Game Day Experience

[jpfalcon09]

A storage building on the south side will complete the enclosure of the practice fields and I hope to continue the same type of fencing in future projects

Assuming he means the Doyt, among others.

While Doyt Perry Stadium requires some infrastructure improvements that should begin within the next 9 months

Interesting. I wonder what exactly this means. Reinforcing the concrete? Reconfiguring the grandstand entrances?

We are currently working to determine what other improvements could improve the experience. Some of those items are: an arrival plaza, improved seating in the bowl, suite and press area upgrades, updated restrooms, and concession points of sale redesign.

I wonder if some of this could/should be done in stages. A few improvements each off-season for the next several years. Start with the most glaring of issues. Start with concession redesign/restrooms. Then work on seating/suite upgrades. Top it off with the arrival plaza, Doyt statue and other aesthetic improvements. Use the funds in stages instead of one giant project.

I'd list the areas of concern as follows:

1) Integrity of the concrete on the underside of seating areas and pillars. The NW Ohio weather has not been kind and this poses an immediate safety risk. I noticed on Saturday just how bad these areas are getting, specifically from the water that is seeping through from the seating areas to the underside. The concrete has become porous from water and temperature damage over the years.

2) Upgrading restrooms/bathrooms. Bathroom sinks can only be operated by washing one hand at a time and we all know the problems with the concession areas. Expanding these areas with modern facilities will do wonders for the overall stadium experience.

3) South endzone. Creating a plaza similar to what Kent State has done at Dix Stadium would be the best course of action. A open walking area with merchandise stands, concessions and standing areas for fans to mill about and interact. An expanded kids area would also be a good idea for families who can't force their kids to sit through a 3 1/2 hour football game.

4) Press box/suites. Not necessarily an immediate concern but I'm sure the university could stand to bring in more revenue with modernized suites that provide a full view of the field. The current suite configuration in the south end zone is a terrible vantage point to be able to see anything down the field. The press box reminds me of the one at Joe Louis Arena...it's small, cramped and inadequate for the FBS level.

5) Other general improvements. The sound system is terrible, volumes of music are different from commercials, referee mics are hit and miss, it's embarrassing. Replacing the bleachers/faded orange seating should also be considered, visually the stadium looks dated and needs a facelift.

With the construction of the Sebo I think any new construction is off the table for the foreseeable future.

[thewebboy]

Get these guys on the phone....
http://paytoarchitects.com/Projects/KSU ... adium.html

[mscarn]

Interesting timing for this.....
http://www.bgsufalcons.com/news/2015/9/ ... 55321.aspx" target="_blank

Ask and ye shall receive. A couple thoughts:

1) The priorities he identified are spot-on. Very little soft-focus mushy gobbledygook. We're competing every day against other schools in the MAC and in the region. Their athletic directors (Danny White at UB, Joel Nielsen at Kent) are sharks and we need one of our own to match them.

2) It's clearer than ever that the money we need to accomplish what needs to be accomplished isn't coming anytime soon from the state of Ohio or a reorganization of the budget from the Board or the President's office. Like the Sebo and the Stroh, if we want something done it has to be done through us via private funds, and raising private funds is how Kingston forged his reputation in the industry at both West Point and NC State. Even the modest $5.9 million patchwork required a generous private component and that was to prevent concrete from falling on people's heads. That's still mortifyingly unacceptable and shouldn't deter those of us who demand the Board support athletics more, but it's reflective of the bureaucratic hurdles that Kingston (and likely 85% of Division I AD's) have to traverse in a climate of cuts and shortages.

3) The critical importance of fundraising is why I made such a stink about playing Tennessee, losing a winnable home game and playing such a difficult OOC generally. In an ideal world people will love and support the football program unconditionally and we certainly have our share of those individuals, including many on this board and several of our heavy-hitter donors. In the real world, donations and support often follow winning, and it's important to put the team in the best possible position to succeed to reach beyond the present circle of folks already on board. We were playing our third game as an underdog against Memphis at 1-1. We don't know, but perhaps the outcome might have been different if we were only playing our second game as an underdog sitting at 2-0. How much easier would Kingston's job raising money at Army have been if the football team had done better? Luckily I think the lesson has been learned and from most indications the mistakes of the past will not be repeated. We all want the same things and I think we have the right individual to take us there. Now if we can just get those damn concessions fixed...

[Flipper]

We got more of a positive rub from playing the Vols so close until the lightning delay and running up so many yards than we would have gotten for beating Bumblefuck U. Matt Johnson is viewed more highly in particular...

[footballguy51]

In regards to Tennessee and your remarks on donations, playing a home game against "Random Directional Nowhere State A&T" and winning isn't going to garner us much in donations. Beating Tennessee would have had a larger impact in that. Aside from that, the money we got from playing Tennessee almost equaled what we got from that generous donation to fix the concrete so people didn't die. If you want to talk money, think about that. But before we dive into the debate of playing that team once again, it was a one time thing when both schools were in a pinch and we turned lemons into gold.

I'm excited about the upcoming renovations. My parents belong to the Falcon Club currently so I'm able to be part of the events if I go with them. However, if my donation can help us get there just a bit faster, I may be joining the Falcon Club personally.

[mscarn]

But it wasn't close. We lost by 29 on a 22 point spread. What national publicity did we get out of it? That we hung around for a while? Big whoop. Babers himself said that the defense is at least a week behind in their development because they couldn't base anything off the Tennessee game due to their overwhelming physical superiority. The game was a mistake and $1.2 million doesn't make it less of a mistake because we chose to hit ourselves in the head instead of waiting for a random block of concrete to do it. One error doesn't justify another. And playing Bumblefuck U. isn't so bad when you're already playing two Big 10 teams on the road and the best Group of 5 team in America.

Want positive press? Want donations to roll in? Listen to what the Sun Belt Commissioner said and go undefeated. Playing teams favored to win the SEC doesn't get you there.

[jpfalcon09]

But it wasn't close. We lost by 29 on a 22 point spread. What national publicity did we get out of it? That we hung around for a while? Big whoop. Babers himself said that the defense is at least a week behind in their development because they couldn't base anything off the Tennessee game due to their overwhelming physical superiority. The game was a mistake and $1.2 million doesn't make it less of a mistake because we chose to hit ourselves in the head instead of waiting for a random block of concrete to do it. One error doesn't justify another.

Want positive press? Want donations to roll in? Listen to what the Sun Belt Commissioner said and go undefeated. Playing teams favored to win the SEC doesn't get you there.

There's no doubt the score ended up lopsided due to the weather delay. Tennessee used the extra break to make some additional adjustments and effectively came out once the game resumed and cruised to victory. BG still managed to put up over 500 yards and score 30 on an SEC school and people took notice. For comparison, Oklahoma only managed to score 17 on UT in regulation time. BG has garnered a lot of props from the game and I'd be willing to bet that's the most yards UT allows in a game this season.

Going undefeated in the MAC isn't going to solve anything. Playing other G5 schools out of conference is only going to water down your schedule and make you look less attractive in the mind of the playoff committee. Look no further than Marshall last year who barely got into the top 25 after going 12-0 (and beating no one) then losing it all in the CUSA title game. I'd much rather risk a loss against a national power than playing the Idaho's and New Mexico's of the world. The Sun Belt commissioner is an idiot for suggesting something like that because his conference simply isn't good enough to have an undefeated member be considered for the access bowl. Yeah, you might luck out one year and play some G5 schools (like Memphis) which are having an up year, but it's simply not realistic.

I don't buy that going undefeated will increase donations. Win conference championships. Beat your rival. Take down a P5 school in their backyard. People notice that, not that you went 12-0 against a bunch of no-names. There's been an uptick in Falcon Club donations recently and I'd wager a lot of that has to do with going to the conference championship back-to-back seasons and beating a B1G opponent in your own stadium.

[hammb]

But it wasn't close. We lost by 29 on a 22 point spread. What national publicity did we get out of it? That we hung around for a while? Big whoop. Babers himself said that the defense is at least a week behind in their development because they couldn't base anything off the Tennessee game due to their overwhelming physical superiority. The game was a mistake and $1.2 million doesn't make it less of a mistake because we chose to hit ourselves in the head instead of waiting for a random block of concrete to do it. One error doesn't justify another. And playing Bumblefuck U. isn't so bad when you're already playing two Big 10 teams on the road and the best Group of 5 team in America.

Want positive press? Want donations to roll in? Listen to what the Sun Belt Commissioner said and go undefeated. Playing teams favored to win the SEC doesn't get you there.

I really don't wanna get back into this stupid ass conversation, but I feel you could not possibly be more wrong.

Hell I've had more casual fans asking me about how well we put up points against Tennessee (and beat Maryland) than a single mention of the fact we lost to Memphis (who is quite likely better than MD, and maybe not far behind UT).

I would bet of the 21k reported attendance for that Memphis game at least 3k of those people were because we beat MD and played UT tough. The game was FAR closer than the score finished up and anybody that doesn't think that didn't pay attention.

Going undefeated against a crap schedule is less than meaningless. It'll get you into some conversations, all right. Conversations about how we don't deserve to be anywhere because we played s**t schools. Hell OSU is hearing it and they had the consensus best team in the country this year. Their OOC schedule sucks and the Big10 has gotten mediocre...and they are hearing it non stop. You think BG is gonna get into any legit conversations about anything (from BG fans or otherwise) by beating up on crap schools from the Sunbelt or 1AA? Screw that.

AFAIC the only thing preventing this from being the best OOC schedule we've played in years is the fact that we didn't get another home game. But I'd much rather play UT on the road than directional A&M at home

[mscarn]

First off, I think you'll admit a handful of comments from fans doesn't really mean anything in terms of substantiating an argument, and thinking such a large portion of the 21k was based in part on a lost game by 29 is similarly speculative at best. I'm speculating too of course, and I'd argue that people want to see their team win and the opinions of the OSU crowd that happened to have caught the Tennessee results on a scroll are irrelevant and come from a cohort (causal national college football fan) that is not our potential donor base to begin with.

Second, our schedule without Tennessee is the furthest thing from crap. It includes two Big 10 teams on the road and the best Group of 5 team in America. The notion that we needed Tennessee to put us over the top in an argument on who deserves the G5 bowl slot is mistaken. Winning gets you there. When NIU went to the Fiesta Bowl they lost to Iowa and beat Kansas, Tennessee-Martin and Army. They got attention because they won, not because of who they beat.

OSU "hearing it" about their schedule is just that. Noise. If they go undefeated or even go 11-1 they'll be in just like last year, everyone knows it and that's probably why they're angry. If polling history has proven anything it's that all that matters is the final record.

[Flipper]

We aren't OSU...NIU also beat Toledo and Kent state on national TV...maybe the win over Tennessee Martin didn't HURT them, but your argument has been that a win over some directional, never heard of them for God's sake where are they from FCS school would HELP us...that it would somehow spur alumni interest etc... Contrary tot he opinions of TU Rockette grads...our fans aren't stupid. They know a win over Podunk U is meaningless...it's a gimmie and it says absolutely nothing about our team other than we can beat a team that doesn't belong on the field with us. Whoop-de-fricking doo, we beat a team that had no hope of competing with us. Ma...get me my check book, I'm a kajillion dollar check to the University

[jpfalcon09]

First off, I think you'll admit a handful of comments from fans doesn't really mean anything in terms of substantiating an argument, and thinking such a large portion of the 21k was based in part on a lost game by 29 is similarly speculative at best. I'm speculating too of course, and I'd argue that people want to see their team win and the opinions of the OSU crowd that happened to have caught the Tennessee results on a scroll are irrelevant and come from a cohort (causal national college football fan) that is not our potential donor base to begin with.

Second, our schedule without Tennessee is the furthest thing from crap. It includes two Big 10 teams on the road and the best Group of 5 team in America. The notion that we needed Tennessee to put us over the top in an argument on who deserves the G5 bowl slot is mistaken. Winning gets you there. When NIU went to the Fiesta Bowl they lost to Iowa and beat Kansas, Tennessee-Martin and Army. They got attention because they won, not because of who they beat.

OSU "hearing it" about their schedule is just that. Noise. If they go undefeated or even go 11-1 they'll be in just like last year, everyone knows it and that's probably why they're angry. If polling history has proven anything it's that all that matters is the final record.

Relentless!

The schedule was mediocre at best without Tennessee on it. The B1G sucks and Maryland and Purdue would end up being middle of the pack MAC teams this season. NIU went to the Fiesta Bowl that year thanks to the computer rankings associated with the BCS, had it been the human system we have now they likely would've been nowhere close to the ranking they ended up with. They also lucked out in defeating a ranked Kent State team in the MACC.

As far as OSU, they are where they are because of the perception of their talent and last year's results. Their non-conference slate sucks and the B1G sucks along with it. The only team they'll play this year with any substance will be Michigan State. They're #1 because of who they are and what they've done, which is exactly what the NCAA and playoff committee wanted when they established this system, brand name recognition.

Plain and simple, Bowling Green and in particular Matt Johnson wouldn't be receiving the attention they are had they put up gaudy numbers against FCS opponents and crappy G5 teams, no one would care.

[thewebboy]

Do we keep forgetting we had a cupcake scheduled and they backed out?

This was the best we could do on short notice.

Get over it ... moving on.

[kdog27]

Do we keep forgetting we had a cupcake scheduled and they backed out?

This was the best we could do on short notice.

Get over it ... moving on.

mscarn has been complaining about it for what 7 months? He's not going let you forget how bad of an idea it was now that the game is over.

...So the defense is a week behind because they played Tennessee? Well the same argument could be made if we played an FCS team that we dominated. I'd bet you learn more about what you have as a team playing a good SEC opponent but that is pointless speculation anyway.

[falcon83]

I don't get it. There really should not be a debate. The Tenn game was SO much better than playing Alcorn State (just an example) or any other little school. A game like that means nothing to anyone and would NEVER result in more donations. Also, what if we lose to the little guy? How will that go over with the big donors?

[gspointer]

5,600,000 for a facelift of a cracking decaying structure. Good luck selling that snake oil.