$3.43 Million. That was Tracy Claeys' buyout. Everyone was talking 500k and so focused on that, but in reality it was $3.43 Million.
It's something that nobody talked about or even mentioned until it was in the paper the other day. The assistants are guaranteed through 2017 for $2.93 Million. This should have been reported much sooner, terrible job by the media not pointing this out and factoring it in.
Coyle's decision makes more sense when you combine the 8 wins with the $3.43 Million buyout. Today an article said he told Claeys a month ago he would be back. Claeys hit Coyle's win total a month ago and that was it. It would have taken 6 wins or less for Coyle to have the capital (both literally and figuratively) to make a change. Easier to understand when it's 3.5 million vs 500k.
I don't really agree. If we had hired let's say PJ Fleck, it's possible to likely that at least some of the staff would have remained. Some of the staff might quit out of loyalty, but they'd forego their buyout. So the only guaranteed buyout is 500k for Claeys, everything else is a guess. And FYI, I'm on board with retaining Claeys.
As to the OP, I agree with a lot of the comments. Why the heck do I sacrifice so much time and money to be a season ticket holder when I could attend the same number of games for a lot less money, and get to pick and choose the games I'm really excited about. It truly is a donation. I'll keep my seats for next year since the schedule is solid, but if we regress, or if the product isn't exciting and gives little hope for the future, I'll consider giving them up. I also completely agree with the lousy atmosphere at games and the constant in your face advertising.
Things I don't mind:
The Case IH red zone (usually at an exciting point, kind of funny)
Introduction of other sports teams/players who've had success that we want to celebrate
Ad space on scoreboards
An occasional other introduction to someone on the sideline
Things I despise
Constant intros on the sideline (kid of the game, tee kid, farm family of the game, someone I've never heard of)
Constant talk from the PA, it really never ceases, it should be in the background and informational only, such as who made the tackle and who was the runner(and of course I hate our PA guy anyway)
Mcnamara donating 75 cents for each touchdown
Too much piped in music, not enough band, not a loud enough band, never play our great songs during games (minnesota march completely absent, among others) and can't we put speakers in the band endzone to augment the sound?
more focus should be on the students, band and cheerleaders, it's college football
