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Smock reviews the AAC and its capital improvements

TheGreenhouseEffect said:
from a scheduling perspective I would say we would add 5000 more season tix first year.
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Look, I wish we were in the AAC but this sort of comment (which I see all the time) really frustrates me.

Who, exactly, would be on our schedule that would up our season ticket base by upwards of 30%?

We were in the same conference for years with 60% of the current AAC and our season ticket numbers remained static.

People couldn't care less about UCONN, Temple and USF.

UC would be a nice opponent and Navy would get some attention but we have those teams on future OOC schedules.

So where does the lift come from?
 
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Chris you do realize we had losing records every year in the AAC until a couple of .500ish records in last few years. That does impact attendance,

It's not all about who you play nor is it all about winning. But if we are winning and a better schedule I think you see a pop in attendance--not sure 5000 a game
 
19MU88 said:
Chris you do realize we had losing records every year in the AAC until a couple of .500ish records in last few years. That does impact attendance,

It's not all about who you play nor is it all about winning. But if we are winning and a better schedule I think you see a pop in attendance--not sure 5000 a game
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Losing does hurt attendance but history has shown we really only pack the Joan for OOC P5s.

In 2013 we had ECU at home (and were 8-3) for the CUSA East title and only drew 25k.

Last year we were undefeated and ranked in the top 20 in the country when we played WKU and only drew 24K.

I just don't think moving to the AAC would move the attendance needle much. I wish we could/would make the jump but people are romanticizing our time playing against ECU, UCF, etc.
 
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Chris McLaughlin said:
Look, I wish we were in the AAC but this sort of comment (which I see all the time) really frustrates me.

Who, exactly, would be on our schedule that would up our season ticket base by upwards of 30%?

We were in the same conference for years with 60% of the current AAC and our season ticket numbers remained static.

People couldn't care less about UCONN, Temple and USF.

UC would be a nice opponent and Navy would get some attention but we have those teams on future OOC schedules.

So where does the lift come from?
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I agree that Marshall wouldn't sell any more season tickets. I don't think they would sell any more season tickets no matter the conference, but the AAC is much better than C-USA due to the fact that there are several Power 5 schools in waiting there... programs with resources and good athletic budgets. I don't know that any of them are currently world beaters in terms of success on the football field, but they have loads of potential with the right affiliation... UConn, Temple, USF, UCF, Cincy... all of those programs would thrive in the right league, and all of them have great brand value.
 
When we start taking confernce membership advice from non-alumni (of anywhere) with fake resumes, it is time to quit.

We are just fine where we are. Win them all, go to the access bowl.

Memo: Marshall fans go to see MARSHALL. Nobody is going to get any more worked up about non-programs like Cincinnati, or Tulane, or Tulsa than today. Anybody who thinks otherwise just does not understand Marshall athletics.

We are fine.
 
Chris McLaughlin said:
Look, I wish we were in the AAC but this sort of comment (which I see all the time) really frustrates me.

Who, exactly, would be on our schedule that would up our season ticket base by upwards of 30%?

We were in the same conference for years with 60% of the current AAC and our season ticket numbers remained static.

People couldn't care less about UCONN, Temple and USF.

UC would be a nice opponent and Navy would get some attention but we have those teams on future OOC schedules.

So where does the lift come from?
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I think for the fact we will get our rivalries back with ECU and UCF and we will have ODU and UNCC off the schedule.
 
The Real SamC said:
When we start taking confernce membership advice from non-alumni (of anywhere) with fake resumes, it is time to quit.

We are just fine where we are. Win them all, go to the access bowl.

Memo: Marshall fans go to see MARSHALL. Nobody is going to get any more worked up about non-programs like Cincinnati, or Tulane, or Tulsa than today. Anybody who thinks otherwise just does not understand Marshall athletics.

We are fine.
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I would rather see us play in a conference with the AAC than the garbage in CUSA. The AAC needs to go to 16 teams and the MWC need to go to 16 teams. The AAC need to take Marshall, WKU, Southern Miss, and UAB. And the MWC needs to take LT, Rice, UTEP, and UTSA. This would force the remaining CUSA schools to merge with the Sun Belt.
 
Chris McLaughlin said:
Those schools, despite being our biggest CUSA rivals, have never moved the attendance needle.

See my comment to 88 about the 2013 game.
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I understand your point. But you know the saying "You don't know what you got till its gone" and I think a lot of fans will appreciate playing our old CUSA rivals plus new teams UCONN, USF, Temple, and Cincy on a yearly basis. Yes the Big XII might call up Cincy and Memphis but at the end of the day I would think a lot of fans would rather play an AAC schedule than play a CUSA schedule
 
Herd Fever said:
I understand your point. But you know the saying "You don't know what you got till its gone" and I think a lot of fans will appreciate playing our old CUSA rivals plus new teams UCONN, USF, Temple, and Cincy on a yearly basis. Yes the Big XII might call up Cincy and Memphis but at the end of the day I would think a lot of fans would rather play an AAC schedule than play a CUSA schedule
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and those "lot of fans" are already going no matter who we play.

the aac wouldn't significantly move the needle in terms of our attendance. given what it'd take from a financial aspect, i'm not sure moving to the aac would be worth it.
 
TheGreenhouseEffect said:
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/sports/20151220/doug-smock-marshall-steps-into-aacs-banner-year

I like CUSA but if the AAC ever calls I hope Hambone listens....from a scheduling perspective I would say we would add 5000 more season tix first year.

Worth a read.

Dan and SamC to their corners!
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When most of the said schools where part of CUSA 2.0, what would make you think that it would add 5K season ticket sales? It didn't then and it will not now. I remember the same thing being said when we made the move from the MAC to CUSA, our attendance made no improvement if you factor out WVU and KState from the home slate.
 
herdit44 said:
and those "lot of fans" are already going no matter who we play.

the aac wouldn't significantly move the needle in terms of our attendance. given what it'd take from a financial aspect, i'm not sure moving to the aac would be worth it.
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Im pretty sure our Billionaire boosters wouldn't care to see us in a better conference and would put up the money to finance it. And with Jim Justice running for Governor, we could see much better support from the State.
 
I don't think you will see a spike in season ticket sales but the AAC had 4 teams ranked this year, ECU and UCF wont be down for long and Willie Taggart has finally turned around USF.

Imagine our schedule in a 16 team AAC

East
Temple
UCONN
Cincy
ECU
UCF
USF
Navy

West
Houston
Tulane

I think that would bring more people out than our current conference slate. Maybe it wont show in season tickets right away but it would defintaly show in the fringe single game ticket fans. If we start winning in the AAC with a strong 3 team OOC, we will start to see a raise in season tickets.

Honestly the AAC should be like this

East: Marshall, Navy, Temple, UCONN, Cincy, UCF, USF, ECU
West: Houston, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa, SMU, WKU, MTSU, Memphis

That is stronger and better than any of our years in CUSA and I think our fans would respect the prospects of a schedule out of that. Lets be honest, CUSA will only go as far as ODU, UNCC, FAU, FIU, and UNT will improve and I don't expect any improvement out of those programs.
 
LOL

I've been very clear on the subject: AAC is the best of the G5 conferences, period. Look at it from any angle you want and it still comes out on top.

That said, we are in CUSA and we need to focus on being consistently the best in the league we are in. For Marshall the goal is simple: Win, Win and Win, dominate your league, get to the Access Bowl as often as possible (multiple times) and be satisfied with whatever comes our way. No matter what happens then, our fan base can be satisfied that we have performed at our best level. If it results in a change in conference, great, if not, we will still be among the elite of G5.

I don't think it helps anyone's argument to "tear down" others, the answer is "build up"
yourself, but you have to be realistic in how and what you do. We have to play a representative OOC schedule that allows us to be "in the conversation" as it relates to elite programs. And of course, we must win those games that we should win, and some that we "should not".
 
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Herd Fever said:
Im pretty sure our Billionaire boosters wouldn't care to see us in a better conference and would put up the money to finance it. And with Jim Justice running for Governor, we could see much better support from the State.
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so, you think if justice is elected gov, he'll just reverse years of reduced appropriations for higher ed, specifically for marshall, even though state revenues are down and expected to keep trending down? lol, you're too funny man.
 
I personally believe AAC is a better all round conference. However, we cant even dominate the CUSA. Probably better off here. At least we are in contention for championships at the beginning of each season. Allows many of our fans to keep on the green goggles too.
 
herdit44 said:
so, you think if justice is elected gov, he'll just reverse years of reduced appropriations for higher ed, specifically for marshall, even though state revenues are down and expected to keep trending down? lol, you're too funny man.
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With WV being among the worst educated workforce in America, maybe it is time to invest more in Higher education. WV as a state is one of the lowest College Educated, lowest educated workforces in America. That is embarrassing and should be one of the main focuses of the new governor. Raising the HS and College educated workforce and keeping and raising the pay of Jobs for that workforce to keep them in the state should be the top priorities.
 
Herd Fever said:
With WV being among the worst educated workforce in America, maybe it is time to invest more in Higher education. WV as a state is one of the lowest College Educated, lowest educated workforces in America. That is embarrassing and should be one of the main focuses of the new governor. Raising the HS and College educated workforce and keeping and raising the pay of Jobs for that workforce to keep them in the state should be the top priorities.
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so, you're expecting justice to get elected, and then "invest" in higher education in west virginia, by funneling more money to our athletic department?
 
who said I was just talking about Athletics or he could funnel money to us. What I am saying is if Jim Justice was elected Governor, Marshall would finally have a governor in office who would look out for the best interest of Marshall. I said we could get much better support from the state. Instead of trying to be so damn literal and Argue against me. Why don't you sit back and understand what I am saying.
 
Herd Fever said:
who said I was just talking about Athletics or he could funnel money to us. What I am saying is if Jim Justice was elected Governor, Marshall would finally have a governor in office who would look out for the best interest of Marshall. I said we could get much better support from the state. Instead of trying to be so damn literal and Argue against me. Why don't you sit back and understand what I am saying.
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do you understand what you're saying? you directly responded to my comment about not having funding for the aac by saying if justice ended up governor we'd end up with better support (and that he and cline would help us out more, even though you fvcked that statement up because you don't have a decent grasp on the english language).
 
Herd Fever said:
who said I was just talking about Athletics or he could funnel money to us. What I am saying is if Jim Justice was elected Governor, Marshall would finally have a governor in office who would look out for the best interest of Marshall. I said we could get much better support from the state. Instead of trying to be so damn literal and Argue against me. Why don't you sit back and understand what I am saying.
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Maybe it's because most of your comments and logic are just goofy!
 
What is goofy in saying

1. We have 2 Billionaire Donors who support Marshall

2. One of those Billionaire is running for Governor and COULD use his power to help support Marshall more than the state government has in the past. You forget he went to Marshall and his daughter played basketball here
 
OK, whatever.

The idea, whatever the perception of those living outside our market, that 5000 (or 500) people are going to pay to see us play teams (most of which we used to play) other than the ones we play now is simply uninformed. Marshall fans turn out to see Marshall.

The idea that ECU or, even more laughable UCF, are "rivals" is similarly silly. ECU is a class outfit to which we are linked by 11/14/70 and a short era where we happened to both be good at the same time. Nothing else. No geography, no long history, no overlapping fan bases. UCF is a classless outfit followed by 1% of its students, 0.5% of its alumni and 0.25% of Orlando locals that happened to be good at the same time as us once. There is no other relationship between the two. There is, further, nobody in that fan-free conference that is our "rival". Really, there is nobody in that random collection that is rivals with one another except the two fan-free directional Floridas.

CUSA was the #1 G5 league last year. Not an opinion, a fact as, as pointed out, the P5 has a formal process for determining this and paid out the $$ accordingly.

The Big 12 is not going to expand. That fact has not sunk in yet, but it is still a fact.

The fact that some people, who already go to games, would like to "see" us play this or that rather than that and this is IRRELEVANT to the absurd point that playing this or that "adds 5000" to the gate.

OT: Please stop with the Justice stuff. We have all seen this movie many times before. The power elite that have run this state for 90 years find some limited intellect rich guy who CLAIMS to disagree with everything his party says and does. Smith, Rockefailure, Cappertax, Jackpot Bob, Manchin. Same ole, same ole. Then, in office, they continue to do exactly what they always do. Memo: People are members of political parties because they AGREE with that that polical party. A vote for Justice is a vote for the status quo, relative the the gross underfunding of Marshall and every other issue. It is a vote for the Goodwin-Rockefailure Machine.
 
Herd Fever said:
What is goofy in saying

1. We have 2 Billionaire Donors who support Marshall

2. One of those Billionaire is running for Governor and COULD use his power to help support Marshall more than the state government has in the past. You forget he went to Marshall and his daughter played basketball here
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Even if JJ was elected Governor, no way the legislature will allow more funds to be thrown our way Ain't happening. Now if JJ and others want to personally donate more, bring it on.
 
The Real SamC said:
OK, whatever.

The idea, whatever the perception of those living outside our market, that 5000 (or 500) people are going to pay to see us play teams (most of which we used to play) other than the ones we play now is simply uninformed. Marshall fans turn out to see Marshall.

The idea that ECU or, even more laughable UCF, are "rivals" is similarly silly. ECU is a class outfit to which we are linked by 11/14/70 and a short era where we happened to both be good at the same time. Nothing else. No geography, no long history, no overlapping fan bases. UCF is a classless outfit followed by 1% of its students, 0.5% of its alumni and 0.25% of Orlando locals that happened to be good at the same time as us once. There is no other relationship between the two. There is, further, nobody in that fan-free conference that is our "rival". Really, there is nobody in that random collection that is rivals with one another except the two fan-free directional Floridas.

CUSA was the #1 G5 league last year. Not an opinion, a fact as, as pointed out, the P5 has a formal process for determining this and paid out the $$ accordingly.

The Big 12 is not going to expand. That fact has not sunk in yet, but it is still a fact.

The fact that some people, who already go to games, would like to "see" us play this or that rather than that and this is IRRELEVANT to the absurd point that playing this or that "adds 5000" to the gate.

OT: Please stop with the Justice stuff. We have all seen this movie many times before. The power elite that have run this state for 90 years find some limited intellect rich guy who CLAIMS to disagree with everything his party says and does. Smith, Rockefailure, Cappertax, Jackpot Bob, Manchin. Same ole, same ole. Then, in office, they continue to do exactly what they always do. Memo: People are members of political parties because they AGREE with that that polical party. A vote for Justice is a vote for the status quo, relative the the gross underfunding of Marshall and every other issue. It is a vote for the Goodwin-Rockefailure Machine.
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Cincy and Memphis have been rivals since the Metro Conference days

SMU and Houston have been rivals since the SWC

Tulane and Tulsa fell aligned with each other because of the Private and Religious schools make up and look at each other as rivals.

If you don't think ECU and UCF are our football rivals, you have been living under a Rock.
 
No just living a long time. Long enough to see MU football (and even long enough to see basketball) move through a long series of conferences and eras, where the local media and gentry picked up on the other good team(s) in that era and made them rivals. Miami (not the real one, the one in Ohio), Morehead, UTC, Appy State, ETSU, Eastern Kentucky, Youngstown State, Northern Iowa, Ohio U, Miami (not the real one, the one in Ohio) again, Toledump, ECU, UCF, Western Kentucky.

And, MU changes conferences and never plays these "rivals" again. Because they never were "rivals". Just teams that happened to be good in overlap with us being good.

Other than that one idiot Houston fan, who I suspect spews his idiocy everywhere that will tolerate him, nobody in the AAC cares one way or another about Marshall. Find me a UCF fan that has a burning desire to beat Marshall. Laughable.
 
^^^^ That is the most accurate post in Sam's long history here and at other sites.
 
Find me a UCF fan that has a burning desire to beat Marshall. Laughable.


Wow talk about misinformed. I have been to Orlando and have got to say those fans hate Marshall. I've sat on a plane from Atlanta to Charlie West with a group of UCF fans and they will tell you up front we are their #1 rival. Former coach and resume writing professional George O even said Marshall is our only rival.

Ill admit 5000 more season tix may be a bit much but 3000 is easily doable in the new AAC.

If they offer, and in time they will if we continue to win, I hope we go.

Read Smocks article, how many new stadiums at 40K? Let's face it, college football attendance is DECLINING, travel costs, big screen TVs, traffic, increasingly less free time have all taken a bite from attendance. A 40k stadium may now be the "new norm" for most of college football outside of the B10 and SEC conferences.
 
I don't see how the move would help ticket sales, but it would clearly help perception. Maybe in the long run that improved perception would help out on the butts in seats aspect.
 
I want to ask this, as far as Capacity seating, where does the Joan rank amongst other G5 Stadiums??
 
What is crazy with that list Chris, Only 5 of them have football programs worth a damn
 
Chris McLaughlin said:
Pretty far down.

We're behind UAB, Rice, Temple, USF, UTSA, Memphis, Air Force, UTEP, Hawaii, ECU, UCF, South Alabama, New Mexico, Houston and UCONN,
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Yeah, but to be fair, many of those stadiums have other uses and the college team is only one of multiple tenants. UAB was built to house Alabama, Auburn and local HBCU football back in the day and UAB wants a much smaller stadium on campus. Temple and USF are secondary tenants in off-campus pro stadiums (and tarp off most of the stadium most of the time) . Memphis is a community stadium whose main function is to host the Liberty Bowl. South Alabama is a community stadium which existed for 50 years before USA football did. UTSA was built in a failed attempt to get an NFL team and is also a community stadium used for a bowl game. Rice has "permanently" closed 40% of its stadium and does not ever sell half of the remainder.

Among "pure" stadiums whose main (only) function is to host the local team, we are right there behind UConn, Houston, ECU, Air Force, and UNM.
 
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The Real SamC said:
Yeah, but to be fair, many of those stadiums have other uses and the college team is only one of multiple tenants. UAB was built to house Alabama, Auburn and local HBCU football back in the day and UAB wants a much smaller stadium on campus. Temple and USF are secondary tenants in off-campus pro stadiums (and tarp off most of the stadium most of the time) . Memphis is a community stadium whose main function is to host the Liberty Bowl. South Alabama is a community stadium which existed for 50 years before USA football did. UTSA was built in a failed attempt to get an NFL team and is also a community stadium used for a bowl game. Rice has "permanently" closed 40% of its stadium and does not ever sell half of the remainder.

Among "pure" stadiums whose main (only) function is to host the local team, we are right there behind UConn, Houston, ECU, Air Force, and UNM.
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Absolutely.

There were a bunch of disclaimers I wanted to add when I was listed those teams but didn't have the energy to do it.

For on-campus, single-use stadiums, we are in good company.
 
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Why is it that Smock has to ALWAYS take a shot at us? The "still a pipe dream" comment was not instrumental to his story at all, merely another put down to MU and the hopes and aspirations of the majority of its fans. Many of you may think the majority of fans don't care whether we're in the AAC or C-USA but that's just incorrect. Its a better conference and most want to be in the better conference to continue to gain notoriety and play the best competition we can.
 
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