David Benedict Basically Blames Low Attendance on Us

[uconnphil2016]

I think the idea there is a big reckoning coming in the early 2020’s is a complete fantasy.

Plus if the P5 becomes the P4 it ain’t going to be the ACC that gets hurt. The length of their contract looked like negative before - it might be their biggest strength.

Even if it doesn't happen in the ACC, the Big 12 isn't gonna last. When the dominoes do fall, there will be a lot of teams who are better than Tulsa and Tulane that are on the outside looking in. I do believe we can find a better island of misfit toys in the future, even if it's just as geographically strange as the AAC. I'd take games versus Baylor and Kansas over ECU any day of the week.

 

[John]

Yep. Lots of moving parts in that mid 2020s reckoning and one of the biggest tools, the BTN money machine, has recently shown it too is not invincible (hello Comcast!).

The only potential game changer movers:
Oklahoma (leave its big fish - small pool home?)
Texas (leave and somehow learn to play nice with others?)
ND (becomes a full fledged ACC member?)

And the rest of us wait.

the ones standing on the wall right now are all AAC schools, right? (just curious)
Us
Cinn
Houston
Memphis
USF and/or UCF

I can't think of any others that are in a different conference that could realistically be considered.

 

[Exit 4]

the ones standing on the wall right now are all AAC schools, right? (just curious)
Us
Cinn
Houston
Memphis
USF and/or UCF

I can't think of any others that are in a different conference that could realistically be considered.

I think BYU, Colorado St and Boise St are other schools that could be considered in any B12 expansion discussions.....but the B12 will never get around to expanding because they can't agree on the choices. Plus, any new additions would probably need to accept AAC level of money (ie join in name and status only, but no bump up in revenues) because that next media contract is just not going to deliver.

 

[whaler11]

Even if it doesn't happen in the ACC, the Big 12 isn't gonna last. When the dominoes do fall, there will be a lot of teams who are better than Tulsa and Tulane that are on the outside looking in. I do believe we can find a better island of misfit toys in the future, even if it's just as geographically strange as the AAC. I'd take games versus Baylor and Kansas over ECU any day of the week.

I’m not convinced that the Big 12 is dead.

Unless you think conferences are going to start kicking schools out nobody is going to be able to afford to buy.

The Big 12 not being a bloated mess of geographic incoherence is a strength for them now. Since 2003 what schools have really been worth expanding for from an athletic perspective within the P5?

Who is better off athletically from having moved? Va Tech? A&M?

Every other move has been a cash grab - and there might not be any cash to grab.

If revenues start falling on a per school basis you’ll see how fast they circle the wagons. If BTN disappears from Comcast that is brutal for their model and doesn’t exactly bode well for the SEC and ACC - the Pac 12 network essentially has zero value already.

 

[blue93]

Lol the problem is that no one wants to go. I am the only UConn football fan that I know IRL and I went to UConn... No one I graudated with cares at all. Getting people to go to games is like pulling teeth

Believe me, I go through the same thing. That's the problem and sort of what I was getting at. I don't understand the opposition to spending one day of the fall tailgating and watching a football game to support the school. And more often than not, these are the first people to complain about how bad we are, how bad the conference is, etc... Those are the people AD Dave is targeting with the comments. Not us.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Believe me, I go through the same thing. That's the problem and sort of what I was getting at. I don't understand the opposition to spending one day of the fall tailgating and watching a football game to support the school. And more often than not, these are the first people to complain about how bad we are, how bad the conference is, etc... Those are the people AD Dave is targeting with the comments. Not us.

You couldn't pay students to go in. I always ask my friends with younger siblings who go to UConn if they ever go to the football games. Almost all of them say that they go to the field and tailgate and then leave, usually without ever stepping foot in the stadium. It's amazing really. I've never heard a single person respond that they go and watch the games. Staying for even half of the game is basically unheard of.

 

[John]

We start winning and competing for championships in the AAC attendance will turn around. That’s the only solution for right now that’s somewhat within our control.

We are coming off 7 seasons of awful football. I’m as die hard a fan as they come and I love the game atmosphere, but there have been games when I asked myself why I bothered. There may not have been worse back to back hires than P and Diaco in all of college football and we’re now paying the price.

Edsall will right the ship, but this team is young and there will be more pain to endure.

"I asked myself why I bothered" - that thought crosses my mind a lot too. When I buy season tickets. When I'm at a game. I just miss the buzz in the stadium and around the program. Dead horse beating, but I also miss seeing opponents that I care about.

 

[History Geek]

Welp, it worked on me. In the past, I've taken big groups to single games, bought individual tickets on my own, accepted last minute invitations to take a friend's unused season ticket, and gone to homecoming games with my fraternity. I never pulled the trigger on season tickets because I can't make every game. I woke up today a changed man. I called this morning and now have four season tickets. Splitting with my brother-in-law. We will go to two games together with +1s and then each "own" two out of the remaining four games. I feel all warm and toasty inside.

 

[Adios]

I don't read it that way. I've said it many times - running an FCS program isn't free either, and football isn't going away.

At the end of the day we need players - and if recruits see an empty stadium I'm not sure why they would want to come and play for us.

It is possible to return some of the Big East buzz, but the team has to start winning. If UConn was getting weeks ranked, attendance would probably average above 30k.

 

[UConnNick]

I agree with Benedict regarding fan loyalty, however I'm afraid he's suffering from a lack of understanding about how things have been and are regarding CFB in New England.

When the Ivy League schools elected to de-emphasize football in the mid-1950's, big time CFB vanished from New England altogether, except for BS College, which nobody outside a 50 mile radius of Boston has ever cared about.

Benedict is up against a total culture and entire region of the country where basketball is No. 1 and football is a very distant second. Worse yet, pro sports always trump college sports. This isn't Auburn, AL where football and Auburn are the only game in town. You're stuck between two major cities within easy driving distance, and fall weekends in NE offer the last nice weather for outdoor activities before five months of snow and ice.

Add to that seven straight losing seasons and we are where we are. He's finding out the hard way that CFB in New England is an extremely tough sell.

 

[BugsyCT]

Face it - even for the diehards, the games the last several years have been too painful to sit through. That plus the CR fallout has left a dark cloud over the program. It takes its toll.

There's no way the casuals are coming back for any of that until they start winning.

 

[whaler11]

Dead man walking

Larry Scott says Pac-12 Networks have no DirecTV progress, U-Verse might drop them

 

[Chin Diesel]

I get what he’s trying to say. At Auburn for example, the fans don’t abandon the team in an off year. Going to games is essential. It’s mandatory for them. Even at schools like Miss State. When Michigan was bad they still packed a 100k stadium. He wants to create that kind of culture.

A. He can’t. It won’t happen in Connecticut
B. Those schools always have hope and are always playing interesting opponents

I think in a different league, with at least a chance of success each year, the Rent would be full.

I'll call BS.

When Auburn crapped the bed under Chizik they'd have 30k+ empty seats. UF had the same for a few years where you'd have 20k+ empty seats.

Difference is they still had 60k in seats and could ramp up to sellouts with a 2 game winning streak.

 

[JMick]

Dead man walking

Larry Scott says Pac-12 Networks have no DirecTV progress, U-Verse might drop them

Good. Blow up all the conferences and regionalize them again. It's the best thing that can happen to us.

 

[Palatine]

Benedict should do anything he thinks will increase attendance including blaming us.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'll call BS.

When Auburn crapped the bed under Chizik they'd have 30k+ empty seats. UF had the same for a few years where you'd have 20k+ empty seats.

Difference is they still had 60k in seats and could ramp up to sellouts with a 2 game winning streak.

And Michigan? Michigan Football Attendance

Florida won 4 games last year and put 84k+ in the seats every game. Capacity 89k

Auburn 2015 won 2 SEC games. Sold out every game but one, and that was just a couple thousand shy.

You can pick holes in it in a given year perhaps, but those schools have pretty loyal fans. Even when they aren't great.

 

[uconnphil2016]

I'll call BS.

When Auburn crapped the bed under Chizik they'd have 30k+ empty seats. UF had the same for a few years where you'd have 20k+ empty seats.

Difference is they still had 60k in seats and could ramp up to sellouts with a 2 game winning streak.

Tennessee has been the same way the past couple of years

 

[uconnphil2016]

David Benedict is trying, but he doesn't understand the UConn fanbase - A Dime Back

 

[champs99and04]

Fan support is inextricable from the product, and vice versa. We have this debate a few times every year and the answer hasn't changed. People should control what they can control - that means attending games and getting as many other people as possible to stop feeling sorry for themselves. @blue93 put it well - football is football. Having an FBS program is a privilege, even if it sucks. These are great players and some are future pros. I just can't subscribe to this mob mentality where everything has to be either the coolest thing ever or not worth investing a second in. If you have something better to do than attend a UConn football game, good for you. That doesn't mean everyone else needs to stay home and be miserable. If you can't enjoy an FBS football game, any FBS football game at all, then I question how much you like football and I question whether there's any originality in you at all.

And I know people don't want to hear it when I talk about how stuff like this relates to the KO debacle, and how that relates to the NCAA's monopoly, and how that relates to the inevitable crater that conference realignment has caused...

But it's all tied together. Benedict did what he did there for the same reason he's saying these things now - he doesn't believe in the fan base. It's stupid for any of us to take that personally, but he's right. I know, I know...there are a bunch of schools in power conferences with lesser fan bases, but it doesn't change the fact that we're playing ECU because of the fan base as much the base is apathetic because of ECU. Some level of directive needs to be taken by the actual leaders of this fanbase if perception is going to change. They had a chance on KO and they passed, I suspect the same will hold true here.

 

[Milo65]

I get what he’s trying to say. At Auburn for example, the fans don’t abandon the team in an off year. Going to games is essential. It’s mandatory for them. Even at schools like Miss State. When Michigan was bad they still packed a 100k stadium. He wants to create that kind of culture.

A. He can’t. It won’t happen in Connecticut
B. Those schools always have hope and are always playing interesting opponents

I think in a different league, with at least a chance of success each year, the Rent would be full.

Agreed...Think about the SEC and Big Ten history. If you're a Vandy or Kentucky fan and your team is playing Bama, Tennessee, or Georgia, do you think even though your team is horrible, that the place wouldn't be packed? Of course it would. Now replace Bama, Tennessee, and Georgia with Tulsa, Temple, and ECU and ask yourself it the stadiums would be packed regularly. Bottom line, if we win, we will get the crowds back and that goes for any team in the American. Even UCF had empty stadiums a few years ago.

I still go, I will always go, but I was able to get +10 for the Missouri game last year and I doubt I'm ever getting those casual fans back. The tailgate was great, the game, not so much.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Fan support is inextricable from the product, and vice versa. We have this debate a few times every year and the answer hasn't changed. People should control what they can control - that means attending games and getting as many other people as possible to stop feeling sorry for themselves. @blue93 put it well - football is football. Having an FBS program is a privilege, even if it sucks. These are great players and some are future pros. I just can't subscribe to this mob mentality where everything has to be either the coolest thing ever or not worth investing a second in. If you have something better to do than attend a UConn football game, good for you. That doesn't mean everyone else needs to stay home and be miserable. If you can't enjoy an FBS football game, any FBS football game at all, then I question how much you like football and I question whether there's any originality in you at all.

And I know people don't want to hear it when I talk about how stuff like this relates to the KO debacle, and how that relates to the NCAA's monopoly, and how that relates to the inevitable crater that conference realignment has caused...

But it's all tied together. Benedict did what he did there for the same reason he's saying these things now - he doesn't believe in the fan base. It's stupid for any of us to take that personally, but he's right. I know, I know...there are a bunch of schools in power conferences with lesser fan bases, but it doesn't change the fact that we're playing ECU because of the fan base as much the base is apathetic because of ECU. Some level of directive needs to be taken by the actual leaders of this fanbase if perception is going to change. They had a chance on KO and they passed, I suspect the same will hold true here.

The school can't expect to sell the FBS experience as one based out of an obligation to support a garbage product. It's not a charity and aside from the hundred or so of us that post on here consistently, most people simply just don't care that much. And that's fine.

The idea the administration - which is way more responsible for this mess than the people paying money to sit through yearly debacles - calling the fans to task is pretty bush league.

I think the fan base for basketball should be ashamed for the AAC Tournament showing we had two years ago - that was a true low point for me.

But the football fan base? What do you possibly expect?

 

[Scrutiner]

Yeah, I'd say he broke a cardinal rule. You never disparage your own fanbase, at least not publicly.

The biggest average attendance drop at PAWS-ARF before last season's precipitous drop of about 6k came between 2012 and 2013, at about 4k. There's your referendum on the difference between playing in a BCS league against relevant regional opponents vs. being thrown into the almost all commuter school G5 conference.

Seven straight seasons of losing football is going to erode almost any fanbase to some extent, especially at a school late to big time CFB with limited history at this level. We've now lost about 33 percent of our hardcore local fanbase, judging solely by home attendance figures.

I get that coming from a PAC12/SEC background, Benedict is frustrated with the economics, but you just can't say stuff like this publicly. It also suggests that based on current numbers, he's already expecting this season may be even worse.

Great point about the drop the first year after the Big East.

 

[ScottBonz]

I get what he’s trying to say. At Auburn for example, the fans don’t abandon the team in an off year. Going to games is essential. It’s mandatory for them. Even at schools like Miss State. When Michigan was bad they still packed a 100k stadium. He wants to create that kind of culture.

A. He can’t. It won’t happen in Connecticut
B. Those schools always have hope and are always playing interesting opponents

I think in a different league, with at least a chance of success each year, the Rent would be full.

I think this is BS. None of the schools he is talking about have ever had long stretches like this where they kept all their fans. You're telling me that Auburn wins 3 games per year for 10 years and they still sell out every game?

 

[ASweet3781]

Face it - even for the diehards, the games the last several years have been too painful to sit through. That plus the CR fallout has left a dark cloud over the program. It takes its toll.

There's no way the casuals are coming back for any of that until they start winning.

It really is just as simple as this. What was done to us in conference realignment would be tough to overcome alone. Combined with P and Diaco obliterating the program to the point we had no business being on the same field as mid level Power 5 like Missouri and BC means the only thing bringing fans back is optimism that comes from winning games. That's it. No need to analyze any further.

 

[Exit 4]

This has been posted before:
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/Attendance/2017.pdf

AAC Average Attendance: 28,669, down 2,942 per game vs 2016.

UConn Avg: 20,335

other averages above us:
SEC - 75,074
B1G - 66,227
B12 - 56,852
Pac 12 - 49,601
ACC - 48,442

and those below:
MtnWest - 24,963
ConUSA - 19,248
Sun Belt - 17,843
Mid American - 15,394

Non P5 notables:
BYU 56,267
FIU: 14,286
FAU: 18,948
UMass: 10,707
Colorado St: 32,062
Army: 30,924
Buffalo: 13,350
Rice: 19,354
N. Texas: 22,362
Hawaii: 24,244
UAB: 26,375
Troy: 24,456

AAC By School: - avg 28,669
UCF: 36,846
ECU: 36,727
Memphis: 36,302
Navy: 34,950
Houston: 32,583
USF: 31,401
Cincy: 28,434
Temple: 27,318
UConn: 20,335
SMU: 19,944
Tulane: 18,459
Tulane: 16,939

Other Northeast Programs/Closest P5 Programs:
Penn St: 106,707
Virginia Tech: 63,214
WV: 55,946
Rutty: 39,749
Maryland: 39,643
Virginia: 39,398
Pitt: 36,295
BC: 35,924
Syracuse: 33,929