I live in Morgantown and I spend approximately $300 on a game day. On one hand it's worth it then again I used to only spend no more then $50-100 on a game day afternoon.
Athletic departments around the country have to be concerned
- Thread starter Vernon
- Start date
At the ECU game there were two young girls ( college age?) near us sharing some type of ice cream sundae. My wife said, "That looks good." The one girl said it cost $16.00. She said she did not know how much it was when she ordered it. When they brought it to her and told her the price she said, "Oh, $hit!" I had the distinct impression that would be the last ice cream sundae she purchased at MPS.
For $16 a mans can buy 3 or 5 buckets of ice cream! I am talking buckets! Buckets! Eat your ice cream before you go to the game. But, in defense of the MPS prices..........you got to pay the piper (Holgs) and you have to jack the ice cream and beer in order to come up with $75,000 a week. And Holgs ain't the only coach standing in the WVU welfare line. Warez
I would say it depends if you are good all year. When there is buzz around a program, people will purchase tickets to the lesser games just to say they went that season.
For your average 7 to 8 wins per year team, it would be tough enough as is. Rutgers got taken out by Eastern Michigan prior. Talk about a monkey wrench into fan morale. Michigan isn't immune to it either. Things got comically bad under the direction of Dave Brandon.
Things were changed, and fans are happy again. Tickets are selling once more at Michigan.
I think it is easier when there are no pro teams in state to compete against ala Bama and Auburn. WVa would have the same advantage if so many didn't need to leave for work. My family Dr's assistant gets back to WVa as often as she can, but it is only a handful of times per yr. She loves the Mountaineers, and even being older, I could see her attending games if she was still there.
WVU's problem is economy & population. Having to "work" is far down the list of obstacles for fans attending games. The population of the entire state of WV is 1.8 million. There are many cities in some states that have at least that many people if not 2-3 times that amount. Morgantown has a population of 30,000. That is SMALL. Most of our fans have to travel 2-3 sometimes 5-7 hours to get to the games. For families that is especially difficult without incentive (top 10 - playing another top 10 opponent). WV faces obstacles that MOST other power 5 programs don't face. For example, the metro population of Detroit/Ann Arbor is 4.6 million. That's over 2 times the population of the entire state of WV.
Having said all that, WVU's attendance has remained the same since 1980. We have averaged 55,000 fans per game since the new stadium opened. It may dip below that during a losing season (2013 - 52k) or spike above that during a top 10 season (2007 - 60k), but overall we hover around that number of 55,000:
2010 56,325 (9-4)
2011 56,532 (10-3)
2012 55,916 (7-6)
2013 52,910 (4-8)
2014 56,686 (7-6)
2015 54,826 (8-5)
2016 57,583 (10-3)
I guarantee we'll end up around 55-56,000 again this year unless the wheels come off this season. The Texas Tech game is almost sold out. Fans overreact when people don't show up to watch WVU play a high school team like Delaware State. And quite honestly that picture shown is misleading. That was in the 2nd half when the blowout was on & the students had bailed. There were a LOT more people at the game in the 1st half than what was shown in that picture.
The thing about college sports in today's world is called HDTV. Why in the hail would a person drive 300 miles to a ball game and sit in the elements, pay exorbitant prices for food and drinks and hotel rooms that are jacked beyond belief................when they can tell the wife to kindly hand over that remote control! Have you ever driven home after a game that the Mountaineers lost to the likes of Penn State, etc. by more than 30 or 40 points? I mean.............if your at home watching the HDTV with PIP.............allz you have to do is .........concentrate on that Chinese takeout. It's tough out there on the circuit.
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I have had Crohns Disease for 35 yrs. 30 of those yrs was taking steroids for it. In so many ways it is nice to sit home n watch games, but if I had my druthers, I would be there. The atmosphere in CFB is everything IMO.
It's the atmosphere in CFB. I agree. I remember time the feller sitting behind me spilled a full cup of ice cold beer down the back of my wife's winter coat. Yes, the atmosphere is what I miss the most. Warez
Most of those teams you posted absolutely suck. Missou, Pitt, and Rutgers?
Mizzou is currently losing 35-3 to freaking Purdue.![[laughing]](http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/img/emoticons/classic/laugh.r191677.gif "Laughing [laughing]")
Exactly. Not to mention Missouri's enrollment has plummeted and they've lost fans due to the situation a couple years ago.
Plastic bag rule does NOT keep you from bringing in drink. I put my capped Pepsi in the bag and get through with no problem. As long as my alma mater has a game in Mountaineer Field I will be there. Blame the terrorists for the transparent bag rule, not WVU. The NFL does it, too. So do you blame the government because you have to go through a security check at the airport? Or the terrorists who brought down the two towers on 9/11? If you can't afford to go to the games, I understand it. But don't direct your anger at WVU. You put your self in a situation to not be able to afford it. Even though I was a coal miner's son, thus we didn't have much money, I worked for 10 years as a golf caddy at Fairmont Field Club, dug ditches for rich people, mowed lawns and saved my money to go to WVU. I didn't go into a woe is me mode. I did something about it. I got a WVU education, so I can afford season tickets for 20 years. WVU made it possible for me to do that. I'm sorry you can't afford it. But you can root for WVU in front of your TV. Your anger is misdirected. The Big 12 made the rule, not WVU. The terrorists caused the rule, not WVU. Get angry at the terrorists. They are the culprits. I have not spent 1 cent more to attend Mountaineer Field games because of the plastic bag rule. Now, if you want to bring coolers of your beer into the stadium, that's your problem.
M angy special teams + absence of Simms & Long = loss to Virginia
Tech, 31-24
O bliterated East Carolina, 56-20
U nhinged Delaware State, 59-16
N apalm Kansas
T errorize TCU
A nnihilate Texas Tech
I ncinerate Baylor
N ullify Oklahoma State
E rectile dysfunction Iowa State
E masculate Kansas State
R eam Texas
S hock Oklahoma
Duluth, these are awesome! I might be in the picture, but I definitely know that my Mom and Dad are. Dad had two season tickets for 35 years, and there were games like Richmond that you could get a ticket easily enough. I was 15 y.o. then and they would let you go down on the field afterwards and actually into the locker room! Guys would give you their elbow pads. You're remembering correctly, there was a 30 minute "coach's" show on Sunday morning, probably with Woody O'Hara. Those were the Cignetti years and I can still hear Frank saying that even though they were losing every game, "these boys have character, and I'm proud to be their coach."
I think sports, and I mean all sports past high school, is in a bubble. It's a bubble like the housing bubble and the tech bubble and cable tv bubble and it will burst. The oversized stadiums & venues won't be filled.
From an attendance and a ratings standpoint, hockey was the first to see it happen (after the strike, lockout, work stoppage, whatever it was), and a lot of their fans didn't come back which is why the Stanley Cup is on NBC Sports Network. NASCAR ratings and attendance are 30% of what they were 20-30 years ago. The cost of their tickets went crazy high and they left tracks that were guaranteed sellouts for new markets where they were nothing but a novelty.
I think the NBA has been feeling it already. The regular season nobody watches and attendance is nonexistent for some home teams and fluctuates only for the marqui road team. Baseball has felt it too in a lot of cities. The NFL will feel it next. The teams keep moving and the players keep getting more individualized. Fan bases will turn.
Professional sports has overvalued itself. From the leagues to the owners to the players, the bubble is gonna burst.
College sports will feel it too. I think they're pricing out a lot of fans. At some point, the fans say, 'Nah it's not worth it anymore. I have my memories. Let the new generation take my place.'
I like to watch college football but I can see a day when the crowd will sound like a regular season baseball game.
From an attendance and a ratings standpoint, hockey was the first to see it happen (after the strike, lockout, work stoppage, whatever it was), and a lot of their fans didn't come back which is why the Stanley Cup is on NBC Sports Network. NASCAR ratings and attendance are 30% of what they were 20-30 years ago. The cost of their tickets went crazy high and they left tracks that were guaranteed sellouts for new markets where they were nothing but a novelty.
I think the NBA has been feeling it already. The regular season nobody watches and attendance is nonexistent for some home teams and fluctuates only for the marqui road team. Baseball has felt it too in a lot of cities. The NFL will feel it next. The teams keep moving and the players keep getting more individualized. Fan bases will turn.
Professional sports has overvalued itself. From the leagues to the owners to the players, the bubble is gonna burst.
College sports will feel it too. I think they're pricing out a lot of fans. At some point, the fans say, 'Nah it's not worth it anymore. I have my memories. Let the new generation take my place.'
I like to watch college football but I can see a day when the crowd will sound like a regular season baseball game.
Who said I couldn't afford it? I have a degree from WVU. I just choose to spend my money on myself. Won't spend my money to make other guys rich for something as ultimately meaningless as college football.
Why didn't you uber to the prt station on walnut St to begin your day n leave your car at the hotel. You could have used the prt to get back downtown after the game an took an uber back to the hotel from downtown. No drinking and driving
The current costs of tickets, parking and food/beverages has escalated to the point that the average family of four (who are the foundation of WV fans) are priced out of the market. I suspect that most families will spend about $350 to $500 just to attend one game (tickets, gas, parking, beverages, food and souvenirs for the kids). That is a bit heavy for most young families.
The end zone seats should be no more than $30 per so that parents can bring their children to build the program's future fan base. Another alternative build a second deck over the end zone, adds say 5,000 seats @ $30 per seat, maybe a deal where each child under 12 accompanied by an adult gets in at $15 a seat, gives opportunity to those who want to attend a reasonable price generates additional income, builds connection with future fan base.
The trick is to continue to build your future fan base, increase attendance and opportunity for people to support the program at a reasonable price. There are those of us who will continue to pay the ever increasing prices however there is a breaking point for most fans.
The end zone seats should be no more than $30 per so that parents can bring their children to build the program's future fan base. Another alternative build a second deck over the end zone, adds say 5,000 seats @ $30 per seat, maybe a deal where each child under 12 accompanied by an adult gets in at $15 a seat, gives opportunity to those who want to attend a reasonable price generates additional income, builds connection with future fan base.
The trick is to continue to build your future fan base, increase attendance and opportunity for people to support the program at a reasonable price. There are those of us who will continue to pay the ever increasing prices however there is a breaking point for most fans.
