zff Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Here is a link to the information about the travel packages the University has put together for the Penn State and NC State games.Follow the MAC Champs as the Upset the BCS Schools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyake Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 are there going to be any student packages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fear the brown roo Posted July 8, 2006 Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 no transportation only packages? damn i miss waddell and thomas already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted July 9, 2006 Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 no transportation only packages? damn i miss waddell and thomas already Look again. There are many options to select from including transportation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liljc Posted July 9, 2006 Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 no transportation only packages? damn i miss waddell and thomas alreadyNo, nothing is listed for transportation only. Maybe it would be available if you called the transportation company directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fear the brown roo Posted July 9, 2006 Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 help me out. i see nothing about transportation only. i am an akron grad, afterall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally B Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 How about tickets only. What is the best way for a Carolina resident to get tickets for the Akron section? BTW I would love to see Zippy show up dressed as the Dog Whisperer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 OK, I'm going to try to help everyone understand why I believe they are outsourcing the trips. They are doing it because it makes sense.Outsourcing things allows an organization to use a third party, that is better at doing something than they are, the ability to complete that task and make money doing it. I doubt it costs UofA much if anything to use a third party to provide these trips. My guess is they get a percent of what they sell. Akron makes money by not having to use it's man power to try to do something they have no expertise in doing.Last year, the University organized the MCB trip itself and it was almost a near disaster for the fans riding the bus to the game. Many showed up minutes before the game and there was a crush of people trying to hurry to get in to the game. That's no way to organize a trip or to treat your fans on game day of a bowl. The buses should have arrived in plenty of time for the fans to enjoy time at the casinos, or bars, or whatever else they wanted to do. There are companies like the one Akron is using now that do nothing but organize sports trips, and these companies should be used. I could go on about there being even more people who wanted to go to the game on a bus but once the buses were filled they didn't order more. A travel agent would have had as many buses a necessary because it is in their best interest to get as many people to the game as possible.Secondly, if the buses were a near disaster, the cheap cost of tickets and transportation to and from the game WAS a disaster for the University. They took a financial beating and in the process created a fan base that now thinks it should cost little money to go to a bowl. Akron is still struggling to get the people of Summit County to understand a free ticket to one game a year (Acme Zip) is not the direction that is good for the school. I understand why they did it, but it as a huge cost to pay to prove we could get people to a bowl game with no evidence people will respond in the future. Remember, it's hard to get people off of welfare once they get on it and they created a welfare state for any future Akron bowl. Athletic departments run on money and the new AD understands that. He really has his work cut out for him convincing the takers around Akron. If you want tickets only to any away game, you can get that through the University. If you want to just have transportation to and from NC State and a ticket, get the ticket through UofA and get your own plane ticket....that's what I'm doing. It really isn't difficult. If you want to have a nice weekend organized by someone else and all you have to do is show up to an airport, fly to the game, have someone drive you around while you get drunk and have fun, ride to and from the game, hotel taken care of for you and everything else taken care of for you, call the travel company. When you get back you will be glad you did. A couple of years ago my wife and I went to the Independence Bowl and took an all inclusive trip and it was worth every penny. The travel agency people could not have been nicer to us and eveyone there from both schools. Don't be cheap....it is a mental disorder in addition to a sin.The Athletic Department is doing the right thing with these trips. I know there are some out there who don't believe because they have never seen it done the right way before, but this is really the way to organize away games for fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KNCLZip Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 Don't forget that the Athletic Department's bus trip to the MAC Championship Game was well-done and the buses left in plenty of time (noon for the 7:30 kickoff). The Alumni Association decided that leaving at 10:30 for a 4pm kickoff was plenty of time, even though I called and emailed several times warning them that they were setting up a disaster, and look what happened. They alienated a lot of people who missed the kickoff, when they could have gotten people there early, allowed them to enjoy the pregame party, schmoozed people for donations/ZAC memberships, etc., and will never get the chance to make that first impression again. I was very disappointed and wouldn't ever go on an Alumni Association organized trip again. Now a bus trip organized by the Athletic Department I would do. What I worry about is that the outside vendor might try to soak people since they need to make their own cut of the profit.....Fans are fickle and what seems like a small price increase might drive a lot away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 Don't forget that the Athletic Department's bus trip to the MAC Championship Game was well-done and the buses left in plenty of time (noon for the 7:30 kickoff). The Alumni Association decided that leaving at 10:30 for a 4pm kickoff was plenty of time, even though I called and emailed several times warning them that they were setting up a disaster, and look what happened. They alienated a lot of people who missed the kickoff, when they could have gotten people there early, allowed them to enjoy the pregame party, schmoozed people for donations/ZAC memberships, etc., and will never get the chance to make that first impression again. I was very disappointed and wouldn't ever go on an Alumni Association organized trip again. Now a bus trip organized by the Athletic Department I would do. What I worry about is that the outside vendor might try to soak people since they need to make their own cut of the profit.....Fans are fickle and what seems like a small price increase might drive a lot away.It was the decision of the Athletic Department (UAM) to allow the Alumni Association to organize the MCB trip. Delegation of authority does not eliminate responsibility.Worrying about price increases is a natural response to one because doubt is a human emotion. In most cases, they don't matter. If worrying about price increases held prices, we would all still be paying ten cents for a quart of milk. When value is added to a product, people are willing to pay more for the product (at my company we use this cost-value-profit method of pricing and it works). I think this travel firm adds value to the fans and should be used if needed.What if using the travel firm freed up Athletic Department staff to go out and fund raise or sell more advertising than what they would have had they not needed to organize a trip? Why does every other school out there use travel services for away games and bowl games except us? Were we the only one out there getting it right?I'll be right back. I'm going to figure up some costs real quick.I'm back.The airfare travel package is $445 per person which includes plane ticket, hotel, tickets to the game, shuttle. If two people go, it is $890 to have someone take care of everything for you.I just priced out airfare and hotel for the game and here is what it would cost the same two people to organize the trip themselves. Two plane tickets = $230 each, $100 per night for hotel, two tickets cost $70, without the shuttle it will cost around $20 to park, rental car will be roughly $100 for the weekend, cab rides since you don't have the shuttle $50 and the game day give away will be around $50. For these two people it will cost around $900 for the trip (in reality it will probably cost more). For those Can't State graduates out there, it costs more to organize the trip yourself than to call the travel agency and have them do it for you. Don't be stupid everyone, call the travel agent and get a ticket. All things accounted for, it's just what you all want......CHEAP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSU_Nut Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 help me out. i see nothing about transportation only. i am an akron grad, afterallThere is one package that is $125 for bus and ticket which is not that good deal since the ticket price alone is $55. With parking at $10 and a 460 mile round trip with about $60 in gas that bring the price up to $125 already. I would much rather pay that price and let some one else do the 8 hours of driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KNCLZip Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 It was the decision of the Athletic Department (UAM) to allow the Alumni Association to organize the MCB trip. Delegation of authority does not eliminate responsibility. Certainly the ultimate responsibility falls to the athletic department when the buck stops, but I do find it interesting that the athletic department could organize a trip with little notice that went off very well, while the Alumni Association had more time to organize the bowl trip yet screwed it up so badly. I wish there was better oversight there, because it was a real black eye for UA as a whole.Hopefully we won't see the outside provider jack prices up in subsequent years, especially for students. The free/cheap rides and tickets for students (made possible by sponsors) really helped draw crowds for the last 2 games of 2005. I'd hate to see our fickle fanbace decimated by a perceived large increase in price. I guess that's what worries me most.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 It was the decision of the Athletic Department (UAM) to allow the Alumni Association to organize the MCB trip. Delegation of authority does not eliminate responsibility.Certainly the ultimate responsibility falls to the athletic department when the buck stops, but I do find it interesting that the athletic department could organize a trip with little notice that went off very well, while the Alumni Association had more time to organize the bowl trip yet screwed it up so badly. I wish there was better oversight there, because it was a real black eye for UA as a whole.Hopefully we won't see the outside provider jack prices up in subsequent years, especially for students. The free/cheap rides and tickets for students (made possible by sponsors) really helped draw crowds for the last 2 games of 2005. I'd hate to see our fickle fanbace decimated by a perceived large increase in price. I guess that's what worries me most.... I think we mostly agree. The reason the Alumni Association screwed up so badly is that it is not the job of the Alumni Association to move people to and from games, so they have no experience in doing so. That responsibility rests exclusively on the shoulders of the Athletic Department. To move that responsibility out of the hands of the Athletic Department to another area was a bad decision.The travel agency will always be able to put packages together at lower prices than what people can do on their own. For the same reason Wal Mart sells product at lower prices, they can sell trips at lower cost. Their volume helps suppliers (airlines, hotels, etc.) move product quickly and in return the suppliers give the travel agents lower prices. Let others worry. Just consume what the Zips have to offer and the program will be better for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloopy Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 I think the bowl trip would have gone a lot more smoothly had the athletic deprtment run the trips too but you are wrong that it was their choice to allow the Alumni Association to run the trip. That decision was made by the VP for Development who oversees both alumni and fundraising. Athletics was working shortstaffed with the resignation of the old ticket manager coming the day after the MACC game and the balance of the athletics staff was in Dearborn five days before the MCB game and not in Akron where they could run the bus trip. The Alumni Association has always handled larger football road trips such as Nebraska, LSU and Army so the powers that be empowered the old system, good or bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingZip Posted July 11, 2006 Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 This is right on. The athletic staff was shoestring during December last year and was down 3 full time staffers. We are not Ohio State and do not have 20 folks working on matters like this. I know because I was one of the students who had to stay back and not go on the trip until the day of the game - it was all hands on deck save one guy from Athletics who tagged along on the trip and did nothing except walk about and look important working on the postgame party. GP1 should really get his/her facts straight before popping off on stuff he knows nothing about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted July 11, 2006 Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 GP1 should really get his/her facts straight before popping off on stuff he knows nothing about. I could care less what you and Mike say, I stand by everything I wrote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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