GP1

Excellent point.Maybe the answer to why people don't go to games is simple. There isn't a demand for 27,000 tickets (insert 5,500 for MBB games) to go watch a Tier 3 league. I think we need a big stadium because at least once a year it should get filled. Other than that, on a good night, 15,000 is a reasonable expectation for a Zips game.I'll say it again. People like what they like and the more they are exposed to something the more they know whether or not they like it. Some may disagree, but the MAC gets much more exposure now than it ever has. I'm convinced it just isn't an Akron thing. People around the mid-west have seen enough MAC games to know they don't really like it. Look at the empty stadiums on MAC ESPN games. Heck, look at the empty stadium from last night's game with LA Monroe and whatever team they played. There is no difference between that league and the MAC. Both are Tier 3 leagues.Z.I.P. is right. The MAC is a I-AA league. Maybe excitment can be generated from a playoff type team. I doubt that though. Right now, watching the MAC lose to BCS level teams, teams starting out their seasons 1-3 (someone look into how many MAC teams started the season 1-3 or worse....while your at it, what is the MAC ooc record right now), poor play, half empty stadiums, etc. is not generating excitement.

Take extra toilet paper....you are going to need it.

This analogy is a good learning tool and helps to explain how hard it is to get a price increase in any business.If the logic is the team is bad mid year so drop the price of tickets, when is it ok to raise the price of tickets?In the off season? This logic tells us until the team wins, prices have to stay low just to fill seats (I thought the they needed to make money). There is no evidence the team wins until mid year when tickets are already sold. What if they win one year and lose the next? Will prices the next year be lowered mid year?Can we raise ticket prices mid year? If the team is good mid season, would it be OK to raise the price on GA seats? People would throw a fit if that happened.The current ticket prices are absolutely reasonable and quite frankly cheap. People are not going to pay to go watch bad football regardless of the ticket price. The Zips are bad and the MAC is bad, but the current prices are reasonable for a bad D-1A product.

The real question here is: would it have gone down your leg or not?ZipsWin! should be the judge of that......

Woudn't a better idea be to sell the tickets, at face value, to a person who wants to donate the tickets to the non-profit for the tax benefit. There is always more than one way to skin a cat.No offense, but youth football, non-profits, band days, etc. spell minor league baseball. The Big Phone Booth was not built to make UofA have the appearance of a minor league event.Please tell the children at the Can't game to do the opposite of whatever Can't is doing on the field.Is there really a difference between taking a child to a Can't game or child abuse?

The debate continues on Rasor's blog. A new argument has sprung up and that is the supply and demand argument. Supply and demand would dictate that if they lower the price of the tickets, it will increase demand/people in the seats. This idea also assumes that cost is the only reason for purchasing a ticket (Do we really want these people as customers?) This idea also assumes a lower price can cover the cost of operatons and that there is a demand for Zips tickets when they play OU. A timely example is the current price of plywood and lumber. It is an easy example for me because I work in building materials sales and have worked for a company that manufactured these types of material. Can anyone guess which? Anyhow, earlier this year, plywood and lumber manufacturers were lowering their prices in order to create demand in a slow market. The demand never materialized because there was no money being spent. They all cut their prices to the point they could not cover the cost of manufacturing materials. Plants were closed in order to cut costs. Once costs could no longer be cut, price escalation was required even though there was no increase in demand or supply because they were still losing money. These companies are protecting their present and future right now by raising prices. If people are strapped for money, no price decrease is going to be enough to encourage them to buy a ticket to watch the Zips and the Zips will be cutting their own wrists.If anyone has ever sold anything, you know how hard it is to get a price increase. You had better have something that people REALLY want, and right now, MAC football ain't that. This is especially true in a commodity environment. UofA can not lower the ticket price to the point where they destroy their ability to operate the Athletic Department (Every single sports program needs InfoCision Stadium to make money). When the economy picks up, more people will be able to afford to go to a game and they will because after this season the Zips will be much better.Lower ticket prices will hamstring this Athletic Department for decades if they start lowering them now.

I have to respectfully disagree. There is no historical evidence showing that selling a youth ticket increases attendance or increases future attendance.

Good post. You touched on an important theme during the JD era.First, special teams tend to be a problem with MAC schools in general.Receivers going for the ball is important. One thing about JD's teams is they are too mechanical in some positions. Receiver is one of them. Route running is not the problem....going after the ball is. When the ball is thrown your way, go get the darn thing. If it isn't perfectly thrown, go get it anyhow. Steve Smith comes to mind with the Panthers. He is pound for pound the toughest receiver in the NFL. He is too small, but he FIGHTS to catches passes thrown his direction. This team needs a good fistfight in practice this week.

You my as well have, because the Zips sure did.

It's great they do this; however, there are better ways to do it that will help people remember what they see.Most of us forget most of what we see. By doing them individually, it can help focus the mind of the observer. Very simple....What did they do? Who from that team is still around? Where can a person go watch them try to do it again and how do they go about getting into the arena? They should do this for all sports and not just the teams that win championships because it reminds people of the size and importance of the Athletic Department. Keeping it simple is important. It also helps fill up time during media time-outs. Don't do this during halftime because people are not in their seats to watch. They are forced to watch during TV timeouts.

Before anyone sprains an arm patting themselves on the back...9 of 23 (39.1%)98 yards4.2 yds/attempt (footwork doesn't win games, this statistic does and the number is well below where it should be)I want to see more before we give him the crown.

Misguided LOYALTY. Maybe JD didn't want to be at UofA beyond this season regardless of what happened. We read public statements, but we never really know what someone wants.

This problem is easily solved. Make a few Athletic Department inters stand at strategic locations and sell the tickets to those walking by and ease the crush at the gate.

I don't want this to come off as snooty, because it isn't meant to be.UofA needs to draw a different type of fan to the games. I don't know how else to put it, but by "different type", I mean people with a higher income level than they have before. They need to draw not only people willing to pay more for tickets every year, but they need to turn those ticket buyers into Z-Fund donors as well. These fans also can not only be those people that sit in suits and boxes. It has to be everyone at least in the reserved seating area. The fans that are coming out for $5 tickets are not those people.

It looks as if there were multiple teams on the field at the same time. At other schools, they use these moments as a marketing tool.Take the teams out individually during a timeout. Introduce them, what they did last season and when their season starts. Do this for every team that sells tickets to games so people will know when and where they play....and where to buy tickets.

On Rasor's blog, they are having a discussion on ticket prices. This needs to be addressed before it gets out of hand on this board.IMHO, $20 is not to much money to spend on a ticket to a D-1A football game. $15 is not too much to spend on a GA ticket. I pay $33 per ticket to go watch an ACC team play.Someone mentioned that people are not able to pay their electric bills and they can't afford the ticket prices. First, it is horrible that someone can't pay an electric bill. Second, going to a football game is the least of the problems this person has and probably isn't high on their priority list. Lee Adams mentioned in his discussion about student attendance that kids would rather text and call one another on their cell phones than pay attention to the game. In the 1970s when he was in school, this didn't go on. Of course it didn't go on, fax machines were not even used in the 1970s. I'm not even sure push button phones existed then let alone texting. The first cell phones in the 1980s were the size of a suitcase. Kids text today, that's just the way they are. A casual walk through the student center around lunch would reveal probably 50% of the studens texting or talking on the phone.We are living in one of the worst economic times in the history of the US. It is what it is and $5 tickets are not going to change that. UofA can not create another generation of fans who think going to a UofA football game should only cost $5, or even worse free. The demand just isn't there at this point in history. Keep ticket prices where they are and when the economy picks up in a couple of years, they will be selling more tickets at a higher price point than $5.

Actually, the team has moved forward in many ways, especially in the talent department. Once JD is gone we should all feel optimistic about the future. The right guys will be on the field and they will be put in a better position to win. That's the good news. The bad news is there are still several games left to suffer through this season. The Zips are suffering through a bad case of mismanagement and that is more easily corrected than a case of no talent.After this season, I will be very optimistic about the Zips near future in the MAC. There is no reason we can't be the best team in a bad conference. The talent is there, the management is not.That is absolutely the most postive comment I've ever seen from you.Where is the real GP1 and what have you done with him? Thanks!At the end of this season, I will be composing one of my usually brilliant posts on why the fans of this program should feel bullish about the future (assuming a coaching change). It all starts with talent.

I like it! He turned 80 this summer. And would it have been more appropriate for Arnold to ride a motorcycle than a golf cart?? Thanks for your adult response Z.I.P. He actually looks great. I have a friend who is a member of Latrobe CC in Pennsylvania where Palmer is a member. He said AP is one of the nicest people at the club. Nobody dares to call him anything other than Mr. Palmer.The golf cart was donated to the school and he autographed it. It will be auctioned off over the next couple weeks on their web page. All money will go to their scholarship fund. Good luck with your bidding.

Last night I saw something at the Maryland vs. Wake Forest football games that surprised me in a positive way and you guys should hear about it. Not often am I star struck, but the person I saw last night was a great American sports personality and is universally respected throughout America. The reaction to this man by both teams was first class.Before Wake runs out on the field, they do a little "Open The Gate" presentation for the fans. A famous Wake graduate is selected to open the big iron gates or ride out on the back of a motorcycle when the team runs out. They give a background on the graduate and what they did at WF, everyone claps and the team runs out. I've seen Tim Duncan, Chris Paul, Muggsy Bogues (Muggsy is universally loved in North Carolina), Ricky Proehl, former coaches/athletic directors, etc. open the gate. None of them came close to the reaction the man last night received from the crowd and from both teams.This graduate was driven out on a golf cart because he is too old to run or ride on the back of a motorcycle, and when he arrived at mid field he got out of the cart to clap for WF. Spontaneously, a line of about 25-30 WF players and about 5-10 Maryland players went up to shake the hand of the man who Opened The Gate. Normally, only a few WF players will shake hands and none of the opposing team will shake hands. Even the head coaches shook the man's hand. I was shocked because this man is probably old enough to be the grandfather or even great grandfather of the players. Sometimes I wonder about the age of the players and what appreciation they may have for the people selected to open the gate because of the age difference. And the man was......Arnold Palmer. Here is to things you won't forget and good moments during tough times.

Great Three Stooges analogy.I hope you feel optimistic about the Zips future. Once the mismanagement is gone, the losing should be gone as well. The talent is there that is being wasted. I just hope Nicely doesn't transfer after the coaching change.

Actually, the team has moved forward in many ways, especially in the talent department. Once JD is gone we should all feel optimistic about the future. The right guys will be on the field and they will be put in a better position to win. That's the good news. The bad news is there are still several games left to suffer through this season. The Zips are suffering through a bad case of mismanagement and that is more easily corrected than a case of no talent.After this season, I will be very optimistic about the Zips near future in the MAC. There is no reason we can't be the best team in a bad conference. The talent is there, the management is not.

I agree...but it is tough to dedicate the time to smoking them.C'mon CK! It's a 6:00 kickoff.

Grilled ribs? Smoked ribs?

I can see what you are saying and I don't disagree. I've never really agreed with the marketing direction of UofA and I've left many brilliant posts on this board saying that.

Wouldn't it be funny if the Ravens played the Cleveland Browns in their old Cleveland Browns uniforms in Cleveland. And I mean old CB uniforms....like the white helmets they wore long ago.