orangeandbrown wrote:Couple things. Money is, no doubt, the one and only driver of this issue. If we can start drawing good crowds consistently, in good weather and bad, then I will start to think we could pull the $10 surcharge thing off. And if we CAN pull it off, we should. It would be great for the program. We pay $35 to see the Purdue game @ Purdue---I'd certainly pay $25 to see them here.
Best $35 I ever spent. Problem is there was only like 150 of us at Purdue
What I was trying to point out in earlier posts, which failed for some reason, is that we DID put a surcharge on tickets for the Marshall game last time...not sure if was $10 or not, but there was definitely a surcharge for that game...what I'd tried to post earlier was that I'd be willing to pay more for my tix to see such teams as Missou, Pitt etc. return...What I'd really like us to get a crack at are teams like Indiana and/Illinois...and they might not want the same guarantees, dollar wise, that some of the really "big boys" would want... 8)
Education our Challenge, Excellence our goal. (look it up)
Add Michigan State to the list, Denny. That would be awesome. The number of Michigan State alums and subway alums throughout Michigan almost rivals that of UM. A sellout for sure although we would run the risk of more MSU fans than BG's. Also their program is right in there with that of Indiana and Illinois.
Another thought: When WMU entertained Va. Tech a couple of years ago (my son and I went to that game) WMU charged $30.00 per ticket and the place was not full, a good crowd but not full. After the game several WMU people told us that the surcharge ended hopes of a full house. That would not be any problem with an MSU coming to BG. Hell, we'd pay $50.00!
Dave,
You're right on the MSU game too... I just usually think of them as one of the "semi-powers" who might not be willing to come here...but maybe with John Smith as the coach, that attitude might change.He's from Louisville, so should know, even though the "powerful c-usa" is "obviously" better than the MAC, (at least in their opinions), what Mid-major teams have to go through to get schools from larger conferences to come to their places.
P.S.- sent you an email re: Homecoming game...I'm assuming you're coming...look forward to seeing you there. 8)
Education our Challenge, Excellence our goal. (look it up)
Falconfreak90 wrote:McMetz, UT has had 10 straight winning seasons...that is consistent.
I meant they are inconsistent playing teams outside the MAC. Sure they beat Pitt. last year, but in 2002 they lost to Minn. and Pitt. In 2001 they beat Minn., in 2000 they beat Penn State, and then in 1999 they lost to Syracuse and Louisiana Tech. Until the Oklahoma game, BG has had a lot of success against non-MAC teams since the program got turned around. I hope that makes more sense at what I was trying to get at. If not, feel free to make me look like a fool some more Freak
"To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the glass is half empty. To the project manager, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be."
Miami (OH) hosted Iowa a couple of years ago and in order to afford it they raised ticket prices by $10. All other games I think were $15 and the Iowa game was $25 dollars. I know that was for Gen. Admin. but I am not sure about student prices. That is what BG would have to do in order to get big BCS schools to BG.
K-Dogg,
Upon rereading your post, you're saying we only had 150 people at Purdue last year? Man, then my "old eyes" must be deceiving me, because I could swear I was sitting in a pretty large BG section AND there was an even larger group across the way in the endzone sideline seats... Don't know how many we DID have there, but it was a heck of lot more than 150
Education our Challenge, Excellence our goal. (look it up)
Maybe I am a bad judge of numbers, but it was the greatest ratio of home fans to away fans that I have ever seen. I did not think there were many people in the EZ seats. I was in the biggest section that was on the side of the EZ, there were some in the EZ and then a small group on the opposite side.
I think your numbers were a bit off Kdog, btu you are right, the ratio was bad. I think there was a better BG to home team ratio in Cbus than we had at Purdue.
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. A rocket is always a dildo."
~Rightupinthere
Glad to see my post yesterday provoked some discussion. Look folks, I don't know if a sur-charge is the way to go or playing games in Cleveland will work. Maybe BG should sell naming rights to the Doyt to Cocca Cola or some other business--Louisville plays in Pappa John Stadium and OSU has Value City Arena--I don't know. Could work--maybe not. (Just an example, guys, don't get excited.) All I really know is that competing at the highest level--and that includes getting quality teams into your facility--takes money. I know that money is an issue at BG. ( Hell, it's an issue at 99% of the schools in the NCAA . You can count the schools who turn a profit on your hands.) But there are solutions out there, even for modest programs such as BG's. Toledo tried one avenue, Ohio U is getting teams, explore what they are doing. As someone who saw his first BG football game in 1959, I do feel there is hope on the horizen. For the first time in my recolection, there is an AD in place, who I think, has the capability and committment to find solutions to some of these problems. (I'm not sure the university administration as a whole is there yet, but that too may come.) The Ice arean renovation, the scoreboard, the athletic complex at the north end of the stadium tells me the AD has the ability to recognize problem areas and has the ability to go out and find money to correct them. So I think it's just a matter of time until he comes up with some ideas to remedy other problems --like scheduling. (I think the game in Cleveland is one attempt.) Getting good teams into the Doyt is going to take mony and creative ways of finding it. But as I say, there are ways out there and I am increasingly feeling confident that the AD will find some of them.
BGSUfanatUT wrote:I think your numbers were a bit off Kdog, btu you are right, the ratio was bad. I think there was a better BG to home team ratio in Cbus than we had at Purdue.
I agree my 150 is undershooting the total but my point was that not many people were willing to pay $36 for a ticket. Whether it was 150 or 400 it really is not that big of a difference. I think you would have a difficult time seeling out our stadium at a price of around $30-35 dollars unless it was a top tier team (Michigan, OSU, ND) or a good team located not too far away (MSU, Purdue, Pitt). If we had a team like OSU we would have no problem getting students to pay that price but they would not pay it for teams like MSU. I don't think there is ever a chance that we could get a school as big as the first three so I will talk about the latter. If we were able to get a school like those three we would also benefit from a good number of fans from that school traveling to see the game, but not to the point where we would be outnumbered. I think the way to go in this case would be to make students have to pick up their tickets and pay a ten dollars (or some odd amount) to get a ticket. Students may get into games for free but they are definitely paying for their seats throught tuition so to ask 30 bucks or more is way too much to ask a student to pay for a game in Doyt. I think the problems with games where we hosted Mizzou and WMU hosted VT was that those teams are too far away. Only their die hard fans are going make a trip that far, but when the trip is within 4-5 hours you are going get a considerable amount of fans to travel to see their teams. I know if I was a VT fan I would not want to travel all the way to Kalamazoo to watch a game in a MAC stadium. Our best shots are teams like Purdue, I think setting our sights on UofM, OSU and ND is way too high. When have you ever heard of Michigan and OSU playing a MAC team on the road? The amount of money you would have to pay them to come here would be unreal. They would rather have a home game and charge $50 X 100,000 and have a "for sure win" then go on the road and get paid pocket change in comparison. I am a ND fan and I do not even remember them playing a MAC school in my lifetime. Home or otherwise
Well, it was more than just the price. It was an away game with the Ohio State game (another costly ticket) coming up in coming weeks. A lot of people aren't going to travel that much, regardless of the ticket.
I was at Purdue, and I was surprised at how well we did do for a turnout.
Nearly. The small size of the crowd was amplified by the enormity of an NFL stadium. Temple's band, cheerleaders and dance team almost outnumbered fans.
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