Everyone at UCONN involved with FB needs to read this

[SubbaBub]

http://johnubacon.com/2014/06/the-r...ers-are-bailing-on-michigan-football-tickets/

 

[Palatine]

Good find. This is right on.

The differentiator is that while college sports must use business principles they cannot be run as businesses. College sports exist to keep alumni connected to the school and to make a connection between the school and the general public. They need to promote good will. Generating a profit is important but it is not the goal. When a school loses sight of that, they start to lose the appeal of the programs.

Yes, TV and mobile devices have to be dealt with, so games must offer a special experience, ruining that experience by nickel and dime-ing fans to death is counter productive.

 

[RioDog]

Great read. Thanks for posting the link.

Bacon described exactly why I love and follow College sports, and the trends he describes at MI are sad. Sometimes students ask me why they should study history. I tell them that if they lose their connection with the past, they are simply lost. Traditions, such as those in college sports are the same. College football is losing its way, becoming just another garish media money-maker. I think Bacon is correct in statimg that greed, not scandal, will do the most damage.

 

[SubbaBub]

The moral of this story as I see it, is to fill the building by doing whatever it takes to make people want to be there.

Warde should post that above his door.

He should also pass along my annual request for the band to up its game. And make the Dog Pound and official student organization with sponsors and the like.

Another new idea. Why doesn't UCONN have a permanent stage or other gathering area setup at the Rent. Lots of ways it could be used.

 

[whaler11]

Well UConn was way ahead of Michigan in one respect. They have been treating the fans as ATMs for a long time now.

 

[CTMike]

Whatever the total cost of attending a game is - factoring tickets, parking, basic concessions... Even the opponent... Everything should be priced to facilitate a sellout, not to milk people for all they are worth. If you aren't selling out you are priced wrong.

 

[whaler11]

While the Big 10s expansion is great for the network revenues...

App St
Miami Oh
Utah
Minnesota
Maryland
Indiana
Penn State


... that's brutally bad to sell tickets at what they charge.

To get a Penn State ticket you need to get a three game pack that includes Miami. Penn State is $95 and that puts you in the 94th row in the end zone. Miami is another $40 and I picked Utah which was $70.

 

[SubbaBub]

I can handle the 9 dollar beer and the $15 parking, but the comparison to going to the movies made in the article is right on. It needs to feel more than that. Worth the 8+ hours on GameDay and the 2-3 more spent prepping.

CFB is competing with TV, and it's losing.

I'm not a big fan of value pricing for sports events. Where do all those Miami OH tickets end up? Unused or on Stubhub for $5. Used to increase season ticket sales, fine. Packages, Ok.

If they are going to do that, just put them on Stubhub directly. Sell the PA game for $150 and Miami for $10 and hope you fill it that way.

 

[whaler11]

There is literally nothing worse on the planet than the advertisements in stadium.

Anything where people are shaking their membership card to a grocery store or AAA is generally the worst.

Although there is a certain extra embarrassment at Rentschler when you win the Subway row you get a buy one get one free coupon.

 

[John]

http://johnubacon.com/2014/06/the-r...ers-are-bailing-on-michigan-football-tickets/

the comments section is great reading. Many sound like UConn fans.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Best line in the article:

"Treat your fans like customers long enough, and eventually they’ll start behaving that way, reducing their irrational love for their team to a cool-headed, dollars-and-cents decision to buy tickets or not, with no more emotional investment than deciding whether to go to the movies."

 

[Palatine]

The stadium experience also needs improve. Many stadiums do not show controversial replays. That is really cheating the fans in the stands. It make the stadium experience less than the home TV experience.

 

[Husky25]

There is literally nothing worse on the planet than the advertisements in stadium.

Anything where people are shaking their membership card to a grocery store or AAA is generally the worst.

Although there is a certain extra embarrassment at Rentschler when you win the Subway row you get a buy one get one free coupon.

I think there is a difference between the PA announcer doing a live read for Lynch Toyota and having 2nd down sponsored by Moo Burger.

There is literally nothing else going on when that little man in the red shirt steps on the field.

The Subway row is 100% worthless to me, seeing as my fundamental aversion to Subway has been firmly in place since 2006.

 

[Ha Who]

Whatever the total cost of attending a game is - factoring tickets, parking, basic concessions... Even the opponent... Everything should be priced to facilitate a sellout, not to milk people for all they are worth. If you aren't selling out you are priced wrong.

You nailed it. I have been saying for years UCONN should either lower prices or at a certain point distribute the tickets to youth groups

 

[noeynox]

There Were A Couple Of Old School Towson Guys In My Section Last Year For That Game. They Kept Commenting How They Had,Never Been To A Game With So Many Advertisements And Promotions.

 

[Afroabe224]

While the Big 10s expansion is great for the network revenues...

App St
Miami Oh
Utah
Minnesota
Maryland
Indiana
Penn State


... that's brutally bad to sell tickets at what they charge.

To get a Penn State ticket you need to get a three game pack that includes Miami. Penn State is $95 and that puts you in the 94th row in the end zone. Miami is another $40 and I picked Utah which was $70.

The real shocker to me is that the B1G broke up MSU/OSU on Michigan's home schedule (I thought premiere programs were supposed to be protected). The even years are going to suck for ticket sales but the odd years will be just as impossible to get as they have in the past. I love going to the Big House but that schedule is simply not worth it this year.

 

[Dooley]

The stadium experience also needs improve. Many stadiums do not show controversial replays. That is really cheating the fans in the stands. It make the stadium experience less than the home TV experience.

Here's another excellent point. When I'm at a game, I wish I was at home watching whenever there is a close and controversial play being reviewed. I can think of several plays that have happened at the Rent where I have very literally said to my friends at the game "I wish I was at home so I can see what happened":

- G Davis "TD" grab in the endzone vs. Michigan
- J Baldwin's TD grab for Pitt in the back of the end zone (the famous J Todman 4th and 1 game)
- UNC's game-winning safety for a holding call against UCONN in their own end zone
- Temple's 2-pt conversion call
- Larry Taylor's fair catch

There are much, much more plays that I wanted expanded replays on the scoreboard but didn't get it. Davis' grab was shown a few times but it was only one angle (the angle that the entire stadium thought it was an easy TD...my friend watching at home said the TV replay showed another angle where you could clearly see the ball hit the ground).

If you want to not penalize fans at the stadium vs. at home, showing expanded replays with multiple angles/looks is a great start.

 

[BlueMAB]

All these complaints about the advertisements etc, have some validity. But coupling them with complaints about being milked for money is odd.

Without them, we'd be paying more.

 

[TheJerk]

I think there is a difference between the PA announcer doing a live read for Lynch Toyota and having 2nd down sponsored by Moo Burger.

There is literally nothing else going on when that little man in the red shirt steps on the field.

The Subway row is 100% worthless to me, seeing as my fundamental aversion to Subway has been firmly in place since 2006.

People need to start imitating the guy in the red shirt during TV time outs. Makes for a great way to pass 2:02

 

[pepband99]

Here's another excellent point. When I'm at a game, I wish I was at home watching whenever there is a close and controversial play being reviewed. I can think of several plays that have happened at the Rent where I have very literally said to my friends at the game "I wish I was at home so I can see what happened":

- G Davis "TD" grab in the endzone vs. Michigan
- J Baldwin's TD grab for Pitt in the back of the end zone (the famous J Todman 4th and 1 game)
- UNC's game-winning safety for a holding call against UCONN in their own end zone
- Temple's 2-pt conversion call
- Larry Taylor's fair catch

10/31/09 - probably the most angry I've ever been at a sporting event. I'm *still* waiting for an angle that shows Mike Ryan's 2-pt conversion was a forward pass.

 

[CL82]

"Our biggest competitor is your 60" television.' This is why schools need to sell more than just watching the game. I my opinion, they need to sell the college experience.

 

[Waquoit]

“Just because you can charge them more,” Martin told me, “doesn’t mean you should. You’re not there to ring up the cash to the nth degree. It’s a nonprofit model!”

Lew Perkins never learned that. The horrible overpricing of FB tickets at the beginning hurt the growth of the program.

And the way he alienated long-time BB fans is still taking it's toll on that program today.

 

[whaler11]

All these complaints about the advertisements etc, have some validity. But coupling them with complaints about being milked for money is odd.

Without them, we'd be paying more.

Yes if the plan is to maximize each year's revenue then yes. If the goal is to maximize revenue in the long run not necessarily.

 

[BlueMAB]

Yes if the plan is to maximize each year's revenue then yes. If the goal is to maximize revenue in the long run not necessarily.

Can you elaborate? I think I understand your thinking, but I want to be sure.

 

[whaler11]

Can you elaborate? I think I understand your thinking, but I want to be sure.

It's much more complicated than this but for example:

If they sell 32k tickets on average with all the ingame advertising, if they gave that up for a season maybe they would sell 34k the following season.

Giving up 100k for the PC Richard whistle may mean Warde has to fly commercial - but it's an investment in building a passionate fanbase who actually want to come out for the experience.

People all over the country are making it pretty clear they don't like where the experience is going - not just college but across the professional ranks too.

The Yankees are currently cashing in with the revenue streams in the new stadium. That place sucks, I can't imagine going there on a regular basis. It's as though the game is an afterthought and the place exists merely to separate you from money.

At some point it's going to turn. The television contracts, holding up cities for stadiums, the pure unadulterated greed... I don't
know when exactly but the backlash is coming.

Just look at what the NFL demanded from Minnesota for a Super Bowl. It's laughable and it's pathetic that anyone would agree.