(12-27-2013 09:49 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote: Arguing over bowl ticket sales is stupid, IMO. Tickets sold through the school means nothing because of aftermarket distributors like Stub Hub. Even so, ACC teams seem to be held to a different standard.
For example, Minnesota (B1G) has reportedly only sold 3,375 tickets to the Texas Bowl vs. Syracuse. Minnesota is closer to Texas than Syracuse, but who do you think will be accused of "not traveling well"?
LSU (SEC) at last check has only sold about 6,000 tickets to the Outback Bowl. You know, the bowl that thinks they are too good for the ACC and so only invite SEC vs. B1G match-ups?
There are published reports that Clemson is struggling to sell Orange Bowl tickets (only 7,500) while there are other reports which state the school has sold north of 10,000 tickets. Who do you believe?
Baylor & UCF have been dragged through the mud for poor Fiesta Bowl sales, yet I just read a report that says Baylor returned 5,000 of 17,500 tickets - in other words, they sold 12,500! How is that bad?
The whole thing just seems like a bunch of propaganda designed to cut down the Big 12 and especially the ACC as being a bad football conference... when the data seems to indicate that ACC teams are doing as well or better than many SEC and B1G teams!
/RANT
I agree it's pretty dumb to even discuss it any more. The days of "travelling schools" bringing 30k+ people to a bowl game every year are a thing of the past or will be soon.
Some are fading faster than others, but it's just a leading edge of a trend against live attendance that is pretty much not going away.
I firmly believe in twenty years 60-70k crowds in college football are going to be a big crowds, even in SEC land.
The great TVs are a part of that, but there's a lot more to it. The colleges sold their soul for TV money, but everything they've given up in exchange to TV has made attendance less appealing.
- Too many time outs for TV
- Too many other games on TV that you miss when you go to a game
- Undesirable game times for TV
- Not scheduling games until six days before the game
I'm sorry, once you start scheduling noon games in late August, early September in Florida, Georgia, etc, you give a lot of reason for people to skip games.
When you don't schedule a game until six days before kickoff, you make it impossible for many people to buy tickets months in advance, which means there are months for other commitments to come up. I've got kids and a five hour drive to FSU games. I can not/will not do a 7pm game to see Nevada and pay a two night minimum for a hotel. I will do a 3:30 game and drive home after. But I can't buy a ticket in June and make family plans to go...I have to wait until 12 days before the game to decide. If something else comes up for that weekend, you end up taking it, only because you can't turn it down in just the hopes you are going to the game.
They just give people more and more reasons to reconsider going to the game, and once you start skipping games, and see how much other football you get to watch, and save hundreds if not $1000 in the process, it just makes it easier to skip.
It's not really a reversible trend I don't think, and live attendance, bowl games and otherwise, is just not going to hold.