ACC/BT Challenge - this REALLY upsets me

[GopherNation]

GopherNation- like it or not those "golf fans" as you call us pay the bills and offer up most of the donations to support the athletic department. I wish the golf fans were more vocal too but that's life. If you lose the golf fans- the U is in deep stinkin' trouble. So watch what you wish for.

As far as the students- they have been great this year- the ones that bought tickets. But 1200 out of 40,000 plus is a LOUSY percentage for attendance when we have a rock solid squad or for any year. This school has a serious student apathy issue in my view. That's not the fault of the students but rather the school in general and the athletic department specifically. There has to be ways to get a lto more students excited about UofM athletics than currently are. This should be emphasized all over campus. Enjoying the U's athletic teams should be a great part of the campus life.

I agree with that. And in fairness to those "golf fans," it has been a miserable past 10 years or so for the squad. But they can change my opinion this year by making some noise!!

I expect the student section to have a very loud effort this year as well. In defense of the student section, it is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, many of those kids are already at home for the holidays. When they return from break they will buy up the remaining tickets. And as the team wins, more buzz will be created on campus and demand for tickets will shoot up.

 

[grunkiejr]

I couldn't care less what other people pay to get in to the arena. I paid what I considered a fair price and I gave a donation for better seats. The guy sitting next to me paid less than me for similar seats because he has been a ticket holder for a longer time. Good for him.

If the market for single game tickets is less than $35 I commend the ticket office for dropping the price to find the fair market value and increase their revenue. If our athletic dept sells more tickets and makes more money because of it I am happy. If that allows a bigger budget for coaches, recruiting, etc we are all better off as fans.

 

[EverTheSkeptic]

I don't have a big problem with discounting seats that would otherwise be empty. It is an example, though, of how the Athletic Department does not appreciate the season ticket holder fan base, as Reusse correctly pointed out. I'm especially concerned about this Points Program. It looks like yet another way to squeeze and extra dollar out of us. The U seems to see us as an unlimited cash cow that they can expolit at will.

And for the record, I don't watch golf. Or play it.

 

[GopherLady]

Given the amount of students at the first few games, I think 1200 sounds awfully low. I think I heard around 1700, but I could be confused (which I am about 80 percent of the time anyway). I think 1700 seems a lot more accurate than 1200.

GL, yeah, I heard that too.

Reusse also mentioned again that the Gopher Athletic Dept is ripping off its season ticket holders with high ticket prices and premium seat fees - he's alluded to that a number of times in the past. I emailed him with some Big 10 BB ticket pricing info (gopherhole link) for comparison purposes and a link to a discussion of the way Minnesota underreports its men's basketball revenue. For example, the basketball program does not get credit for the revenue generated through premium seat fees and barn loft premiums - these mandatory donations are reported in a general category titled "Revenues not Generated by Gender or Sport." Because the U of M has decided to exclude these substantial revenues from the reported BB income, Maturi can claim that Minnesota is in the middle of the pack for Big 10 schools when it comes to BB revenue and that it's time for an expansion of premium seat fees. Of course, what Maturi won't be telling us is that if the premium seat fees were reported as basketball revenue as they rightly should be, Minnesota is already at the head of the Big 10 pack.

I suggested to Mr. Reusse that this topic has the makings of a good column - we'll have to wait and see if he takes me up on that suggestion.

I plan to write about this topic for my blog within the next week - I'd love for you to forward me all of that info. I actually didn't know we underreported - I would like any facts on that. Please email me at [email protected] SouthPaw, I don't need 100 emails from you, Dr. Don

 

[CrocShots]

In terms of students, I think a lot of them don't think about getting tickets/regularly attending til B10 play starts. That, combined with a month of winter break, makes it tough for many to justify season tickets by this point in the season. Not trying to be an apologist for the students - I have had bb tix all four years now - but the student section will sell out all the important B10 games. We did last year as well I believe.

Also there are students who just buy single game student tix or don't buy them because they are studying abroad, going abroad, interning etc etc so they can't go to the full season.

 

[howeda7]

I'm sorry Gopherlady, but I don't feel sorry for you.

The advantages of being a season ticket holder are:

1) You are guaranteed tickets to every game at what is usually a slightly discounted rate off of face value.
2) You are protected from inflated prices for big games and in seasons where there is higher than usual interest.

The disadvantages of being a season ticket holder are:

1) You don't get to pick and choose which games to go to.
2) You are not protected from discounted prices when ticket demand is lower than expected.

+1. While I completely agree with GopherLady that the U's treatment of season-ticket holder's seems poor and thier marketing even worse, I'm not really sure what you would have them do in this case?

The demand for this game is poor, they have unsold tickets. So would rather have them A) Leave the tickets at full price and not sell them, in an effort to be 'fair' to the season-ticket holders? Or B) Lower the price and then refund $10 to every season-ticket holder, giving back $100K+ in revenue they really need to people who, for the most part, didn't ask for it? Nevermind that actually doing this would be an administrative nightmare and set a terrible precident.

I think they should absolutely discount the season tickets more then they do. But there's no practical solution to the individual game situations like this. At best they could track how often this is done and offer season-ticket holders an equivalent discount next year, i.e. we discounted tickets $10 five times in 2010-11. You are entitled to a $50 discount on your 2011-12 season tickets. Would this appease your concern here?

 

[goldybobblehead]

Ticket Sales

If you heard that 1200 figure Sunday night, then it may have been correct. Last weekend did generate a lot of buzz and when I spoke to the ticket office yesterday, they said tickets have been flying off the shelf this week. That doesn't mean some students won't wait until gameday to decide if they will go.

 

[skoalvikings]

There are probably several things that the U could do in terms of treating their STH better, but for me, it comes down to one thing: improve the non-conference schedule. After a few years of paying to watch an abysmal schedule (at regular prices) I decided to drop our tickets this year. I'm guessing we weren't alone as I was able to buy similar seats for both OSU and MSU the other day without any problem on the U website. Now, instead of spending several hundred dollars on meaningless NDSU-type games, I am spending $70 for seats to the two games that will probably be the gems of the schedule.

 

[pregameatblarneys]

The email went out to season ticket holders - but if you call the ticket office (one of my friends did), they advertise this special to anyone. I'm guessing that it's just the email database they have.

It wasn't sent out like the presale for Gopher Football tickets like this:

I am not a season ticket holder, but purchase single game tickets each season, and I, too, received this email.

 

[cncmin]

Ok, so I received this email (I've attached the graphic) from Gophersports. I have heard ticket sales are not great, and that even the students have only bought 1200 tickets out of the 2200...but when they offer a discounted rate for a game, there is not much that upsets me more as a season ticket holder. All of us have to pay $35 for this game, but the people that aren't paying $600+ for their whole season ticket holder package get to pay $25? Way to appreciate your season ticket holders, once again. No wonder why we're a declining group, when you treat your loyal fans like this, you can't blame people for dropping their tickets.

Yeah but it's still a business. The U needs to make money. In order to make money, it's hard to justify how a vacant seat brings in more revenue (/profit) than a $25 seat.

For the non-Big Ten season, you can always buy a scalped ticket for lower than face value. It's unlikely you'll be able to sell yours for the full $35. That said, come Big Ten season, you will easily get face value, and possibly much, much more. A season ticket holder has the advantage that they always get to have a seat, and don't have to do work every week to get it. The disadvantage is that, sometimes, you get slighted a bit.

Enjoy your tickets. I wish I could be there.

 

[DLguy]

Really?

There are probably several things that the U could do in terms of treating their STH better, but for me, it comes down to one thing: improve the non-conference schedule. After a few years of paying to watch an abysmal schedule (at regular prices) I decided to drop our tickets this year. I'm guessing we weren't alone as I was able to buy similar seats for both OSU and MSU the other day without any problem on the U website. Now, instead of spending several hundred dollars on meaningless NDSU-type games, I am spending $70 for seats to the two games that will probably be the gems of the schedule.

I have never understood the people that constantly bitch about the non-conference schedule. What do you want them to do? We have 8 home games. I think 4 were tourney teams from a year ago. You dont like seeing quality teams? 1 is an ACC team that we dont get to choose, and two are regional teams. Do you think power conference teams are just chomping at the bit to come play us here? We basically get the best of what we are capable of getting. Quit bitching about the schedule. It is damn good, and the conference schedule is brutal enough the way it is.

 

[year of the gopher]

Yeah but it's still a business. The U needs to make money. In order to make money, it's hard to justify how a vacant seat brings in more revenue (/profit) than a $25 seat.

For the non-Big Ten season, you can always buy a scalped ticket for lower than face value. It's unlikely you'll be able to sell yours for the full $35. That said, come Big Ten season, you will easily get face value, and possibly much, much more. A season ticket holder has the advantage that they always get to have a seat, and don't have to do work every week to get it. The disadvantage is that, sometimes, you get slighted a bit.

Enjoy your tickets. I wish I could be there.

Thank you for supporting essentially my earlier point. I see why GopherLady might be mildly irritated, but it's not some sort of grave injustice and certainly not worth making a public stink about.

I say that and I'd love to have Gopher hoops season tix right now. I just can't swing it financially or time-wise with 2 young kids at the moment.

I'd never want sports tickets to get to this point, but consider airline tickets for a moment. Get on a plane some time and I can just about guarantee you that SOMEONE got a ticket for less than you did.

 

[Moonlight]

It IS a business but...

Anyone in business will tell you that the key to excellent business prcatice is retaining your loyal customers. Those of us complaining are business people - we would never treat our longtime committed customers the way the U does. Their practices have led to the current situation - low attendence projected for the ACC/BT challenge. And so we are basically penalized for our loyalty. But it would be so easy to do exactly what they are doing AND throw a bone to the seaqson ticket holders.

Not mentioned is that most of us would be happy if we were offered some perks that would cost the U little to nothing. An invitation to a practice, etc. As a small business owner, I have an annual event for customers - and not just for those who spend the most money - ALL of them. It costs me some but I know for sure I make it up.

To sum up - it may be business, but it is bad business.

 

[skoalvikings]

I have never understood the people that constantly bitch about the non-conference schedule. What do you want them to do? We have 8 home games. I think 4 were tourney teams from a year ago. You dont like seeing quality teams? 1 is an ACC team that we dont get to choose, and two are regional teams. Do you think power conference teams are just chomping at the bit to come play us here? We basically get the best of what we are capable of getting. Quit bitching about the schedule. It is damn good, and the conference schedule is brutal enough the way it is.

I love when we count automatic qualifiers from small conferences as big-time opponents (I might add that those auto-qualifiers typically are senior-laden, therefore making the following year less competitive). Here's what I want Maturi to do--schedule at least one decent home game per year with a top 25 school or at the very least a reasonable opponent from a BCS conference. Many other schools do it, there isn't any reason the Gophers can't.

 

[howeda7]

What is the current # of season-tickets sold for basketball? Does anyone know?

 

[howeda7]

I love when we count automatic qualifiers from small conferences as big-time opponents (I might add that those auto-qualifiers typically are senior-laden, therefore making the following year less competitive). Here's what I want Maturi to do--schedule at least one decent home game per year with a top 25 school or at the very least a reasonable opponent from a BCS conference. Many other schools do it, there isn't any reason the Gophers can't.

While I think Tubby & Co. have certainly upgraded thier non-conference SOS overall, they have done it primarily by upgrading the quality of the cupcakes. But you cannot deny the fact that they have not scheduled ANY volunatary BCS-level home games in 4 years. That is unacceptable

 

[Hates Monikers]

Given the amount of students at the first few games, I think 1200 sounds awfully low. I think I heard around 1700, but I could be confused (which I am about 80 percent of the time anyway). I think 1700 seems a lot more accurate than 1200.

I heard Reusse mention this on the radio last week. He had just called the ticket office to ask about it. He said they had sold 1,200 student season tickets and 9,600 regular season tickets. GL said she heard it on the Sports Show; I'm sure Reusse was the source of that, too. But I heard him say that he called the ticket office to ask; it wasn't his estimate.

 

[Hates Monikers]

I have never understood the people that constantly bitch about the non-conference schedule. What do you want them to do? We have 8 home games. I think 4 were tourney teams from a year ago. You dont like seeing quality teams? 1 is an ACC team that we dont get to choose, and two are regional teams. Do you think power conference teams are just chomping at the bit to come play us here? We basically get the best of what we are capable of getting. Quit bitching about the schedule. It is damn good, and the conference schedule is brutal enough the way it is.

Fair enough. But add me to the list of those who are concerned about the value I'm getting for $35 per game. I have considered dropping my tickets the past two years because it doesn't seem as worthwhile as it did when I bought my tickets in 1993, when we had a better non-conference schedule (plus more conference games) and paid $11 per game. It's fine to tell us to quit bitching, but when an unattractive schedule and higher prices start driving season ticket holders away, the "bitching" starts to affect the bottom line.

 

[grunkiejr]

Anyone in business will tell you that the key to excellent business prcatice is retaining your loyal customers. Those of us complaining are business people - we would never treat our longtime committed customers the way the U does. Their practices have led to the current situation - low attendence projected for the ACC/BT challenge. And so we are basically penalized for our loyalty. But it would be so easy to do exactly what they are doing AND throw a bone to the seaqson ticket holders.

Not mentioned is that most of us would be happy if we were offered some perks that would cost the U little to nothing. An invitation to a practice, etc. As a small business owner, I have an annual event for customers - and not just for those who spend the most money - ALL of them. It costs me some but I know for sure I make it up.

To sum up - it may be business, but it is bad business.

Are you the type of person that complains when you buy a ticket for a flight and find out that the guy sitting next to you paid $50 less for a comparable ticket?

 

[forever a gopher]

I don't really understand the problem.

Season ticket holders get better seats, but pay $35, and non-season ticket holders get crummy seats, but pay $25. Seems logical to me.

I am a football season ticket holder. Why would I care if they have to sell tickets at a discount to get people to show up? I want to be at a packed stadium- that benefits everybody (looks better on tv,more fun for those in attendance, more people = more concessions, parking, etc. for the U). Because I am a season ticket holder, I get a guaranteed seat to every game, and get what I consider great seats, and I can also purchase a parking/tailgating spot. Seems like a pretty good deal to me.

If you don't like it, don't renew. Simple as that.

 

[burton34]

I used to share season tickets with a group of buddies and I dropped out about 5-6 years ago because of...

A) family and job obligations...and

B) I can still go to any game I want and pay under face value on the street - or get freebies from other season ticket holders I know that always give their tickets away.

The downside is that I never know where I may end up sitting but that really has never been a problem the past 10-12 years.

I should add that I have been to at least 10-15 games the past 2 seasons and have not paid a dime for tickets and I've sat in lower level a majority of the time.

Congratulations on being a cheapa$$.

 

[epgopher]

Thank you for supporting essentially my earlier point. I see why GopherLady might be mildly irritated, but it's not some sort of grave injustice and certainly not worth making a public stink about.

I say that and I'd love to have Gopher hoops season tix right now. I just can't swing it financially or time-wise with 2 young kids at the moment.

I'd never want sports tickets to get to this point, but consider airline tickets for a moment. Get on a plane some time and I can just about guarantee you that SOMEONE got a ticket for less than you did.

+1 This is the first thought that came to mind as I read GL's OP. Our economy is full of examples where the loyal, long-time customer pays more than the late-comers. There are untold numbers of businesses that offer "introductory" teaser rates to new customers.
Unless there is an opportunity cost associated with this pricing strategy there is little down-side to it from the UM Athletics' perspective.

 

[epgopher]

I don't really understand the problem.

Season ticket holders get better seats, but pay $35, and non-season ticket holders get crummy seats, but pay $25. Seems logical to me.

I am a football season ticket holder. Why would I care if they have to sell tickets at a discount to get people to show up? I want to be at a packed stadium- that benefits everybody (looks better on tv,more fun for those in attendance, more people = more concessions, parking, etc. for the U). Because I am a season ticket holder, I get a guaranteed seat to every game, and get what I consider great seats, and I can also purchase a parking/tailgating spot. Seems like a pretty good deal to me.

If you don't like it, don't renew. Simple as that.

+1

 

[epgopher]

Just some additional perspective. One of the "perceived" benefits of having season tickets is the certainty of being able to attend any and all games without restriction. If the team continues to perform at a high level the demand will certainly increase and it may become more difficult in future years to assume access without a season ticket. I recall the Barn being packed to the rafters in the early-80's - when capacity was near 19,000 - when the team contended for and won the Big Ten Title.
The goal is and should be a scenario where the demand for seats is equal to or greater than the supply. It's been awhile since that was the case at the U, but hiring and keeping a coach like Tubby and being consistently competitive is one step in the direction of making Gophers BB the toughest ticket in town again.
The difficulty is finding the appropriate balance as we strive to get to that point. They need to invest the money to help put a competitive product on the court/field which means as fans we may have to bear that financial burden to reach the long-term goal of a consistent winning program.

 

[Ski U Master]

If you're mad now, just wait until they reseat the arena next year. Alot of "long-time fans" will be usurped in favor of money in the seat selection process.

 

[GopherJake]

Just some additional perspective. One of the "perceived" benefits of having season tickets is the certainty of being able to attend any and all games without restriction. If the team continues to perform at a high level the demand will certainly increase and it may become more difficult in future years to assume access without a season ticket...............

Yeah. "Perceived" is right. Put a few more banners in the rafters and then we can talk. I see one from 1982 up there. Then I see an a$$load of NIT banners.

Those of us that kept our season tickets for the entire Dan Monson "run" should get special consideration for the re-seating process.

 

[Moonlight]

This is not about fairness for me

Are you the type of person that complains when you buy a ticket for a flight and find out that the guy sitting next to you paid $50 less for a comparable ticket?

No - but you choose a poor comparison. Lets look at that.
I do have a skymiles acct. and a AE credit card that helps me compile miles for a free or reduced flight which I benefited from. I can also check my bags without charge. I also get special offers for flights and things like a free or reduced priced pass to the Delta lounge. When they screwed up my schedule, I received an email and 500 miles to my acct.

Because even though Delta is a big company, they know that treating their customers well is important and in their best interest. I get more perks for loyaly from the airlines than the U. Suddenly when it come to loyalty, they are not a business - they are an educational institution.
Comparably speaking, offering an opportunity to attend a practice would qualify fro treating customers well.

Its not about whether this unfair. Lets review the past: The U was flying high after the '97 final four and a mere few years later, there were season tickets a-plenty. The program still has not recovered from this disaster.
There is a lot of up and down in any business - hence attention to loyalty. Had the U paid any attention to their loyal fan base it might not be looking at low attendance for this upcoming game. Tubby won't be here forever - we might go up or we might go down. Even with Tubby, the U is reliant on student athletes for their financial success and last year showed how unpredictable that is.