http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...s-weigh-in

Quote:After 3,642 fans inside Heinz Field watched a vanilla gameplan on a cold April night, Paul Chryst got real with his athletic director about Pitt's Blue-Gold spring game.

“He said, ‘I really wish we had another practice other than this,'” Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson recalled. “I told him we'd talk about it.”

Those talks led to this, a Pitt spring practice without a spring game. Chryst announced last week that he'd prefer the extra practice time, as coaches get 15 full sessions according to NCAA rules.

Outside of Texas A&M's cancellation because of Kyle Field renovations or Florida's watered-down practice because of injuries last year, bagging a spring game is rare.

But Pitt's plan is not so far-fetched. In fact, other coaches have thought about the same thing.

In an informal poll of nine FBS coaches Monday night, four say they could see other schools taking a similar path as Pitt in the future.

Even the large crowds at schools like Auburn don't end up turning a profit for the school:

Quote:Nobody has to tell Auburn about how the spring game can serve as an emotional touchstone for a breakout year. Auburn's A-Day hosted 83,401 fans in 2013, shattering the school's record by more than 20,000.

“There isn't any doubt” the game was a springboard for a national title run, AD Jay Jacobs said.

But to evaluate a spring game is to extract the business angle, Jacobs said. Most spring games aren't revenue-drivers.

Auburn fans paid $5 per ticket, but after paying for security, gameday staff, first aid and filtering proceeds to the lettermen club, the school breaks even.

If Auburn isn't making money from its game, the schools at the bottom of [the] list certainly aren't.

(03-04-2014 12:17 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...s-weigh-in

Quote:After 3,642 fans inside Heinz Field watched a vanilla gameplan on a cold April night, Paul Chryst got real with his athletic director about Pitt's Blue-Gold spring game.

“He said, ‘I really wish we had another practice other than this,'” Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson recalled. “I told him we'd talk about it.”

Those talks led to this, a Pitt spring practice without a spring game. Chryst announced last week that he'd prefer the extra practice time, as coaches get 15 full sessions according to NCAA rules.

Outside of Texas A&M's cancellation because of Kyle Field renovations or Florida's watered-down practice because of injuries last year, bagging a spring game is rare.

But Pitt's plan is not so far-fetched. In fact, other coaches have thought about the same thing.

In an informal poll of nine FBS coaches Monday night, four say they could see other schools taking a similar path as Pitt in the future.

Even the large crowds at schools like Auburn don't end up turning a profit for the school:

Quote:Nobody has to tell Auburn about how the spring game can serve as an emotional touchstone for a breakout year. Auburn's A-Day hosted 83,401 fans in 2013, shattering the school's record by more than 20,000.

“There isn't any doubt” the game was a springboard for a national title run, AD Jay Jacobs said.

But to evaluate a spring game is to extract the business angle, Jacobs said. Most spring games aren't revenue-drivers.

Auburn fans paid $5 per ticket, but after paying for security, gameday staff, first aid and filtering proceeds to the lettermen club, the school breaks even.

If Auburn isn't making money from its game, the schools at the bottom of [the] list certainly aren't.

Its about publicity more than money.

Publicty, Marketing and Advertising.

Its the mall food court samles of college athletics. What's next? Get rid of Midnight Madness?

(03-04-2014 12:21 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(03-04-2014 12:17 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...s-weigh-in

Quote:After 3,642 fans inside Heinz Field watched a vanilla gameplan on a cold April night, Paul Chryst got real with his athletic director about Pitt's Blue-Gold spring game.

“He said, ‘I really wish we had another practice other than this,'” Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson recalled. “I told him we'd talk about it.”

Those talks led to this, a Pitt spring practice without a spring game. Chryst announced last week that he'd prefer the extra practice time, as coaches get 15 full sessions according to NCAA rules.

Outside of Texas A&M's cancellation because of Kyle Field renovations or Florida's watered-down practice because of injuries last year, bagging a spring game is rare.

But Pitt's plan is not so far-fetched. In fact, other coaches have thought about the same thing.

In an informal poll of nine FBS coaches Monday night, four say they could see other schools taking a similar path as Pitt in the future.

Even the large crowds at schools like Auburn don't end up turning a profit for the school:

Quote:Nobody has to tell Auburn about how the spring game can serve as an emotional touchstone for a breakout year. Auburn's A-Day hosted 83,401 fans in 2013, shattering the school's record by more than 20,000.

“There isn't any doubt” the game was a springboard for a national title run, AD Jay Jacobs said.

But to evaluate a spring game is to extract the business angle, Jacobs said. Most spring games aren't revenue-drivers.

Auburn fans paid $5 per ticket, but after paying for security, gameday staff, first aid and filtering proceeds to the lettermen club, the school breaks even.

If Auburn isn't making money from its game, the schools at the bottom of [the] list certainly aren't.

Its about publicity more than money.

That's true Bullet, and the A-Day game at Auburn is almost always coordinated with a home baseball series which in April would be a 3 game set against a conference opponent and often there is a concert during the weekend. So the 83,000 plus usually helps to create a synergy. Add to that the support of the athletic department by the local restaurants and lodging industry, not to mention the bookstores who all get a Spring pay day and I doubt we'll see the event go away.

My money is on that as the P5 gradually move toward more conference and cross conference games just among the P5 the Spring date of the game will be moved to early to mid-August with the 14 days of practice culminating in a pre-season game against an in state lower division school with the ticket for that spring game included in the Season Ticket Book as the guaranteed 7th home gate for all top tier schools. The local merchants don't lose a payday (just get it moved), the athletic departments get that 7th home gate (or more) and get to charge a lot more than $5 a ticket, the athletes from football are freed to play other spring sports if they would like, and it all stays within essentially the present guidelines.

(03-04-2014 12:34 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(03-04-2014 12:21 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(03-04-2014 12:17 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...s-weigh-in

Quote:After 3,642 fans inside Heinz Field watched a vanilla gameplan on a cold April night, Paul Chryst got real with his athletic director about Pitt's Blue-Gold spring game.

“He said, ‘I really wish we had another practice other than this,'” Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson recalled. “I told him we'd talk about it.”

Those talks led to this, a Pitt spring practice without a spring game. Chryst announced last week that he'd prefer the extra practice time, as coaches get 15 full sessions according to NCAA rules.

Outside of Texas A&M's cancellation because of Kyle Field renovations or Florida's watered-down practice because of injuries last year, bagging a spring game is rare.

But Pitt's plan is not so far-fetched. In fact, other coaches have thought about the same thing.

In an informal poll of nine FBS coaches Monday night, four say they could see other schools taking a similar path as Pitt in the future.

Even the large crowds at schools like Auburn don't end up turning a profit for the school:

Quote:Nobody has to tell Auburn about how the spring game can serve as an emotional touchstone for a breakout year. Auburn's A-Day hosted 83,401 fans in 2013, shattering the school's record by more than 20,000.

“There isn't any doubt” the game was a springboard for a national title run, AD Jay Jacobs said.

But to evaluate a spring game is to extract the business angle, Jacobs said. Most spring games aren't revenue-drivers.

Auburn fans paid $5 per ticket, but after paying for security, gameday staff, first aid and filtering proceeds to the lettermen club, the school breaks even.

If Auburn isn't making money from its game, the schools at the bottom of [the] list certainly aren't.

Its about publicity more than money.

That's true Bullet, and the A-Day game at Auburn is almost always coordinated with a home baseball series which in April would be a 3 game set against a conference opponent and often there is a concert during the weekend. So the 83,000 plus usually helps to create a synergy. Add to that the support of the athletic department by the local restaurants and lodging industry, not to mention the bookstores who all get a Spring pay day and I doubt we'll see the event go away.

My money is on that as the P5 gradually move toward more conference and cross conference games just among the P5 the Spring date of the game will be moved to early to mid-August with the 14 days of practice culminating in a pre-season game against an in state lower division school with the ticket for that spring game included in the Season Ticket Book as the guaranteed 7th home gate for all top tier schools. The local merchants don't lose a payday (just get it moved), the athletic departments get that 7th home gate (or more) and get to charge a lot more than $5 a ticket, the athletes from football are freed to play other spring sports if they would like, and it all stays within essentially the present guidelines.

That's for the top 40 programs. Everyone else is paying for marketing and advertising. You dont make money on these. The Pitt HC should not be asking why they have a Spring Game but rather how the Ath Dept marketed ab ACC move into only 3k fans showing up.

(03-04-2014 12:34 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(03-04-2014 12:21 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(03-04-2014 12:17 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...s-weigh-in

Quote:After 3,642 fans inside Heinz Field watched a vanilla gameplan on a cold April night, Paul Chryst got real with his athletic director about Pitt's Blue-Gold spring game.

“He said, ‘I really wish we had another practice other than this,'” Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson recalled. “I told him we'd talk about it.”

Those talks led to this, a Pitt spring practice without a spring game. Chryst announced last week that he'd prefer the extra practice time, as coaches get 15 full sessions according to NCAA rules.

Outside of Texas A&M's cancellation because of Kyle Field renovations or Florida's watered-down practice because of injuries last year, bagging a spring game is rare.

But Pitt's plan is not so far-fetched. In fact, other coaches have thought about the same thing.

In an informal poll of nine FBS coaches Monday night, four say they could see other schools taking a similar path as Pitt in the future.

Even the large crowds at schools like Auburn don't end up turning a profit for the school:

Quote:Nobody has to tell Auburn about how the spring game can serve as an emotional touchstone for a breakout year. Auburn's A-Day hosted 83,401 fans in 2013, shattering the school's record by more than 20,000.

“There isn't any doubt” the game was a springboard for a national title run, AD Jay Jacobs said.

But to evaluate a spring game is to extract the business angle, Jacobs said. Most spring games aren't revenue-drivers.

Auburn fans paid $5 per ticket, but after paying for security, gameday staff, first aid and filtering proceeds to the lettermen club, the school breaks even.

If Auburn isn't making money from its game, the schools at the bottom of [the] list certainly aren't.

Its about publicity more than money.

That's true Bullet, and the A-Day game at Auburn is almost always coordinated with a home baseball series which in April would be a 3 game set against a conference opponent and often there is a concert during the weekend. So the 83,000 plus usually helps to create a synergy. Add to that the support of the athletic department by the local restaurants and lodging industry, not to mention the bookstores who all get a Spring pay day and I doubt we'll see the event go away.

My money is on that as the P5 gradually move toward more conference and cross conference games just among the P5 the Spring date of the game will be moved to early to mid-August with the 14 days of practice culminating in a pre-season game against an in state lower division school with the ticket for that spring game included in the Season Ticket Book as the guaranteed 7th home gate for all top tier schools. The local merchants don't lose a payday (just get it moved), the athletic departments get that 7th home gate (or more) and get to charge a lot more than $5 a ticket, the athletes from football are freed to play other spring sports if they would like, and it all stays within essentially the present guidelines.

Could happen. I once suggested on this board that FBS teams should only count games against other FBS teams in the regular-season standings, but that each should be allowed (in addition to the 12 regular-season games) an annual exhibition game vs. an FCS team, similar to the rules that allow D-I basketball teams to play a maximum of two annual exhibition games vs. non-D-I teams.

A program with the tradition of a Pitt can eliminate a spring game. They can point to the National Championship trophies as proof of what matters. A program like Louisville uses the spring game to get casual fans in the stadium, create excitement for the football program, and hopefully promote season ticket sales. Louisville doesn't need midnight madness for its basketball program but the spring game serves a purpose.
CJ

(03-04-2014 12:38 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(03-04-2014 12:34 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(03-04-2014 12:21 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(03-04-2014 12:17 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...s-weigh-in

Quote:After 3,642 fans inside Heinz Field watched a vanilla gameplan on a cold April night, Paul Chryst got real with his athletic director about Pitt's Blue-Gold spring game.

“He said, ‘I really wish we had another practice other than this,'” Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson recalled. “I told him we'd talk about it.”

Those talks led to this, a Pitt spring practice without a spring game. Chryst announced last week that he'd prefer the extra practice time, as coaches get 15 full sessions according to NCAA rules.

Outside of Texas A&M's cancellation because of Kyle Field renovations or Florida's watered-down practice because of injuries last year, bagging a spring game is rare.

But Pitt's plan is not so far-fetched. In fact, other coaches have thought about the same thing.

In an informal poll of nine FBS coaches Monday night, four say they could see other schools taking a similar path as Pitt in the future.

Even the large crowds at schools like Auburn don't end up turning a profit for the school:

Quote:Nobody has to tell Auburn about how the spring game can serve as an emotional touchstone for a breakout year. Auburn's A-Day hosted 83,401 fans in 2013, shattering the school's record by more than 20,000.

“There isn't any doubt” the game was a springboard for a national title run, AD Jay Jacobs said.

But to evaluate a spring game is to extract the business angle, Jacobs said. Most spring games aren't revenue-drivers.

Auburn fans paid $5 per ticket, but after paying for security, gameday staff, first aid and filtering proceeds to the lettermen club, the school breaks even.

If Auburn isn't making money from its game, the schools at the bottom of [the] list certainly aren't.

Its about publicity more than money.

That's true Bullet, and the A-Day game at Auburn is almost always coordinated with a home baseball series which in April would be a 3 game set against a conference opponent and often there is a concert during the weekend. So the 83,000 plus usually helps to create a synergy. Add to that the support of the athletic department by the local restaurants and lodging industry, not to mention the bookstores who all get a Spring pay day and I doubt we'll see the event go away.

My money is on that as the P5 gradually move toward more conference and cross conference games just among the P5 the Spring date of the game will be moved to early to mid-August with the 14 days of practice culminating in a pre-season game against an in state lower division school with the ticket for that spring game included in the Season Ticket Book as the guaranteed 7th home gate for all top tier schools. The local merchants don't lose a payday (just get it moved), the athletic departments get that 7th home gate (or more) and get to charge a lot more than $5 a ticket, the athletes from football are freed to play other spring sports if they would like, and it all stays within essentially the present guidelines.

Could happen. I once suggested on this board that FBS teams should only count games against other FBS teams in the regular-season standings, but that each should be allowed (in addition to the 12 regular-season games) an annual exhibition game vs. an FCS team, similar to the rules that allow D-I basketball teams to play a maximum of two annual exhibition games vs. non-D-I teams.

Doubt the presidents would bite on essentially a 13th game, but going back to an 11 game schedule (thus ending the 6-6 debate) with a lower division exhibition in the Fall that doesn't count toward bowl eligibility and an any division exhibition in the spring might fly if you can count the exhibition toward your record (but not eligibility).

(03-04-2014 12:43 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(03-04-2014 12:38 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(03-04-2014 12:34 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(03-04-2014 12:21 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(03-04-2014 12:17 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...s-weigh-in


Even the large crowds at schools like Auburn don't end up turning a profit for the school:

Its about publicity more than money.

That's true Bullet, and the A-Day game at Auburn is almost always coordinated with a home baseball series which in April would be a 3 game set against a conference opponent and often there is a concert during the weekend. So the 83,000 plus usually helps to create a synergy. Add to that the support of the athletic department by the local restaurants and lodging industry, not to mention the bookstores who all get a Spring pay day and I doubt we'll see the event go away.

My money is on that as the P5 gradually move toward more conference and cross conference games just among the P5 the Spring date of the game will be moved to early to mid-August with the 14 days of practice culminating in a pre-season game against an in state lower division school with the ticket for that spring game included in the Season Ticket Book as the guaranteed 7th home gate for all top tier schools. The local merchants don't lose a payday (just get it moved), the athletic departments get that 7th home gate (or more) and get to charge a lot more than $5 a ticket, the athletes from football are freed to play other spring sports if they would like, and it all stays within essentially the present guidelines.

Could happen. I once suggested on this board that FBS teams should only count games against other FBS teams in the regular-season standings, but that each should be allowed (in addition to the 12 regular-season games) an annual exhibition game vs. an FCS team, similar to the rules that allow D-I basketball teams to play a maximum of two annual exhibition games vs. non-D-I teams.

Doubt the presidents would bite on essentially a 13th game, but going back to an 11 game schedule (thus ending the 6-6 debate) with a lower division exhibition in the Fall that doesn't count toward bowl eligibility and an any division exhibition in the spring might fly if you can count the exhibition toward your record (but not eligibility).

I'd say it was a safe bet that most university presidents wouldn't see a conflict with moving the Spring game to the early Fall and actually playing a smaller opponent as a warm up instead of having half of your kids beat up on the other half with watered down rules and a boring event bolstered by photos with players for the kiddies. Revenue after all is a top priority at most universities today.

My suggestion for spring games is to do what several NFL teams have done where they've held low contact scrimmages against each other (separate from preseason games) as opposed to intra-squad scrimmages. On paper, that would seem to be more beneficial for the preparation of the players and coaches while also being a heck of a lot more interesting to fans.

Regardless, bullet is correct that it's more about publicity than money. A side benefit is that these spring games serve as more programming for hose with conference networks like the Big Ten and SEC (or a school like Texas with the LHN), which ultimately provides more to the bottom line.

(03-04-2014 01:14 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  My suggestion for spring games is to do what several NFL teams have done where they've held low contact scrimmages against each other (separate from preseason games) as opposed to intra-squad scrimmages. On paper, that would seem to be more beneficial for the preparation of the players and coaches while also being a heck of a lot more interesting to fans.

Regardless, bullet is correct that it's more about publicity than money. A side benefit is that these spring games serve as more programming for hose with conference networks like the Big Ten and SEC (or a school like Texas with the LHN), which ultimately provides more to the bottom line.

Yes, good point, Frank. Spring games are held during the time of year when live programming is hard to come by. If I remember correctly, many of these spring games make it on the main ESPN, not just ESPNU or ESPN2. A combination of low impact scrimmage as well as a glorified scrimmage with an FCS to begin the season, as some have suggested, seems like a good compromise. Any way these schools can get people interested in athletics, book hotel rooms, fill up restaurants, and give their network some live programming, they will and should do it.

(03-04-2014 12:17 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...s-weigh-in

Quote:After 3,642 fans inside Heinz Field watched a vanilla gameplan on a cold April night, Paul Chryst got real with his athletic director about Pitt's Blue-Gold spring game.

“He said, ‘I really wish we had another practice other than this,'” Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson recalled. “I told him we'd talk about it.”

Those talks led to this, a Pitt spring practice without a spring game. Chryst announced last week that he'd prefer the extra practice time, as coaches get 15 full sessions according to NCAA rules.

Outside of Texas A&M's cancellation because of Kyle Field renovations or Florida's watered-down practice because of injuries last year, bagging a spring game is rare.

But Pitt's plan is not so far-fetched. In fact, other coaches have thought about the same thing.

In an informal poll of nine FBS coaches Monday night, four say they could see other schools taking a similar path as Pitt in the future.

Even the large crowds at schools like Auburn don't end up turning a profit for the school:

Quote:Nobody has to tell Auburn about how the spring game can serve as an emotional touchstone for a breakout year. Auburn's A-Day hosted 83,401 fans in 2013, shattering the school's record by more than 20,000.

“There isn't any doubt” the game was a springboard for a national title run, AD Jay Jacobs said.

But to evaluate a spring game is to extract the business angle, Jacobs said. Most spring games aren't revenue-drivers.

Auburn fans paid $5 per ticket, but after paying for security, gameday staff, first aid and filtering proceeds to the lettermen club, the school breaks even.

If Auburn isn't making money from its game, the schools at the bottom of [the] list certainly aren't.

Let's get real, Pitt was tired of being a Spring Game punching bag. And the game was not at Heinz last year, it was at a high school field: http://www.cardiachill.com/2013/2/8/3966...-park-time

I don't think the spring game in and of itself is any big deal, it is primarily a marketing vehicle and would probably be left untouched.

If you want REAL programming during a time when conference networks are grasping for content, do what the high schools now do in many places and allow teams to play X number of 7 on 7 events during the summer break.