Worst homecoming crowd I can remember
- Thread starter Herdon2
- Start date
I don't worry about it because there is not a GD thing you or I can do about it. Only the AD and football program can possibly change that. Jmo
Maybe because playing Old Dominion is actually less interesting than teams in our 1AA days
Not sure why the student turnout was so bad.
As far as the paying crowd goes, weren’t tickets for this game $45 vs. $35 for the other home games? I don’t see how that makes any sense.
We should be running some enticing promotions the rest of the year to try and get butts in the seats. If still lived in the area, I’d be there every week, but we’ve got to do something to appeal to the casual fan.
As far as the paying crowd goes, weren’t tickets for this game $45 vs. $35 for the other home games? I don’t see how that makes any sense.
We should be running some enticing promotions the rest of the year to try and get butts in the seats. If still lived in the area, I’d be there every week, but we’ve got to do something to appeal to the casual fan.
It is what it is. Fact is some people tuned out after last year and have still not bought in. Fact is that, and this is not just a Herd comment, it is happening all across sports, the decision to invest the day in ONE game versus 80 games in your living room or favorite hangout in air conditioned HD stereo, is different than it was just 5 or let alone 20 years ago. Fact is it costs, and not everybody can afford it. And, sad to say, fact is, relative to students, not every student buys into the bleeds green herdlove that obviously all of us did. Some (most?) kids just go to MU because it is the supreme academic institution available to ordinary income WVians and just want that golden diploma.
But, I was there, you were there. We are one win from a bowl, two wins from a winning season, and GO HERD.
But, I was there, you were there. We are one win from a bowl, two wins from a winning season, and GO HERD.
Ticket prices going up means less people in the stands. We arent exactly in an affluent region... and Old Dominion certainly isnt interesting the casual fan or the guy with a family of four that needs to watch how he spends $150 or more on a Saturday afternoon... We could use some promos to get people in the stands, but a more interesting opponent would certainly help too.
Hell, SamC, city has lost about 40 per cent, or more, of its population in last 40 to 50 years, yet MU promotes itself as, and considers itself to be, "the Huntington school". And that's the way the city's old guard, stuck in the 50s with their conservative, inbred mentality LIKE IT!!!
Ineptness and incompetence in promotions, public relations, etc., are not only a major factor in the Herd's athletic attendance woes, but, more importantly, in the school's total failure to grow its student body for nearly two decades. Go back and check MU's enrollment in 2000 and then today, and then compare those numbers against schools in comparable, or smaller, cities/towns like EKU, ETSU and JMU, and look at those schools' enrollments for the same times.
Yeah, except you are behind on the times of whats going on currently.
MU had a community college, which was done away with. What did this do? Helped make MU have a better academic reputation...whereas wvu has quite a few community colleges to add to its overall student body but hurts its academic ranking.
Now, did MU doing away with the community college make us in the same cusp as Duke or Yale? No, not at all. But it helped us gain better overall academic ground.
So there's that...which you failed to mention.
You also mentioned literally any other states who have more money than we do. Thing is, you saturate the academics when you get a $100 million endowment and have 250 programs and 25,000 students vs. a school with half those offerings and students but same endowment.
I'd put MU's academics against theirs any day and I am sure MU would give them a run if not be better.
Its not about the numbers of majors you offer but the weight at which they carry in the long run.
JMU, really? Of course they are growing. VA is a state that isn't stupidly run like WV and knows how to make money and simply put...legislatively, isn't a joke.
Huntington is moving forward...away from that 1950's crap. Slowly but surely they are.
Better learn a few facts, bub. If Huntington is moving forward, its at about the same speed as cold molasses on a flat table.
You're wrong regarding WV and community college. They have had branches at Keyser, Potomac State, and at Parkersburg for years, but these were NOT a part of any separate community college system. MU's community college was severed and put under a community college system along with WV Southern, New River, Bridge Valley, WV Northern, etc.
You're clueless as to MU's academic "ranking". Go and check on JMU's ranking, one of the top two comprehensive universities in the South. If MU's academic ranking is so damn high, why hasn't enrollment grown at all in a decade or more? Its admittance policy is not very selective. JMU admits about 4,000 students a year from over 20,000 applicants. Our freshman class this year was about 1900. Doubt if we had even twice that number of applicants. I believe just about any in state applicant who meets the minimal criteria will be accepted at Marshall. Believe it is required by state law. Just the way it is.
Actually, Potomac State was started, decades ago, as a "prep" school where kids who did not get a proper education in the poor rural HS of WV could catch up. It evolved into what WV has way too many of, which is just another state college. That is what it is, just another state college. The only time WVU ever thinks about the place is to pad its enrollment numbers and its in-state numbers, which are, as we know, far lower if you just consider the actual 'hole. I suspect the taxwaste WVU-Beckley will be the same in the future.
WVU Parkersburg, formerly Parkersburg Community College, was given its grandiose name because the House of Delegates Speaker was from Parkersburg and that was his price for some education bill. It has no actual relationship to WVU. It is a separate college.
As has been said before, the key to growth at MU, and to returning WVU into what it should be, is made by the Master Lock Co. You got to these too many state colleges which no longer serve a purpose and shut them down.
WVU Parkersburg, formerly Parkersburg Community College, was given its grandiose name because the House of Delegates Speaker was from Parkersburg and that was his price for some education bill. It has no actual relationship to WVU. It is a separate college.
As has been said before, the key to growth at MU, and to returning WVU into what it should be, is made by the Master Lock Co. You got to these too many state colleges which no longer serve a purpose and shut them down.
I know that most us who take the time to write, read and reply to posts on this and other forums are passionate college sports fans and mores specifically Marshall sports fan. But to the casual fan maybe attending a game in person is no longer a big deal? I remember when I lived in Huntington in the early 90's Marshall football was a must attend event. The teams were constantly good for the first time, there was the appeal of a new stadium and you had some well-honed rivalries with Appalachian State, Furman, The Citadel, Chattanooga and Western Carolina... Teams you'd played against for 20 years, teams you had a history with, teams that you could put a face to, teams that became public enemy #1 and Marshall was now in a position to enact some revenge on, and locations you could drive to if you want to attend an away game. . There are only 3 or 4 teams in our 14-team conference that I can remotely give you accurate info on, let alone put a face to the name. That's not a shot at UTEP, UTSA, UNT, FIU, FAU, ODU or any of the other acronym schools, I just don't have any history with them other then we have all been lumped into the same lifeboat known as CUSA. So, for a city like Huntington with an aging population it's probably hard to get jacked-up to attend a game against a team that is 7 hours away and faceless. Thus you only get your base core of 20,000+ who attend every game.
I definitely agree with the idea that the constant conference rotation in the last 20 years does not help attendance.
First off, I never said Huntington and MU were ever moving fast. They are moving slow, but at least moving.
'1 of 2 universities in the south'? Wow, color me impressed. I'll just not apply to Duke, VT, UVA, Vanderbilt, UGA, GT or literally anywhere else. Mere compensation for trying to be meaningful. Not saying JMU is a bad university by any means but such a quote is about the same as a place like UCF boasting the square footage of their library being larger than Harvard's.
Enrollment hasn't grown because MU isn't very productive, that I do agree with you on.
I also never said MU was such a high ranking academic institution...somehow you forgot to read that part. But you're old so I'll let that slide.
I did say that doing away with the Community College reduced the number of students but gave MU more academic flexibility and substance to is academic programs...again, never said it was now Harvard or Yale because of this...but it made us slighlty more competitive which can help with Federal grants for research. That was Kopp's approach, to make MU more research heavy and Federally funded...if it meant reducing the student population because of taking out the MUCTC, then alright.
Why hasn't MU grown? Well...the same reason WV as a state is so dumb.
Many of the older generations just smoked pot and screwed around in HS, because industry jobs, coal mining, and other professions that required a pulse to do, were available.
However, now, thats obviously not the case, many of that generation are throwing their hands up in a panic because they literally have no idea what to do...while being taken advantage of by their local politicians because they never had higher education to help with critical thinking.
Also, its because WV just doesn't care that they are losing population. Its kind of tough to educate a group who has nothing to go on after 18 years, ups and leaves since WV has no jobs.
Its actually the real struggle ole wvu has, they can't educate the number of in state students as they want, so to offset costs they educate 50%+ out of state.
Any real university would tell you that it should be upper 75% in state vs out of state.
Worst part is MU is located in the worst area for this...its not MU's fault for that...yet you're angered about it.
Might as well tell the kid in a wheelerchair how upset you are because they can't run...you're blaming a school for something they really cannot help.
Huntington in general is moving slowly forward. Their plans and ideas are slow to be realized but are happening...and I can't blame them for the speed...WV's leadership is awful and the fact they are moving forward is something to behold for sure.
I mean, honestly, what do you expect? MU doesn't have the money or influence to simply do their own thing...WV as a state won't let it happen for one, but another, because WV controls everything MU, wvu, and everyone else gets/does.
MU also does hold high academic reputation in some fields. Their counseling program got CACREP accredited, the highest rank you can get, Business is highly regarded, Accounting and Finance as well. Also, they hold the distinction of what JMU can't, the #1 ranked Graduate Forensics program in America and some areas, the world.
Sam, regarding WVU-Parkersburg, that is not totally correct. When Manchin split some of the community colleges away from parent institutions (ridiculously wasteful due to increased bureaucratic costs, but providing him with more slots to park political hacks) Parkersburg was technically moved to the community college system, but it contractually remains affiliated with WVU, so the only thing that has changed is the state governing body that oversees it, and the former Dean's title is changed to President. They offer limited 4 year degrees, mostly in education fields, and WVU graduate offerings there. Parkersburg has more autonomy than before under the new structure, but it has a dual status as both a distinct community college (so their students are not counted as being technically WVU students) and as an affiliate linked to WVU. The situation for the former Marshall Community College would probably be the same were it not for the fact that they are located in the same city making such an affiliation unnecessary.
Potomac State and WVU-Beckley/WVU Tech are actual branch campuses of WVU, although they have 2 year offerings in many fields. Even so, they are not ranked in combination with the school's Morgantown campuses.
And All4, the affiliated community colleges never harmed the reputations of the host institutions because they were always considered separate academic entities by rating associations. They belonged to the same administrative structure, but were considered different campuses. It is the academic units under the direct organizational leadership that are rated... thus Penn State at State College is not ranked in combination with Penn State Harrisburg and so forth. I certainly agree with what you said about it being difficult to attract qualified in-state students.
Every school's mission is different, and every school's funding sources reflect the different missions, but there are a declining number of qualified students, and greatly reduced state appropriations for higher education. For that reason, schools must seek other funding sources, and the reduced state appropriations mean less subsidy for in-state students so they recruit more heavily out of state, and even out of the country. As far as I know, since I'm a Marshall alumna, my kids and even grandchildren can attend Marshall at in-state rates regardless of where they live. All schools are doing what they can to get students... in and out of the state. Concord and Glenville state colleges should absolutely be closed (there are other teachers colleges nearby) and the community college system should be abolished and schools put back under umbrella organizations. For a small state, our system is incredibly wasteful.
Potomac State and WVU-Beckley/WVU Tech are actual branch campuses of WVU, although they have 2 year offerings in many fields. Even so, they are not ranked in combination with the school's Morgantown campuses.
And All4, the affiliated community colleges never harmed the reputations of the host institutions because they were always considered separate academic entities by rating associations. They belonged to the same administrative structure, but were considered different campuses. It is the academic units under the direct organizational leadership that are rated... thus Penn State at State College is not ranked in combination with Penn State Harrisburg and so forth. I certainly agree with what you said about it being difficult to attract qualified in-state students.
Every school's mission is different, and every school's funding sources reflect the different missions, but there are a declining number of qualified students, and greatly reduced state appropriations for higher education. For that reason, schools must seek other funding sources, and the reduced state appropriations mean less subsidy for in-state students so they recruit more heavily out of state, and even out of the country. As far as I know, since I'm a Marshall alumna, my kids and even grandchildren can attend Marshall at in-state rates regardless of where they live. All schools are doing what they can to get students... in and out of the state. Concord and Glenville state colleges should absolutely be closed (there are other teachers colleges nearby) and the community college system should be abolished and schools put back under umbrella organizations. For a small state, our system is incredibly wasteful.
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Price is a problem. As for this lower the prices and try and fill the seats. Larger attendance is better than empty seats.
As for the game, can anyone say they truly enjoyed watching the game yesterday,
It was almost as boring as the Charlotte game. When a team gets on 3 minutes out of 15 in the first quarter everyone was a sleep.
As for the team we played the interest wasn't there. Families have to many things going on now and this hurts an afternoon game, when a team comes in without the interest.
Yet the biggest problem is the athletic department. How do they think anyone has much interest in the program when they tried the fans, previous athletes like poorly. They change the program for an elite group and not for the every day fan. When everyone was told the offense would change this year and changes in the coaches, yet even now nothing has changed. The quarterbacks attitude has changes but his ability to hit his receivers hasn't. Only good thing he is using the middle this year and has scored points versus trying to hit his receivers down the side line.
Maybe it is time the athletic department needs some changes and work with everyone to bring back the fans and not just work with an elite group of people.
Look at Huntington an elite group controlled everything and that was the problems years ago and a small town just out of Huntington now is the king of the area and is continuing to grow each year while Huntington looks on.
As for the game, can anyone say they truly enjoyed watching the game yesterday,
It was almost as boring as the Charlotte game. When a team gets on 3 minutes out of 15 in the first quarter everyone was a sleep.
As for the team we played the interest wasn't there. Families have to many things going on now and this hurts an afternoon game, when a team comes in without the interest.
Yet the biggest problem is the athletic department. How do they think anyone has much interest in the program when they tried the fans, previous athletes like poorly. They change the program for an elite group and not for the every day fan. When everyone was told the offense would change this year and changes in the coaches, yet even now nothing has changed. The quarterbacks attitude has changes but his ability to hit his receivers hasn't. Only good thing he is using the middle this year and has scored points versus trying to hit his receivers down the side line.
Maybe it is time the athletic department needs some changes and work with everyone to bring back the fans and not just work with an elite group of people.
Look at Huntington an elite group controlled everything and that was the problems years ago and a small town just out of Huntington now is the king of the area and is continuing to grow each year while Huntington looks on.
There are a lot of accurate facts in this thread and a WHOLE lot of just plain bs and total inaccuracies.
Pretty much like every other thread.
Pretty much like every other thread.
Wow, the first line would make you the worst AD on Earth...because that is exactly what marcum did to UMass...and it killed their basketball program.
I wouldn't lower the prices any more than they are. Marshall tickets are affordable. Fans who have any interest, know the dates of the home games. They can save their money accordingly. MU isn't there to hold their hands...college football has sadly become a business and in business, ethics tend to take a back seat to profits.
I hate saying and seeing it, but that's what it is. Deal with it.
We can't help that the visiting team is terrible...it's not our problem. Our only problem is to find ways to win.
Thing is, you could say the game was boring if the score were 42-3 at halftime...hell, most of you would've left.
You also act surprised that you're supposed to be entertained...well, newsflash, according to just about everyone, Marshall's got a boring offense. Legg and Doc aren't here to entertain you...they're here to win football games. If it means we bore the other team to death with a constipated offense, then so be it.
Frankly, the team didn't execute the 1st half. Passes got dropped, overthrown, and underthrown.
It happens man...stop complaining.
What elite small group of people do you refer to? Doc? Legg? Hamrick? They certainly aren't "elite" because none of them seemed particularly popular for other vacant positions. You really made no sense in that statement.
The AD's fault for mistreating the fans? What? Calling them out? Basically saying, "Alright, we'll schedule a better set of opponents" Marshall does that but people like you complain, STILL.
Marshall can't help the conference more than what they're doing, which is winning and getting votes. Can anyone else in C-USA say that?
Also, the whole rumor about the athletes being mistreated? Funny how that came exactly when Pruett made the efforts to try to get the HC job back and even had Justice slam Doc and MU...didn't work because Pruett's still not the HC and actually many of the athletes WERE in town this weekend. Doesn't seem like hard feelings or Hamrick cleared up alot of the issues...I don't know.
In either case, the fans are more apt to finding excuses to not increase or motivate themselves to coming to games than just coming to games. I'd prefer playing someone we can actually beat...ODU was the scheduled team and a team we lost to last year. Not good, well, again, can't help that...sorry.
The AD work with the fans to bring people back...what? Like giving ticket packages to people, opening themselves up to anyone by talking to them like Hamrick does? You know, what many AD's do who like success?
How about making the changes that resulted in the team being 5-1? We were 2-4 at this time last season. Hows that for an AD reaching out to people?
Marshall has already surpassed their win total from last season. 1 more win and they've doubled it and are bowl eligible. They are getting votes in both polls. The team has already proved many doubters on here wrong (and many would rather find ways to discredit their wins than man up, suck it up, and just admit they were wrong), and this is coming off a 3 win season last year and a preseason pick of 5th in C-USA this season...
What more do you want?
It's this IMO. Your schedule is absolutely brutal from a fan interest standpoint.
By God you must be Sammy's son. Or related in some way. What a post. So WV's real problem is people who never acquired critical thinking skills from exposure to higher education. Quality schools limit out of state students to 25% or less of their total enrollment? The university of Michigan is a pretty fair academic institution...look up the numbers on out state students. Use your critical thinking skills to look up several large land grant institutions and see how the enrollment shakes out. Don't dismiss people who have never atteneded college as lacking in intelligence or have valuable skills for business. People with technical skills and hands on aptitude are worth their weight in gold for manufacturing. Why are sporting events not well attended? Younger people don't go to sporting events like my generation. Younger people view sports differently, and have access to a multitude of events on a phone. They also do not feel the need to have a bond with the school they are attending or some type of blind devotion after graduation. Good for them. The attendance for CUSA football is fine. What more do you want? The real problem is the stadium is 8 to 10 thousand seats to many and the ticket is easy to get. Every once in awhile you fill it up, but you don't build a church for Easter Sunday. The market is not there for the attendance numbers you are looking for and never will be.
Actually, WV's problem is a lack of education...and yes, in the last 10 years HS students simply wouldn't try to improve their grades because, "I can work in the coal mines and make lots of money." Many had previous generations of folks who did that...and now...well, WV doesn't have that. Same with a trade school...good with your hands helps until you have to read legislation and have no idea what you voted for.
Now, is this true across the board? No. Not at all. But the majority don't have much education past a HS diploma and it really shows.
You also tried to spin what I said regarding schools limiting 25% out of state enrollment. There's no limit on that nor did I say there was. I'm saying however, you want to educate your state students over out of state ones.
WV simply doesn't do this. Do I really need to get into the school system here? The population is declining for about a dozen reasons...you mentioned how people are worth their weight in gold for manufacturing. You're right. But you failed to mention WV doesn't have that...and people who were once in it, are not, and now, left with no other skills and aren't far from retirement age.
No, I'm not related at all to that guy.
I agree the market is tough to fill a place like the Joan, but it is possible. It has happened. The decline in fan attendance across the board is mainly because its so damn expensive to go to games. MU can't help that the conference is bad...but when MU does get return games from Purdue or NC State or Louisville, we do show up for them.
I just think people need to quit being so perpetually pessimistic about it.
This is the exact reason attendance suffers. I am convinced those at MU have no idea of their market and who to market to.
Ticket prices need to be lower. The end zone seats shouldn't be higher than $10 a seat for general admission.
Extreme sections of the stands, no more than $15.
It's pretty much what the market will bear.
MU must promote in the general media more. Social media is fine but in this area where some families still don't have wifi or a computer, they get their news via Local TV or the HD.
My wife is a teacher and several of her students don't have wifi in their homes or a computer.
MU sucks at marketing and they don't know their market very well.
They cater to the big donors as they should, but their are a ton of fans and sports fans in general that they are missing due to cost to attend or just not creating the desire to attend via marketing.
It is a business and each person, a potential customer.
Marketing more heavily in a 2 hour radius of Huntington may bring in new fans as well.
Whatever.
Fact is WV simply has too many just another state colleges. Decades ago, before the interstates and corridors, and before ONE HALF of the population left for jobs elsewhere, that made sense. It no longer does. Same reason WV used to have, what, 300 HSs. No longer needed.
Time to C L O S E three fourths of our state colleges. MU, WVU, and the teachers colleges around the edges. All we need. Shut 'em down and have a MU with 30K, a WVU with 90% in-state students and watch how great it will be.
Fact is WV simply has too many just another state colleges. Decades ago, before the interstates and corridors, and before ONE HALF of the population left for jobs elsewhere, that made sense. It no longer does. Same reason WV used to have, what, 300 HSs. No longer needed.
Time to C L O S E three fourths of our state colleges. MU, WVU, and the teachers colleges around the edges. All we need. Shut 'em down and have a MU with 30K, a WVU with 90% in-state students and watch how great it will be.
It doesn't matter, according to many on here. Marshall doesn't play Alabama on a weekly basis...because of this, they won't come out to watch the games.
It's wonderful to know that you believe the world is your oyster with a college diploma. After the first year no one gives a damn where you graduated ...it's the value you return to the organization. The NFL with all its faults does one thing better than any other professional sport. It understands the markets where it has teams. With all the population in NFL cities...have you ever stopped to wonder way there are no huge stadiums of a 100,000 or more? The NFL makes the ticket hard to get. That increases the cost of the ticket. Which results in more profit. It sounds strange but it works. Don't play the card the average fan can't afford to attend the game. Everyone stopped caring about the average fan 20+ years ago. In the NFL and college. Football and basketball are huge advertising machines for schools. It's a stastical fact that successful teams in college increase enrollment. It's all about making money and banging the cash register and it's never going to change. Find your spot in the market and make the most out of it. The days of doing something for love of the institution is over. It's a business and nothing more.
I respectfully disagree. It's the job of the AD to promote the brand and the product. They act as if it's a privilege to attend a game. Deliver a good product on the field at an attractive price, coupled with an enjoyable atmosphere and they will come. Twitter and Facebook as your main method of communication to the fan base only reaches a very small portion - and that portion is already engaged as we follow MU on Twitter and/or Facebook, etc.
Minor League baseball does it every day.
Hmmm...
'Deliver a good product on the field'
You mean 5-1?
'Attractive price'
Well, we just mentioned you get a ton for a 4 person family package of tickets.
'Coupled with an enjoyable atmosphere'
Well, thats on you. MU does its usual round of promotions and overall, has a good atmosphere.
Hamrick- "We are 5-1, 2-0 in conference. Our team has made a complete turn around!!"
You- "Blaaah! Our schedule is bad!!"
Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram "reaches a small portion" yeah, ok, so we should go back to 'the good ole days' where things were sent snail mail?
People used to complain when MU 'wasn't up with the times' and 'being passed by everyone else' and when they do something current, you complain that it isn't good enough?
Social media is the best way to reach thousands of people the fastest...and its FREE!! Saves the AD money when they use Social Media.
MU promotes itself, they promoted themselves with getting votes, but people complained because of the schedule instead of just shutting the fu*k up.
As I said, out of touch with the market. Not snail mail, that's worthless. Ads on SAZ and in the HD. Those on social media are not the ones you need to reach, they are engaged already.
It's the casual fans and young families you need to target and give them a reason to come. But hey, blame the fans - as usual. Its the MU way.
All fluffy bunnies and rainbows in the Schewey.
We'll agree to disagree on this one.
When we moved to the joan why did so many think we would have 30000 a game. Older fans beat out the students. Aaron perkins syndrome---'a disease where u bash your own fans to some how elevate himself to BEST FAN.
I respectfully disagree that I am blaming the fans...but what are you trying to blame? Why are we blaming anyone with a 5-1 team?
It got so bad last season we just wanted to win. Remember? "Winning cures all"??
I can't blame the AD or coaches for turning around the program. Remember, these "nobody's" pounded the crap out of us just last year.
Young families? Seems rare in WV you have those. They all moved to NC for a real economy.
Those were also the ones who actually made the trip. The ones within 10 miles of the stadium didn't...and I doubt its because of affordability.
As its been said, people have to want a reason to come, well, what more can MU do besides being 5-1? Again, after being, what? 2-4 this time last year?
I mentioned the NFL because colleges have been using the same marketing firms for advice on tickets sales. I've noticed that most of the new stadiums in college football are very nice but not large in the number of seats. The same with professional baseball and the new retro parks. I believe Mike is a good AD and if he thought $10 and $15 tickets were the answer to put more money in the bank....it would have already happened. Don't sell him short....I think he understands his market very well.
It's also a slap in the face to the people who donate to the BG and buy season tickets if you roll over an let people in for $10 every week starting in October.
That's why they do the concession stand voucher thing. Because it looks like people are getting a free hot dog and coke instead of getting a cheap seat.
Agree....you have made an investment. Plus cheap tickets would provide an avenue for the Walmart crowd. Heaven forbid one those would get through the gate.
So we want to eliminate a certain portion of the areas population because they can only afford a $10 ticket? Didn't know we were the Duke or Stanford of CUSA.
The $10 seats would only be for the end zone. Maybe we could build a wall so they wouldn't annoy the beautiful people.
I drive almost six hours from North Carolina back to Huntington four times each year for games and I choose the four games based on opponent and my work schedule... Its not a cheap trip even for just two people. Factor in what my tickets cost, a hotel for at least one night – usually two, food, parking, gas, etc. I'm fortunate that I have a good job and the means to make those trips. Many are not as lucky even if the drive is shorter (from Southern WV, Eastern KY, Central Ohio, etc.).
At the end of the day, winning doesn't cure all... I, and most fans that live any distance outside the tri-state, aren't spending the money/time for Kent or ODU. Especially if there are better options on the schedule, Miami, WKU, So. Miss, FIU and/or a closer road game in either Cincy or Charlotte.
Most of us on here love MU football and we will gladly shell out our disposable income to attend games, but we are the vast minority. The number of folks who would rather save money and watch at home is growing rapidly, as is the number of fans who come to the stadium once or twice a year, and I don't know if there is any way to stem that tide. We simply don't have the diehards that Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee and others have to fill the stadium every week.
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