NCAA FCS semi-final: vs Montana State

[jakejc795]

If they are "casual" fans, they likely sit on the couch and watch games on TV, or go to bars to socialize and watch.

Yes, we need to formalize the "casual fan" definition. I sense some use it to capture fans who are not alums/are currently unaffiliated. Regardless, this is a crux of the issue.

If we define "casual" fans as you do, is it logical to expect the 10k to travel to Brookings in Dec. that Mr_Tibbs asserts we should OR is it more likely that we can try to win over the 18-45yr olds in places like Brookings County who may only need to drive 15-20mins to the game who have either attended a game in the past year or two or may be amenable to in the future?

[jakejc795]

A major difference between South Dakotans and Montanans is the willingness to drive. Montana is such a big state it’s nothing to drive 2, 3, or 4 hours one way. My hometown is 120 miles from Brookings. Not a ton of people willing to make that drive. In Montana you’ve got people that routinely make the pilgrimage from Billings to Missoula or Bozeangeles.

Also our program is in its relative infancy in FCS. And prior to FCS we just weren’t terribly successful to build a rabid base like NDSU.

Attendance has improved consistently.

Been a while since I lived in MT, but gas was generally cheaper there. Looks like it's still around 20 cents/gal cheaper than the lowest price I can get here.

Not a dealbreaker for me, but some would say I have misplaced priorities; I don't have kids, and my vehicle gets great gas mileage, but those hauling kids and/or carpooling may balk at higher prices, and if you're paying a couple dimes less per gallon and making a 50 mile one-way trek, that roundtrip price difference can get dang close to a game ticket (and may exceed it with some vehicles).

[Southeast]

When do the unclaimed season tickets go on sale? I thought I read that it is Tuesday AM but I can’t find it to confirm.

[jakejc795]

When do the unclaimed season tickets go on sale? I thought I read that it is Tuesday AM but I can’t find it to confirm.

Email to season ticket holders indicated they could be claimed until 12/13 at 4pm CT. After that, the seats are available to public.

[jackrabit1]

If I could, I’d be at every postseason game. However, the doctor missus and I moved to West Virginia this summer (she’s an Assistant Professor at Marshall), and we’ve spent a butt-load of money to replace a bad sewer line (I can still smell it!). So we’re kinda “house poor” right now.

So I feel kinda like a hypocrite to call people out who aren’t going to the game. But if you can go… GO! Drink Beer! Get Rowdy! Don’t get arrested!

And drink a victory beer for me when it’s all over. I’ll do the same from my living room in Huntington!

[Cats2506]

Montana State have any injuries???

I think we are pretty good, really as good as we have been all season. One of our best DE's didn't play against W&M but he warmed up and looked good, so I think he will be OK. Presser tomorrow will give some info. Vigen is pretty straight up with who is available and who is not.

[LetsGoRabbits]

This has been minimized by some, but consider the populations for cities housing the teams you mentioned;

• Fargo = nearly 126k
• Bozeman = 53k
• Missoula = nearly 73.5k
• Brookings = nearly 23.4k

Yes, all three also have fans that commute to those games, but the Jacks rely on commuters significantly more, which means that the fans also must absorb concomitant travel costs that lower percentages of Bison, 'Cats, and Grizz fans do.

this might not be THE ENTIRE STORY but it is dang close to it!!! ANYONE who tries to pretend this does not matter is just being intentionally stupid

and some try to say it does not matter because sioux falls is less than an hour away, well that still adds an additional 1.5 hours of commitment for driving and whatever that costs that those schools fans do not have to endure

but more than that, i am quite sure that there are more jacks fans in sioux falls than any other nearby school, but there are also two schools in sioux falls and almost more schools than you can count within a 2 hour radius of sioux falls. everyone of those schools has alums, fans, and supporters. beyond that creighton and the other omaha schools are only slightly more than 2 hours away and UNL is only a bit over 3

point being Brookings is very significantly smaller than the other FCS cities mentioned and the sports and fan dollars from sioux falls are VERY divided (even if it is possible, maybe even likely, that the jacks get the biggest piece of that pie)

[poppa1]

I believe the actual Brookings population is less than that 23.4, I believe the student population is included in that number.

[LetsGoRabbits]

Didn't realize that Brookings was that much smaller of a population base. The Montana schools typically have 50% of the people at games that travel for games (100 - 500+ miles.) Bozeman population has exploded in the last 10 years, that has made us sellout most regular season games the last few years.

I am hoping we can get a couple thousand to the game this week, we have quite a few alumni in the Minneapolis area that will be there, its actually close for an away playoff game, especially for the Eastern Montana fans in Billings ect ... I haven't heard yet if there are any charters, should find out sometime today. Usually we are able to get 1-3 charters for away playoff games.

if this is true that anywhere near 50% of your crowds are traveling that far then you well might have several thousand in brookings next week. and i hold out the possibility that i could be wrong, but i have pretty serious doubts that 50% are coming from much over 100 miles away, despite the fact i do believe it is true that montana residents are probably more accustomed to traveling greater distances than SD residents are.
and i would take a guess that there are nowhere near 1000 who regularly attend from over 500 miles away. if someone has proof that those numbers are true i will readily admit to being wrong but count me as very skeptical

i know we have some NDSU fans checking in here from time to time. can any of you give us an idea what type of numbers UM brought to the playoff game in fargo. i dont remember the attendance numbers from that game but if you only had under 13k for the quarterfinal game i am guessing that there were also several thousand seats available for visiting UM fans

another thing about sioux falls 30 years ago sioux falls had a population below 100k
the population is more than doubled now
of course some of that population comes from SD and the parts of IA, MN, and NE that are very nearby
but A HUGE part of that population comes from other parts of the country and from outside the country. when i grew up in sioux falls the huge majority of kids in the schools were from families who had lived in SD for multiple generations. today the SF schools are highly populated by kids from families who are first generation in SD or even in USA

point being a HUGE portion of these residents could not give a crap about any sports and others already have loyalties to schools from the places they moved from. even those who moved from close to SF, say NW IA or SE MN, if they care about sports at all it is highly likely that they already consider themselves fans of one of the crappy nearby big 10 schools, sad as that may be

[jakejc795]

I believe the actual Brookings population is less than that 23.4, I believe the student population is included in that number.

The census estimates were reported directly, as each of the other cities' totals would also include their students

[filbert]

This has been minimized by some, but consider the populations for cities housing the teams you mentioned;

• Fargo = nearly 126k
• Bozeman = 53k
• Missoula = nearly 73.5k
• Brookings = nearly 23.4k

Yes, all three also have fans that commute to those games, but the Jacks rely on commuters significantly more, which means that the fans also must absorb concomitant travel costs that lower percentages of Bison, 'Cats, and Grizz fans do.

The best same-to-same comparisons are probably metropolitan/micropolitan area populations (county or counties around the central city)

Fargo MSA: 249k (note: Fargo-Wahpeton CSA is 275k)
Bozeman MSA: 117k
Missoula MSA: 122k
Brookings mSA: 36k

For reference: Sioux Falls MSA: 274k

pops are 2021 estimates according to Wikipedia

[LetsGoRabbits]

I just checked the bison website

attendance for UM playoff game a bit over 12900
attendance for the marker game 18603

that says that they had at least 5k+ seats still available for UM fans and if HALF of UM fans are accustomed to traveling several hundred miles for a game, i guess i would expect they would have had more in fargo

again it is just a fact that NDSU, UM, and MSU all have a much much bigger base of fans within a 10-30 mile drive and that matters.

[filbert]

Further reference: the Sioux Falls MSA and the Brookings mSA are separated by the 24 miles north-to-south of Moody County, which is not counted in either statistical area.

[jakejc795]

The best same-to-same comparisons are probably metropolitan/micropolitan area populations (county or counties around the central city)

Fargo MSA: 249k (note: Fargo-Wahpeton CSA is 275k)
Bozeman MSA: 117k
Missoula MSA: 122k
Brookings mSA: 36k

For reference: Sioux Falls MSA: 274k

pops are 2021 estimates according to Wikipedia

My rationale was that expansion to MSA implies that the entire MSA's residents would be as apt to attend as those in the "core." Regardless, the considerable population differences only increase with the expanded geospatial scope.

[jakejc795]

if this is true that anywhere near 50% of your crowds are traveling that far then you well might have several thousand in brookings next week. and i hold out the possibility that i could be wrong, but i have pretty serious doubts that 50% are coming from much over 100 miles away, despite the fact i do believe it is true that montana residents are probably more accustomed to traveling greater distances than SD residents are.
and i would take a guess that there are nowhere near 1000 who regularly attend from over 500 miles away. if someone has proof that those numbers are true i will readily admit to being wrong but count me as very skeptical

The 50 percent estimate seems like an instance of a "five of the ten people I know commute, so it seems likely that about half of the overall attendees are commuters" generalization, but I'm with you, if someone can provide even a general estimate that 30 percent of their fans travel that far, I'll concede that my logic is flawed.