Ladies & Gentleman, BGSU Athletics...

[hammb]

OK, so I think we're all on equal footing regarding the on field product. It's garbage, and at this point you're only attending games because of A) habit, B) the band, or C) you just like to support the university regardless. All are fair reasons, no point in re-hashing it.

So I'll carry my complaining even further. And contrary to popular belief I do NOT like complaining about this sort of s**t. I want to come on and say the Department ran a fine event and we all had fun. But nope, of course not, because this is BGSU Athletics.

Let's see....

1) Buddy's daughters were skating at the ice arena in the morning and when they left (before noon), he noted that the lots were all blocked off. So it would appear, for the first time ever, the University is not allowing tailgating prior to 4hrs before kickoff? Seriously? I had to go to bgsufalcons.com and look up the Doyt FAQ to even find that was a rule. Who the hell limits tailgating to 4 hours, ESPECIALLY on a late afternoon/evening game. SO are we to believe that for homecoming you're not allowed to start tailgating before 1PM!?

WTF BGSU Athletics...

2) Thankfully, we did black swamp first so we didn't get to the lot prior to the 4hour limit on tailgating. We arrived about 1:30 and were somewhat shocked the lots were all empty. I paid my $10 and they told us we had to park in the Stroh center lot. Went up to the fork and was again directed into the Stroh lot. I said, no, we're meeting people over there. At this point they told me I could go that way, but only if I parked in the first lot next to Alumni drive. They seemed to be differentiating if I had pre-paid parking or not. The signs made no sense whatsoever saying something like "Prepaid Day Of Parking". I'm not sure what prepaid day of parking is, they seem to be contradictory terms, unless there was supposed to be an "OR" in there that got omitted to save printing costs.

Either way, I was not permitted to park in the area where we've always tailgated with the group. I checked the BGSU Falcons Doyt FAQ, and it does not differentiate saying certain lots are only for certain people other than A) the lot south of the stadium is for falcon club/season ticket holders, and B) RV overnight parking is for lot 24. It does appear from the current Doyt Football Parking map that lot 24 is reserved only for Falcon Club members above a certain level. So, they're going the way of basketball...that's cool. Leave a bunch of lots empty to enforce some artificial demand rather than simply let people go have fun and support the program. On the plus side, the shade trees alongside Alumni make that a pretty awesome spot.

Again, WTF BGSU Athletics...

3) While we were hanging in the lot I decided to order tickets to the game so we didn't have to wait in line at the box office. BGSUFalcons.com electronic ticketing site is offline and says it's undergoing maintenance. MAYBE their tech isn't good enough to sell tickets online when the box office is open, I don't know, but there was no mention of that I could see. Just an error telling me the ticketing site is down for maintenance.

WTF BGSU Athletics...

4) This one is minor, but to whoever runs the stadium audio. Go into your windows sound scheme and TURN OFF WINDOWS SOUNDS. Good god, how freaking annoying. They're playing audio all game long and there had to be 2 dozen "windows error" dings/beeps. C'mon...

[Flipper]

Once again...the issue isn't resources, it's competence. It's been that way for as long as I remember. Just go back to the halcyon days of the late 90's early 2000's when the game day experience was more of a catch as catch can free for all. They didn't do much for you...or even attempt to control traffic or clean restrooms and concessions, but they pretty much let you do whatever you wanted with regards to parking and sneaking stuff into the stadium

[mbenecke]

1) I'm very concerned about the 4-hour tailgating rule. I'm supposed to be setting up at between noon and 12:30 this week so some friends that are marching with the Alumni Band can eat with us during their lunch break. Now I have to worry that that won't even be possible? Seems ridiculous, to me. Especially for a 5pm kickoff. I'm not saying the lots need to be open at the stroke of midnight on Saturday morning, but why can't we be out there once the sun comes up for a noon game, and for lunch time for an evening game? At minimum, you should be allowed to set up by 11:00am for a 5:00pm kickoff, and maybe a little earlier for homecoming. I guess it's tough with staffing and whatnot to get folks to pay for parking, but still. Figure something out.

2) I also found the parking signage very confusing. Are you actually able to pay for parking beforehand? When we were driving in, nobody said a word to us. I had to waive down someone to take my money so I could park. I realistically could've just keep driving and it seemed like nobody would've said anything.

3) I've been trying to purchase a Recent Grad Flex Plan for about 3 weeks now, and I'm still not able to get in and do it. They at least had the courtesy to comp me some ticket to last Saturday's game because I couldn't get them online, but why is this stuff not functioning right now? We're in-season. You're losing so much business by not having those things available, it's maddening.

4) I also noticed the Windows sound and couldn't hep but just laugh. Very amateur production we have going on.

I'll add a point about the concession options at games - why do we have entire stands dedicated to different types of sausages, but not every stand is equipped to serve the basics like pizza, burgers, hot dogs, and nachos? And why did we sign a deal with Labatt of all beers, when you have to imagine that Bud/Bud Light, Miller, Busch, Coors, etc. would sell so much better in Northwest Ohio.

BG, we want to enjoy you. Please let us.

[roguewarrior]

I too was surprisingly redirected from the front lot where our Parents tailgate is. I pulled in anyway.

I was dumbfounded by the 100 person line for the concession stand, like in the middle of the 3rd, when there were 10 people working the stand. 4 on their phones and 1 taking orders. I especially liked the cheese burgers with no cheese.

I have been to every opposing stadium for 4 years worth of games, and I would rate ours the worst for game day experience and customer service. It’s not the kids, it’s who is in charge.

[jpfalcon09]

1)RVs who had parked early in the morning to tailgate were told to leave as well.

2)My season tickets weren't even available to download on the ticket site. I had to show the ticket scanner that they were present but unable to scan. I wasn't the only one from what the person scanning tickets said.

Worst gameday experience in FBS.

[roguewarrior]

I laugh every game when they go down to lead the student section in the Ay Ziggy chant and the Mic NEVER works. So Lame.

[hammb]

I get that they can't quite go back to the days where I'd sneak beers in my cargo shorts to every game. I'm sure there's no way we'd get away dropping a 5g bucket of Hairy Buffalo over the fence to scoop cups out of in the student section anymore (god those were the days!). But if you're going to crack down on things, do so on things that matter. And advertise your policies. Have the competence to enforce your policies.

The whole thing is, always has been, and until we get competent leadership always will be a clusterf***.

When you should be going out of your way to beg and plead people to actually show up to games, is it really a wise policy to put folks paying $10 in one lot, folks donating $120/yr to the FC in another lot, folks donating $250 to the FC in a 3rd lot, and folks donating $1000 to yet ANOTHER parking lot? Think about this. Kids are making jack to take parking dollars and THIS is what they have to not only concern themselves with, but also try to communicate it (and it was very poorly done) to the people paying to park? It makes absolutely zero sense. This is not Ohio State. The lots are not overrun. There is no inherent advantage to parking in one lot or another. Why are you forcing people to hang out with different people based on their donation level...or whether or not they slept in their RV. I'm sure somewhere somebody thought this was a great and easy parking plan, but in a place where the only plan that makes any sense is, "If you've got $10 welcome to our lot" WTF....

But of all things, of ALL THINGS, Why do they make it impossible to actually GIVE THEM OUR MONEY? Is there a single justifiable reason why I can't buy a freaking ticket online on gameday? If the site truly was 'down for maintenance" how in the hell do you grant a gameday afternoon maintenance window!? I'm in IT. This was akin to me telling a CEO that we decided to reboot the CPA's server at noon on April 14th....

The concession stand I visited was entirely run by team members from the Lourde's baseball team. They said they handle a couple stands and it was a fundraiser for them. Nice kids, I gave them a couple extra bucks tip. I went down after the band finished their halftime show and the line was minimal and moved quickly. Of course this was a West Side stand and nothing was really made to order. IT was chips/pretzels/peanuts/soda/beer and I think maybe they had wrapped up hotdogs in the warmer things. Still, line was minimal even during halftime and the service was good. I was happy for that. Of course, by letting your concessions be a fundraiser for local groups you're putting your experience at their mercy, which we've seen over the years can be hit or miss.

I just know that when we visit the local HS games (Anthony Wayne) the entire operation from parking, concessions, ticketing (entirely online!), and audio are all done with more professionalism and attention to detail. That should not be happening.

[hammb]

1)RVs who had parked early in the morning to tailgate were told to leave as well.

2)My season tickets weren't even available to download on the ticket site. I had to show the ticket scanner that they were present but unable to scan. I wasn't the only one from what the person scanning tickets said.

Worst gameday experience in FBS.

This is embarrassing, BGSU.

I fully understand trying to win at the FBS level with our budget is impossible. But this shouldn't be happening. The very least you can do is actually try to show the handful of us still showing up a good time. When HS teams get this stuff right I refuse to believe it is THAT difficult to achieve.

[kdog27]

I have season tickets to UAB. Similar school to us, have to compete with Alabama, Auburn and the rest of the SEC as opposed to OSU, Michigan and the Big Ten for BG. Amazing new stadium and great atmosphere all around. Even when they were playing at the old dungeon of Legion Field it was a way better operation than BG. I haven’t been to a home BG game in years sadly but I know it never came close to this. It sounds like it only gets worse every year and game instead of learning from past mistakes and correcting them.

[jpfalcon09]

It was the beginning of the end when they stopped people from bringing in Tootsie Rolls. Ever since then it's progressively deteriorated into an absolute horrid experience. Even my dad who honestly can't remember anything knows how terrible the experience is. Boggles the mind how long they've allowed it to persist.

[bgsumepley]

has anyone ever brought this up to the AD or even Rodney? Im curious what and how they would answer it. or anyone in athletics even?

[hammb]

has anyone ever brought this up to the AD or even Rodney? Im curious what and how they would answer it. or anyone in athletics even?

We don't currently have an AD and no point forwarding to the interim as I wouldn't expect an interim to make any real changes. I did forward a link to this thread to the folks that are listed by the University in the Office of the President. I'm sure President Rogers has better things to worry about than parking at the tailgating lots, but I wanted the office to know that this is something worth considering and bringing up as they search for a new Athletic Director.

[FalconTurf]

The ticketing problems are a continuing problem that frustrates me. Nowhere else do I have these problems. High schools have better systems in my experience.

Tailgating acts like advertisement for an event. Why limit it, let those driving by know this is where you want to go.

[Schadenfreude]

I've seen Bowling Green play in more than 25 different football stadiums. I've never encountered worse food concessions than in Perry Stadium, and it isn't really close.

I haven't been back to Bowling Green in several years, so perhaps things have improved slightly. I know the university was experimenting with food trucks around the inside of the fence. That seemed like a step in the right direction. But the food trucks aside, the concessions seem high school quality, and probably the worst in Division I (even with the food trucks).

The concessions have been so consistently bad for so long in Perry Stadium that I wonder if there are some fundamental challenges that transcend department leadership. Does the stadium's architecture inhibit good food service in some way, I wonder?

I have no idea. But there is vast room for improvement here.

[2006Grad]

As of 2 hours before the game, the ticket windows on the east side of the stadium were not selling tickets. A person was literally being paid to sit in the booth and show people a map to the ticket windows on the west side of the stadium.