Looks like a big dip in season ticket sales
- Thread starter ThatsFootball
- Start date
"One of the first things I've got to do a better job as a head coach, spend more time in the building with our people and less time on the outside. We built the building, that is good news. Not that I like disliked fundraising, but I need to spend more time in here and watch more film."
Like I pointed out, that (IMO) doesn't sound like someone who is busting ass as a coach. If you believe it does, great. You apparently have a different definition of effort. For myself and a growing number of fans, that doesn't cut it.
So those lot's are for you.
Well then these are the spots for you.
You parked at the mall because it does not require a pass . Poor Check
Complained about spending "ungodly" amount of money to see an Outland winner. Poor check.
Show up any given Saturday and expect to park next to the stadium. Idiot Check.
We had essentially 2 20x20 tents in the old "bubble" parking lot. Once "they" changed the rules and the pricing, we ditched them (they lost donor money with that) and moved over off of Melrose ct.
Gave up my
So watching film of the Tennessee game looks like this...
I don't think KF lacks the desire to win and wants to win as much the next person. Issue is a common factor in all aspects of the work spector. Take the younger, or less successful, unproven, lesser paid coach, executive, lawyer, etc and they know they need to bust their hump early on because if they fail they won't reach the mountain top by getting the bump in salary, promotion or any added bonus or responsibility. Though once you reach the peak it is different mindset for many. You have the comfort and lack the sense of urgency and therefore it is easier to take a bump in the road, failures or loss. KF is in a position where his longevity at Iowa plus salary and relationship with boss where he doesn't feel the heat or pressure as he would have had 10-12 years then he maybe singing a different tune and taking different approach to right the ship.
I think the difference between the good and great coaches is someone like Coach K guy has been at Duke forever but changes with the times and makes statement he will retire when he losses the passion and doesn't approach his job like he did when he first got it.
We had essentially 2 20x20 tents in the old "bubble" parking lot. Once "they" changed the rules and the pricing, we ditched them (they lost donor money with that) and moved over off of Melrose ct.
Gave up my
So watching film of the Tennessee game looks like this...
or like
Some of you guys are more than a bit myopic.
Yes, Iowa has been struggling the past few years, and that's significant. But the real undeniable trend is that attendance at college football games is dwindling -- measurably -- all across the country. It is NOT an Iowa-only phenomenon. Attendance and season ticket sales are certainly affected by the team's performance and the unfriendly tailgaiting situation -- but those are exacerbating factors, in my opinion, not primary causes.
“Football Bowl Subdivision crowds for home games averaged 43,483 fans per game, down 4 percent from 2013 and the lowest since 42,631 in 2000, according to a CBSSports.com analysis of NCAA attendance data. This marked the sixth straight season crowds were below 46,000 since they peaked at 46,456 in 2008.” www.cbssports.com 12/15/14
It's worse with the students:
“Average student attendance at college football games is down 7.1% since 2009, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal of stadium turnstile records from about 50 public colleges with top-division football teams. The decline was 5.6% at colleges in the five richest conferences.” Wall St. Journal, 8/27/14
You can find article after article featuring a variety of opinions regarding the reasons as well as proposed solutions. Few agree on the fixes, but they all agree on the trend. It's way down.
Yes, Iowa has been struggling the past few years, and that's significant. But the real undeniable trend is that attendance at college football games is dwindling -- measurably -- all across the country. It is NOT an Iowa-only phenomenon. Attendance and season ticket sales are certainly affected by the team's performance and the unfriendly tailgaiting situation -- but those are exacerbating factors, in my opinion, not primary causes.
“Football Bowl Subdivision crowds for home games averaged 43,483 fans per game, down 4 percent from 2013 and the lowest since 42,631 in 2000, according to a CBSSports.com analysis of NCAA attendance data. This marked the sixth straight season crowds were below 46,000 since they peaked at 46,456 in 2008.” www.cbssports.com 12/15/14
It's worse with the students:
“Average student attendance at college football games is down 7.1% since 2009, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal of stadium turnstile records from about 50 public colleges with top-division football teams. The decline was 5.6% at colleges in the five richest conferences.” Wall St. Journal, 8/27/14
You can find article after article featuring a variety of opinions regarding the reasons as well as proposed solutions. Few agree on the fixes, but they all agree on the trend. It's way down.
True, it is not an Iowa only phenomenon, I don't think anyone on here would say it is. But as the article below shows, something more drastic is happening at Iowa than the national trend.
"The national average of fans who intended to renew season tickets was 72 percent, compared with Iowa's 64 percent. Of those Iowa fans who said they were undecided or unlikely to renew, 68 percent felt the price exceeded the value and benefits they received for being a season ticket-holder. The national average among the unlikelies was 47 percent."
http://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sp...tball-tickets-challenging-sell-iowa/23465031/
Sure, why not......because that's what everyone is trying to say. That attendance decline in college football is acceptable. That we should accept it....yep. And that it is just as acceptable at Alabama and USC as it is at Iowa.
You are a moron. I said I was sick of the personal attacks on KF. You have proven over and over to be an idiot.
Exactly. There is a reason the type of contract he received is basically unheard of in sports.
Not only can you question is he busting his but, you can question wether or not some one who's job depended on the outcome of last season would have had the nerve to leave CJ off the field.
Does KF want to win, absolutely, but is he willing to be the least bit flexible to do it?
And there you have those "exacerbating factors" I mentioned.
Seems to me that Iowa needs to be doing a whole lot more to be fan-friendly. Number one, of course, is to improve the product on the field. Number two is to improve the game-day experience and quit alienating long-time fans with counter-productive changes to tailgaiting rules, etc. Maybe then Iowa could be a bit better than the national average.
But make no mistake -- the largest contributing factors to the decline in ticket sales are the same as they are everywhere -- aging fan base, HD television, relentless advertising on message boards, weak non-conference schedules, obscenely overpriced concessions, etc.
So then why not have Iowa start being like the SEC in winning, cheating, etc? If it's happening all around the country, join in! Just accept it.
I don't know if I agree with this. Iowa has a lot of innate advantages when it comes to generating interest in games. It is really the only show in town. I live in KC. On a random Sept or Oct month I can attend:
1. Chiefs
2. Sporting KC
3. Royals
4. A multitude of concert events
5. KU sports
Iowa really doesn't have to compete with those factors. It should be easier to get people to fill seats. Yes, there are competing interests including family, seasonal activities, games on TV, etc but that is true of all markets.
And the best part is I would choose an Iowa sporting event over all of those you listed for Kansas City.
Except for maybe a country music concert, because who wouldn't pass up a chance to go watch a slow-playing country music band instead of a college football game. After all, you're just as likely to get laid after a country music concert as you are a football game.......I mean come on.
Is this the Gary Barta head in sand post. It can't be us. Just wait till after this year when there are only 20,000 season ticket buyers. Better start coming up with climate change causing poor ticket sales excuses.
Been stated in this thread that season and students are down all over the nation. But if I was Barta and AD department I'd be worried. Last season just under 38K and right now around 30K with 500 or so new ticket holders waiting to buy. Even if they get up around 31K that is still a 18-19% drop off since last year which is awful. Basically 1 out of 5 season ticket from last year are gone now.
Plus last year Iowa lucked out with ISU, UNI, Wiscky and Nebraska bringing in a ton of fans buying up all the unused seats. Besides maybe Minnesota don't see that being the case this season.
Hopefully Barta thinks of something better besides his lame $10 concession vouchers to improve ticket sales but I wouldn't hold my breath on that.
Plus last year Iowa lucked out with ISU, UNI, Wiscky and Nebraska bringing in a ton of fans buying up all the unused seats. Besides maybe Minnesota don't see that being the case this season.
Hopefully Barta thinks of something better besides his lame $10 concession vouchers to improve ticket sales but I wouldn't hold my breath on that.
I dropped mine after 15 years. I may go back in at some point. Performance was not the main issue to me. I don't like the atmosphere around it as much anymore. I don't like a lot of our "fans" really, they make it miserable. The reason to me was cost and value. I simply can't justify paying that much for games like Illinois State and North Texas. I will go to games, but I can get tickets to those games for half of face value. I have kid activities too. When you boil it down there are usually only 1-2, maybe 3 good games at home in a good year. This is an even worse one when Minnesota is your best home game of the year. When I was a kid we played USC, UCLA, Nebraska, Penn State. Sure, we got our butt kicked plenty but you couldn't say those were not good games. We even won a few. The problem with demanding more more more from your fanbase is that you created a more demanding fan base and more elastic ticket demand. Your under 40 crowd does not remember Commings and FXL.
You must have had pretty good cable service. At least ESPN.
In 1998, Hayden's last season, 3 games were televised by an over-the-air network, 1 by ESPN. In 1997, 1 game was televised by a network, 2 by ESPN. In 1996, 3 were on free TV and 3 on ESPN.
In all those years, some other games were televised by channels that were available on premium sports packages.
I think that instead of spending all that money rehabbing Kinnick, the university should have built a new stadium. Accessibility is one reason, obviously, but there's also the steady encroachment of UIHC and related facilities.
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Your thoughts about KF is 100% spot on.... if you were planning to marry him. I am not planning on marrying him. Go to the corporate world (which college athletics IS), tell your boss that you landed the Big XYZ account 5 years ago, are being paid top dollar today-due to your past results, but producing in the middle of the pack for the last 5 years. Your boss would say: son, it's been a good ride, but we have a lot of salaries to feed around here, and 6-6 just doesn't cut it. I don't care how good your reports are, if you show up 60 minutes early every day, everyone likes you, you don't take vacations, work Saturdays, etc. At the end of the day, it is all about "what have you done for me lately". This is the real world. KF has to produce, or the ticket sales will keep dropping each and every year. Fans will not accept mediocre results...unless you're an ISU fan!
Even ISU will eventually have a problem with it because IOWA fans won't go to isu games in lames and pay their ticket prices.
Everything doesn't "run in cycles." Recruiting has been in the toilet for a long time and things won't be turned around with mid-major recruits.
What do you mean by "rebound season" and "a change"? Neither term could be much more vague, and the meaning of this post could change dramatically depending on how you define them.
I don't see Iowa ever firing Ferentz, if that's what you mean by "a change". Unfortunately, I don't see Iowa doing much better than last year as long as Kirk is here, so I'm sure not expecting any "rebound seasons" in the near future. I do expect that the number of empty seats in Kinnick will increase as long as Kirk is in charge.
Agree on the over-use of "cycles" as an excuse...but looking at the life cycle of a over-tenured coach things are not looking up...
