+1, I believe that the Twin Cities is a big enough market to support both a successful college and pro team. The Gophers need to do a better job of getting people in their 20's and 30's into the team, recent alums are key. A successful team on the field will breed a better TCF atmosphere and create memories which will keep alums going to games after they're done with school.
The market is certainly big enough - there are enough Fortune 500 companies, enough middle-class residents, and plenty of alums of the U to fill the seats and eyes on TV for both programs.
That said, a smaller market (I'm thinking in the range of between 100,000 and 500,000 in a 20 mile radius) that doesn't share a pro team (in any sport, but most notably football) absolutely has an advantage for ticket sales and top-to-bottom loyalty to a collegiate program. Here are my reasons:
- They're the only game in town. People want to root for a "hometown team," and in this case they're the only one. The vibrancy of their city or town depends on the success of their team so fans will be more ardent for that program than an NFL (or NBA/MLB/etc) team 100+ miles away. Heck, many people may even seek out a college town like that to live in because they either went to the school or just like that atmosphere of die-hard rabid fans.
- Local media (radio, tv, newspaper, etc) cover them nearly exclusively. Go down to Iowa City/Coralville. It's tough to get the Des Moines Register, but the local paper is easy to come by. They have a much larger coverage of all things Hawkeyes than the Strib and PP combined do (and I've been fairly pleased recently in their coverage). You'll also have a much higher chance of positive coverage by these outlets, which helps perception of the program(s).
- Going back to point #1 - funding, whether gov't supported or private fundraising, a reasonably college town (or state with no NFL team) gets the lion's share of donations and support. Money has proven to be key in keeping facilities up to date, building new ones, etc to attract the top talent and coaches.
- The national media tips the scales for viewers and tickets towards pro sports simply because they are seen as a better product. They (most notably the NFL and MLB) have been run as efficient businesses for quite some time with a hefty investment in public relations to make people believe they are the top game in town in every angle from in-game atmosphere to viewing experience to quality of play on the field. This means that simply having a pro team in your area doesn't just cut your potential fans in half, it naturally gives a minimum 65/35 advantage, in my opinion.
- Larger markets, as evidenced by MSP and Chicago among many others, are made up of a diverse population. This includes people who attended rival universities (see Iowa and Wisc alums in the area) as well as other smaller school whose alums don't feel tied to the university in the big city (they already have their own). In our case we've got tons of UMD, St Cloud, NDSU, UND, Mankato, and other schools represented here, all of which have competed with our school in at least one sport if not more. This cuts away the number of people who could ever be in the range of mild to die-hard fans of the U.
- People have pointed it out before, but schools in major media markets recently got together to share ideas on how to compete in that environment. There is obviously a recognized issue with that particular situation.
I do think that a large portion of the U's struggles come from lack of spend and focus on athletics in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s. I also think the marketing of our programs has been lackluster (they even squandered an awesome opportunity with the new stadium when compared to Target Field, for example). Lastly, we've made some bonehead hires and fires. That said, I can't believe someone would argue that being competitive in a major market has its definite challenges compared to middle-sized cities where the school is the only name in town.
