(01-11-2023 05:56 PM)inutech Wrote:  

(01-11-2023 04:52 PM)3DogNight Wrote:  I hope you don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way, but I call ‘em like I see ‘em. You seem to be one of those guys who finds the negative in everything. I’ve not been on this board anywhere near the time you’ve been here, so I might be reading you wrong. But it seems like every time you reply to something I’ve said, it’s always doom and gloom on your end. Being so pessimistic about everything has to be depressing. Try a little optimism sometime.

That's possible. But I don't think so.

Generally, I'm the guy that talks himself into an undefeated season (overall for the Bulldogs, and OOC for the rest of the league) sometime around July.

And (believe it or not) I'm generally a pretty big benefit of the doubt guy (both in my real life and even on message boards). I very rarely call for a coach's or admin's head, try to be realistic about our place in the financial world of sports, etc.

I suspect the issue is the subject matter. Because that's where I'm just "calling 'em like I see 'em."

There is always a silver lining, but Louisiana Tech is in a much worse conference situation than we have been for the past 10 years. It's inarguable that things have become worse for us. That's not your fault, and it's not a slight at any of the the new or remaining teams, it's just the reality. But it is not better. We're trying to grasp at little straws of positivity (and I've done that, I'm pretty bullish on baseball, like the DBU add, and I think there has been some addition by subtraction for basketball overall). But there isn't any reason to pretend that this isn't what it is - "making the best of a bad situation."

The tv deal is the same way. I didn't expect a ton of money, that part probably wouldn't have bothered me (even if it was less than it ended up being). I know that to sell something, you need a buyer. No problems there. And as I said, our ADs probably just had to make the least bad choice. But the month of weeknight college football shame, is well, awful. It is great to be on "big" ESPN more often. It's better to get on ESPNU or ESPN2 instead of ESPN+. For sure. But I don't think that's worth playing on weeknights for the whole conference for the whole month. The professionals decided differently, and they absolutely had more information than me. But I have to work with the information I have. And so even though it's better for me personally, I think it's awful for our students, players, football programs, alumni, and the local kids that hopefully would be potential future fans/students/alumni. Be happy to debate any of that (that's what message boards are for).

From my perspective, adding a 10th team (any team, it's not personal to KSU necessarily) is the same again. I've beat that drum to death. Haven't been convinced otherwise. Feel free to chime in (on the merits).

So I think (and hope) your perspective is largely a sample size issue. I'm as defensive of my team as the next guy, but in general I'll be rooting for (and happy with) on field successes (and disappointed but level-headedish about losses) and even off-field wins as they happen (like adding DBU for baseball).

You've just primarily only seen my comments about bad things. The conference falling apart was bad (for my rooting interests) and my opinion of the tv deal and tenth team is a poor one.

I love Tech and I think our football will bounce back (I really like Sonny Cumbie). I think we'll continue to contribute in men's basketball and might even be able to stir up some echoes of Lady Techster basketball. I love where our baseball and softball haven been recently and very excited to see if we can maintain success there.

I really respect WKU's athletic program and the 100 miles of hate rivalry with MTSU.

Sam Houston has been really good at the FCS level and is not terribly far away from us (and in an area we recruit).

NMSU has very good basketball and the NMSU-UTEP rivalry is great. My understanding is that both football stadiums are worth visiting (Sun Bowl is historic and the NMSU field has a beautiful backdrop).

FIU is in Miami. That is certainly a thing you can say about them.

JSU and KSU seem to be conveniently located to one another. KSU can claim a large metro area (just as much as most of the #markets teams who are leaving soon can).

Liberty has made changes at President and the AD is good at raising money. I assume he (and other staff at the university) have by now done some remedial Title IX training. Y'all ought to be good on the field and have money to burn compared to the other G5 schools. I expect you to compete for titles in many sports (hopefully losing to Tech).

See there - sunshine for days.

There’s so much sunshine, I’ll have to put on my shades for that post, lol. I’ll even give you two thumbs up. I understand that you’ve seen a lot of crap in the years being a CUSA member. Understandably a reason to be cynical. Hopefully though things will be better as we move forward as a conference. I think we both want the conference to succeed. And by the way, keep that sunshine coming.

There are 16 midweek games in Oct. According to the CUSA release, CBSSN and ESPN will split those games. The release specifically says that ESPN will televise 8 of those games on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU. That leaves 8 for CBSSN. So just like the MAC midweek games, there will be CUSA games competing with each other but no one else. CBSSN will televise 10 other CUSA football games over the rest of the season. I see that La Tech is at UTEP on the last Friday of Sept and I'll wager it will be on CBSSN as 1 of the 10.

(01-11-2023 08:46 PM)MinerInWisconsin Wrote:  There are 16 midweek games in Oct. According to the CUSA release, CBSSN and ESPN will split those games. The release specifically says that ESPN will televise 8 of those games on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU. That leaves 8 for CBSSN. So just like the MAC midweek games, there will be CUSA games competing with each other but no one else. CBSSN will all televise 10 other CUSA football games over the rest of the season. I see that La Tech is at UTEP on the last Friday of Sept and I'll wager it will be on CBSSN as 1 of the 10.

The Friday night is a pretty good hint that's it's CBSSN.

So even outside the weeknight college football month of shame we can still get stuck on a bad night.

(01-10-2023 02:37 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  I like WKU's schedule. Obviously having MTSU and Liberty at home on Thursday and Tuesday sn't optimal for attendence, they should have decent TV ratings if all three are solid, as expected.

I was actually planning to go on the road to the JaxSt game until I realized it was on a Tuesday game.

Only one home game in October, and it is on a Tuesday. Our homecoming will likely have to be November 11th.

(01-11-2023 09:11 PM)galojah Wrote:  

(01-10-2023 02:37 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  I like WKU's schedule. Obviously having MTSU and Liberty at home on Thursday and Tuesday sn't optimal for attendence, they should have decent TV ratings if all three are solid, as expected.

I was actually planning to go on the road to the JaxSt game until I realized it was on a Tuesday game.

Only one home game in October, and it is on a Tuesday. Our homecoming will likely have to be November 11th.

Is there really any difference between Sept 28th and Oct 1 other than 3 days? This past season Western only played 1 home game in Sept and this coming season that changes to 3. Seems like a good enough trade off.

As for homecoming it was played Oct 29th and without looking at the attendance numbers it was one of the worse attended homecoming that I can recall other than maybe Boy Idiot's 2nd and finial season. so I dont see a problem with it being played 2 weeks later. The average temp. in BG on Nov 11th is 61 with a low of 39

(01-10-2023 11:10 PM)JackedUp Wrote:  We have to play a Sunbelt schedule since we got paid just as much as the Sunbelt

Not thrilled about the mid week games but ESPN calls the shots.

The CUSA opponents I’m definitely excited about!

You misspelled MAC.

(01-12-2023 01:43 AM)WKUYG Wrote:  

(01-11-2023 09:11 PM)galojah Wrote:  

(01-10-2023 02:37 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  I like WKU's schedule. Obviously having MTSU and Liberty at home on Thursday and Tuesday sn't optimal for attendence, they should have decent TV ratings if all three are solid, as expected.

I was actually planning to go on the road to the JaxSt game until I realized it was on a Tuesday game.

Only one home game in October, and it is on a Tuesday. Our homecoming will likely have to be November 11th.

Is there really any difference between Sept 28th and Oct 1 other than 3 days? This past season Western only played 1 home game in Sept and this coming season that changes to 3. Seems like a good enough trade off.

As for homecoming it was played Oct 29th and without looking at the attendance numbers it was one of the worse attended homecoming that I can recall other than maybe Boy Idiot's 2nd and finial season. so I dont see a problem with it being played 2 weeks later. The average temp. in BG on Nov 11th is 61 with a low of 39

Of course no way to predict the weather, but game vs Rice on that date this past season was cloudy and 30. You really limit tailgating, seeing friends and out of towners coming to WKU games with an entire month schedule on weekdays.

(01-11-2023 10:40 AM)inutech Wrote:  

(01-11-2023 08:54 AM)3DogNight Wrote:  it seems far better than what the conference has had in the past few years.

TBD. I mean, my tv has Stadium on it.

(01-11-2023 08:54 AM)3DogNight Wrote:  So why be so upset about the mid-week games at this point in time?

Because they're bad for our football programs?

And out of town fans?

And students?

And the players?

And potential future fans?

I’d say weeknight games are better for students. We’ve always ended up with solid attendance for weeknight games in the past.

I think CUSA did about as well as can be expected in this deal. This is the best deal Judy has ever been a part of negotiating for sure, so you should take some pride in that. She learned from her past mistakes and is trying to provide a better situation for her teams, that I applaud. I understand this many weekday games aren't great for alumni and fans, but I think the conference made the best decision they could.

I think playing some games with little competition will give you guys a chance to showcase your teams on the best network for college football. If I am not doing anything I will often still check out ESPN to see if there is a game worth watching, no other network holds that power over the average sports fan. Put on a show in these games with larger viewership, and it's possible your next media contract is much improved.

(01-12-2023 09:10 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  I’d say weeknight games are better for students. We’ve always ended up with solid attendance for weeknight games in the past.

Better? Better than you'd have had for a Saturday game? Or just more noticeable?

And even if more would come on Thursday than Saturday, is that "better" for them? With classes the next day?

(01-12-2023 09:45 AM)inutech Wrote:  

(01-12-2023 09:10 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  I’d say weeknight games are better for students. We’ve always ended up with solid attendance for weeknight games in the past.

Better? Better than you'd have had for a Saturday game? Or just more noticeable?

And even if more would come on Thursday than Saturday, is that "better" for them? With classes the next day?

2010 (went 6-7) we had a couple weeknight games so I feel like this is a great comparison with actual data. Attendances for our home games that season are below:

Minnesota (Thur)- 25,908
Austin Peay (Sat)- 16,806
Troy (Tues)- 28,010
ULM (Sat)- 19,052
UNT (Sat)- 14,227
FAU (Sat)- 10,140

I’m sure not all schools are the same but higher weeknight attendance is fairly common for MTSU because there isn’t as many options for entertainment on weeknights compared to weekends in the Nashville metro.

One more season with a game not being a P5 or rival (Troy) to compare (FAU being the non-rival).

2008 (went 5-7)-

Troy (Thur)- 22,307
Maryland (Sat)- 22,605
FAU (Tues)- 25,766
ULM (Sat)- 16,150
UNT (Sat)- 14,307

(01-12-2023 01:00 PM)Ewglenn Wrote:  One more season with a game not being a P5 or rival (Troy) to compare (FAU being the non-rival).

2008 (went 5-7)-

Troy (Thur)- 22,307
Maryland (Sat)- 22,605
FAU (Tues)- 25,766
ULM (Sat)- 16,150
UNT (Sat)- 14,307

Interesting.

Y'all want our mid-week games?

Midweek games can be a success attendance-wise if two factors align....weather and start time.

Start time is critical. If it's too early for people to get off work, gather their family, eat, etc then they don't go. If it's too late, then returning home at a reasonable time to get kids in bed will discourage families from going. Obviously, it's easier for locals but I'd wager thousands of fans are up to an hour away in nearby towns and the start time is critical. Obviously, no one can control weather.

I live an hour from BG and my kids are finally in college so my attendance isn't as affected as it once was...except I tend to get to bed earlier as I age. Lol.

(01-12-2023 01:32 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  Midweek games can be a success attendance-wise if two factors align....weather and start time.

Start time is critical. If it's too early for people to get off work, gather their family, eat, etc then they don't go. If it's too late, then returning home at a reasonable time to get kids in bed will discourage families from going. Obviously, it's easier for locals but I'd wager thousands of fans are up to an hour away in nearby towns and the start time is critical. Obviously, no one can control weather.

I live an hour from BG and my kids are finally in college so my attendance isn't as affected as it once was...except I tend to get to bed earlier as I age. Lol.

What time are you saying it should start?

(01-12-2023 01:51 PM)SouthernMiss3613 Wrote:  

(01-12-2023 01:32 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  Midweek games can be a success attendance-wise if two factors align....weather and start time.

Start time is critical. If it's too early for people to get off work, gather their family, eat, etc then they don't go. If it's too late, then returning home at a reasonable time to get kids in bed will discourage families from going. Obviously, it's easier for locals but I'd wager thousands of fans are up to an hour away in nearby towns and the start time is critical. Obviously, no one can control weather.

I live an hour from BG and my kids are finally in college so my attendance isn't as affected as it once was...except I tend to get to bed earlier as I age. Lol.

What time are you saying it should start?

Can only speak for me but 6 is almost too early when I had kids at home and 8 was too late. 7 for me is best. I live an hour from BG.

To me they are no worse than a Thursday game. I like Thursday games but I live fairly close to JSU and most of our attendees live close. Not expecting much of a drop all because of travel but more on forgetting the game is on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Student attendance should increase and make up for those of us that live a hour or two away and have to work the next day. So they just watch on TV. Well at least to halftime then most of those student are going to find something else to do....

like they do no matter which day of the week its played on.

Western needs to adjust the walk up ticket price because that is limiting families. While the low end ticket of $25 is actually reasonable some CUSA has tickets for $10 to $15 dollars on the low end. When you can sit at home and watch the ideal it will cost a father and 1 child or if the mom also comes along about $115 or more if they choose to eat or drink. Can influence the decision on watching from home or attend the game. Especially if they think they will need to leave early to get the kids in bed.

So can the play on the field and that is one of my biggest gripes with Helton. It's hardly ever constant and most fans enjoy a wide open offense like we saw Western play in the bowl game. While it might not be a large number of tickets I would bet if Western consistently played the wide open offense it could be the difference in at least 500 fans.

I wish Todd (AD) would learn how to count like everyone else.....other words fudge the numbers by 20 to 60%. The only thing that will do is "perception" but reading these boards perception seems to matter more than actual attendance

(01-12-2023 01:24 PM)inutech Wrote:  

(01-12-2023 01:00 PM)Ewglenn Wrote:  One more season with a game not being a P5 or rival (Troy) to compare (FAU being the non-rival).

2008 (went 5-7)-

Troy (Thur)- 22,307
Maryland (Sat)- 22,605
FAU (Tues)- 25,766
ULM (Sat)- 16,150
UNT (Sat)- 14,307

Interesting.

Y'all want our mid-week games?

Honestly, I’d it were up to me, I’d take them. We’ve shown that our weekday games are well attended. If that is paired with hundreds of thousands of eyeballs then I’m all for it. I’m actually going to research it more to see how much the difference is over a long period of time.

(01-12-2023 06:39 PM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(01-12-2023 01:24 PM)inutech Wrote:  

(01-12-2023 01:00 PM)Ewglenn Wrote:  One more season with a game not being a P5 or rival (Troy) to compare (FAU being the non-rival).

2008 (went 5-7)-

Troy (Thur)- 22,307
Maryland (Sat)- 22,605
FAU (Tues)- 25,766
ULM (Sat)- 16,150
UNT (Sat)- 14,307

Interesting.

Y'all want our mid-week games?

Honestly, I’d it were up to me, I’d take them. We’ve shown that our weekday games are well attended. If that is paired with hundreds of thousands of eyeballs then I’m all for it. I’m actually going to research it more to see how much the difference is over a long period of time.

Done.

Going forward y'all play two more weeknight games and we'll do Saturday (at home, I guess we'll still have to be an away team).

Somebody call the ADs and tell them about the slight adjustment.