[NU Sports] Attendance

Sun Nov 18 17:47:17 CST 2007

I believe it is based on the start time of the game: e.g. anything after 6PM
would be a night game (2:30 starts, although requiring temporary lights, are
not considered night games).  Of course I can't find any direct reference to
the rule that allows only one night game per year, although it may just be
an "unofficial" agreement between the school and the city.

Also, night games are typically announced before the season.

Jonathan

On Nov 18, 2007 1:57 PM, Michael Vance < michael.vance at att.net> wrote:

> What qualifies as a "night game" for the Evanston ordinance? Is it
> defined by kickoff beyond a certain time, regardless of the time of year
> and amount of available natural light or is it based on whether we need
> to put up the temporary artificial lights?
>
> -Michael
>
> Mark Ament wrote:
> >
> > Our game was allowed because it was on the ESPN family of networks, of
> > which ABC is only a small player these days. There are certain weeks
> > in which BTN has second choice, I believe it's twice a year, but it
> > won't be on the last week of the year. It may have been last week as
> > the tOSU-Wisky game was forced on the BTN.
> >
> > The BTN games I believe are exempt from the no conflict rule and can
> > be opposite both ESPN and ABC games so shouldn't interfere with time
> > changes, should NU decide to adopt a different start time for some
> > games next year. Keep in mind however, that NU is bound by the
> > Evanston ordinance that permits only one night game per season and has
> > shown no inclination to ask for that to be changed.
> >
> > Mark
> >
> > SportsBiz – The Business of Sports Illuminated
> > <http://thesportsbizblog.blogspot.com/>
> >
> > When it comes to sports, you know it's all about
> >
> > the money.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com ]
> > On Behalf Of Michael Vance
> > Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 12:51 AM
> > To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
> > Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Attendance
> >
> > 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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> >
> > >> _______________________________________________
> >
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> >
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> >
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> >
> > >>
> >
> > >>
> >
> > >
> >
> > >
> >
> > >
> >
> > >
> >
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> >
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>
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-- 
Jonathan W. Hodges
1237 Emerson St Apt 2
Evanston, IL  60201-3577
(847) 736-2449
jonathanwhodges at gmail.com