Norwood Teague Press Conference Notes Regarding UNC Games

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I can't remember who said it but it's worth noting again...I've never seen so many posters agree on a singular topic in GH history. It's pretty amazing.

There's a perception hit here that is tough to overcome. I'll definitely be tempering my expectations over the next 36 months of the program and I'm pretty much a diehard fan. What do fans on the fence think? Does Kill think people are dumb enough to think fans opinion will change of the program if they win 4 NC games against the cupcakes of the cupcakes?

If you can't sell hope until 2015 at the earliest (and with the move it's for Teague or Kill to sell hope), good luck selling tickets and keeping the average fan interested.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Pulse went up because we went for 1-3 to 4-0 this year. That won't be the case next year. Next year everyone will rightly and justifiably expect 4-0 in the non-conf schedule based on the garbage there. Assuming the UNC replacement is a home game and on par with the other three non-conf opponents currently scheduled Kill and Co better make damn sure they don't lose any of those games.
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Or what tough guy???

Sorry, but the outrage here his just as comical. I would rather have not dropped the game either, but I have no control over it. This can piss you off so much you can stop being a fan (see ya)... or you can vent and move on. Is there anyway we can combine the 3 threads talking about the exact same things? I would much rather be reading more about people hating Wisky!
 

This tells me more and more that Nelson will start next year and the team will still be young. Kill is taking baby steps and has his formula. I'm not sure this step was needed in eliminating UNC, but it's over now. Mackey on 1500AM made the comment that Mason made bowl after bowl with scheduling cupcakes and those are the glory days for Gopher fans still living. Does Lawrence Maroney come here without those cupcakes to make bowls and be noticed? Something to think about.
 

As much as I don't like this decision, it's clear to me that this is all part of the bigger picture. Look at the 2013 schedule. It's much more favorable, with home games agaisnt Iowa, Wisconsin, Penn State, and Nebraska and with Northwestern and Indiana on the road. A weak NC schedule made weaker by pulling the road game at UNC would more likely deliver another win that could help vault the team into a bowl (or better bowl), and the extra cash and recruiting benefits inherent.

The difference between 6 wins and 7 could easily be hundreds of thousands of dollars in bowl money. I'm guessing Kill and Teague believe this is where they can close that $800K gap.

That said, I don't think we need to play scared when it comes to UNC Football. Were I AD, I wouldn't have done this, but I think I see the logic. And it may well work out for the better if we can somehow get 7-8 wins next year (cart waaaay ahead of the horse there, I know).
 



The decision is as, or even more, disappointing after Teague's explanation.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
This tells me more and more that Nelson will start next year and the team will still be young. Kill is taking baby steps and has his formula. I'm not sure this step was needed in eliminating UNC, but it's over now. Mackey on 1500AM made the comment that Mason made bowl after bowl with scheduling cupcakes and those are the glory days for Gopher fans still living. Does Lawrence Maroney come here without those cupcakes to make bowls and be noticed? Something to think about.
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Ah...the young excuse again. More insulation from criticism. When won't we be young? I'm going to list out all of the upperclassman on the roster next year that will contribute:

Hageman
E Olson
KGM
Jacques
Beal
Vereen
Manual
Gillum
R Johnson
Shabazz
Baltazar
Mottla
Hill
Barker
Engel
Wright
Edwards
Kirkwood
Hutton
Lenkiewitz
Epping
Perry
Legania
T Olson
Amefula
Shortell
DCT
Goodger
Wells
M Jones
Levine
Thompson
Cobb
Fruechte
Boddy
Bak
Botticelli

That's the VAST majority of the 2-deep this year.
 

Studwell55 said:
SO ARE WE LOSING 800K OR NOT?
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Yes, we are - but they are coming up with ways to get some of that back - for example, adding a home game. He didn't want to go into that now, as a complete plan has not been developed.
 

mnsports1 said:
Or what tough guy???

Sorry, but the outrage here his just as comical. I would rather have not dropped the game either, but I have no control over it. This can piss you off so much you can stop being a fan (see ya)... or you can vent and move on. Is there anyway we can combine the 3 threads talking about the exact same things? I would much rather be reading more about people hating Wisky!
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Totally agree!

Somebody else asked about the fence sitters....the fence sitters are oblivious! Most won't care that's why they're non-commital. They will jump on with wins and will be clueless of the quality. Die hards will be here no matter what, and if the die hards leave...so be it. There aren't enough die hards to fill a stadium, but there are enough casual fans to fill a stadium when they win...see 2011 Non-conf.

Also, people seem to forget that POWER RUNNING GAME of Mason's was legitimately good, but pretty inflated w/ cupcakes.
 



Pewterschmidt said:
Ah...the young excuse again. More insulation from criticism. When won't we be young? I'm going to list out all of the upperclassman on the roster next year that will contribute:

Hageman
E Olson
KGM
Jacques
Beal
Vereen
Manual
Gillum
R Johnson
Shabazz
Baltazar
Mottla
Hill
Barker
Engel
Wright
Edwards
Kirkwood
Hutton
Lenkiewitz
Epping
Perry
Legania
T Olson
Amefula
Shortell
DCT
Goodger
Wells
M Jones
Levine
Thompson
Cobb
Fruechte
Boddy
Bak
Botticelli

That's the VAST majority of the 2-deep this year.
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+1000
 

OddStack said:
I wonder too, but that got me to thinking more...

Let's be conservative with the assumed extra home game we'll get next year.

Let's say we continue to lose STH and only have 25,000 in '13. 25000 x $35 is $875,000 in ticket sales only from STH. Let's figure there are 4 to a car, that's 6,250 cars. Multiply that by $15 per spot for the game (some less $10...some spots more $25). That's another $93,750 only from STH.

That's a Gross of $968,750 before any $ is spent on anything else for an extra game. We likely have to pay the other team as it won't likely be a home/home.

This makes me feel as though there's not a lot of the 800k that won't be coming back. It likely makes money when you figure the travel costs saved in not making a trip to UNC.
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Sad part is the rumor is that they are replacing this with a home-and-home with NMSU. If true, that means they aren't going to recoup any money and will likely lose even more money out of the deal.

By the way, you may or may not like FoxNews, but the title of this article shows their take on this move: "Softening the schedule: Minnesota confirms cancellation of 2013, 2014 games vs. North Carolina"

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/...nfirms-cancellation-2013-2014-games-vs-north/
 

So basically, the Season Ticket holders will have to pay 30-40 dollars to see another lousy preseason opponent.
I'm sure the U will again break out those ten dollar tickets.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
This tells me more and more that Nelson will start next year and the team will still be young. Kill is taking baby steps and has his formula. I'm not sure this step was needed in eliminating UNC, but it's over now. Mackey on 1500AM made the comment that Mason made bowl after bowl with scheduling cupcakes and those are the glory days for Gopher fans still living. Does Lawrence Maroney come here without those cupcakes to make bowls and be noticed? Something to think about.
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Interesting point about Nelson. Was Kill thinking already this summer that he didn't want a redshirt freshman QB to start on the road at NC in his 2nd career game?

As for Teague's comment about building confidence during the non-conference schedule, what a bunch of absolute garbage. How has the confidence we gained this year by starting 4-0 helped us during the B1G season? Or all of the 4-0 starts we had under Mason? If anything it leads to a false sense of security and doesn't allow the players to understand what will and won't work against a Big Ten team. Our schedule was already set-up pretty easily for us, there was absolutely no good reason to cancel this game.
 



GopherLady said:
Yes, we are - but they are coming up with ways to get some of that back - for example, adding a home game. He didn't want to go into that now, as a complete plan has not been developed.
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I'm sorry but I'm as big of a Gopher homer as any but I refuse to pay MORE for another home game simply because they add a crap team to the home schedule. GL, as you've pointed out, STH values continue to diminish. How cheap will tickets be surrounding gameday for this 8th home game? $10? $5? Yet we as STH will be expected to pay $25-35 more for the season ticket pass, possibly more if you're a parking holder. They will be getting my concessions cash already by me attending the 8th game, they don't need to raise STH prices.

I'm sorry, but losing UNC, who has had some moderate success (but by no means a powerhouse program the likes of USC or even Cal when we scheduled them), is a big hit to us. With their sanctions they will most likely be at or slightly above our program next year and 2014. There's no reason not to play this game.

Yes, when Mason was coach if we won all 4 games in the NC schedule and then went 2-0 in the B10 there was a buzz. That was with 4 cupcakes. So I understand there can be a buzz in town. But imagine the buzz if we beat a Cal/UNC/Colorado ALONG with 3 cupcakes then win a game. Imagine if that BCS level opponent win makes the pollsters vote us in the top 25 a week earlier because we actually have "played somebody" and what happens to our national perception, game times, ESPN vs BTN spotlight, etc. And we don't get nearly as much flak for losing to a team like UNC (esp on the road) as we would for playing way too close to a UNLV, Western Mich, etc. Just a no-win situation for the team or athletic dept - financially or fan perception wise.
 


RailBaronYarr said:
I'm sorry but I'm as big of a Gopher homer as any but I refuse to pay MORE for another home game simply because they add a crap team to the home schedule. GL, as you've pointed out, STH values continue to diminish. How cheap will tickets be surrounding gameday for this 8th home game? $10? $5? Yet we as STH will be expected to pay $25-35 more for the season ticket pass, possibly more if you're a parking holder. They will be getting my concessions cash already by me attending the 8th game, they don't need to raise STH prices.

I'm sorry, but losing UNC, who has had some moderate success (but by no means a powerhouse program the likes of USC or even Cal when we scheduled them), is a big hit to us. With their sanctions they will most likely be at or slightly above our program next year and 2014. There's no reason not to play this game.

Yes, when Mason was coach if we won all 4 games in the NC schedule and then went 2-0 in the B10 there was a buzz. That was with 4 cupcakes. So I understand there can be a buzz in town. But imagine the buzz if we beat a Cal/UNC/Colorado ALONG with 3 cupcakes then win a game. Imagine if that BCS level opponent win makes the pollsters vote us in the top 25 a week earlier because we actually have "played somebody" and what happens to our national perception, game times, ESPN vs BTN spotlight, etc. And we don't get nearly as much flak for losing to a team like UNC (esp on the road) as we would for playing way too close to a UNLV, Western Mich, etc. Just a no-win situation for the team or athletic dept - financially or fan perception wise.
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On the bright side, if you're donating the extra $100, $250, or $500/seat. It just got cheaper per game. ($1.78 low end to $8.93 high end per seat/game ) ;)
 

John Galt said:
Interesting point about Nelson. Was Kill thinking already this summer that he didn't want a redshirt freshman QB to start on the road at NC in his 2nd career game?

As for Teague's comment about building confidence during the non-conference schedule, what a bunch of absolute garbage. How has the confidence we gained this year by starting 4-0 helped us during the B1G season? Or all of the 4-0 starts we had under Mason? If anything it leads to a false sense of security and doesn't allow the players to understand what will and won't work against a Big Ten team. Our schedule was already set-up pretty easily for us, there was absolutely no good reason to cancel this game.
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If Kill was thinking that, he must be the most obsessive person on the planet.
 

Studwell55 said:
SO ARE WE LOSING 800K OR NOT?
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Yes, but the other question is:

How many years is the payoff? NT said they are paying off the 800k over a number of years. 80K each over 10 years is much more palatable than an 800k lump sum.
 

Ski U Mah Gopher said:
Yes, but the other question is:

How many years is the payoff? NT said they are paying off the 800k over a number of years. 80K each over 10 years is much more palatable than an 800k lump sum.
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The money doesn't matter near as much as the fact that the Gophers will be a nationwide laughing stock by the end of the day tomorrow. And we deserve to be.
 


GopherLady said:
Yes, we are - but they are coming up with ways to get some of that back - for example, adding a home game. He didn't want to go into that now, as a complete plan has not been developed.
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Well, that seems to matter quite a bit.

Thanks for the response.
 


GopherLady said:
Yes, we are - but they are coming up with ways to get some of that back - for example, adding a home game. He didn't want to go into that now, as a complete plan has not been developed.
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If true, the bolded is to me is a real indictment of this move. Regardless of what anyone thinks personally of it, it is a PR disaster. It reeks or running scared of a mid level BCS team. A college fb junkie might get that UNC and Syracuse may not differ all that much from a Western Michigan, they aren't the target market for Gopher football tickets. This creates more challenges across an already challenging spectrum- opens the way for our hostile media to ridicule the program, fairweather fans can now pull the "not willing to pay for inferior opponents" argument out, guys like Willard Shapira who don't understand the finances of the athletic department can mock and call for oversight via letters to the editor, donors can reasonably ask why they should donate when the department can toss $800K out so easily (AND WITH NO COMPLETE CONTINGENCY PLAN IN PLACE!) and finally the anti-sports folks on campus can cry about the evils of big time college athletics. Personally, I don't like the decision, but I can see Coach Kill's point of view. The real questionable part is the horrible way it has been handled. Teague should have some idea of the market and media here after a few months on the job. Maybe he is just being honest on this, maybe he just knows it looks bad and doesn't want to look like a Brewster type spinmeister, but to me it almost seems like he is surprised at the response. That is the troubling part to me. We just got rid of a guy who was in over his head and belonged in the MAC program he came from. I hope we didn't replace him with a guy who maxed his potential in the Atlantic 10.
 

Read some mixed reactions from UNC fans on their Scout site. Some are glad it is cancelled, and some are pissed. A common reason was that there was no real recruiting advantage to the game.
 

John Galt said:
It's a stupid take by MV. He was a mouthpiece for Brewster, and now he bashes him. Likewise, JK can do no wrong in his eyes.
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Agreed. Using Sagarin ratings predictors and program ratings links don't mean squat in this equation. Why? Because this really has nothing to do with where we're rated as it compares to North Carolina. It has to do with a coach and an AD who are literally afraid of playing other BCS conference teams. If two games in two years against North Carolina is so potentially damaging to our football program that we literally will write a check so we won't have to play them, we've got a huge huge problem with both our coach and our AD, not from a competitive stand point but rather from a philosophical standpoint.
 

Gopher Bandanna Guy said:
The difference between 6 wins and 7 could easily be hundreds of thousands of dollars in bowl money. I'm guessing Kill and Teague believe this is where they can close that $800K gap.
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Bowl money won't make up for it. It's pretty well documented that teams (especially teams like MN who don't travel well to bowls) lose money on bowl games b/c of the required tickets the school has to buy.
 

Go4Broke said:
The money doesn't matter near as much as the fact that the Gophers will be a nationwide laughing stock by the end of the day tomorrow. And we deserve to be.
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The Gophers won't be a national laughingstock. The Gophers aren't on the national radar at all. Almost everyone in America didn't even know North Carolina was on the schedule until yesterday and those same people don't know they aren't on the schedule now.
 

One could argue that coaches aren't fired by the AD, they are fired by one season ticket holder at a time. I'm not bolting yet. Next year is a great home schedule and will be a lot of fun no matter what. But I am disappointed.
 

Omega015 said:
The Gophers won't be a national laughingstock. The Gophers aren't on the national radar at all. Almost everyone in America didn't even know North Carolina was on the schedule until yesterday and those same people don't know they aren't on the schedule now.
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Sadly this is true.
 


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