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Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - ctipton - 08-28-2013 06:02 PM
Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest
That's Tommy Tuberville's charge as he takes over the program
Aug. 28, 2013 5:32 PM
“By this time next year, we’ll be able to see a lot of things in that stadium that are really going to be beneficial to the future of athletics at the University of Cincinnati,” Tuberville said. “And it’s really going to help the city. / Enquirer file photo
Written by
Bill Koch
Tommy Tuberville, who will make his debut as the University of Cincinnati’s head coach Saturday against Purdue, has arrived at a critical juncture in the 126-year history of the football program.
The Bearcats enter the 2013 season with a nationally respected coach, a new conference and a very old stadium that will receive an $86-million makeover as soon as the season ends. The renovation will add premium seating to Nippert Stadium and increase capacity from its current 35,000 to 40,000.
Tuberville’s debut and the presence of a Big Ten opponent have combined to produce the first home sellout for UC since the Miami (Ohio) game on Oct. 6, 2012, and according to UC officials there’s a good chance the Bearcats will set a Nippert Stadium attendance record, a good sign for a school that has made such a large financial commitment to renovate the 98-year-old facility.
UC has finally landed a high-powered coach at a time when it no longer has a high-powered conference for him to coach in. The Bearcats now play in the newly-formed American Athletic Conference, with many of the same schools they thought they had left behind when they departed Conference USA in 2005 for the Big East.
Because of the new league affiliation, one of the major questions surrounding the program is whether - once the newness of Tuberville wears off - fans will continue to show up to watch the Bearcats play SMU, Memphis and Central Florida in the same numbers they did for West Virginia, Pitt and Syracuse. And what about next year when Louisville and Rutgers are gone, replaced by East Carolina, Tulane and Tulsa?
Consider that in 2004 - the Bearcats’ final season in Conference USA - they averaged only 21,255 fans for five home games against Miami (Ohio), UAB, Memphis, Texas Christian and South Florida.
But UC is betting that filling a 40,000-seat stadium and selling all those premium seats won’t be a problem because this is a much better football program than the one that had so much trouble drawing fans in C-USA.
There’s no question that UC has put together an impressive resume in recent years. The Bearcats won or shared four of the last five Big East championships and have won 65 games over the last six years, the most among the current members of the AAC. They are one of only four BCS programs to have won at least 10 games in five of the past six seasons, joining Alabama, Oklahoma and Oregon.
“You’ve got to remember that this school has been one of the winningest college football teams in the last five years,” Tuberville said. “Not much happened before that and there’s not a great tradition of winning like this, but still, that’s hard to do. The people before us have done a lot of good things and we just want to continue that.”
The school had no choice but to invest in the stadium, athletic director Whit Babcock said, if it wanted the football program – and the entire athletic department – to continue to grow. He’s convinced UC is on the right track, although he concedes there is an element of risk involved.
“Anytime you have a big vision…I think there’s a little bit of risk,” Babcock said, “but we tried to mitigate it. The other side of that was we could have said, ‘Well, that didn’t really work out. We better just stay status quo.’ To me, that’s a bigger risk, not financially, but from a morale standpoint or a giving-up standpoint.”
To make it all work, UC must dominate its opponents in the AAC and play enough quality non-conference opponents at home to keep casual fans – and UC students - interested. That’s Tuberville’s charge as he takes over the program.
“It puts even more pressure on you to win,” Babcock said. “When you have a high-achieving program that people are excited about and the fans are behind it, I think our fans will show up for that. We’ve got to work real hard on our non-conference scheduling to bring some different options in here to spruce up our schedule a little bit. We’ve got to win and we’ve got to make sure our opponents in non-conference games are as attractive as possible.”
Having coached in the SEC and the Big 12, Tuberville knows about the benefits of big-time college football. He sees only positives emerging from the stadium renovation and is eager to see the finished product in 2015.
“By this time next year, we’ll be able to see a lot of things in that stadium that are really going to be beneficial to the future of athletics at the University of Cincinnati,” Tuberville said. “And it’s really going to help the city.
“I don’t think the city really understands what a university can bring when they have a top-notch athletic program year in and year out. They’ve had one, but it hasn’t been consistent. It brings a lot of revenue. It brings a lot of people. It’s obvious that what we need to do is redo that stadium and make it the best it can be and plans are on the way. I don’t think the city really has a clue what’s on the horizon as this thing continues to grow like we think it can grow.”
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130828/SPT0101/308280119/Koch-UC-must-dominate-AAC-fans-interest
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - bearcatdp - 08-28-2013 08:02 PM
New Cincinnati.com Headline: Bill Koch Must Write an Article With a Negative Slant About UC Football
This is why I prefer Groeschen's articles over Koch's...he gives info about UC football and writes them for UC followers (not necessarily fans). Koch seems to be writing them for Big 10 and SEC fans. Though it can be argued that Koch is just telling it like it is, go to any other college football town and count the number of articles written about a team that have a negative slant. If the coach hasn't gone 3-20 in his first 3 years, I bet it is only a handful and it is because of arrests or academic issues or something like that. And he's one of UC's beat writers...not an investigative journalist. Did I mention he's one of the beat writers? Yes, many of the teams that UC will be playing next year will be teams from C-USA...but UC's program (yes, now it is a program not just a team) is much better than then. This Apple is much redder than that Orange is orange. He is already writing UC fans off (and yes, the students) as fair weather fans. Unfortunately, UC has to sell it's own program and 1/2 of the local paper's beat writers can't help but add a negative slant to every piece of editorial...ahem, I mean reporting written about the program. Imagine the articles he'd write if he actually received his degree from an SEC or Big 10 school and not UC.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - SuperFlyBCat - 08-28-2013 08:13 PM
Pitt a conference rival doesn't sell out, and Purdue does this year. Go figure. Pitt and Cuse never moved the needle that much here.
Don't know why. ACC teams would not either. Big Ten (1.5 football National titles in 43 years) Big 12 and SEC different story.
Tapping younger fan base is all important, need some tailgating space also.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - CliftonAve - 08-28-2013 08:48 PM
(08-28-2013 08:13 PM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote: Pitt a conference rival doesn't sell out, and Purdue does this year. Go figure. Pitt and Cuse never moved the needle that much here.
Don't know why. ACC teams would not either. Big Ten (1.5 football National titles in 43 years) Big 12 and SEC different story.
Tapping younger fan base is all important, need some tailgating space also.
While we did not sell out Pitt, it was pretty darn close. I am going to miss the Pitt games. Syracuse did not move the needle here because they have been absolute garbage the past decade save for 1-2 seasons. The fact that they are in the ACC has all to do with their basketball and the fact they are in NY.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - SuperFlyBCat - 08-28-2013 09:43 PM
Oh no Mr. Bill it is the Bearcats, guy is a clown.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - bearcatlawjd - 08-28-2013 09:44 PM
The only Big East schools that moved the needle here were Louisville and WVU. Pitt, Rutgers, USF, Syracuse, and UConn were roughly equal depending on the UC record, the opponents record, and the weather conditions for the game.
Fans should be smart enough to realize that SMU, Houston, UCF, ECU, Navy, and Tulsa are just as good as the majority of the schools that left to the ACC.
Regional Big Ten games are going to huge draw if we can get them.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - BearcatBeta - 08-28-2013 10:25 PM
UC has finally landed a high-powered coach at a time when it no longer has a high-powered conference for him to coach in.
Bill
UC was looking for a high powered coach? But couldn't
successfully land him? Saban said no? How about, UC made some very
good choices for HC who have gone on to lead the VERY top tier of
College Football Programs?? SPARTY, ND and now Tennessee, Bill.
Perhaps the hiring philosophy was to bring in an up and coming Coach
with HC experience. Was that philosophy flawed? Not at the prices UC
paid them.
If TT is a high powered Coach to accept your premise, don't you think
that TT has come with his eyes wide open? Conference TBD was
enough to get him here.
Please stick to Basketball Bill. Take a rest until BB season starts.
Take a BB strategy, Defense, Offense 101 so u know WTF u are talking about, other than the dumb attendence figure.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - cinbinsportsfan - 08-28-2013 10:31 PM
Not Koch's biggest fan, but see nothing wrong with the article.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - BearcatBeta - 08-28-2013 10:43 PM
Not a Bill Crotch fan of any size. "Finally" as in trying for years to find a high powered Coach. Wasn't Kelly
and his offense HIGH POWERED?
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - Eastside_J - 08-28-2013 11:25 PM
(08-28-2013 10:43 PM)BearcatBeta Wrote: Not a Bill Crotch fan of any size. "Finally" as in trying for years to find a high powered Coach. Wasn't Kelly
and his offense HIGH POWERED?
I think he means in terms of a "name" coach.
We have been taking up and comers from various programs like, well, lets see there's Central Michigan and uhh, Central Michigan
worked well too, right? I think the difference is that Whit B. thought it was time to get a guy who had more of a pedigreed track record and national name recognition.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - Mopper - 08-29-2013 01:40 AM
The problem with this article is the same problem I have with every Bill Koch article. He is not paid to provide his opinion like he was before, and yet he can not resist giving his opinion, even when there is no place for it. Him speculating on the effect the new conference will have on attendance three or four years down the road when Tubs no longer has that new car smell is pointless in the best of times. Taking a stab at it three days before the start of the season when there are literally dozens of stories that could be told just as easily is a waste of time. Several other writers, nationally and tom Groeschen as well, have taken a crack at the "cincinnati can dominate AAC" angle and done it better than Koch. Basically any national writer can do a better job crafting a story on UC than Koch can. Its not that he can't write or report, his piece on Nippert a while back was great. But he can't do that every time out, because he thinks he is better than the job that he is paid to do, and he can't keep his contempt for the job to himself. Thats why he comes across as a miserable and bitter old man most every time he puts pen to paper.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - icehole3 - 08-29-2013 04:45 AM
I don't get the must dominate title, that's like saying the Bengals must win the Super bowl. Show some professionalism and be realistic. There's a good chance to win the conference but must dominate and they have a 1st year coach is asking a little bit to much, these kids deserve some time to learn a whole different system than the one they just came out of. Geez
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - indycat - 08-29-2013 06:42 AM
Koch's facts are generally correct but he's masterful at creating a narrative that suggests the glass is always half empty. In that respect, he's like lots of Cincinnati fans.
Is there potential for decline in the next few years? Sure. Look at how some of the mighty with great resources have fallen. For UC, the world has changed though; it's not C-USA of the nineties. We have the highest profile coach in program history; students standing in line for tickets and packing the stadium. We now have some history--top 25 finishes, BCS bowls, an undefeated season, conference championships and bowl wins over BCS opponents. The new Nippert will be a showplace and it will be fashionable to see UC play (and be seen at the stadium in a suite or loge seats). An invite to a P5 will come.
Bill, the glass is half full and the best days are ahead. Can I prove that? No. Can you prove your alternate narrative? Don't think so.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - nachoman91 - 08-29-2013 08:07 AM
(08-29-2013 06:42 AM)indycat Wrote: Koch's facts are generally correct but he's masterful at creating a narrative that suggests the glass is always half empty.
Well said.
How about this narrative.
1. UC just sold out a game against a bad B1G team.
2. UC has approval for an $80+M stadium renovation.
3. The bulk of the premium seating in the renovated seating has already been sold showing great community support for UC football.
4. The path to a BCS bowl may have actually just gotten easier for UC in this new conference.
5. UC has the potential to be the leader of this new conference. Being king of the AAC is better than being the doormat of the Big12 (certainly not saying UC would be a doormat, just that there's potential for that so why not spin it positively)
6. UC hired a big name proven winner as its football coach. Whether or not he succeeds is yet to be determined but right now its a positive aspect.
7. The UC campus as a whole has and continues to have a dramatic makeover creating a great campus environment.
8. UC is setting record enrollment which can only have a positive affect on athletic support.
There's alot of good things going on right now despite not being in a P5 conference.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - JackieTreehorn - 08-29-2013 08:14 AM
(08-29-2013 08:07 AM)nachoman91 Wrote:(08-29-2013 06:42 AM)indycat Wrote: Koch's facts are generally correct but he's masterful at creating a narrative that suggests the glass is always half empty.
Well said.
How about this narrative.
1. UC just sold out a game against a bad B1G team.
2. UC has approval for an $80+M stadium renovation.
3. The bulk of the premium seating in the renovated seating has already been sold showing great community support for UC football.
4. The path to a BCS bowl may have actually just gotten easier for UC in this new conference.
5. UC has the potential to be the leader of this new conference. Being king of the AAC is better than being the doormat of the Big12 (certainly not saying UC would be a doormat, just that there's potential for that so why not spin it positively)
6. UC hired a big name proven winner as its football coach. Whether or not he succeeds is yet to be determined but right now its a positive aspect.
7. The UC campus as a whole has and continues to have a dramatic makeover creating a great campus environment.
8. UC is setting record enrollment which can only have a positive affect on athletic support.
There's alot of good things going on right now despite not being in a P5 conference.
All great points. I remember Whit saying recently about how top flight firms were vying for the job of doing the Nippert renovation because it's such good pr to be associated with the world know architecture that we have on main campus. Ever notice on TV that you never see Lousyville's campus?
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - Bruce Monnin - 08-29-2013 08:23 AM
That's because Louisville is a community college academics-wise.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - Marcus - 08-29-2013 08:52 AM
(08-29-2013 01:40 AM)Mopper Wrote: The problem with this article is the same problem I have with every Bill Koch article. He is not paid to provide his opinion like he was before, and yet he can not resist giving his opinion, even when there is no place for it. Thats why he comes across as a miserable and bitter old man most every time he puts pen to paper.
X1000. He has become just an awful journalist because of this very reason. He thinks he's still writing editorials when in fact his job is supposed to be a beat writer.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - indycat - 08-29-2013 09:08 AM
(08-29-2013 08:14 AM)JackieTreehorn Wrote:(08-29-2013 08:07 AM)nachoman91 Wrote:(08-29-2013 06:42 AM)indycat Wrote: Koch's facts are generally correct but he's masterful at creating a narrative that suggests the glass is always half empty.
Well said.
How about this narrative.
1. UC just sold out a game against a bad B1G team.
2. UC has approval for an $80+M stadium renovation.
3. The bulk of the premium seating in the renovated seating has already been sold showing great community support for UC football.
4. The path to a BCS bowl may have actually just gotten easier for UC in this new conference.
5. UC has the potential to be the leader of this new conference. Being king of the AAC is better than being the doormat of the Big12 (certainly not saying UC would be a doormat, just that there's potential for that so why not spin it positively)
6. UC hired a big name proven winner as its football coach. Whether or not he succeeds is yet to be determined but right now its a positive aspect.
7. The UC campus as a whole has and continues to have a dramatic makeover creating a great campus environment.
8. UC is setting record enrollment which can only have a positive affect on athletic support.
There's alot of good things going on right now despite not being in a P5 conference.
All great points. I remember Whit saying recently about how top flight firms were vying for the job of doing the Nippert renovation because it's such good pr to be associated with the world know architecture that we have on main campus. Ever notice on TV that you never see Lousyville's campus?
In the interest of full disclosure, it's been several years since I set foot on Louisville's campus. That said, it was mostly a nondescript collection of bland state university buildings typical of the 60s/70s campus construction boom. I would compare the setting to moving UC down into the Mill Creek Valley--flat, interstate nearby and a more industrial feel.
While we all admire what UofL has done with their athletic program, their academics and campus can't compare with UC. Several years ago Mick Cronin was asked to compare recruiting for UC and UofL and he said the fact that UC is uptown, has a world-class campus and a real university community were all major strengths.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - BearcatsUC - 08-29-2013 09:52 AM
(08-28-2013 11:25 PM)Eastside_J Wrote:(08-28-2013 10:43 PM)BearcatBeta Wrote: Not a Bill Crotch fan of any size. "Finally" as in trying for years to find a high powered Coach. Wasn't Kelly
and his offense HIGH POWERED?
I think he means in terms of a "name" coach.
We have been taking up and comers from various programs like, well, lets see there's Central Michigan and uhh, Central Michigan
worked well too, right? I think the difference is that Whit B. thought it was time to get a guy who had more of a pedigreed track record and national name recognition.
But the word "finally" implies that getting a big-name coach has been UC's mission all along but could not fulfill it until now. While I don't have the negative feelings others have towards Koch, the word crafting here paints an inaccurate picture.
As others have mentioned, UC had a high-powered coach in Kelly, and has had the fortunate string of very, very good coaches who went on to bigger things. Only since Jones left did UC feel the need to nab a big-name coach...and they were successful.
So on this point, I think Koch is portraying the situation in an unnecessarily negative light.
RE: Koch: UC must dominate AAC, fans' interest - rath v2.0 - 08-29-2013 10:59 AM
As far as the premise that UC must do well - I agree. There is little margin of error this year. Fair or not, a mid pack finish in this conference with what is at stake would be a killer.