OCS!!!

[tampatony]

8 minutes ago, Apis Bull said:

If that were the issue then the Sundome would be packed

It is when the men are playing well. I've been to numerous games, especially the year after the NCAA bid, when the student section was filled to the rafters.

[NAM37]

11 minutes ago, tampatony said:

It is when the men are playing well. I've been to numerous games, especially the year after the NCAA bid, when the student section was filled to the rafters.

So even our students are fair-weather fans.... awesome.

[TromBull12]

25 minutes ago, Apis Bull said:

If that were the issue then the Sundome would be packed

I'll also say that I believe football is a more popular sport.

[tampatony]

20 minutes ago, NAM37 said:

So even our students are fair-weather fans.... awesome.

That's every student body in the nation.. If your team isn't playing well at all then people aren't going to show up, especially students.

[WoolyBully]

2 hours ago, tampatony said:

That's every student body in the nation.. If your team isn't playing well at all then people aren't going to show up, especially students.

Attendance has been trending down for some time now. The old days of rah-rah-rah, go-team-go have faded. Just because you attend the school, doesn't mean you love it. I know. I've tried giving away - free - my second set of club access tickets to students and recent alum. Uh...no, no thinks. Just not into sports. There are a lot of things competing for student interest.

[George_Bullnard_Shaw]

1 minute ago, WoolyBully said:

Attendance has been trending down for some time now. The old days of rah-rah-rah, go-team-go have faded. Just because you attend the school, doesn't mean you love it. I know. I've tried giving away - free - my second set of club access tickets to students and recent alum. Uh...no, no thinks. Just not into sports. There are a lot of things competing for student interest.

That's why an OCS could turn into a white elephant. There is a generational tsunami happening. Hell, even at Michigan my dad tells me the students would rather sell their tickets to alumni if they can get away with it. NFL attendance is trending down making a shared stadium seem like a better idea. With concussions and a changing society football may be on the way to being a smaller sport. The old generations of families going to the same land grant university and remaining in the area after graduation paradigm is quickly fading away. Rural areas will probably always support the only game in town, urban/suburban areas not so much.

I'm not saying I'm opposed to an OCS, just saying it is a gamble and not a sure thing to fix any issues with the program.

OCS could be a magic bullet, but it could just as easily be a massive money pit. You want an OCS, you need OPM!!! Lots and lots of it. Enough to build it and enough to cover the operating costs.

[charsibb]

4 hours ago, NAM37 said:

What does that even mean?  It shouldn't take an awful lot of work to get students to want to support their football team. I'm not sure if it's a generational thing or something, but the students should WANT to support their school/teams. I understand that transportation can be a problem, but outside of that I don't see a issue.

For this generation of students, who grew up glued to a computer or TV screen, live action isn't nearly as enjoyable as what they can see on their screen. Participation sports track down as strongly as X-Box sports track up

[Triple B]

3 hours ago, Apis Bull said:

If that were the issue then the Sundome would be packed

 

3 hours ago, tampatony said:

It is when the men are playing well. I've been to numerous games, especially the year after the NCAA bid, when the student section was filled to the rafters.

The Sundome has never been consistently packed. Highest averages have been in the low 5K range The year after the NCAA bid, the average was 5389. and the student section was good but rarely filled to rafters ..... and those were usually games with some kind of prize for going to game. It is what it is and the next coach needs full disclosure on what he's facing with getting fan support here. Only thing that could possibly pay immediate dividends is a hoops version of CCS .... but even that wouldn't be solid lock.

[SpeedBull]

5 hours ago, smazza said:

i think they day we get into a p5 is the day we get serious about an ocs

how can you justify it at the level we play?

I'm going to start getting in shape after I start dating that super model. 

[Ionbull]

It's trending down across all sports as it's easier to gain access in your own living room or sports bar. I'm not sure there is an easy fix; but making building an OCS assuming it will just magical solve attendance woes is a bad idea.  I love going to the games because of the comraderie, but I still have that same passion at a sports bar watching the game with my buds. There are some land grant universities that will never have a problem selling out or big games, but even FSU can't get all of tally in Doak for the nooner against Delaware State. 

There is no magic serum to bring more people in outside of winning consistently and showing out against big non-con foes and winning the conference. Again it's not going to happen overnight; but if 10 wins can be the norm on the AAC, with 8 or 9 the FLOOR, within five years you will start to see that spark. 

When I enrolled in 2008 there was a big buzz around high schools about the USF atheletic program that wasn't there when I was entering HS in 2004. Need to get back to that point.