Bloomington Bison Media Director reflects on inaugural season and beyond

Image courtesy of the Bloomington Bison

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – With the first-ever Bloomington Bison season coming to a close, Director of Media Relations & Broadcasting Andy Zilch is reflecting on the team’s first year and shares what’s next for the franchise.

“With this being the first season, it obviously posed different challenges. I think our front office staff responded to those challenges very well and were able to deal with the curveballs that came our way,” Zilch said. “Then on the ice, we brought in 25 players that had never played together, so it was difficult getting chemistry, getting a team started, but I think we handled everything very well.”

Starting a team comes with a list of goals, and for the Bison, those objectives extend both on and off the ice. Zilch outlined the team’s priorities heading into the season.

“On the ice, our goal was to make the postseason, which we are still in the playoff hunt for,” Zilch said. “In terms of off the ice, one of the biggest things we looked at was what we can control, and the biggest thing we can control is our community outreach. Then, how we handle our in-game presentation, how we handle our fan experience and all of that has been handled exceptionally well.”

Zilch also highlighted the growing fan support throughout the season. 

“I have to give a testimony to the city and the area for buying into what we are presenting,” Zilch said.  “I looked at our attendance from the end of January, and it grew 25% compared to the first three months, then into December and January. The fans have been wonderful.”

As the organization looks to the future, Zilch emphasized the importance of expanding their reach and solidifying their presence in the community.

“We want to build a stronger fan base,” Zilch said. “We have a really good core right now, but we need to branch out and continue to expand on our attendance numbers. That will come from a variety of different marketing and social media reflections that we’re going over this summer. We want people to know that the Bloomington Bison are a team that’s here to stay.”

While the season isn’t officially over and the Bison remain in the playoff hunt, the organization is pleased with how the first year has gone and even more excited about what lies ahead.