South Florida (8-6) at Wichita State (10-4) Game Discussion: Jan 06 (Mon)

[Kung Wu]

Enrollment has nothing to do with boosters and NIL warchest.

I agree in the short term, but enrollment definitely matters in terms of boosters and NIL warchest in the long term.

[abdullah_sharif]

How long will schools continue to throw piles of cash with middling results? Is it sustainable?

i think so at the super power schools miami, texas, ohio state and the like.

my hypothesis is that most smaller school donors will begin to see that this is an arms race they have no business in and retreat. wichita state is in this category. wichita is a college town.. not a pro or semi-pro town. we see this on full display now.

[ShockHat]

i think so at the super power schools miami, texas, ohio state and the like.

my hypothesis is that most smaller school donors will begin to see that this is an arms race they have no business in and retreat. wichita state is in this category. wichita is a college town.. not a pro or semi-pro town. we see this on full display now.

Wichita is definitely not even a college town. It’s a commuter town. Huge difference imo, and one step below pro and semi pro and even college town

[Dan]

Go to any major college town on football game day and count the number of multimillionaires camping out in $500k+ RVs and you’ll see the difference in our potential NIL bases. Answer: too many to count, it’s an endless sea of donors.

It’s not just having rich alumni, it’s having rich alumni that are passionate about sports.

[shocker43]

Been traveling a lot for work the last couple weeks. Didn't get to watch much of the last two games or read Shockernet, but we should really fire this guy.

[SubGod22]

Given metro Tampa, South Florida has a significantly larger local recruiting base for starters. I believe Wichita the second smallest metro in the AAC, New Bern N. Carolina being smaller.

Given that they had a much better coach doing the recruiting doesn't hurt either.

[SubGod22]

Go to any major college town on football game day and count the number of multimillionaires camping out in $500k+ RVs and you’ll see the difference in our potential NIL bases. Answer: too many to count, it’s an endless sea of donors.

It’s not just having rich alumni, it’s having rich alumni that are passionate about sports.

This connects to one of the reasons I championed the return of football many years ago. One, it increases the number of alumni in a major sport and generally increases the opportunities to have those well off alumni that are passionate about sports. It also increases the ability to bring in advertising, gives you more viability for conference changes, and also increases the chances of having professional athletes connected to the school.

Hell, for years every time Jumpy Geathers was on TV Wichita State was mentioned, and we hadn't had a football program for years. More would have followed. We probably would have escaped the MVC much sooner and who knows where we'd be positioned now had we had football for years at this point. It doesn't much matter now, but football could provide a **** ton more than many would generally think. There's a reason so many schools have brought it back and upgraded to FBS over the years while WSU has sat on its hands and let much of the college landscape pass it by. Some used to argue that without football we had more to spend elsewhere, but that seems to be people trying to justify where we're at.

Hell, in our own conference we have a number of examples of schools who have started programs since we dropped ours. FAU started their program in 2001. Charlotte restarted their program in 2013. UAB started in 1991. UTSA started in 2011. USF started in 1997.

Other programs that were started after we dropped football include Kennesaw State (2015), Georgia State (2011), Old Dominion (2009), South Alabama (2009), Coastal Carolina (2003), and FIU (2002), And a couple of these schools some wanted to join the conference after the defections of UCF, Cinny, and Houston.

And these are just the startups in FBS. There are more still in FCS I believe but I don't want to look those up.

[ShockTalk]

I have no idea why this "discussion" is on in a past game thread. Up to a point, I have no idea why this discussion is going on at all.

[asiseeit]

My dad started taking me to WSU basketball/football games in the mid 50's. 25 cents GA for basketball and kids free in the end zone for football. We would go to both freshmen and varsity basketball games. I grew up being a fan and still am. Breaks my heart we don't have football and so many empty seats now in basketball. I'm to old to trek out to the roundhouse but watch every game on TV. I am STILL a fan. My point is you have to build a fan base by getting the kids hooked and your not going to get parents to pay $40 a seat to bring them and another $20 or more for concessions PER kid.........especially with our current product. How hard is that to understand? Make the top ten rows available at affordable prices ( I'd say $15 for an adult and $5 for each kid ). Then ten minutes into the game allow them to filter down into better unused seats. Seat holders need to be understanding and polite asking them to move back up some if they arrive late. Gradually your going to get kids hooked and asking their parents to take them to more games. The parents will get more "hooked", as well. The more the house fills up the more you can reasonably raise prices. When the kids get older they are now lifetime fans and want to take THEIR kids. It's the snowball effect in reverse.

[Dan]

I have no idea why this "discussion" is on in a past game thread. Up to a point, I have no idea why this discussion is going on at all.

we're still venting about getting blown out by USF at home and how bad we suck and why we will continue to suck

[Topshock]

My dad started taking me to WSU basketball/football games in the mid 50's. 25 cents GA for basketball and kids free in the end zone for football. We would go to both freshmen and varsity basketball games. I grew up being a fan and still am. Breaks my heart we don't have football and so many empty seats now in basketball. I'm to old to trek out to the roundhouse but watch every game on TV. I am STILL a fan. My point is you have to build a fan base by getting the kids hooked and your not going to get parents to pay $40 a seat to bring them and another $20 or more for concessions PER kid.........especially with our current product. How hard is that to understand? Make the top ten rows available at affordable prices ( I'd say $15 for an adult and $5 for each kid ). Then ten minutes into the game allow them to filter down into better unused seats. Seat holders need to be understanding and polite asking them to move back up some if they arrive late. Gradually your going to get kids hooked and asking their parents to take them to more games. The parents will get more "hooked", as well. The more the house fills up the more you can reasonably raise prices. When the kids get older they are now lifetime fans and want to take THEIR kids. It's the snowball effect in reverse.

This 100%!