Is football really king?

[Georgestarr7]

It seems through all the threads relating to the conference realignments that we accept that football rules the roost. I agree that it does...now. However I wonder if others share my suspicion that in the near future football may not be the play-maker. From my perspective the interest in the FB bowl games is nowhere what it was 30 years ago while the interest in the BB NCAA playoffs has grown exponentially in the same time frame. I believe the TV exposure of college BB is growing as its market grows as I believe that people are realizing that BB is more fun to watch on the tube. To me that reads that significantly more revenue will be coming in from BB in the future, something that should weigh in consideration of conference alignment.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Football is still king of all College Athletic Sports for most BCS Conference Schools. As long as football is able to sell out stadiums and ESPN and the major networks are willing to spend millions in telecast rights it will continue. I agree the Bowl games don't draw as much interest as there are too many of them and they're too spread out on the calendar.

I wonder though at schools like Duke, Kentucky, UConn and perhaps some others that are in a BCS conference if Men's Basketball isn't more popular. However, at schools the regularly sell out stadiums that seat greater than 60,000, football is King.

 

[BlueMAB]

Since when does the interest in the Beef O'Brady's bowl determine the long term value of college football to television execs?

 

[NCorBust]

It seems through all the threads relating to the conference realignments that we accept that football rules the roost. I agree that it does...now. However I wonder if others share my suspicion that in the near future football may not be the play-maker.

Football was, is, and always will be king. Never doubt it!

 

[ctchamps]

It seems through all the threads relating to the conference realignments that we accept that football rules the roost. I agree that it does...now. However I wonder if others share my suspicion that in the near future football may not be the play-maker.

Football was, is, and always will be king. Never doubt it!

You could be correct. Do you have data that supports this? I thought baseball was king in the past.
Didn't Formula 1 have more US viewership than NASCAR fifty years ago? And isn't that trend reversing?

 

[vtcwbuff]

Somewhere, long ago, there was a thread that included a breakdown of athletic revenues for UConn. Reading that thread would remove all doubt about who is the money maker at UConn.

The reality is that women's sports aren't even part of the equation. Football drives the bus and men's basketball has a front seat. All the other college sports are just holding on to the rear bumper.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

I'm guessing that most of those who believe that basketball will surpass
football in fan interest must have grown up in the northeast.

I doubt that many folks who grew up in the south, the midwest, the great
plains, or the southern plains would ever entertain such a notion.

 

[NCorBust]

You could be correct. Do you have data that supports this? I thought baseball was king in the past.
Didn't Formula 1 have more US viewership than NASCAR fifty years ago? And isn't that trend reversing?

The gist of this thread is college football and college basketball. But if you want the KING of all sports then it has to football as in soccer. Why stop at USA viewership? I must admit my wonderment at why anyone would watch cars go around and around. Watching water boil has the same entertainment value for me. I grew up in an area where stock car racing was the high pole in tent. But it seems most everyone went to get drunk, fight, and "socialize."

 

[sherwood4459]

Before someone says no way to Soccer in the US, looking at the projected population increases in the Hispanic community with roots in Central and South America. For them Football(Soccer) is King, Queen, Crown Prince and the whole d*mn Royal Court.

 

[DaddyChoc]

$20.00 apiece from 40,000 (5games) or $20.00 from 10,000 (12 games) = UConn Prices

imagine what a 80,000 stadium brings in

 

[Icebear]

$20.00 apiece from 40,000 (5games) or $20.00 from 10,000 (12 games) = UConn Prices

imagine what a 80,000 stadium brings in

Penn State = $55.00 and up from 100,000 plus for football for 7 games or about $38,500,000 plus $10 parking and concessions. Penn State football revenue before expenses is about $70 million and about 45-50 million in profit. That is the value of Big Ten football.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Penn State = $55.00 and up from 100,000 plus for football for 7 games or about 38,500,000 plus $10 parking and concessions. That is the value of Big Ten football.

exactly

 

[connboy77]

I can see big time football teams like Penn State, Mich., lsu, Notre Dame, etc. making alot of money, but teams like UCONN, Duke, and North Carolina are small potatoes. At UCONN basketball is king, both men's and women's teams.

 

[zls44]

I can see big time football teams like Penn State, Mich., lsu, Notre Dame, etc. making alot of money, but teams like UCONN, Duke, and North Carolina are small potatoes. At UCONN basketball is king, both men's and women's teams.

Among the fanbase? Yes.
Making money, from here onward? Not a chance in hades.

Football makes more money, almost everywhere. It's easier to make and lose big in football. Here is the amount of revenue generated (pre expenses) by the two sports at "basketball schools".

UNC: $22 million for Football, $20 million for Men's Basketball
Duke: $16 million for Football (without any effort at all), $26 million for Men's Basketball
UCLA: $22 million for Football, $12 million for Men's Basketball
Kentucky: $32 million for Football, $17 million for Men's Basketball
Indiana: $22 million for Football, $17 million for Men's Basketball
UConn: $14.4 million for Football, $7 million for Men's Basketball

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2011/09/01/college-football-elite-spend-to-win.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/sportsm...generate-the-most-college-basketball-revenue/

 

[johnhuskies95]

$20.00 apiece from 40,000 (5games) or $20.00 from 10,000 (12 games) = UConn Prices

imagine what a 80,000 stadium brings in

UConn almost always plays at least 7 home games a year.

 

[vtcwbuff]

I can see big time football teams like Penn State, Mich., lsu, Notre Dame, etc. making alot of money, but teams like UCONN, Duke, and North Carolina are small potatoes. At UCONN basketball is king, both men's and women's teams.

Not exactly true - According to the UConn 2010 financial report football generated more than $12 million in revenue followed by bball $7.7 and wbb $4.9 million. That may have changed with the departure of Edsell. The only revenue category where wbb generated more revenue was in TV rights.

 

[Georgestarr7]

I think that everyone agrees that football is the big money-maker and has been since big money began to be associated with college sports. However my concern comes from a disjoint I see between these mega-conferences being set up around the big FB bucks and the demographic/economic trend I see away from college football to college basketball. In terms of attendance at games a friend recently pointed out that the ticket sales at any venue are largely wiped out by the overhead of that venue. As Mr. Steinbrenner put forth, the money is in the media. To my thinking college BB is just being discovered by the mass media. It, as well as soccer, is more exciting to watch on TV than football; it occurs at a time of day and time of year when the audience is available to the screen; and, and, the profits from the TV market come with very little overhead. If ND started its own sports network I think it would be picked up worldwide based on it's fan base (including the cathederalites), and the big draw would be basketball.

 

[vtcwbuff]

" It, as well as soccer, is more exciting to watch on TV than football;"

A minority opinion in the US. Believe it or not, many people find soccer boring. I've heard the "Soccer is coming, Soccer is coming" chant for more than 50 years and it's still a 3rd rate pro sport in the US.

The New England Revolution attendance has averaged 15K over the span of it's existance. It started higher but then lagged mid decade dropping to 12K as fan interest waned. Last year's attendance was up but it's still far behind the Big 3 plus NASCAR if you consider that a sport.

 

[zls44]

" It, as well as soccer, is more exciting to watch on TV than football;"

A minority opinion in the US. Believe it or not, many people find soccer boring. I've heard the "Soccer is coming, Soccer is coming" chant for more than 50 years and it's still a 3rd rate pro sport in the US.

The New England Revolution attendance has averaged 15K over the span of it's existance. It started higher but then lagged mid decade dropping to 12K as fan interest waned. Last year's attendance was up but it's still far behind the Big 3 plus NASCAR if you consider that a sport.

Using the Revs for MLS attendance is like using the Expos for MLB attendance. They have the worst TV/stadium/team situation in the league.

What if I told you that an EPL game at 7:30 on a Saturday morning gets double the ratings of the WNBA Finals?

 

[ZooCougar]

In college sports, football is king. But that doesn't explain why the ACC added Pitt and SU, because surely they didn't add them for the football.

Soccer is here. The interest in the last 8 years has exploded. You can see EPL games on FOX and ESPN, you see the scores on the bottom of the screen. It's a growth sport that won't hit it's ceiling anytime soon.

Baseball is the sick man of the sports world in the US, as it should be, because baseball sucks. But that's just my opinion.

 

[ctchamps]

The gist of this thread is college football and college basketball. But if you want the KING of all sports then it has to football as in soccer. Why stop at USA viewership? I must admit my wonderment at why anyone would watch cars go around and around. Watching water boil has the same entertainment value for me. I grew up in an area where stock car racing was the high pole in tent. But it seems most everyone went to get drunk, fight, and "socialize."

Kind of where I was heading. Who knows, someday it will be the European football version in America. A friend of mine jokingly stated that the NFL was against illegal immigrants to protect its turf (pun intended). Anyways football is the number 1 for now and for the future but nothing is etched in stone.

 

[NCorBust]

I can see big time football teams like Penn State, Mich., lsu, Notre Dame, etc. making alot of money, but teams like UCONN, Duke, and North Carolina are small potatoes. At UCONN basketball is king, both men's and women's teams.

UCONN women's basketball loses money.

 

[ctchamps]

Among the fanbase? Yes.
Making money, from here onward? Not a chance in hades.

Football makes more money, almost everywhere. It's easier to make and lose big in football. Here is the amount of revenue generated (pre expenses) by the two sports at "basketball schools".

UNC: $22 million for Football, $20 million for Men's Basketball
Duke: $16 million for Football (without any effort at all), $26 million for Men's Basketball
UCLA: $22 million for Football, $12 million for Men's Basketball
Kentucky: $32 million for Football, $17 million for Men's Basketball
Indiana: $22 million for Football, $17 million for Men's Basketball
UConn: $14.4 million for Football, $7 million for Men's Basketball

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2011/09/01/college-football-elite-spend-to-win.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/sportsm...generate-the-most-college-basketball-revenue/

Put this post on the realignment board. The numbers for Texas are why they will not make concessions for LHN and why the B12 will implode.

 

[NCorBust]

I think that everyone agrees that football is the big money-maker and has been since big money began to be associated with college sports. However my concern comes from a disjoint I see between these mega-conferences being set up around the big FB bucks and the demographic/economic trend I see away from college football to college basketball. In terms of attendance at games a friend recently pointed out that the ticket sales at any venue are largely wiped out by the overhead of that venue. As Mr. Steinbrenner put forth, the money is in the media. To my thinking college BB is just being discovered by the mass media. It, as well as soccer, is more exciting to watch on TV than football; it occurs at a time of day and time of year when the audience is available to the screen; and, and, the profits from the TV market come with very little overhead. If ND started its own sports network I think it would be picked up worldwide based on it's fan base (including the cathederalites), and the big draw would be basketball.

I'd like to see the facts underlining what appears to be your friend's opinion. My undergraduate school reinstituted football mainly to atract alumni since football going alumni seem to donate more money. Also to make enough money to pay for Title 9 sports and lesser men's sports such as wrestling. I know they have no media contracts.

 

[Icebear]

UCONN women's basketball loses money.

It has made money most years until recently when attendance dropped. It was one of only two or three WCBB in the country that did so.