[NU Sports] Attendance

[Michael Vance]

Are the rules regarding the scheduling of games opposite ABC published 
somewhere? Because today there were two Big Ten games at 12:00 EST 
(Mich-OSU on ABC and NU-Ill on EPSN) and four at 3:30 (MSU-PSU on 
ABC/ESPN regional coverage, and the rest on BTN.  Was our game allowed 
opposite Mich-OSU because it was on another ABC network?

Also, didn't I read something about BTN getting second pick some weeks?

I agree that more late starts would help attendance a lot for NU and 
other Central time teams.

-Michael

Jonathan Hodges wrote:
> Some good ideas - obviously some new and fresh ideas are needed to address
> this issue, because outside of winning a lot of games year in and year out,
> the old stuff isn't working.  I would like to address some the things that
> you brought up, though:
>
> - Starting times: it's all in the hands of the networks, and the agreement
> with ESPN says that no BTN games can be opposite the "marquee" ABC matchup
> of the day (typically the 2:30 slot, but in the case of the OSU/Michigan
> game it's noon).  ESPN/ABC gets their pick(s) first, and the BTN has to
> schedule their games around those games, giving the Big Ten and specifically
> Northwestern little control in regards to time of games.
>
> - Northern Illinois: NIU is now insisting on home-and-home series games (NU
> has never played NIU away from home), which I don't think NU is willing to
> do.  Maybe if it was 2 for one or better, NU may go for it, but Murphy
> insists on having 7 home games (something I don't disagree with) and
> home-and-home series against MAC level competition won't let NU get there.
>
> - "Home" game away from Ryan Field: a bad idea and won't do anything for
> numbers outside of on paper, especially since renting a facility and dealing
> with travel, etc. won't really make NU any money.  And I completely disagree
> with the idea of selling out by moving a home game closer to an opponent as
> an attempt to get more fans - in that case don't even try to get home games.
>
> - Day of Game discounts: GREAT idea.  This is a college (amateur level)
> sport.  A $50 tag drives away almost every casual fan family who can't
> afford that steep price - oh, and once they get to the game there's no money
> left for the pricey concessions.  Especially for nonconference games, NU
> needs to play with the prices (bring them down A LOT) to attract people to
> the game.  The fact is that it can't hurt, NU saw TWO games this year under
> 20,000 in attendance with another THREE just over 20,000.
>
> Anyways, not trying to shoot down any idea, the fact is NU needs a new
> well-thought-out strategy regarding attendance and filling the seats.  I
> would hope that this discussion is starting in the athletic department
> shortly, and IMHO it would be advisable to include NU fans in the discussion
> (maybe a town hall type format or an internet exchange).
>
> Jonathan
>
>
> On Nov 16, 2007 8:49 PM, <WildElk2 at aol.com> wrote:
>
>   
>> Master of the Obvious Dept.: The 12 game schedule has made it  more
>> difficult
>> to get decent crowds, although Mark Murphy is on record that he  will take
>> a
>> win at home in front of 15,000, as he feels that more wins will
>>  eventually
>> equal more people.
>>   With the BTN,  there may be more flexibility of starting  times.  Maybe
>> we
>> can  ask the BTN for more 2:30 PM games (as well as  an occasional night
>> game)?  11:00 AM kick-offs have to keep at least a few  people away.  The
>> Duke
>> game is perfect example, as it produced  6,7,000 more than the
>> Northeastern/Nevada games.
>>   Get a series with Northern Ill..  A five year series with  3 games in
>> Evanston.  This would help both programs , who struggle with  early season
>>
>> attendance issues.
>>   Schedule a "home" game outside of Dyche Stadium. This is not a  paycheck
>> game like the one we disgustingly played vs. Ohio St. at Cleveland
>>  Municipal
>> Stadium in the early Nineties.   There are plenty of small  stadiums
>> across the
>> country that hold 20,000-25,000.  An example would be  Hershey Park
>> Stadium
>> in Hershey, Pa., which holds 20,000.  In 2009 we play  Towson; a perfect
>> game
>> to make it easy for east coast alums and  fans.   Notre Dame is playing
>> "home"
>> games in San Antonio and  Jacksonville in the near future.
>>   On the day of the game, if we have a 20,000-25,000 ish crowd,  sell the
>> end zone  and goal-line seats for $5, and advertise the hell out  of it
>> via
>> newspapers, radio, TV.   Just get people here; they'll buy  hot dogs,
>> programs,
>> and once in a while, they'll get a junkie hooked like me,  who paid $4 for
>> end
>> zone seats circa. 1980.   In the same vein, bring  back Band Day and sell
>> all
>> those crappy seats for a $1 for each band  member.
>>   Crowds(?) of 16,000, 17,000, and 20,000 for a conference game  is
>> unacceptable.   Time to take steps to change.
>>   As far as the Illinois game, I anticipate a hard-hitting  nail-biter,
>> but
>> I'm picking Illinois to win, as after 4 straight wins, it's  Illinois's
>> turn.
>> They will not take us lightly, and after 4 straight  losses and so much on
>> the line, I see no let-down.  We need to stop the  run, period.  With that
>> said,
>> I see a 31-27 Illinois win.    If we can stop the run , we'll give
>> ourselves
>> a chance to win.
>>
>>    GO CATS!!!    Eric
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>     
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