SMU ANNOUNCES NEW PRIORITY SEATING & PARKING PLANS

[Silk]

I have to wonder if maybe a campaign to fill the usually empty seats would not have been better than raising prices to the loyal fans...

Of course it would have, but that would entail caring about your loyal fans.

[George S. Patton]

Tell me what exactly you're entitled to since you've been loyal for so long.

Free parking for the season?
Discounted tickets for the season?
Buy one get one free?
Free t-shirts with the purchase of a family pack?

Wake up! College athletics is a business. Either buy your tickets, move or surrender your seats.

Yahoos like you screamed for better football. Well, you just watched 8-5 and 45-10. You got a coach who has a vision and appears to have a foundation. The athletic department is doing it's part. What the hell are you doing except moaning and playing the loyalty card?

[Big Hoss]

I was at the Stars game earlier today and was talking to a friend that works at TCU. She has quite a bit of experience in fund raising and was talking about how TCU has a point system similar to this in place, and has for years. She said that they never have had the need for it, but come this year when a BCS bowl was getting closer to a reality that donations went way up so that people could get their points in order so that they had a better chance of getting tickets.

What I took from the conversation was that they had this system in place long before they actually needed it, and long before they had seen so much success on the field. You have to be prepared for where you want to be, not just for the place you are in at the moment. If SMU doesn't set up the infrastructure now to deal with a successful football team, then it will bite us in the arse when we do get there.

[Charleston Pony]

and for the frugal fan who doesn't care to "pony up" for a good seat on the home side, it's ridiculously easy to sit between the 40s on the visitor side. I'm looking forward to the day that changes, but for now the demand is still pretty slim for SMU football tickets.

I must admit I have enjoyed being able to sit at mid-field for the one game I try to make each year, but I do have mixed emotions about it.

[ALEX LIFESON]

Tell me what exactly you're entitled to since you've been loyal for so long.

Free parking for the season?
Discounted tickets for the season?
Buy one get one free?
Free t-shirts with the purchase of a family pack?

Wake up! College athletics is a business. Either buy your tickets, move or surrender your seats.

Yahoos like you screamed for better football. Well, you just watched 8-5 and 45-10. You got a coach who has a vision and appears to have a foundation. The athletic department is doing it's part. What the hell are you doing except moaning and playing the loyalty card?

Now there you go again GSP, making perfect sense!

[Mestengo]

Now there you go again GSP, making perfect sense![/quote]


Quit invoking him Mustang Club Collector!

[redpony]

Does anyone have an idea of what the budget and expenses for the Athletic dept. are? It seems that the biggest cost would be the fball coaches and that is covered by the CofC., we have no marketing dept and staff in the AD in very minimal. I would think that the cost of the facilities would be included in the university budget the same as other buildings and facilities.

GO PONIES!!!

[VarsityShop]

Looks like it's time to Pony Up if you want the best seats in the house. If not, there are plenty of other great options available to you and your family at Ford Stadium.

[ALEX LIFESON]

Now there you go again GSP, making perfect sense!

Quit invoking him Mustang Club Collector! [/quote]

Stop watching me like a cop!

[mustangbill67]

Does anyone have an idea of what the budget and expenses for the Athletic dept. are? It seems that the biggest cost would be the fball coaches and that is covered by the CofC., we have no marketing dept and staff in the AD in very minimal. I would think that the cost of the facilities would be included in the university budget the same as other buildings and facilities.

GO PONIES!!!

You need to go to the SMU athletics web site sometime and see what is going on. There are 16 varsity sports supported by the MC and revenue generated by our athletic events. Since most of our sports are so-called non-revenue sports, MC donations, ticket sales as well as other event generated income is critical. All varsity sports require travel, equipment, coaches, recruiting budgets, etc. Why do you think the athletic department is always in the red budget wise. The athletic department needs every bit of outside income it can generate ,whether it be from the MC or from events, if SMU is going to be a first class, top 25 athletic program.

[Mestengo]

Now there you go again GSP, making perfect sense!

Quit invoking him Mustang Club Collector!

Stop watching me like a cop! [/quote]


I'm 40 I'm a man! O wait... I'm 50 I'm a man!
Some one need's to watch what you're up too.
I am o-o you.

[smuuth]

For you guys complaining......would you rather we go back to the losing ways and barely scrape by or maybe even go down to DIV 1AA so we will be on an equal footing with other programs or ones like NT who want a top program but don't want to support it with money and attendance. OR, do you want to strive to be a top 25 program and go to bowl games and for once have some bragging rights with the other alumni around the state besides having an expensive tuition plan? There are no shortcuts. Big time programs need big time money. This new revenue plan is still way behind the times and fans at the other major college institutions would just laugh at your complaints. SMU football is one of the best sports values in North Texas next to watching some of the tradition-rich Friday night high school rivalries for 8 bucks

[redpony]

[quote="mustangbill67
You need to go to the SMU athletics web site sometime and see what is going on. There are 16 varsity sports supported by the MC and revenue generated by our athletic events. Since most of our sports are so-called non-revenue sports, MC donations, ticket sales as well as other event generated income is critical. All varsity sports require travel, equipment, coaches, recruiting budgets, etc. Why do you think the athletic department is always in the red budget wise. The athletic department needs every bit of outside income it can generate ,whether it be from the MC or from events, if SMU is going to be a first class, top 25 athletic program.[/quote]

mb67- I actually go there frequently and I was fully aware of the 'non-rev' sports that we have. I am also aware that they have travel costs etc. I was in no way implying anything negative about what it (AD) does with the money nor anything negative about the MC.
I was just curious about the finances. In addition, if we are so far in the red why do we have such minor sports as equestrian, rowing etc.? It seems we could fare much better without a few of those and perhaps add a more major sport such as track or baseball.

GO PONIES!!!

[mustangbill67]

[quote="mustangbill67
You need to go to the SMU athletics web site sometime and see what is going on. There are 16 varsity sports supported by the MC and revenue generated by our athletic events. Since most of our sports are so-called non-revenue sports, MC donations, ticket sales as well as other event generated income is critical. All varsity sports require travel, equipment, coaches, recruiting budgets, etc. Why do you think the athletic department is always in the red budget wise. The athletic department needs every bit of outside income it can generate ,whether it be from the MC or from events, if SMU is going to be a first class, top 25 athletic program.

mb67- I actually go there frequently and I was fully aware of the 'non-rev' sports that we have. I am also aware that they have travel costs etc. I was in no way implying anything negative about what it (AD) does with the money nor anything negative about the MC.
I was just curious about the finances. In addition, if we are so far in the red why do we have such minor sports as equestrian, rowing etc.? It seems we could fare much better without a few of those and perhaps add a more major sport such as track or baseball.

GO PONIES!!![/quote]
It is called Title 9 requiring female athletics get a fair allocation of resourses based on certain defined criteria. This is a hopeless subject to discuss and make sense of. Bottom line, federal gov. does not have resourses to enforce in a meaningful way so enforcement is generally via private litigation against the school. Plaintiff students have a high rate of success in these cases so schools do their best to achieve some level of compliance although very few schools are in full compliance. The newer female sports were added I assume primarily for title 9 purposes. We dropped baseball and men's track primarily I believe because of budget reasons but title 9 I am sure also played a role.

[expony18]

Looks like it's time to Pony Up if you want the best seats in the house. If not, there are plenty of other great options available to you and your family at Ford Stadium.

and the voice of reason when controversy is brewing