Would you support the return of football at WSU?

[WU'sPosse2]

:roll: Everyone wants a football team... BUT, who will watch them play? The last few Shocker football games I froze through at Cessna Stadium had more "mothers of opposing team members" than Shocker fans in attendance. High school football games drew more fans. Just look at the "always empty" blue seats at Eck Stadium and multiply those fair weather fans by 40,000. I'm sorry,... it's truly a sorry and embarrassing sight to see our Shocker youth risking their bones on the gridiron for an empty house.
Our team didn't so much run out of money, as our fans ran out of heart for the program. Find 35,000 advance season ticket holders who have the guts of Cubbie fans to wait out some losing years while the team finds its footing, and money will come out of the woodwork in this town to support Shocker football. Unless you can find some loyal Shocker football fans who will pay to watch them play, don't put our athletes through the shame of playing in an empty Cessna Stadium, squandering the game's glory in a cold and cruel Kansas wind. Further impoverishing the students won't rally the alums. "It's a marketing thing...":(

[The Mad Hatter]

:roll: Everyone wants a football team... BUT, who will watch them play? The last few Shocker football games I froze through at Cessna Stadium had more "mothers of opposing team members" than Shocker fans in attendance. High school football games drew more fans. Just look at the "always empty" blue seats at Eck Stadium and multiply those fair weather fans by 40,000. I'm sorry,... it's truly a sorry and embarrassing sight to see our Shocker youth risking their bones on the gridiron for an empty house.
Our team didn't so much run out of money, as our fans ran out of heart for the program. Find 35,000 advance season ticket holders who have the guts of Cubbie fans to wait out some losing years while the team finds its footing, and money will come out of the woodwork in this town to support Shocker football. Unless you can find some loyal Shocker football fans who will pay to watch them play, don't put our athletes through the shame of playing in an empty Cessna Stadium, squandering the game's glory in a cold and cruel Kansas wind. Further impoverishing the students won't rally the alums. "It's a marketing thing...":(

The numbers of the survey themselves say it all. The vast majority fall into the camp of either not wanting football back, or only wanting back under the near impossible situation that it is fully funded by huge donations (i.e. large endowments).

In other words, people want football, but only if T. Boone Pickins picks up the tab.

[1979Shocker]

In other words, people want football, but only if T. Boone Pickins picks up the tab.

In our case it would be Charles Koch picking up the tab. Koch is worth over 5 times more than Pickens ($17 billion versus $3 billion).

T. Boone Pickens, Jr.
Charles G. Koch

[Hotel Paper]

In order to be known as a serious school for athletics, we need football to come back. More and more schools are turning to football over the years, and we'll be left by the wayside, left to the bowels of obscurity if it is not brought back.

[The Mad Hatter]

In other words, people want football, but only if T. Boone Pickins picks up the tab.

In our case it would be Charles Koch picking up the tab. Koch is worth over 5 times more than Pickens ($17 billion versus $3 billion).

T. Boone Pickens, Jr.
Charles G. Koch

And if Koch chooses to put his money into WSU football the way Pickens has for OSU, then great.

Guess what though, there are plenty of people richer than Pickens, but none that have given more for college athletics. Under your theory, we have already paid for the entire baseball facility program since we have Koch, right?

A lot of people in favor of football at WSU don't seem to have much problem spending other people's money.

[1979Shocker]

In other words, people want football, but only if T. Boone Pickins picks up the tab.

In our case it would be Charles Koch picking up the tab. Koch is worth over 5 times more than Pickens ($17 billion versus $3 billion).

T. Boone Pickens, Jr.
Charles G. Koch

And if Koch chooses to put his money into WSU football the way Pickens has for OSU, then great.

Guess what though, there are plenty of people richer than Pickens, but none that have given more for college athletics. Under your theory, we have already paid for the entire baseball facility program since we have Koch, right?

A lot of people in favor of football at WSU don't seem to have much problem spending other people's money.

Actually I didn't have a theory. I voted No, that I didn't support the return of football. The only reason I threw out Koch's name was because I knew Pickens wouldn't be supporting WSU football.

[The Mad Hatter]

In other words, people want football, but only if T. Boone Pickins picks up the tab.

In our case it would be Charles Koch picking up the tab. Koch is worth over 5 times more than Pickens ($17 billion versus $3 billion).

T. Boone Pickens, Jr.
Charles G. Koch

And if Koch chooses to put his money into WSU football the way Pickens has for OSU, then great.

Guess what though, there are plenty of people richer than Pickens, but none that have given more for college athletics. Under your theory, we have already paid for the entire baseball facility program since we have Koch, right?

A lot of people in favor of football at WSU don't seem to have much problem spending other people's money.

Actually I didn't have a theory. I voted No, that I didn't support the return of football. The only reason I threw out Koch's name was because I knew Pickens wouldn't be supporting WSU football.

I wasn't my intent to refer to you specifically, but to the theory of a large Koch donation (or donation from another) that others have talked about, which you alluded to.

I was just using Pickens name like you would say Xerox or Kleenex, to use a famous name to refer to a huge donor, like Koch or others.

[tw805]

I keep hearing all this talk about how people just wouldn't support it in the mid-80s, and I understand that, but at what point do we discuss the population and societal changes that have happened in that time span? (Yes, I remember the games in the 1980s sucked. My old man would take me, and I recall thinking that the team stinks, the fans stink, and the locker rooms literally stink. That smell filled the stadium!)

However, since 1985, the population of the city and county has grown by about 125,000. Most of the outlying areas have seen growth as well. Add to that the fact that TV ratings are double what they were in the 1980s, college football revenue is up, and football is far and away the most popular sport in this country, and don't you have to begin to discuss favorable market shifts? It's not enough to just wonder how you're going to make the initial investment. You have to take into account the potential revenue stream.

Plus, I thought we still has some holdover football scholarships left from previous endowments. I know it's been ten years or so, but I remember someone on this board once telling me his sister had a scholarship that used to be reserved for football.

[SubGod22]

You bring up some very good points. Wichita and the county have grown. Butler county is one of the fastest growing areas in the state. Football is a MUCH bigger deal than it was when we shut the program down.

It would add to the campus atmosphere and could actually help improve recruiting of other sports to some degree.

I'm hoping this will be on Sextons agenda sooner rather than later.

[rrshock]

I'm hoping this will be on Sextons agenda sooner rather than later.

Me too.

[1972Shocker]

:roll: Everyone wants a football team... BUT, who will watch them play? The last few Shocker football games I froze through at Cessna Stadium had more "mothers of opposing team members" than Shocker fans in attendance. High school football games drew more fans. Just look at the "always empty" blue seats at Eck Stadium and multiply those fair weather fans by 40,000. I'm sorry,... it's truly a sorry and embarrassing sight to see our Shocker youth risking their bones on the gridiron for an empty house.
Our team didn't so much run out of money, as our fans ran out of heart for the program. Find 35,000 advance season ticket holders who have the guts of Cubbie fans to wait out some losing years while the team finds its footing, and money will come out of the woodwork in this town to support Shocker football. Unless you can find some loyal Shocker football fans who will pay to watch them play, don't put our athletes through the shame of playing in an empty Cessna Stadium, squandering the game's glory in a cold and cruel Kansas wind. Further impoverishing the students won't rally the alums. "It's a marketing thing...":(

I was there with you brother and there were some cold, nasty days, but I was just stubborn enough to stay until the end. But you're right there were not many of us and it was an embarrassment for Wichita State. The lack of fan support was much more embarrassing than the generally poor record of the team.

Is it now a different era. Yes, it is. Does that make it easier or harder to draw fans. I don't know. There is much more Football on TV to compete with than there was in the old days. How many fans would opt to stay home a watch BCS football vs attending a D-1AA football game. Of course, we also have DVR's than can give us the best of both worlds.

[shocker3]

In other words, people want football, but only if T. Boone Pickins picks up the tab.

In our case it would be Charles Koch picking up the tab. Koch is worth over 5 times more than Pickens ($17 billion versus $3 billion).

T. Boone Pickens, Jr.
Charles G. Koch

Actually it is 6 to 1. According to his year's FORBES 400 list, Charlie Koch is worth $19 billion vs. $3.1 billion for T Boone Pickens (Charles brother David is also worth $19 billion).

T Boone isn't really in the same neighborhood as Charles Koch. He is pretty much in the same neighborhood as Bill Koch ($3.0 Billion) and Phil Ruffin ($2.1 Billion).

BTW- John Q. Hammons didn't even make the FORBES 400 list. He is the guy that has pretty much funded the Missouri State Bears and given a lot of money to other sports projects around the country including $750,000 to the Wichita Sports Hall of Hame. Not making the list means he is worth less than $1.2 billion. :posterwsu: :goshocks:

[shock49]

Join the Grass Roots Effort at www.bringbackshockerfootball.com

[JJClamdip]

BUMP

[SubGod22]

The longer it goes, the more I feel that without football, we're stuck.

Illinois State will eventually leave because of football. Creighton will eventually get invited into a conference of private schools. Bradley may as well. Missouri State may eventually move their football up.

With our location, not having football is a killer.

I can't help but think that at some point, we're in a league that consists of Wichita State, UMKC, Southeast Missouri State, Nebraska-Omaha, Drake, Evansville, Northern Iowa, Western Illinois, Washburn, Indiana State and some other **** school. And I could see Northern Iowa eventually moving up in football.

Sadly, I think that's where we're headed. Being in a conference with schools that achieve less funding than the current schools we're with.

Hopefully some day....