members of the community were invited to attend the game for free.) Eventually Vitale had a prerecorded daily spot on rock radio station WRIF where he would spout his opinion on various sports topics.
Vitale added pizazz to the Titans uniforms, and U-D was one of the first schools to adopt the untucked jersey style.
Vitale started the tradition of having an annual midnight event to kick off the first minute the team could begin pre-season practice. Celebrities were invited to coach intra-squad games open to fans, I recall Detroit Tigers Mark Fidrych and Ron LeFlore taking on this role. As it was allowed back then by the NCAA, Vitale scheduled pre-season “Titan Caravan” intra-squad games at local high schools.
Vitale saw the legendary “Dancing Gus” the hotdog vender do his thing at a Detroit Tigers baseball game, and personally recruited him to hawk hotdogs and gyrate in the upper bowl sections of Calihan once the college basketball season rolled around.
There was a brand rolled out for the student cheering section — U-D students pretty much completely filled up all the lower bowl of Calihan by the 1977-78 season and were provided with “Bleacher Screecher” emblazoned tee-shirts to wear to games. For little kids, a “Titan Toddlers” club was formed. For the general population there was an opportunity to join the “Titan Slam-Dunk Fan Club.”
Titan games made way to prime time local TV, with the 1977-78 season games against Toledo, Michigan State, Dayton and Marquette broadcast live on WJBK Channel 2. All the games were on the radio, WBRB-FM.
There were a multitude of special promotions in place each season, including Family Nights, preliminary games with involving local high schools, Youth Days, Ford/GM/Chrysler Alumni Nights, etc.
In the 1978 season, attendance at Calihan Hall averaged 8,349 fans. Pretty much every game was filled to capacity. There were cops directing traffic in surrounding neighborhood streets whenever the Titans were in town.
Some may say the fans came in droves because the Titans won a lot of games back then and their style of play made them an exciting team to watch. True to a large degree, but I would argue that the way Vitale marketed the program was in large part responsible for the popularity of the program as well.
And then the decade of 1970’s ended and much of the groundwork that Vitale had established came to an abrupt halt. Larry Geracioti was hired as AD to replace Vitale (when Dick took the Pistons coaching job), and it soon became clear that the new guy was cut from a much different, more conservative cloth. I remember the first home game in the Willie McCarter coaching era — the arena lights remained on and the Titan starting five were introduced off the bench. It seemed so strangely different. Gone in what seemed like a flash were the searchlights, the familiar songs of the pre-game soundtrack, the razzle dazzle, etc. In the immediate seasons to follow, the performance of the team steadily declined, the caliber of recruits diminished, and the number of fans coming to games plummeted (average attendance fell by more than 50%, to 3,795 by 1981). They say nothing lasts forever, but I’ll always remember those revitalized days in the late ‘70’s when Calihan Hall was the place to be for Detroit sports fans.