Idea To Increase Bowl Ticket Sales

[Jihme]

How about give them out as Christmas presents?

[Guest]

Personaly I'd rather spend the money attending conference games against teams like UofL, WVA, and RU, than go to a bottom feeder bowl in a place like Birmingham.

So it's one or the other for you, eh? Not both?

I don't know about you but I don't have unlimited funds to spend on football. To me a  bowl game like Birmingham just isn't worth the cost in time and money....I'll watch it on TV.  Christmas is family time and a December 23rd bottom feeder bowl game isn't high on my things to do list.   I'll watch it on TV and help the TV ratings.

Have nice Thanksgiving...I'm heading out to "The Ville" tomorrow morning.

This is the kind of mentality that USF will have to fight against for a long time.  It's the chicken or the egg... fans don't want to go to a lesser bowl so the bigger bowls think fans don't travel well.  It is possible to have both a bowl game AND family time at Christmas -- I will be doing it.

But to say that a regular season road game is somehow better than a bowl game is, well, a bit crazy (IMHO).  Bowl games have a little pomp and circumstance, even new ones like Birmingham.  Regular season road games don't have any of that.  Bowls are more than the football game - this week it's just another football game.

I understand you can't attend 13 games each year... I couldn't attend Kansas or Cincinnati, and won't be going to Louisville or West Virginia... because to me, a bowl game -- ANY bowl game -- is more important than a regular season game.

I hope you enjoy your trip.  Bundle up to stay warm!!

[Cubanbull]

Exactly and thats why i get so pissed off when i hear our fans comparing us to the top teams when we DONT support our team the same way financially and with butts in seats. I bet if UF was invited to BHam to face a CUSA in a Bowl while dissapointed they would get more than 5,000 there as much as i hate the Gators theirs fans travel long distance even in regular season to see them play Western Carolina at home and EVEN if the game is at noon time.

[HaulingBull Sucks]

If you are going to compare the Gators to the Bulls when it comes to bowl attendance you must first compare the number of season ticket holders that each team has and then the number of students that attend the home games.

I believe USF has about 4000 season ticket accounts (400 x 4 tickets per account =16,000 tickets).  Do you know how many UF has?

How does the number of UF students attending Gator games compare to the number of USF students attending Bulls games?

What percentage of UF season ticket holders and students attend bowl games?  What percentage of Bulls season ticket holders and students attended the Car Care Bowl?

IMO, USF simply doesn't have the number of ticket holders necessary to have the kind of showing at a minor bowl game that the sponsors look for.  

The only thing that is going to change that is more people purchasing season tickets, something that has progressed at a snail's pace.

[HaulingBull Sucks]

Personaly I'd rather spend the money attending conference games against teams like UofL, WVA, and RU, than go to a bottom feeder bowl in a place like Birmingham.

So it's one or the other for you, eh? Not both?

I don't know about you but I don't have unlimited funds to spend on football. To me a  bowl game like Birmingham just isn't worth the cost in time and money....I'll watch it on TV.  Christmas is family time and a December 23rd bottom feeder bowl game isn't high on my things to do list.   I'll watch it on TV and help the TV ratings.

Have nice Thanksgiving...I'm heading out to "The Ville" tomorrow morning.

This is the kind of mentality that USF will have to fight against for a long time.  It's the chicken or the egg... fans don't want to go to a lesser bowl so the bigger bowls think fans don't travel well.  It is possible to have both a bowl game AND family time at Christmas -- I will be doing it.

But to say that a regular season road game is somehow better than a bowl game is, well, a bit crazy (IMHO).  Bowl games have a little pomp and circumstance, even new ones like Birmingham.  Regular season road games don't have any of that.  Bowls are more than the football game - this week it's just another football game.

I understand you can't attend 13 games each year... I couldn't attend Kansas or Cincinnati, and won't be going to Louisville or West Virginia... because to me, a bowl game -- ANY bowl game -- is more important than a regular season game.

I hope you enjoy your trip.  Bundle up to stay warm!!

It appears that you think that people owe something to the football program.   To me it's entertainment and it's a business,  nothing more nothing less.  There is more to life than football.  If you want to go Birmingham go for it, but to critize people for chosing not to go is wrong.

Without winning conference games there wouldn't be a bowl bid period...Big East football is more important and more exciting than playing some C-USA team (remember they are beneath us now) in a bottom feeder bowl game in a terrible stadium in Bumfook, Alabama.

[Joe]

If you are going to compare the Gators to the Bulls when it comes to bowl attendance you must first compare the number of season ticket holders that each team has and then the number of students that attend the home games.

I did a project on state school football attendance/ticketing/etc, but all numbers are from 2004.

I believe USF has about 4000 season ticket accounts (400 x 4 tickets per account =16,000 tickets).  Do you know how many UF has?

They have, not including students, close to 60,000 (somewhere around 58,000 in 2004, but I cannot remember the actual.

How does the number of UF students attending Gator games compare to the number of USF students attending Bulls games?

They have 22,000 student season tickets that have sold out every years since they started selling season tix to students. It was 7 bucks a game paid at the before the season, but they were planning on increasing it.  FSU has 17,000 students, their tix are free, just have to pick them up the week of the game, and cannot resell.

What percentage of UF season ticket holders and students attend bowl games?  What percentage of Bulls season ticket holders and students attended the Car Care Bowl?

No clue on either

IMO, USF simply doesn't have the number of ticket holders necessary to have the kind of showing at a minor bowl game that the sponsors look for. The only thing that is going to change that is more people purchasing season tickets, something that has progressed at a snail's pace.

For the B-Ham bowl 4,000 would be nice, they probably wouldn't realistically expect much more from us.  

[Cubanbull]

I agree that we cant compare USF to UF when it comes to the support each team gets from its fans thats why I find it funny that some fans here EXPECT USF to compete with UF. The facts are that money talks and while USF might be competitive with the Gators it wont be a yearly thing until we get similar support from our fans.

So when our fans start to complain about the crappy Bowls we are aligned to, realize that Bowls will attach with whoever its the best deal for them, so as long as USF can only muster 4,000 fans to a Bowl game expect to be going to crappy Bowls and be the last resort of a BCS Bowl when we are eligible for one. Those are the facts

[Guest]

Personaly I'd rather spend the money attending conference games against teams like UofL, WVA, and RU, than go to a bottom feeder bowl in a place like Birmingham.

So it's one or the other for you, eh? Not both?

I don't know about you but I don't have unlimited funds to spend on football. To me a  bowl game like Birmingham just isn't worth the cost in time and money....I'll watch it on TV.  Christmas is family time and a December 23rd bottom feeder bowl game isn't high on my things to do list.   I'll watch it on TV and help the TV ratings.

Have nice Thanksgiving...I'm heading out to "The Ville" tomorrow morning.

This is the kind of mentality that USF will have to fight against for a long time.  It's the chicken or the egg... fans don't want to go to a lesser bowl so the bigger bowls think fans don't travel well.  It is possible to have both a bowl game AND family time at Christmas -- I will be doing it.

But to say that a regular season road game is somehow better than a bowl game is, well, a bit crazy (IMHO).  Bowl games have a little pomp and circumstance, even new ones like Birmingham.  Regular season road games don't have any of that.  Bowls are more than the football game - this week it's just another football game.

I understand you can't attend 13 games each year... I couldn't attend Kansas or Cincinnati, and won't be going to Louisville or West Virginia... because to me, a bowl game -- ANY bowl game -- is more important than a regular season game.

I hope you enjoy your trip.  Bundle up to stay warm!!

It appears that you think that people owe something to the football program.   To me it's entertainment and it's a business,  nothing more nothing less.  There is more to life than football.  If you want to go Birmingham go for it, but to critize people for chosing not to go is wrong.

Without winning conference games there wouldn't be a bowl bid period...Big East football is more important and more exciting than playing some C-USA team (remember they are beneath us now) in a bottom feeder bowl game in a terrible stadium in Bumfook, Alabama.

I was not criticizing the choice not to go to a bowl game, I was pointing out that -- to me (hence the IMHO) -- the bowl game is far far far more exciting than going to a regular season game.  You obviously disagree, and that is your right.

The problem is when so many other people see the same thing -- they're waiting for a "better" bowl.  I am willing to bet that you would attend the Gator Bowl if USF was able to get that bid.  It's against a top ACC team and not in the largest city in Alabama. However, if USF can not convince fans to go to Bumfook, then it will never get the chance to play in Jacksonville.  It will never get the better bowl.

Sure there are more important things in life than football.  A lot more.  But some people are realizing that you don't have to sacrifice either family or football.  We can have both -- it just may not be as convenient as we want.

[BDYZR]

Amazing how some people can turn a simple question into a pissing match.

The question was "How do we sell MORE bowl game tickets?"

If you're not going, don't go.  If you are going, enjoy it.

If you want to spend thirty bucks to help someone else go, do it.

If you don't, DON"T!

NOBODY's right OR wrong.

I personally would like to know specifically that someone went with my money. I'll buy an extra ticket when I order mine and then find a way to get it into a students hand.

GO BULLS!

[Guest]

Amazing how some people can turn a simple question into a pissing match.

The question was "How do we sell MORE bowl game tickets?"

If you're not going, don't go.  If you are going, enjoy it.

If you want to spend thirty bucks to help someone else go, do it.

If you don't, DON"T!

NOBODY's right OR wrong.

I personally would like to know specifically that someone went with my money. I'll buy an extra ticket when I order mine and then find a way to get it into a students hand.

GO BULLS!

It's not a pissing match, it's a discussion.  That is, after all, the purpose of this board -- to discuss USF athletics.

And understanding the mind set of the fan base -- both pro and con -- is a good way to understand how to sell more tickets.  Sure, you can sponsor a student if you want.  That's admirable.  

However, working to overcome the intertia of an largely apathetic fan base is a better way to sell more bowl tickets... this year and in the future.