Game Week: Duquesne

[jbjack]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

I think the students will have to pack it in for that to happen. There were over 5,000 tickets available yet last week when I checked, not counting student section.

First game of a promising season. Student turnout should be good. The weather looks to be pleasant. I'll go with estimated attendance of more than 14,000.

[SoDakJack]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

I think the students will have to pack it in for that to happen. There were over 5,000 tickets available yet last week when I checked, not counting student section.

The next step for this program to take is the attendance. The opening game of possibly the best team we've ever seen should be a sell out.

SDSU football still hasn't become a must-see event for the casual fan. Perhaps the new stadium and the atmosphere associated with that will change over time.

Counting on the students to pack all the games isn't a good attendance strategy. There are a lot more of us fans who aren't in college.

[jakejc795]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

The next step for this program to take is the attendance. The opening game of possibly the best team we've ever seen should be a sell out.

SDSU football still hasn't become a must-see event for the casual fan. Perhaps the new stadium and the atmosphere associated with that will change over time.

Counting on the students to pack all the games isn't a good attendance strategy. There are a lot more of us fans who aren't in college.

During one of Matt Zimmer's chats (I believe it was the latest one), the argument was made that SDSU was a "basketball school," albeit with another commenter noting that the Jacks have a strong FB program. Assuming the consensus among casual fans is that SDSU is a "BB school," what do you think it would take to turn the tide in FB's favor?

How about a "buy a scoop, get a scoop free" promo for the Dairy Drive?

One would hope a national championship would do so, but I tend to agree with you that there's much to be excited about surrounding this year's team. Matt Z. also had a more favorable opinion of the Thurs. game than I do, but if it happens in the future, hopefully I won't be starting a new job again, and I'll just take Fri. off.

[Southeast]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

I have a hard time imagining FCS football eclipsing DI basketball in SD.

My theory after paying attention for years: When the average South Dakotan thinks of college football Nebraska comes to mind. Take a look at the window stickers, yard flags, clothing selections in local stores etc. That's the standard SDSU will always be compared to by casual fans in SD. National championships would be great but I'm not sure how much that will ultimately do when you're playing (quality) teams no one has ever heard of like Richmond, JMU and Duquesne. It's different in ND, where the Gophers are a mere shadow of the Huskers in terms of support. There's simply a lot more spotlight available for the taking - and NDSU grabbed it.

All I know is that the "casual fans" don't know what they are missing - starting with what should be a good game on a beautiful night this Thursday.

[SoDakJack]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

During one of Matt Zimmer's chats (I believe it was the latest one), the argument was made that SDSU was a "basketball school," albeit with another commenter noting that the Jacks have a strong FB program. Assuming the consensus among casual fans is that SDSU is a "BB school," what do you think it would take to turn the tide in FB's favor?

How about a "buy a scoop, get a scoop free" promo for the Dairy Drive?

One would hope a national championship would do so, but I tend to agree with you that there's much to be excited about surrounding this year's team. Matt Z. also had a more favorable opinion of the Thurs. game than I do, but if it happens in the future, hopefully I won't be starting a new job again, and I'll just take Fri. off.

When I was in college in the 90s I would have agreed that it was a basketball school. Once the move up was made I would say that the gap was closed.

Attendance is an issue in all the sports. I think the change will happen when fans stop worrying about the opponents. It seems that folks around here only come out for the "big games." Every game, especially in football, is important when going for seeding/byes.

New facilities/amenities will certainly help football and basketball.

[BigGoosie13]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

Stumbled across this on social media, but former Jackrabbit linebacker and star on all those legendary Huron teams in the 90's (GO TIGERS!!!) Chad Peters posted online a letter he wrote to Coach Stig this fall camp... https://beawesome365.com/2017/08/22/...news.publishes

[thumper_76]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

I have a hard time imagining FCS football eclipsing DI basketball in SD.

My theory after paying attention for years: When the average South Dakotan thinks of college football Nebraska comes to mind. Take a look at the window stickers, yard flags, clothing selections in local stores etc. That's the standard SDSU will always be compared to by casual fans in SD. National championships would be great but I'm not sure how much that will ultimately do when you're playing (quality) teams no one has ever heard of like Richmond, JMU and Duquesne. It's different in ND, where the Gophers are a mere shadow of the Huskers in terms of support. There's simply a lot more spotlight available for the taking - and NDSU grabbed it.

All I know is that the "casual fans" don't know what they are missing - starting with what should be a good game on a beautiful night this Thursday.

I'm not sure you're wrong, but I do think it's very possible for SDSU to eventually be a football school. Look at the explosion of attendance even before the DJD was started. There certainly will be basketball diehards, but I don't think it's crazy to think that football could end up on par with or even ahead of basketball one day. I mean, what was at a higher % of capacity all last year, Frost or the DJD?


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[SDSUAlum08]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

The issue is that SDSU likely won't get to where NDSU is in terms of support for football. Doesn't mean SDSU doesn't support football and basketball is way better than football.

SDSU was top 15 in attendance for FCS last year. How many of those teams have good basketball programs? Illinois St, Missouri St, NDSU, etc. This is part of the problem comparing yourself to NDSU, but it does make SDSU better.

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/footba...dance/2016.pdf

[thumper_76]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

The issue is that SDSU likely won't get to where NDSU is in terms of support for football. Doesn't mean SDSU doesn't support football and basketball is way better than football.

SDSU was top 15 in attendance for FCS last year. How many of those teams have good basketball programs? Illinois St, Missouri St, NDSU, etc. This is part of the problem comparing yourself to NDSU, but it does make SDSU better.

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/footba...dance/2016.pdf

I dunno, I don't think it's unrealistic to think that SDSU could end up close to NDSU in support someday. If someone would have told you ten years ago that the Jacks would have an average home attendance of 15,000 fans in the regular season I bet nobody would have believed it. We just have farther to go than NDSU did to get where they are today.


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[SDSUAlum08]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

I dunno, I don't think it's unrealistic to think that SDSU could end up close to NDSU in support someday. If someone would have told you ten years ago that the Jacks would have an average home attendance of 15,000 fans in the regular season I bet nobody would have believed it. We just have farther to go than NDSU did to get where they are today.


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Sure. Maybe someday. But they sell out (their season) in minutes and from what I've read have an absurd number of people on the wait list. 30,000 tickets?

You're making my point though. We always compare to NDSU but in reality they're the anomaly for football. It makes sdsu better but realistically we should compare ourselves to other fan bases, too.

[jbjack]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

SDSU certainly was a basketball school when I was in Brookings in the 90's. Football was such an after thought. I'm not sure I attended 4 games and never past halftime. I don't think I was any kind of outlier. There move to Division I has made it a more interesting game but certainly the increased success has played it's part. Although measuring ourselves against NDSU made be a worthy aspiration, I'm not sure it's entirely realistic. As others have noted, NDSU is really an outlier at the FCS level. There are only a very small handful of schools that enjoy the support that NDSU enjoys, and I'm not sure that any of that handful even compare to NDSU. NDSU has a perfect storm of circumstances that I can't see replicated anywhere else. For starters, they have a 30+ year head start with on field success, winning make DII national championships. They drew the attention of students, alumni and casual fans and compounded that year after year for many years. Meanwhile, a couple thousand people showed up at CAS on Saturday afternoons to watch mediocre teams, many leaving after the pride at half time.

Continuing that momentum, the city of Fargo handed NDSU an absolute prize in the Fargo Dome. It isn't there prettiest site to behold but as a small college football arena, it absolutely fits the bill. It is big enough to be boisterous and intimidating, but small enough to create major demand. Sure, they could sell 30,000 tickets now, but they have turned game day into an event, one that is brag worthy. Meanwhile in Brookings, the casual can can walk up and but a ticket for just about any game. Without needlessly revisiting history, DJD is frankly just too big for all but 3 or 4 FCS programs. And let's not forget the climate control certainty for those late season games. I doubt too many tickets would sell in advance of late season games in South Canada if the game were played outdoors and there's not a certainty of a national championship.

NDSU also enjoys a much larger city and metro to draw from. Not only that, but their flag is firmly planted in the fairly populated lake country in West Central and North West Minnesota. Where does SDSU draw from? If SDSU were in Sioux Falls, how many more tickets would be sold at walk up Thursday night? Is the Jack flag firmly planted in Southwest Minnesota? As others have noted, South Dakota looks to Nebraska as their team (will that change as the Huskers continue their slide into mediocrity?). Meanwhile, Minnesota draws no interest in North Dakota. In fact, the Trump-like egos of many Bison fans think they are better than most P5 teams. And the lack of competition in swaths of Minnesota creates fertile recruiting ground.

And although Fargo is much larger than Brookings, it really is more remote. What else can a North Dakotan do on a cold fall weekend?

The final thing going for NDSU was all this going on as football became our national pastime.

Far too many factors create the NDSU sycophancy that would be tough to replicate in Brookings. It's a worthy but unrealistic to think in such a short time that we can recreate that magic here. More realistically, we should aim for Montana State, UNI type support consistently. Maybe sustained success over the course of a couple decades will see SDSU become must see must do football experience.

[Kemo]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

Sure. Maybe someday. But they sell out (their season) in minutes and from what I've read have an absurd number of people on the wait list. 30,000 tickets?

You're making my point though. We always compare to NDSU but in reality they're the anomaly for football. It makes sdsu better but realistically we should compare ourselves to other fan bases, too.

I have no clue what the current waiting list is for NDSU football season tickets, but I do know that this is only a recent problem. After the 2010 season (1st Bison playoff appearance in DI), NDSU was running a marketing campaign to increase the number of season ticket holders to 10,000 for the 2011 season (which they did end up achieving). 5 National Championships later and there is now a long waiting list.

The other advantages NDSU has that contribute to their attendance numbers is well document, but it goes to show that winning does have an substantial effect on the number of people in the seats.

Perhaps this season will be our launch point?

[Nidaros]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

I have no clue what the current waiting list is for NDSU football season tickets, but I do know that this is only a recent problem. After the 2010 season (1st Bison playoff appearance in DI), NDSU was running a marketing campaign to increase the number of season ticket holders to 10,000 for the 2011 season (which they did end up achieving). 5 National Championships later and there is now a long waiting list.

The other advantages NDSU has that contribute to their attendance numbers is well document, but it goes to show that winning does have an substantial effect on the number of people in the seats.

Perhaps this season will be our launch point?

No one can argue about the affects of winning

[Hareofthedog]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

Please change the thread to Attendance, not game one. Talk about boring stuff on a upcoming opening game.

[WestSideRabbit]

Re: Game Week: Duquesne

I'm excited to see the running backs. I think they have a big week with a handful of carries for the top 4 backs. Stone and Henderson are tough but the d line is small.