Big East TV Deal

[Mike Stuben]

Any chance the economy had something to do with that? IMO winning will bring the fans and the excitement back.

 

The largest jump in average attendance was from 2006 to 2007 - nearly a +/- 22K jump and he largest drop in average attendance was from 2009 to 2010, somewhere in the +/- 12K region. It is my contention that winning, coupled with opponents of interest, are what bring people to RayJ. I can't attribute the economy to that, otherwise the 2008 to 2011 period should see a more severe drop. Our pitch, from day one, was that we were on an upward trajectory. It is also my contention that with the drop in competition there will be an associated drop in attendance/interest. I think there will be a core of around 30K that are there through thick and thin, but to 'AVERAGE  50K', we would really have to have a steady diet of big name programs visiting. However, winning - regardless of conference affiliation - would have a positive impact on turnstile usage. 

 

Wooly - I just want to add something. If you look at our attendance numbers during the Big East years. You will see that the odd numbered years we were up, and even numbered years we were down (with 2012 as an exception, because of FSU).

 

Winning certainly plays a part, but schedule does as well. Odd years we hosted Louisville, WVU, the 2 UCF games and Miami (not all of them, but all Miami games in Tampa were in odd years).

 

The even years the home schedule was not as strong (except 2012 thanks to FSU). When I worked in ticket sales, the odd vs. even years was the single biggest factor for average attendance. Yes there are other things that matter like winning, game times and days of the week .... but home schedule was always the biggest factor.

[BaltoBull]

Here is the problem. Schools don't leave the power conferences any more. When all the slots are full, if we aren't inside the barn, then we won't get to dance.

 

This is what I've been saying for a long time, Mike.

 

For all intents and purposes, the changes that are coming are permanent. Once this 'new system' gets rolling, the GO5 will be eventually squeezed out of a slot-game altogether - mark my words.

 

If we were truly being proactive, we would seriously start looking into starting our own playoffs and championship with the MAC, MWC and C-USA.

 

And please don't tell me we "have to keep playing the Big Boys". Once this is finalized and the conferences are done expanding and signing agreements with one another ala the B1G and the Pac12, there will be no more opportunities. The system is being DESIGNED to keep us and the rest of the riff-raff out. Oh, and in the off-chance we DO schedule a team in a 'power conference' past 2017, by then the discrepancies between the haves and the have-nots will be so great, we would hardly stand a chance at all. We won't be a 'threat' by then - we'll be a tune-up game.

 

I will keep saying this until I'm blue in the face - we need to be realistic. $2 mil per school is nothing. We need to forget about waiting for the scraps to fall from the big boy table and start looking at who's sitting at the kid's table with us.

[BaltoBull]

And here is Jim Delany quoted from two days ago saying the B1G plans to go to 9 or 10 conference games. You better believe the other 'power' conferences will want to follow suit. 

 

I can't imagine that teams (who need high rankings to guarantee bowl slots) would want to use one of their only two remaining games to schedule someone lesser than them if they can schedule a marquee OOC game, fill the stadium and help the networks get ratings. 

 

Once again, there will be no room for us at the table, unless somehow, as has been suggested in many other places, in order to keep up with the B1G if they expand to 16, the B12 somehow nabs FSU and/or Miami and somehow, we fill one of those spots in the ACC. However, if that happens, that means the armageddon of conference realignment has happened and by the time USF ever got to sniff the ACC, ESPN and the rest of the media will be referring to the 'power 4' conferences and everyone else.

 

Which I also anticipate meaning that if the other conferences ever expanded to those numbers, there is absolutely no way a team from the B1G, B12, SEC or Pac would ever play anyone in the ACC. The consortium would have all the power and schedule the games only amongst themselves. 

 

Forever chasing the carrot...

 

http://www.mrsec.com/2013/02/big-ten-to-add-more-conference-games-is-this-another-lure-for-uva-gt-unc-and-duke/#more-267138

Edited February 14, 2013 by BaltoBull

[Skingraft]

Winning solves everything

[Bull-by-Marriage]

NBC got Formula 1 because Fox is turning Speed into Fox Sports 1 in the summer, a national channel to compete with ESPN. Sucks because I watch the GT racing they have on Speed2.com. I have no idea how I am going to watch WEC or Open GT, etc.. I would have rather seen The Big East on Fox1 and the regionals because on NBC Sports, I think we are going to miss games.  But I imagine that they will be replaying games all week during the season to fill their schedule. The best thing about ESPN was you could watch all the USF games of the season on ESPN3 and with the proper setup, ie an XBox 360, its just as good, or better looking than cable/satellite.

 

 

I'm of the impression that NBC will show NBE games on NBC sports, and other cable channels that they have. As far as ESPN3, I'm pretty sure that NBCsports.com has live broadcasts as well.

 

How can watching ESPN3 on an xbox be better than cable or satellite? Wouldn't your internet connection come from your cable?

[slick1ru2]

NBC got Formula 1 because Fox is turning Speed into Fox Sports 1 in the summer, a national channel to compete with ESPN. Sucks because I watch the GT racing they have on Speed2.com. I have no idea how I am going to watch WEC or Open GT, etc.. I would have rather seen The Big East on Fox1 and the regionals because on NBC Sports, I think we are going to miss games.  But I imagine that they will be replaying games all week during the season to fill their schedule. The best thing about ESPN was you could watch all the USF games of the season on ESPN3 and with the proper setup, ie an XBox 360, its just as good, or better looking than cable/satellite.

 

 

I'm of the impression that NBC will show NBE games on NBC sports, and other cable channels that they have. As far as ESPN3, I'm pretty sure that NBCsports.com has live broadcasts as well.

 

How can watching ESPN3 on an xbox be better than cable or satellite? Wouldn't your internet connection come from your cable?

 

 

Quality wise its as good or better than ESPN on Dish. And IF there is an HD feed to a game they use it unlike Dish who will try and conserve bandwidth and sometimes only stream the SD feed. ESPN3 has the entire season up into the next year and after they pull the regular games they still will have all the bowl games until the Spring games start. On the XBox, its pretty awesome. Plus it has programming alerts, scores, split screens, etc that are customizable.

[widerberg]

Winning solves everything

 

I disagree in this case. You've got the Power 4/5 conferences building a wall around themselves. They're severely limiting OOC games. In a few years, the access bowl slot will be gone. The Power 4/5 conferences are striking long-term deals to play each other OOC. They're freezing us out. Sure, we can win and be the best of the rest, but what's that going to do? Let us be the best of the rest. That's it. There will not be any room for us in the Power 4/5. All the seats will be full and there will be no incentive to boot out a team from the Power conferences to take us. Why would they? Their money will be set is TV revenue, bowl tie-ins, etc. The ship's sailed and we're standing on the dock watching it. I wish I could be optimistic, but everything that's happening appears to be the worst case scenario for us.

 

Sure, winning will be great. But, it's not going to open any doors for us. Not any more. Doors are all closed. The only way they open is if TV money is completely overhauled and it becomes an a la carte model where suddenly TV revenue is based on actual views and not on TV sets in a given geographic area. If that happens and USF has built a following and we get a violation ton of viewers, then maybe a conference would swap us out for an underperforming member. But, I just don't see that for a very, very long time.

 

Suck is suck. We can't spin this.

[BaltoBull]

Winning solves everything

It sure hasn't helped Boise State - 

 

2004: 11-1 

2005: 9-3 (.750)

2006: 13-0

2007: 10-3 (.760)

2008: 12-1

2009: 14-0

2010: 12-1

2011: 12-1

2012: 11-2

 

So, if we have nearly a decade of .750 seasons and better against reduced competition, we will have the leverage to get a disproportionate contract from the NBE?

 

"But we're in Florida, we have talent everywhere. We have a larger, football crazy population." Okay. The two conferences that make the most geographical sense to have a team in Florida already have THREE teams here. 

 

We know that expansion is based on adding new markets and television revenue. 

 

Winning won't solve everything. There has to be a seismic shift in the conference landscape in order to make a slot available. One or both of the Florida schools have to leave the ACC for us to have a shot in hell. Don't kid yourself, we don't "move the needle" for the B12 and won't ever be considered for the B1G. Then, once the ACC has been raided and again looked at UCONN (basketball, flagship school close to NYC and LOTS of TV's) and Cincy (basketball, new state with new TV's) then, USF would be considered.

 

Hell, by then it might make sense for the ACC to concentrate on basketball, because if FSU leaves, rest assured Clemson will find a way out and then the ACC will lose most of their 'legitimacy' as a football conference anyways. Will the ACC then look to USF and/or UCF to rebuild it's football legacy?

 

And let's not forget, in the now seemingly unlikely case FSU finds the exit, most of the 'old guard' (including the aforementioned Clemson) will bolt from the ACC as well, leaving us and others from the NBE to occupy the shell that was once the #5 conference. That's right, if the ACC collapses and we get the invite, the teams that we beat to separate ourselves from the pack will be coming with us.

 

The 'Big Boys' will further solidify their position and we will still be on the outside looking in. Like I said last night, it will be the 'power 4' and everybody else.

 

We don't have the brand, the history, the prestige or the fan support to expect to be anywhere else.

 

Please explain to me an alternative scenario where if we 'just win' USF will be gifted an invite by a 'power' conference again. The conferences in question won't be nearly as desperate as the Big East was when it had to replace Miami. Maybe you see something I don't. Maybe you are operating under a 20-year plan. Honestly, I just don't see how we get back to the 'big boy' table.

 

I want to be proven wrong.

[slick1ru2]

A wall around the "Power conferences" will just show that they have crappy programs that lose not only to other power conferences but to their own conference mates too. At some point in time they may be booted like Temple was from The Big East.

[BaltoBull]

A wall around the "Power conferences" will just show that they have crappy programs that lose not only to other power conferences but to their own conference mates too. At some point in time they may be booted like Temple was from The Big East.

I don't know if schools will be booted as much as the truly 'powerful' schools will separate from the likes of Boston College, Indiana and Iowa State to form a 'made for TV super-duper' conference of 30-40 teams.