The article points out that it is "designed to bring an already engaged fan base even closer to the University”.

My wife received this email and thought, hey this might be a good place to go eat. We can grab some friends go for dinner one night and if it’s good maybe we’ll do lunch/dinner there ever now and then. However, she saw you had to pay for membership and said forget that.

Personally, I think they are missing an opportunity.

I think if they opened The Club to everyone and the food was good they will attract some of the locals. And not just locals, but also parents that came into town to visit their kids. They could go there instead of going to a local restaurant or D-Hall (or whatever it’s called). It becomes a novelty. And take it beyond that -> have one or two of the suites open so people can see those. You never know, maybe it sparks one sale. And go beyond that -> leave the press box open so people can look at that. And ::gasp:: even allow people to see the broadcast booth. If you want to engage people then do that.

You don’t engage people by having them always pay for something. In my opinion, you are engaging people that are already engaged which is a net zero. I don't see a person that's not engaged deciding to pay to eat at The Club.

I feel that the more traffic going into this place can only help with future fundraising efforts.

Just my two cents...