PonyFans.com

Not all of this is relevant to SMU, but it is a cuationary tale and an interesting read.http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/road-saturday/201406/college-football-fan-stadium-students-business-tv-ncaa-michigan-tickets

I particularly like this bit:

If you treat your fans like customers long enough, eventually they'll start behaving that way, reducing their irrational love for their team to a cool-headed, dollars-and-cents decision to buy tickets or not, with no more emotional investment than deciding whether to go to the movies or buy new tires.

After a friend of mine took his kids to a game, he told me, "Michigan athletics used to feel like something we shared. Now it's something they hoard. Anything of value they put a price tag on. Anything that appeals to anyone is kept locked away -- literally, in some cases -- and only brought out if you pay for it. And what's been permanently banished is any sense of generosity."

Very interesting concept. Lamar Muse was right..."Feed the poor and grow rich, feed the rich and grow poor." There is definitely a cost v. benefits reality to college sports. It will be interesting to see what happens if student athletes start getting paid. A whole new deminsion will come into play.

If it become a professional minor league without the student athlete model-I'm out the door

Fans aren't stupid, no matter what TV execs, conference commissioners and AD's might think. You put a crap product on the field, or schedule crap games against crap opponents that no one cares about, you are going to see huge decreases in student/fan attendance. Period.

More importantly -- You spit on historical rivalries, tear apart long-standing conference affiliations, and start paying your players to create some D4 type of "NFL-lite"? You are going to lose fans, period.

Personally, I will not watch one down of "P5" football, should they break away. If I want to watch a pro game, I will watch the NFL. The reason I used to love college football is the tradition (which quite frankly has been thrown away), the rivalries (again, gone), and the student athletes that represent your school. The greed of the conference commissioners and TV execs has ruined college football, and I think many college football fans think the way that I do.

I know the Aggies love their new shiny home in the SEC, but the fact that the 2 biggest schools in Texas don't play each other anymore is all you need to know about greed ruining the game that I love. It really is a shame.

This article is spot on.

I don't know what will stop college football and basketball from continuing down the path to semi-pro.

ponyinNC wrote:Fans aren't stupid, no matter what TV execs, conference commissioners and AD's might think. You put a crap product on the field, or schedule crap games against crap opponents that no one cares about, you are going to see huge decreases in student/fan attendance. Period.

More importantly -- You spit on historical rivalries, tear apart long-standing conference affiliations, and start paying your players to create some D4 type of "NFL-lite"? You are going to lose fans, period.

Personally, I will not watch one down of "P5" football, should they break away. If I want to watch a pro game, I will watch the NFL. The reason I used to love college football is the tradition (which quite frankly has been thrown away), the rivalries (again, gone), and the student athletes that represent your school. The greed of the conference commissioners and TV execs has ruined college football, and I think many college football fans think the way that I do.

I know the Aggies love their new shiny home in the SEC, but the fact that the 2 biggest schools in Texas don't play each other anymore is all you need to know about greed ruining the game that I love. It really is a shame.

AMEN!

This why SMU is in unique position. A small student body. These mega universities with 40 to 50k students who then become alumni and making money but wanting to attend old State U games can afford to be squeezed by seat licenses and donations in order to buy season tickets. The students cannot and are being squeezed which is going to cause them to be less enthusiastic donors in the future. They can expand the stadiums only so big so what are they going to do with the huge graduating or attending students each year. Rice, SMU and TCU are in prime position to compete with stadiums to handle their alumni and a product on the field. They just don't realize it yet. Bigger isn't always better

ghost wrote:Bigger isn't always better

That's what she said...

Money and greed always ruin any product

Not cool, cfball is getting ruined very quickly