UPDATED (10/13) Gophers cancel home and home with North Carolina; add New Mexico St

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This will all be forgotten when we're 9-3 (5-3) next season. :)
 

Agree with several above that this makes no sense if we're replacing UNC for a home and home w/ NMSU. And paying to do that to boot. I don't see how that benefits the program or athletics as a whole. That $800K could have gone to pay for upgrading the practice facilty or as seed money for a new one.
 

Lakeville Goldy said:
Agree with several above that this makes no sense if we're replacing UNC for a home and home w/ NMSU. And paying to do that to boot. I don't see how that benefits the program or athletics as a whole. That $800K could have gone to pay for upgrading the practice facilty or as seed money for a new one.
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Maturi and Brewster were behind the UNC series. They'll just set them up for the blame.
 

"We are still working on opponents to replace the UNC series, and we hope those agreements will allow us to offset some of the expense to cancel this series."...very interesting comment...does this mean that we ares scheduling some "BCS" opponents who will pay us? I do not like the idea of dropping UNC or our future non-conference schedules as they stand...awful.
 



IronRanger91 said:
"We are still working on opponents to replace the UNC series, and we hope those agreements will allow us to offset some of the expense to cancel this series."...very interesting comment...does this mean that we ares scheduling some "BCS" opponents who will pay us? I do not like the idea of dropping UNC or our future non-conference schedules as they stand...awful.
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There is zero chance we are looking to schedule a BCS opponent to fill the spot we paid UNC to get out of. Zero. Kill has said he wants 4 non-conf home games each year if possible. Only way you get that is by playing crap teams that want the paycheck and don't care if you come to their place in return.

Will hold final judgement until the schedule for next year is finalized but right now in my opinion this move just sucks. And if at the end of the day we don't end up making more money for the department by backing out of the series then I don't know what the hell they are trying to accomplish with this other then further alienating their fan base.

As it sits right now we are down $800K + the cost of whoever we have to pay to be Kill's whipping boy for the day. Not sure what the going rate is for the Little Sisters of the Poor these days but based on my uneducated math I would say we are over 1 million in the hole before the game even starts. I just don't get it, will say it again there has to be more going on here or the people in charge are idiots.

Edit - Forgot to include the screwing the loyal fanbase portion of my math. Not sure what the season ticket base is but let's say 20,000 season tickets at $40 a ticket = $800K for the 4th home game.
 

Monty519 said:
This will all be forgotten when we're 9-3 (5-3) next season. :)
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This is probably true for next season. That's because, for now, we're dying to get back to where Mason had us. 9-3 next year with New Mexico State on the schedule? I would take that in a heartbeat, and as a season ticketholder I'm happy to pay for it next season.

The added nugget of truth, though, is that the Mason years showed us that 9-3 (5-3) isn't enough to get anybody new excited in Gopher football when the four non-conference opponents are New Mexico State types. Do it once, and people are thrilled because it's so much better than being awful. Twice? Yawn. They'll take the wins, but it won't encourage them to buy tickets.

I've heard Kill say that when the program is in better shape his philosophy might change. I'll believe that when I see it.
 

If Karma has a say, the Gophers will lose again to New Mexico St.

This isn't the reason I'm thinking of dropping my season tickets but it doesn't help. My group has dwindled down enough to the point that we might just buy the individual game tickets because it'll be easy to find 6 tickets. Our seats aren't that great to begin with. Makes sense financially for us. Someone in our group sold 2 tickets on Saturday to a scalper for $15/ticket and was thrilled to get that price. Tells you how devalued our season tickets have become.
 

Pewterschmidt said:
If Karma has a say, the Gophers will lose again to New Mexico St.

This isn't the reason I'm thinking of dropping my season tickets but it doesn't help. My group has dwindled down enough to the point that we might just buy the individual game tickets because it'll be easy to find 6 tickets. Our seats aren't that great to begin with. Makes sense financially for us. Someone in our group sold 2 tickets on Saturday to a scalper for $15/ticket and was thrilled to get that price. Tells you how devalued our season tickets have become.
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I would be willing to bet there are a lot of others thinking the same thing you are. Not just based on this decision but because the demand has been dropping and cheap tickets are available so why shell out top dollar for 4 games against bad competition when you can still go to those games at a fraction of the cost. I had hoped with the move to TCF the days of seeing our fans outnumbered by the opponents was over but I am afraid we are headed right back down that path again.

But hey there is still time left. Maybe we get things turned around, win a bunch of games down the stretch and get the fans energized again. There are two very winnable games left on the schedule in Purdue and Illinois and who knows what kind of mental state Michigan State will be in at the end of the season. The other three would all be pretty massive upsets for us to get the W but you never know, stranger things have happened.
 



Magic said:
This is really going to send many season ticket holders over the edge. I read over on the kfan message board that one season ticket holder is so upset that he is selling next years tickets only to the visitors fans then dropping his tickets after the season. The ticket brokers and street sellers will buy up additional season tickets next year for the Iowa, Wisconsin, and Nebraska games, but the following year (2014) the Gophers will be lucky sell 10,000 season tickets with that crappy schedule.
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That's rather childish.
 

MNVCGUY said:
There is zero chance we are looking to schedule a BCS opponent to fill the spot we paid UNC to get out of. Zero. Kill has said he wants 4 non-conf home games each year if possible. Only way you get that is by playing crap teams that want the paycheck and don't care if you come to their place in return.

Will hold final judgement until the schedule for next year is finalized but right now in my opinion this move just sucks. And if at the end of the day we don't end up making more money for the department by backing out of the series then I don't know what the hell they are trying to accomplish with this other then further alienating their fan base.


As it sits right now we are down $800K + the cost of whoever we have to pay to be Kill's whipping boy for the day. Not sure what the going rate is for the Little Sisters of the Poor these days but based on my uneducated math I would say we are over 1 million in the hole before the game even starts. I just don't get it, will say it again there has to be more going on here or the people in charge are idiots.

Edit - Forgot to include the screwing the loyal fanbase portion of my math. Not sure what the season ticket base is but let's say 20,000 season tickets at $40 a ticket = $800K for the 4th home game.
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Problem is that the rumor is next year the game will be in Las Cruces! They are not even getting a 4th home game out of it!
 

Stan The Caddy said:
Problem is that the rumor is next year the game will be in Las Cruces! They are not even getting a 4th home game out of it!
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New Mexico State is already on the 2014 schedule as a home game... so at least we have that to look forward to whether this UNC game gets dropped or not!
 

GopherLady said:
Just a quick update, I was able to get a comment from Norwood Teague on this issue, he said "We are still working on opponents to replace the UNC series, and we hope those agreements will allow us to offset some of the expense to cancel this series."

Also, received confirmation that the buyout is 800K (not that that number is much different from the 850K reported). Just wanted to note it.

I also sent a follow-up question to ask about the reasoning behind this, and have not heard back on that yet. Will keep you posted if I do.
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Nadine, will you please share with Norwood how the Gopher fanbase and media feel about this. It sends the wrong message and having to spend money to get out of a "better" game is ridiculous and embarrassing for the program.
 



Is maturi still assisting our athletic department? Paying a butt load of money for something we aren't going to use feels pretty familiar.(glen and brew) really really happy I no longer have season tickets.
 

Stan The Caddy said:
Problem is that the rumor is next year the game will be in Las Cruces! They are not even getting a 4th home game out of it!
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Based on Gopher Lady's comments from Teague it sounded like next season was still up in the air as to who will fill the spot vacated by the national powerhouse that is North Carolina. Hopefully they will carefully examine all their options and make sure they pick the weakest most overmatched team they can find.

Would hate to see Jerry and his staff have to prepare his team to play someone that might be equal to them talent wise in the non-conf schedule. Far better to entertain your fans with a glorified practice while inflating your overall record.
 

Hates Monikers said:
The added nugget of truth, though, is that the Mason years showed us that 9-3 (5-3) isn't enough to get anybody new excited in Gopher football when the four non-conference opponents are New Mexico State types. Do it once, and people are thrilled because it's so much better than being awful. Twice? Yawn. They'll take the wins, but it won't encourage them to buy tickets.
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Glen Mason had 9 wins exactly one time in ten years as the Gophers coach. We haven't had that type of sustained success since the 1960s. If Kill can consistently go 5-3 in the Big Ten, they'll build a statue of him outside the stadium.
 

lakesgopher said:
Is maturi still assisting our athletic department? Paying a butt load of money for something we aren't going to use feels pretty familiar.(glen and brew) really really happy I no longer have season tickets.
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Yep, there it is.
 

I sure hope there is more to this story, and that it comes out.

Canceling the game is bad enough, but to pay 800k is bad for the checkbook and PR.

Hell, for 800k they could purchase a couple of busses.......think of the possibilities.

Or as Parski's buddy Reusse said; they could buy two sets of lights for Siebert Field.
 

Wow, Chip doesn't hold back:
http://www.startribune.com/sports/g...utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&refer=y

The Gophers backed out of their home-and-home series with North Carolina in 2013-14 in favor of trying to find a lesser opponent. The kicker is even more of a doozy: The Gophers paid North Carolina $800,000 to cancel the series. That's right, an athletic department that struggles to make budget every year is forking over $800,000 to avoid playing North Carolina.

That would be comical if it weren't so pathetic.

A 4-0 nonconference record coupled with two or three Big Ten victories might qualify them for a bowl game, but that's hardly a satisfying formula over the long haul.

Good luck selling that one to a fanbase that already has had its patience and loyalty stretched way too thin. The Gophers can't fill 50,000-seat TCF Bank Stadium even for conference games, and they practically beg fans to show up on a weekly basis. They don't give fans much incentive to make that investment, however, when they put together a nonconference schedule that's embarrassingly soft.

Go Gophers!!
 



wels0081 said:
New Mexico State is already on the 2014 schedule as a home game... so at least we have that to look forward to whether this UNC game gets dropped or not!
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Where do you see that? New Mexico State is on the home 2016 schedule.
 

Here's the press release from the U:

Gophers Announce Changes in Future Football Schedules



University of Minnesota Athletics officials announce several changes to the Gophers’ future non-conference football schedules today.



Athletics officials have reached an agreement with the Minnesota State Fair that will see the Gophers open the 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 football seasons at TCF Bank Stadium on the Thursday night before Labor Day. The games were originally scheduled to take place on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Minnesota will now host UNLV on Thursday, August 29, 2012, Eastern Illinois on Thursday, August 28, 2014, South Dakota State on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015, and New Mexico State on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016.



Gopher athletics also announced today that the University of Minnesota and University of North Carolina football programs have cancelled their two-game, home-and-home series scheduled for the 2013 (at UNC) and 2014 (at TCF Bank Stadium) seasons. Minnesota is currently working to secure opponents for those dates.



Two other future opponents were also confirmed today. Minnesota has added Kent State to its 2015 schedule and will host the Golden Flashes on Sept. 19, 2015, while South Dakota State is scheduled to visit TCF Bank Stadium on August 29, 2019.



MEDIA ADVISORY: Director of athletics Norwood Teague will be available to discuss the schedule changes with the media at 11 a.m. in the football team meeting room at the Gibson-Nagurski complex prior to the regularly scheduled Tuesday football luncheon.



Future Minnesota Football Schedules (2013-2016)

2013

Aug. 29 - UNLV

Sept. 7 - TBA

Sept. 14 - Western Illinois

Sept. 21 - San Jose State

Sept. 28 - Iowa (HC)

Oct. 5 - at Michigan

Oct. 19 - at Northwestern

Oct. 26 - Nebraska

Nov. 2 - at Indiana

Nov. 9 - Penn State

Nov. 23 - Wisconsin

Nov. 30 - at Michigan State



2014

Aug. 28 - Eastern Illinois

Sept. 6- M. Tennessee St.

Sept. 13- TBA

Sept. 20- San Jose State

Sept. 27- at Penn State

Oct. 11- Northwestern (HC)

Oct. 18- Michigan

Nov. 1- at Nebraska

Nov. 8- Indiana

Nov. 15- at Iowa

Nov. 22- at Wisconsin

Nov. 29- Michigan State



2015

Sept. 3- South Dakota State

Sept. 12- at Colorado State

Sept. 19- Kent State

Sept. 26- Ohio

Oct. 3- Nebraska

Oct. 10- at Northwestern

Oct. 17- at Michigan

Oct. 24- Iowa

Oct. 31- Ohio State

Nov. 7- at Purdue

Nov. 21- Wisconsin

Nov. 28- at Michigan State



2016

Sept. 1- New Mexico State

Sept. 10- Indiana State

Sept. 17- at Miami (Ohio)

Sept. 24- Colorado State

Oct. 1- at Iowa

Oct. 8- Michigan

Oct. 22- at Nebraska

Oct. 29- Northwestern

Nov. 5- at Ohio State

Nov. 12- Purdue

Nov. 19- at Wisconsin

Nov. 26- Michigan State
 

Glad Teague is addressing it with the media, hopefully there will be some clarification on the decision.

One thing that some who support Kill on this have been saying is he will look to schedule tougher opponents once the program is improved. That argument falls apart though when you consider the schedule is set years in advance and according to this release the new agreements that have been signed for future years are not exactly with top flight opponents. Face it, Jerry is going to do everything he can to never play a BCS opponent in the non-conf portion of the schedule.
 

In a day and age where pretty much everyone goes to a bowl, NMSU hasn't been to a bowl since 1960. Kent State hasn't gone to one since 1972. If Kill and his staff are terrified to take on the powerhouse Tar Heels (Whose last 5 bowl appearances are pretty much on par with the U: 04 Continental Tire, 08/09 Meineke Car Care, 10 Music City and 11 Independence), maybe they should talk to Duke, who hasn't been to a bowl since 1994. It would be one thing to say this team isn't ready to go into Tallahassee or Blacksburg, but to run away from Chapel Hill with your tail between your legs while leaving a trail of nearly a million dollars in your wake is pathetic and cowardly.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Glad Teague is addressing it with the media, hopefully there will be some clarification on the decision.

Face it, Jerry is going to do everything he can to never play a BCS opponent in the non-conf portion of the schedule.
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Right on the money. Kill is way off base here. This is the most pathetic thing to happen to the Gopher football program since we stopped playing Nebraska after about 80 or 90 years because we were afraid to compete with them. It looks to me like Kill is having second thoughts and he still wants to coach in the MAC. What a disappointment he is turning out to be.
 

MNVCGUY said:
One thing that some who support Kill on this have been saying is he will look to schedule tougher opponents once the program is improved. That argument falls apart though when you consider the schedule is set years in advance.
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Exactly right. Some reporter better ask Kill today when exactly he's expecting the program to be ready to take on a BCS non-conference opponent. Because as of right now, there isn't one on the Golden Gopher schedule until 2017. Call me crazy, but I thought we'd be further along by what would be Kill's seventh year on the job.
 

Oregon State is on the schedule in '17 and '18. I'm just curious...did you guys have the same level of frustration AS Mason was doing the same thing?
 


OddStack said:
Oregon State is on the schedule in '17 and '18. I'm just curious...did you guys have the same level of frustration AS Mason was doing the same thing?
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Kill didn't schedule that series, wouldn't shock me if they have made calls to get out of it.

As to Mason I was never crazy about it however we also only played 11 games most years so I could understand it a little bit more. If the BIG goes to a 9 game conference schedule at some point I would have far less of an issue with playing 3 cupcakes prior to the conference season. The other factor in this is look at the rest of the conference, they are all playing at least one game against a BCS school. Not asking them to scheudle LSU or Alabama, a team like North Carolina is perfect in that regard.

And honestly this is less about future scheduling and more about the fact that we are running from the one quality game on our non-conf schedule for the next two years. We are a friggin Big Ten school and we are afraid to go up against a middle of the pack ACC team. So much so we are willing to drop over 1 million dollars to get out of the game (buyout plus replacement fee).
 

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