Indaina to host Penn State in Washington DC?

[Go Gophers Rah]

It was announced this morning that the 2010 game between Penn State and Indiana has been moved from Bloomington to FedEx Field in Washington DC.

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Lions_will_play_at_FedEx_field_in_2010.html

Reportedly (from Scout's Big Ten forum), the Hoosiers will be responsible for selling 7,000 tickets and are guaranteed $3 million. I'm assuming that PSU will sell the other 84,000+ tickets to this "road" game. Plus IU gets to reschedule another game (presumably a nonconf game) to their home field. Personally, I think this sets a horrible precedent in which the Big Three can schedule "road" games that generate huge amounts of revenues for their program and further increase the funding gap with the other 8 teams.

I hope the Big Ten Conference does something like make a rule that any team's "home" game must be played within 200 miles of its primary campus (this would allow Illinois to play in St. Louis or Chicago and Wisconsin to play in Milwaukee, etc.).

Thoughts?

 

[GoAUpher]

It was announced this morning that the 2010 game between Penn State and Indiana has been moved from Bloomington to FedEx Field in Washington DC.

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Lions_will_play_at_FedEx_field_in_2010.html

The Hoosiers will be responsible for selling 7,000 tickets and are guaranteed $3 million. I'm assuming that PSU will sell the other 84,000+ tickets to this "road" game. Plus IU gets to reschedule another game (presumably a nonconf game) to their home field. Personally, I think this sets a horrible precedent in which the Big Three can schedule "road" games that generate huge amounts of revenues for their program and further increase the funding gap with the other 8 teams.

I hope the Big Ten Conference does something like make a rule that any team's "home" game must be played within 200 miles of its primary campus (this would allow Illinois to play in St. Louis or Chicago and Wisconsin to play in Milwaukee, etc.).

Thoughts?

Since this is an Indiana home game my understanding would be that Penn State gets a set payment or set % of the gate. This would seem to benefit Indiana more than PSU revenue wise.

Something tells me Rittenburg will cover the details on his blog soon.

***UPDATE***
He already has.

 

[2727Gopher]

I hope the Big Ten Conference does something like make a rule that any team's "home" game must be played within 200 miles of its primary campus (this would allow Illinois to play in St. Louis or Chicago and Wisconsin to play in Milwaukee, etc.).

They'd better do something or this kind of thing will become a regular occurrence - the top teams in the conference will start having what amounts to an extra home conference game, putting everyone else at a severe competitive disadvantage.

 

[GoAUpher]

It is as I thought. Indiana will over $2 million more for this game then they would if it was played in Bloomington:

Indiana has decided to move its 2010 home game against Penn State to FedEx Field, a venture that will pocket $3 million for the school.

The Hoosiers and Nittany Lions will meet Nov. 20, 2010, in Landover, Md., according to an agreement reached between the schools, the Washington Redskins and FedEx Field, which seats 91,704, nearly 40,000 seats more than Memorial Stadium (52,692) in Bloomington.​

That's all true, but make no mistake: this is about money.

As The (Bloomington) Herald Times' reports, Indiana makes less than $1 million per home game. ​

 

[GoAUpher]

They'd better do something or this kind of thing will become a regular occurrence - the top teams in the conference will start having what amounts to an extra home conference game, putting everyone else at a severe competitive disadvantage.

Only if the smaller school gives them the chance in order to pocket the money.

 

[RodentRampage]

I remember several years ago, there was a rash of teams who were renting out their home stadium to their non-conference opponent. Technically, it was a road game, although it was in your own stadium and nearly all of the fans were fans of your own team.

 

[wait!what?]

I think USC and Cuse just decided on something similar.
A current trend as the NCAA football game ramps up for the Fantasy Football world to move to the college game and boom like the NFL did.

 

[tjgopher]

Moving non-conference games to neutral sites is fine. But a BIG TEN CONFERENCE game? No way. That risks the integrity of the title race. Penn State will have an extra home game in the conference slate that year. No good.

Frankly, I'd call this a grounds for firing any AD that moved a HOME CONFERENCE GAME to a virtual ROAD CONFERENCE GAME. That is ridiculous. Why even field a team? As an AD your job is not all about money. But, that is what you get when you hire a guy from the business world and not the athletics world, as IU did.

I'd be embarrassed to be an Indiana football fan, not to mention awfully pissed off. Heck, they should just drop down to Division III if they're handing out conference home games. An absolute embarrassment.

 

[metrolax]

How long before Wisky and Iowa fans attempt to get a Gopher game moved back to the Dome? Not a good
precedent at all.

 

[HopHead]

Penn State will have an extra home game in the conference slate that year. No good.

I totally agree with you here. What if Penn State wins the conference in 2010 with a single loss on the road and the second place team has two road losses? Wouldn't PSU's title be a little bit tainted because they had an unbalanced schedule and were able to play in front of "home" crowds 5 times instead of just 4?

I don't care what the schedule officially calls this game in DC. Make no mistake, it is going to be a home game for the Nittany Lions in almost every sense of the word.

 

[Zeppelin Gopher]

Moving non-conference games to neutral sites is fine. But a BIG TEN CONFERENCE game? No way. That risks the integrity of the title race. Penn State will have an extra home game in the conference slate that year. No good.

Frankly, I'd call this a grounds for firing any AD that moved a HOME CONFERENCE GAME to a virtual ROAD CONFERENCE GAME. That is ridiculous. Why even field a team? As an AD your job is not all about money. But, that is what you get when you hire a guy from the business world and not the athletics world, as IU did.

I'd be embarrassed to be an Indiana football fan, not to mention awfully pissed off. Heck, they should just drop down to Division III if they're handing out conference home games. An absolute embarrassment.

I couldn't agree more. The Big Ten is way too prestigious of a conference to put up with this crap.

 

[GVBadger]

I'd be embarrassed to be an Indiana football fan, not to mention awfully pissed off. Heck, they should just drop down to Division III if they're handing out conference home games. An absolute embarrassment.

There is a lot more to be embarrassed about if you are in Indiana football fan. They have not won or shared a Big Ten title since 1967............................

 

[Curseislifted33]

I think is a punch in the face to the game of football. I understand its a big business now, but Indiana is basically saying, " We will lose if its at home, so might as well lose there and make more money." Thats why college football is so great, upsets happen! a la oregon state beating uSC last year. If I was a Hoosier fan, I would be down right furious. The money should never go before the game in my eyes, and this is just down right ugly for other B10 teams, puts PSU at a one game advantage in 2010.

 

[Schnauzer]

Sorry to see this. We've had our share of things not to be proud of over the last 40 years but thankfully nothing this LOW has happened. Why bother putting that beautiful edition on their stadium if they are going to take a marquee opponent and play it as a virtual 'away' game? Or, is this the kind of thing they have to do to pay for that addition? Either way, it is ironic.

 

[Maverick]

The WCHA has done this that last two years in Minnesota.

Two of the outstate teams (MSU-Mankako, St Cloud, Duluth, soon Bemidji) have hosted the other two MN teams at the X. Technically a home game for Duluth or Mankato or St Cloud in terms of who gets most of the revenue, but obviously a home game in terms of fans for the U of M.... I can't remember exactly what they call this series and I'm not sure if they are doing it this year or not. I have attended one year and while it is fun, I can definitely see the outstate teams losing a bit of their identity in exchange for a few more of the almighty dollars that are so necessary to keep finances above the red line....

 

[ButchNashGuy]

Maverick - whats seats are you? I am seat 5/6 in row 23.

btw - don't like this move.

 

[Maverick]

Maverick - whats seats are you? I am seat 5/6 in row 23.

btw - don't like this move.

Right next to you... 7-10 it will be nice to meet you. I think there are several other Holers within a few rows of us too! Bleedgopher, DarrentheGreek, BildGopher, Rouser and Go4Rob come to mind...

 

[GoAUpher]

How long before Wisky and Iowa fans attempt to get a Gopher game moved back to the Dome? Not a good
precedent at all.

I hope you're being facetious. I agree that this is a terrible precedent and is just a crappy idea all around, but its not something we have to worry about IMO...at least, not in a "where will we play" sense. Maturi isn't going to sacrifice a game in TCF for one in the Dome (especially not against Wisky or Iowa) because the revenue boost that IU is seeing isn't there and because he be run out of town on a rail.

This only affects the Gophers from the competitive standpoint where PSU gets an extra de facto home game on their schedule with which to improve their record over everyone else.

Sorry to see this. We've had our share of things not to be proud of over the last 40 years but thankfully nothing this LOW has happened. Why bother putting that beautiful edition on their stadium if they are going to take a marquee opponent and play it as a virtual 'away' game? Or, is this the kind of thing they have to do to pay for that addition? Either way, it is ironic.

Excellent point. Another reason to be cranky if you're an IU fan. Also, how did they sell the coaching staff on this idea?

 

[Pewterschmidt]

If Indiana does this, they're no better than a Sun Belt team that plays 4 non-conference road games for a guaranteed payment. This is bad for the Big Ten and College Football. Are they trying to become the NFL or MLB? When you favor the big boys in scheduling, the integrity of the season becomes a joke.

3 notable moments that made me want to puke and killed a piece of my excitement for the sport:

1. Last year, Boston and Oakland played a 2-game season opening series in Japan. Boston had the huge crowd advantage because of Dice-K but that's besides the point. Oakland was deemed the "home" team for the 2 games when the schedulers could have easily made each team the home team for 1 game. That still ticks me off. Oakland played the season with 83 road games and 79 home games while Boston had the inverse. How is that fair?

2. During the aftermath from Hurricane Katrina, the NFL had the New Orleans Saints play a home game at Giants stadium...against the New York Giants. The game could have easily been played 300 miles from New Orleans at Reliant Stadium in Houston but the NFL seized the opportunity to give a major boost to the big market New York Giants. Total BS.

3. During the aftermath from Hurricane Ike last year, MLB moved a series orginially scheduled to be played at Minute Maid park in Houston between the Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros to Miller Park in Milwaukee, less than 70 miles from Chicago. Guess who filled the seats in Milwaukee? If you said Astros fans, you'd be wrong. Several options other than Milwaukee existed but why be fair to the Astros when you can favor the 3rd most marketable baseball team in the league?

Even if the Indiana AD is complicit in the scheduling of the game in DC, it doesn't make it right. Remember that 'Ol Carl tried to contract the very team he owned. When you put the almighty dollar ahead of integrity, you become no better than the WWE. Maybe that's why I find myself drawn more and more to professional golf. There aren't implicit and explicit biases that give Tiger Woods an advantage.

 

[dpodoll68]

If Indiana does this, they're no better than a Sun Belt team that plays 4 non-conference road games for a guaranteed payment. This is bad for the Big Ten and College Football. Are they trying to become the NFL or MLB? When you favor the big boys in scheduling, the integrity of the season becomes a joke.

3 notable moments that made me want to puke and killed a piece of my excitement for the sport:

1. Last year, Boston and Oakland played a 2-game season opening series in Japan. Boston had the huge crowd advantage because of Dice-K but that's besides the point. Oakland was deemed the "home" team for the 2 games when the schedulers could have easily made each team the home team for 1 game. That still ticks me off. Oakland played the season with 83 road games and 79 home games while Boston had the inverse. How is that fair?

2. During the aftermath from Hurricane Katrina, the NFL had the New Orleans Saints play a home game at Giants stadium...against the New York Giants. The game could have easily been played 300 miles from New Orleans at Reliant Stadium in Houston but the NFL seized the opportunity to give a major boost to the big market New York Giants. Total BS.

3. During the aftermath from Hurricane Ike last year, MLB moved a series orginially scheduled to be played at Minute Maid park in Houston between the Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros to Miller Park in Milwaukee, less than 70 miles from Chicago. Guess who filled the seats in Milwaukee? If you said Astros fans, you'd be wrong. Several options other than Milwaukee existed but why be fair to the Astros when you can favor the 3rd most marketable baseball team in the league?

Even if the Indiana AD is complicit in the scheduling of the game in DC, it doesn't make it right. Remember that 'Ol Carl tried to contract the very team he owned. When you put the almighty dollar ahead of integrity, you become no better than the WWE. Maybe that's why I find myself drawn more and more to professional golf. There aren't implicit and explicit biases that give Tiger Woods an advantage.

Great post! Further proof that biases toward the "big boys" are prevalent, regardless of sport.

And Indiana should be ashamed of itself. You should lose your status as a BCS school if you give away even one home game.

 

[ButchNashGuy]

Right next to you... 7-10 it will be nice to meet you. I think there are several other Holers within a few rows of us too! Bleedgopher, DarrentheGreek, BildGopher, Rouser and Go4Rob come to mind...

That sounds great! I love the seats. I am there with my teenage son.

 

[FireDaveLee]

I think the biggest difference with Minnesota State-Mankato when they did it is that it's one hockey game out of many (of course, it's what would be your biggest money maker). Not saying it's right; if I was a Maverick's fan, I'd be upset and I'd be even more upset if I was a bar/restaurant owner in downtown Mankato....but one of many.

As for Indiana...I say who cares for next year? So the probability of Penn State winning went from 88.4% to 96.9% by moving the game from Bloomington to Washington DC....so what? Now, if Indiana gets back to something remotly representing a home field advantage, then it becomes a problem.

However, I do think Indiana should be responsible for at least finding a way to get 10,000 of their season ticket holders out their at their cost.....it is a slap in the face to your loyal fans. No conference game should be moved because of money.

 

[GopherRock]

This sets a very, very dangerous precedent. It essentially says that for the small football fries in the conference, their home games are for sale. While this is all well and good for non-conference games, if you want to try this stunt for a league game, get out of the conference and join the MAC.

I'm surprised that Jim Delany and Co. signed off on this after not permitting the Axe to be the first game at the New Brickhouse.

 

[Maverick]

I think the biggest difference with Minnesota State-Mankato when they did it is that it's one hockey game out of many (of course, it's what would be your biggest money maker). Not saying it's right; if I was a Maverick's fan, I'd be upset and I'd be even more upset if I was a bar/restaurant owner in downtown Mankato....but one of many.

As for Indiana...I say who cares for next year? So the probability of Penn State winning went from 88.4% to 96.9% by moving the game from Bloomington to Washington DC....so what? Now, if Indiana gets back to something remotly representing a home field advantage, then it becomes a problem.

However, I do think Indiana should be responsible for at least finding a way to get 10,000 of their season ticket holders out their at their cost.....it is a slap in the face to your loyal fans. No conference game should be moved because of money.

Exactly! And i would be PO'd if I was a bar owner in Indiana... One of my points is that you never hear the fans of the "visiting" team complain when in reality its another "home" game for them. Minnesota hockey fans and the team benefited greatly from this deal as will penn State and every other team that ever does this.

How this affects the integrity of the league as a whole will only be figured out after, and undoubtly, just like liberal and conservative politics, opinions and proof will be slanted towards whatever side you support....

 

[tjgopher]

The more I think about this, the more I'm surprised it is even allowed.

Taking this to the extreme - what if I'm the Northwestern AD and let's say it is 2011 and my football team's record to start the Big Ten season is 1-4 and 2-7 overall. Let's say I play host to Penn State in week 12. What's to stop me from throwing together a last second "money grab" (already knowing I'm out of contention for a bowl berth). What if I say we've worked out a deal to play our home game against Penn State in three weeks in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh or Washington, DC? Penn State is in Rose Bowl contention and needs a win and will sell out "my home game" bringing my department mucho dinero that might be much needed. I'll refund my season ticket holders (I don't have that many) and still come out with lots of dollars.

Far, far, far fetched, I know, but apparently it is allowed?

 

[RailBaronYarr]

I didn't read the whole thread so apologies if something like this has been said (I'll check in a minute) but I was too excited.

I JUST got back from a week long trip in DC last week and wanted to share something I found surprising. My girlfriend and I were counting Big Ten apparel to see if we could see every school while on the trip (the prior weekend in Philly included). We saw all but Northwestern represented. I also found it odd that the top 3 represented schools were, in order: OSU, Michigan, and... Indiana. I was VERY surprised given the state of their football team they would have that many people around, either traveling or living, showing their colors. It was about 15-20 total.

Maybe DC is an area where alumni live after graduating? Who knows. I also recognize that a week is a very small sampling, but having walked around (no car), taken the metro rail, visiting countless museums and monuments, I feel I got a pretty good snapshot.

By the way, MN gear outnumbered WI gear, if you include my girlfriend and I (which I do).

 

[dpodoll68]

I didn't read the whole thread so apologies if something like this has been said (I'll check in a minute) but I was too excited.

I JUST got back from a week long trip in DC last week and wanted to share something I found surprising. My girlfriend and I were counting Big Ten apparel to see if we could see every school while on the trip (the prior weekend in Philly included). We saw all but Northwestern represented. I also found it odd that the top 3 represented schools were, in order: OSU, Michigan, and... Indiana. I was VERY surprised given the state of their football team they would have that many people around, either traveling or living, showing their colors. It was about 15-20 total.

Maybe DC is an area where alumni live after graduating? Who knows. I also recognize that a week is a very small sampling, but having walked around (no car), taken the metro rail, visiting countless museums and monuments, I feel I got a pretty good snapshot.

By the way, MN gear outnumbered WI gear, if you include my girlfriend and I (which I do).

It has nothing to do with their football team. It has almost everything to do with the fact that their basketball team is an historical powerhouse. For those who may not know, their soccer team is also a juggernaut (and soccer is far more popular along the coasts than it is in "flyover country".)

 

[RailBaronYarr]

I know that. I was just pointing it out. I also know that 20 does not equal 10,000 people willing to show up. Don't forget Happy Valley isn't exactly too far from DC compared to Bloomington.

I also agree this is total BS. PSU gets a de facto home game. Nothing more to say.

 

[tjgopher]

I know that. I was just pointing it out. I also know that 20 does not equal 10,000 people willing to show up. Don't forget Happy Valley isn't exactly too far from DC compared to Bloomington.

I also agree this is total BS. PSU gets a de facto home game. Nothing more to say.

PSU is about four hours from Washington, DC. Also, I think Philly and Washington DC/Baltimore are the #1 and #2 areas for PSU alums to live post-graduation. Well, guess who's filling the stadium in DC? Not IU fans.

 

[Bronko Nagurski Gopher]

There is a lot more to be embarrassed about if you are in Indiana football fan. They have not won or shared a Big Ten title since 1967............................

yeah, and imagine how embarrassed they would be if they had been playing college football for 120 years and still hadn't won a national title........boy would their faces be red.........oh wait.......i am talking about the wrong team.........that is wisconsin i just described.........my bad......sorry!