GDT: Missouri State Bears

[OldHare]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

Already acknowledged the data insufficiency. Where we seem to differ is curiosity about how to address that and predisposition to focus on factors we cannot feasibly address (short of adding a dome or "blacking out" games).

You seem to assume weather and TV were among primary factors. I've conceded that in prior posts, but that doesn't mean there weren't at least a few hundred and possibly a couple thousand who could be convinced to brave the elements with the right incentives (strategies which would be informed by acquiring additional data)

Blacking out the games or building a dome are equally unlikely. Even at that level, the Mrs. would have been quite content listening to WNAX. I would contend that the weather was the reason attendance was down. It was also the reason tailgating was down. There are many people who realize that they do not like to be outside watching a game on a cold and rainy day. It was the reason that a group that did tailgate went straight to a bar to watch on television. It is not complex to realize that many people want to be involved in outdoor activities in good weather more than inclement weather. There are people who will not golf in cooler weather or windy weather or really hot weather. Those people are not disinterested in golf. They just have parameters to play for weather conditions.

[jakejc795]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

Blacking out the games or building a dome are equally unlikely. Even at that level, the Mrs. would have been quite content listening to WNAX. I would contend that the weather was the reason attendance was down. It was also the reason tailgating was down. There are many people who realize that they do not like to be outside watching a game on a cold and rainy day. It was the reason that a group that did tailgate went straight to a bar to watch on television. It is not complex to realize that many people want to be involved in outdoor activities in good weather more than inclement weather. There are people who will not golf in cooler weather or windy weather or really hot weather. Those people are not disinterested in golf. They just have parameters to play for weather conditions.

That was my point. It's a cop out to simply say that poor attendance is due to weather and TV availability knowing that neither of them can be addressed. The same goes for ticket prices. Other larger universities with more significant business relationships have reduced ticket prices (prime regional example is the Gophers).

I'm not saying you're completely wrong. What I am saying is it's more complex and requires a deeper examination to help determine both what is exerting influence and the estimated extent to which attendance can be improved if/when the variables that could be addressed are.

WRJ, regarding paying premium prices for hotels -- this is where Athletics having more comprehensive data regarding fans' level of frustration with those rates could be shared with Admin., who could possibly leverage their use of hotels for conferences, symposia, faculty interviews, etc. by saying "We'd like to explore formalizing a partnership with you to make you the preferred local lodging establishment for academics. In turn, would you be willing to offer reduced prices for fans of our sporting events?"

[Mr_Tibbs]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

Our attendance is sub par because SDSU football is not deemed to be a must see event in South Dakota. Weather, tickets, opponent, can all play a role, but we just aren't a big enough deal for people to be here rain or shine.

If we had a beautiful, sunny, 65 degree day today , we MIGHT have had 10k. How do I know that? That's exactly what we had last year for ISUr on a beautiful November day in 2017. That was arguably a "bigger" game than today too, given the redbird's reputation as a tough opponent. Weather today is why we had 5.8k as opposed to 8-9k. It's not why we haven't been above 16k yet this season with one of our best teams ever and a Peyton candidate at QB. Our problem is apathy, not the weather.

For the record, the above is not targeted at anyone on this board. Just to the culture in the region in general.

[Justwin]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

Our attendance is sub par because SDSU football is not deemed to be a must see event in South Dakota. Weather, tickets, opponent, can all play a role, but we just aren't a big enough deal for people to be here rain or shine.

If we had a beautiful, sunny, 65 degree day today , we MIGHT have had 10k. How do I know that? That's exactly what we had last year for ISUr on a beautiful November day in 2017. That was arguably a "bigger" game than today too, given the redbird's reputation as a tough opponent. Weather today is why we had 5.8k as opposed to 8-9k. It's not why we haven't been above 16k yet this season with one of our best teams ever and a Peyton candidate at QB. Our problem is apathy, not the weather.

For the record, the above is not targeted at anyone on this board. Just to the culture in the region in general.

10000% correct.

[jakejc795]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

Our attendance is sub par because SDSU football is not deemed to be a must see event in South Dakota. Weather, tickets, opponent, can all play a role, but we just aren't a big enough deal for people to be here rain or shine.

If we had a beautiful, sunny, 65 degree day today , we MIGHT have had 10k. How do I know that? That's exactly what we had last year for ISUr on a beautiful November day in 2017. That was arguably a "bigger" game than today too, given the redbird's reputation as a tough opponent. Weather today is why we had 5.8k as opposed to 8-9k. It's not why we haven't been above 16k yet this season with one of our best teams ever and a Peyton candidate at QB. Our problem is apathy, not the weather.

For the record, the above is not targeted at anyone on this board. Just to the culture in the region in general.

That's one reason I said we needed to think bigger than tailgating. I'd be interested in how many of the tickets for veterans season ticket holders could purchase went unused. If that number is significant, I would hope additional outreach is planned next year to decrease that number.

Random side note -- it'd be a great gesture if some of the suites and Dykhouse Center seating was reserved for veterans so older generations or those with disabilities could be honored without having to sit in the elements. Perhaps this is already occurring, but it seems like prior years had those with free tickets sitting on the east side

[JackJD]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

That was a fun game. The underclassmen who are getting a lot of playing time due to teammates's injuries, have learned their roles well -- as some of the injured return to the active roster, the depth should pay off.

On attendance: I greeted WestRiverJack at the game. He was manning his post in the stands -- traveled from the Blacks Hills in the less-than-ideal weather. My drive is less than an hour. I think the attendance will work itself out as the program continues to be one of the premier FCS programs and the overall quality of MVFC continues to be the best FCS conference (with apologies to "Field of Dreams": we have built it, now, will they come?).

I hope that those contributing two-cents to a discussion on attendance were present at today's game and if they were not present but posted anyway, I'd like to know what it's going to take to get such posters at the game. I suspect there are nearly as many reasons as there are absent fans.

[discoDancinJackrabbit]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

That was a fun game. The underclassmen who are getting a lot of playing time due to teammates's injuries, have learned their roles well -- as some of the injured return to the active roster, the depth should pay off.

On attendance: I greeted WestRiverJack at the game. He was manning his post in the stands -- traveled from the Blacks Hills in the less-than-ideal weather. My drive is less than an hour. I think the attendance will work itself out as the program continues to be one of the premier FCS programs and the overall quality of MVFC continues to be the best FCS conference (with apologies to "Field of Dreams": we have built it, now, will they come?).

I hope that those contributing two-cents to a discussion on attendance were present at today's game and if they were not present but posted anyway, I'd like to know what it's going to take to get such posters at the game. I suspect there are nearly as many reasons as there are absent fans.

Very long drive, and to some extent apathy. I plan on making it to a playoff game or usd

[JackJD]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

Very long drive, and to some extent apathy. I plan on making it to a playoff game or usd

How does the athletic department address your apathy? (Rhetorical question.)

Meanwhile, back on the subject of MSU: We just kicked the snot out of a team that has had several competitive games. The Bears program is stronger this year than it has been for the past several, with wins this season over Illinois State, Indiana State. They came into the Dykhouse with a two-game losing slide and ran into a buzzsaw. But they're one of the teams in the conference that has been supporting the notion that from top to bottom, the MVFC may have as much parity as it's had since we joined the conference. MSU's record prior to Saturday:

at Oklahoma State: Lost 17-58
Lincoln, won 52-24
Northern Arizona, won 40-8
Illinois State, won 24-21
at USD, lost 28-35
at Indiana State, won 29-26
Western Illinois, lost 14-31
Southern Illinois, lost 35-49

--Lincoln University (HBCU in Jefferson City, MO} is NCAA Div II

Next week, MSU hosts NDSU and the following weekend travels to Northern Iowa. Couple of tough games to finish the season.

[discoDancinJackrabbit]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

How does the athletic department address your apathy? (Rhetorical question.)

(yawns) idk give me some free ticks or somethin

[JackJD]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

(yawns) idk give me some free ticks or somethin

lol.

[JackJD]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

I wonder how many Jackrabbit Club members watched the game from the inside the Dykhouse Center. It's my recollection that if you remain in the Dykhouse Center to watch the game, your ticket does not get scanned (it may if you decide to leave the Dykhouse center and enter the stadium proper although I know you can travel from the Dykhouse Center into the stadium and bypass the stadium entrance ticket counters). The Dykhouse Center appeared to have a large crowd in it during the game.

[JackJD]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

Here's the game story from the Springfield News-Leader website, under the headline "Same ol' Bears: Missouri State slaughtered by No. 7 South Dakota State". The author doesn't mince words.

https://www.news-leader.com/story/sp...te/1873904002/

[CappinHard]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

Want to increase attendance immediately? Sell beer in the stadium. (They already know how big of a difference this would make and are actively pushing for it.) Regardless of your stance on beer sales, it would definitely increase attendance and it is definitely going to happen sooner or later.

Outside of that, I think you could do all the promoting you want, hell you could probably make tickets nearly free or actually free, and you still won't get people to sit outside for 3 hours in crappy weather if they're not pretty serious SDSU fans. We'll obviously never know, but it would be interesting to see what the difference in attendance would be for an indoor stadium. I'm guessing they did the math and didn't think it was worth it. Unless they saw outdoor football as a tradition and something that set us apart from USD, or maybe there was simply no way to fund an indoor stadium....? Either way, we have what we have and I'm grateful for it.

[Jacks-02]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

That was a fun game. The underclassmen who are getting a lot of playing time due to teammates's injuries, have learned their roles well -- as some of the injured return to the active roster, the depth should pay off.

On attendance: I greeted WestRiverJack at the game. He was manning his post in the stands -- traveled from the Blacks Hills in the less-than-ideal weather. My drive is less than an hour. I think the attendance will work itself out as the program continues to be one of the premier FCS programs and the overall quality of MVFC continues to be the best FCS conference (with apologies to "Field of Dreams": we have built it, now, will they come?).

I hope that those contributing two-cents to a discussion on attendance were present at today's game and if they were not present but posted anyway, I'd like to know what it's going to take to get such posters at the game. I suspect there are nearly as many reasons as there are absent fans.

I had free ticket opportunities from two different sources yet stayed in Sioux Falls. Poor weather, an expected blowout, the game on television, and three young kids that I didn't want to leave for half a day on a weekend kept me from going to see the game in person. Call it apathy if you'd like, but I consider myself a pretty hardcore fan. I just have other priorities in life that take precedent.

[MontanaRabbit]

Re: GDT: Missouri State Bears

Want to increase attendance immediately? Sell beer in the stadium. (They already know how big of a difference this would make and are actively pushing for it.) Regardless of your stance on beer sales, it would definitely increase attendance and it is definitely going to happen sooner or later.

Outside of that, I think you could do all the promoting you want, hell you could probably make tickets nearly free or actually free, and you still won't get people to sit outside for 3 hours in crappy weather if they're not pretty serious SDSU fans. We'll obviously never know, but it would be interesting to see what the difference in attendance would be for an indoor stadium. I'm guessing they did the math and didn't think it was worth it. Unless they saw outdoor football as a tradition and something that set us apart from USD, or maybe there was simply no way to fund an indoor stadium....? Either way, we have what we have and I'm grateful for it.

Just curious when you say “they” are pushing beer sales who is “they”? Sell? Dunn? Both? And is this just your opinion or do you have some inside info?

Also not related to this post but the biggest factor to attendance is location imo. There are other factors but that’s the main one. When fans can come and make a day of it the effect is smaller but days like today make it tough to justify a long car ride.