I have mixed feelings about the schedule. This is the one of the toughest slates in FCS/I-AA. However, this is one of the best bunch of teams to come to CAS. Some thoughts on the home schedule:
1) The UNI game may make a run for the best-attended non-Hobo Day game ever at CAS, particularly if we're competitive to start the season and the Panther fans travel well. I don't see 15K, but 12-13K is quite likely.
2) Texas State is a perfect choice for the Beef Bowl 8-). Even sandwiched between two big games, 10K is likely.
3) The rest of the season will be full of wild cards. Hobo Day should draw the now-customary 14-15K, but the timing may throw people off. Instead of cold keeping people away, the heat may be a factor. I wouldn't have minded if we had decided to try a night Hobo Day game......
4) Playing the Cal-Poly game at night was a necessary evil because of the pheasant opener. The weather could go either way at that point in the year. 6K is realistic, but I would like to see 8-9 K.
5) Our attendance trends will need to change in order to boost the SUU attendance above 4-5K.
6) The NDSU game scares me. The Bison fans will show up, but the outdoor conditions may easily keep "fair-weather" Jacks fans away, especially if the team has had a challenging year.
If the teams are good, we should hit 14-15K (or more) for NDSU. If the weather keeps thousands of SDSU students and fans at home, the "d-word" and the "r-word" will be everywhere whenever there is discussion about a new FB stadium.
I have mixed feelings about the schedule. This is the one of the toughest slates in FCS/I-AA. However, this is one of the best bunch of teams to come to CAS. Some thoughts on the home schedule:
1) The UNI game may make a run for the best-attended non-Hobo Day game ever at CAS, particularly if we're competitive to start the season and the Panther fans travel well. I don't see 15K, but 12-13K is quite likely.
I agree with you that this game has the potential to draw a lot of people. The thing I worry about this one is how uneducated our casual fans tend to be with these types of games. This kind of game should draw a big crowd because UNI is a high quality opponent. But often times our fans don't show up because they are unaware of how high quality they are. Georgia Southern two years ago is a great example. At the time that was probably the most storied program ever to play in the state of SD and I don't think we got 5K at that game. Utah St. this year in BB is another example. I don't know what the solution is but unless it is a name-recognized team (Nebraska, Minnesota, USC, etc.) people have a hard time realizing what they are missing.
3) The rest of the season will be full of wild cards. Hobo Day should draw the now-customary 14-15K, but the timing may throw people off. Instead of cold keeping people away, the heat may be a factor. I wouldn't have minded if we had decided to try a night Hobo Day game......
I don't think this is much of a concern. I don't see heat keeping people away. The hottest it will get this time of year is 75° which is fine. We had a lot of those days 2 seasons ago and it did well for our attendance.
The bottom line is that if we have a good season that will draw the crowd. GO JACKS!
UNI was one of our NCC rivals until they moved to D-I in the late 1970s. Second, it has more regional appeal than a Georgia Southern. Finally, the GSU game at CAS was after Hobo Day, a period when our attendance has traditionally tanked.
[quote author=Jerry O. link=1158777639/45#56 date=1169659305]AUGUST
30 at Western Illinois 6:05 p.m.
SEPTEMBER
8 at Youngstown State (Ohio) 6 p.m. ET
15 NORTHERN IOWA [Cereal Bowl] 7 p.m.
22 TEXAS STATE [Beef Bowl] 7 p.m.
29 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN (Texas) [Hobo Day] 2 p.m.
OCTOBER
6 at Georgia Southern TBA
20 *CAL POLY 7 p.m.
27 *at UC Davis 1 p.m. PT
NOVEMBER
3 at Central Arkansas 6 p.m.
10 *SOUTHERN UTAH 1 p.m.
17 *NORTH DAKOTA STATE 1 p.m.
* denotes Great West Football Conference game
All times Central Time unless noted
Is this official??
If so...GREAT schedule!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No D-II, D-III and no USD...I love it!![/quote]
Or no NAIA!
Kudos to all involved very nice schedule. Nice to see the Gateway foes. Will help if we join.
South Dakota State's football program got what it wanted - a six-game home schedule that includes a nearby national power.
The Jackrabbits also got a buyout check for a game that will never be played.
Montana will pay $50,000 to cancel a scheduled Sept. 15 appearance in Brookings. That date has been filled by Northern Iowa, giving the Jackrabbits six home games and an exclusively NCAA Division I Championship Subdivision (Division I-AA) slate for the 2007 season.
SDSU had only four games at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium in 2006 and has played two non-Division I teams each season since jumping to that level in 2004.
"We've pushed the fact that our fans need to get out and see this level of football," said Jacks coach John Stiegelmeier, whose 2006 club finished 7-4 and ranked 16th in the final Gridiron Power Index.
"Now they're going to have more opportunities than they ever have in Brookings." . . . (read more)
South Dakota State University football hosts six games this fall. Last season, SDSU had only four games at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, where they went 3-1.
"There is no place better than playing at home," said SDSU football coach John Stiegelmeier, a Selby native and former Northern State assistant. "Your fans are your comfort zone. And we are excited about that."
The Jackrabbits will open the season at Western Illinois Aug. 30. The Jackrabbits will open their home schedule on Sept. 15 against Northern Iowa. Originally, SDSU was to play Montana, but Montana opted to pay SDSU $50,000 to get out of the game.
"There are schools that will not come out here to play us," said Stiegelmeier, who has a 61-47 record at SDSU, including 7-4 last season. "And so you just can't keep going like we have two out of the last three years and have seven on the road."
SDSU will host Stephen F. Austin for 2007 Hobo Day Game at 2 p.m. Sept. 29. It will mark the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Stiegelmeier has a 42-14 record in games played at the 15,000-seat Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. . . . (read more)
When do season tickets go on sale for Football? After having them for basketball this year and seeing the huge lineup coming for football I think I will have to get those as well.
Playing both Texas teams at home, Texas State and Stephen F. Austin. If we can win both of these games it may get us some noteriaty with future Texas recruits. Just a thought.
Playing both Texas teams at home, Texas State and Stephen F. Austin. If we can win both of these games it may get us some noteriaty with future Texas recruits. Just a thought.
i agree. I think there is a bright future ahead for the jacks football team
I'm with you there. I can't wait. As much as I like watching BB, I really love FB. Thank goodness there is recruiting season, signing day and the NFL draft to tide us over, I'm ready for football @ SDSU. (Also the tailgating!!)
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