Season Ticket Survey from the U

[Ski U Master]

I think the new stadium has diminishing returns as far as investment goes.

At some point Hey we're not playing in the crappy dome anymore... really doesn't pay off with the fans as otherwise a stadium is sort of required to play the game at all. Not sure folks see that as investment over time as just a thing that should be there.

Possibly, but you can't be mad at the U for not investing in football when in the last 10 years they have spend over $400,000,000 investing in the program. It is not feasible to have a major investment project every year, maybe once a decade. Where do you think the money is coming from? Hell they haven't even gotten enough money to cover the Village yet.

 

[Ski U Master]

Master/Maximus - Yes, the facilities expenditures are the right direction. The thought was that facilities should stay current or exceed other programs. The relevancy of that statement now really addresses the coaching staff. The school has to be committed to hiring coaches that recruit, develop and game-manage with any in the league. I think this is a huge unknown right now and effects decisions to re-up season tickets. In fact, the history or college football indicates that the coach and staff are more important than the facilities, e.g. Neyland, Bryant, Fry.

Kill was a good hire, can't judge the U on Claeys because of the Athletic Dept turmoil at the time. No sane coach would have come here in the middle of that mess. And what top flight coach is coming here anyway? Be realistic, it's not many coach's aspiration to land the job here after they are proven head coaches at another P5 school. MN will draw it's coaches from the coordinator ranks or MAC type level.

 

[anticallihan]

I think the new stadium has diminishing returns as far as investment goes.

At some point Hey we're not playing in the crappy dome anymore... really doesn't pay off with the fans as otherwise a stadium is sort of required to play the game at all. Not sure folks see that as investment over time as just a thing that should be there.

Also to add on --- I think people are confusing what an investment is (vs. a cost).

These are costs -- not investments. If they are investments -- they have low returns. When you are near last to have a collegiate stadium and facility -- you are just playing catch up. When your competitors already have what you just got -- you are just even.

An investment with high returns is paying a **** ton of cash to the best coach in the land (see Harbaugh). That was a risk and it produced a near immediate high return for that program.

What we did with facilities was preventing the team from having a negative return.

===

So the current investments are clearly not enough to keep the dollars flowing in. The current investments are not producing wins (yet)

When the product, product cost, are out of sink with market demand --- you lose 20%+ of your season ticket base.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Also to add on --- I think people are confusing what an investment is (vs. a cost).

These are costs -- not investments. If they are investments -- they have low returns. When you are near last to have a collegiate stadium and facility -- you are just playing catch up. When your competitors already have what you just got -- you are just even.

An investment with high returns is paying a **** ton of cash to the best coach in the land (see Harbaugh). That was a risk and it produced a near immediate high return for that program.

What we did with facilities was preventing the team from having a negative return.

===

So the current investments are clearly not enough to keep the dollars flowing in. The current investments are not producing wins (yet)

When the product, product cost, are out of sink with market demand --- you lose 20%+ of your season ticket base.

Can't agree with you on the new stadium being just "table stakes". The rest is just a firm grasp of the obvious.

 

[DougMN]

Timing was bad for that Survey. I had a first edit, second edit and 2 complete rewrites in order to get it in the allotted space. They should have sent it out after a Big Win- might not have got out this year though.

 

[anticallihan]

How can you call the new stadium being just table stakes?

1) How many teams in the big ten have a collegiate stadium?
2) How many have recently invested in upgrades?
3) How many have a training facility?

In terms of winning in the big ten -- it is table stakes or very similar.

Am I happy we spent it? Hell yes! Can you imagine if we were playing in the purple palace? The Iowa game would have had 35,000 Hawks in the stadium.

Being realistic -- it is just table stakes to keep at par to the Big Ten. It forces the recruiting competition into win/losses, playing time, coaches, quality of school -- and it actually takes the other things off the table.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Someone help me out here... they don't even serve steak at TCF....

 

[anticallihan]

Timing was bad for that Survey. I had a first edit, second edit and 2 complete rewrites in order to get it in the allotted space. They should have sent it out after a Big Win- might not have got out this year though.

I think it is perfect timing -- and it gives me confidence in our AD.

I'll be excited to see the outcome. That will say even more.

It takes significant time to develop the communication and marketing plan if they do make changes in pricing/donations. Ticket sales start in like March/April -- right? Less than 6 months.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

I think it is perfect timing -- and it gives me confidence in our AD.

I'll be excited to see the outcome. That will say even more.

It takes significant time to develop the communication and marketing plan if they do make changes in pricing/donations. Ticket sales start in like March/April -- right? Less than 6 months.

Don't worry, if by the season's end we don't have Less Miles up here coaching and haven't restructured the whole football program / tickets / stadium situation we will be complaining.


But seriously I am hopeful. It all depends on if they have the ability to actually interpret the data (not a common thing) and will to actually do things....

 

[PMWinSTP]

How can you call the new stadium being just table stakes?

1) How many teams in the big ten have a collegiate stadium?
2) How many have recently invested in upgrades?
3) How many have a training facility?

In terms of winning in the big ten -- it is table stakes or very similar.

Am I happy we spent it? Hell yes! Can you imagine if we were playing in the purple palace? The Iowa game would have had 35,000 Hawks in the stadium.

Being realistic -- it is just table stakes to keep at par to the Big Ten. It forces the recruiting competition into win/losses, playing time, coaches, quality of school -- and it actually takes the other things off the table.

If this was directed at me, please re-read my comment...

 

[MNGoldenGophers1]

I took the survey and told them that everything is hunky-dory. Okay, I might have mentioned a couple of minor concerns.

Here's my guess as to the timing of the survey and the nature of the questions being asked. Coyle already has some general plan in place to modify ticket prices along with some other things that "reward" season ticket holders (e.g., free coonskin caps) and attempt to improve game day experience. He already knows the program is tanking and changes are needed. However, he isn't going to make any changes without the "backing" of the fans or he will take a serious hit if the changes don't pan out.

The survey is typical of most phony customer outreach and it will allow Coyle to say "hey, we heard you loud and clear and here is what we're going to do". The survey allows him to back into the plan he already has in mind or maybe already written down on a white board somewhere.

If it works, he is a brilliant AD. If it doesn't work, he was just doing what the fans asked. To be honest, I'd probably do the same thing.

 

[olddoc]

Brewster and Kill were bargain basement hires.
Brewster had not even been an OC or DC at the FBS level.
Kill had zero experience at the FBS level.
Neither had a winning BIG record over their tenure at the U.

 

[OddStack]

Brewster and Kill were bargain basement hires.
Brewster had not even been an OC or DC at the FBS level.
Kill had zero experience at the FBS level.
Neither had a winning BIG record over their tenure at the U.

You probably mean zero power 5 experience. Northern Illinois is a FBS school in the MAC, and if you remember, they he came into TCF and beat the Gophers in '10.