The coach makes a good argument. They only get 15 full sessions and not only do they not make money off the Spring game, nothing gets done in terms of better preparing the team for Fall and they risk injuries. The administration is organizing other events for fans to interact with the program.

Pitt cancels 2014 Spring game

Quote:"The thought behind [the decision], honestly, is to get one more good work day out of them," Chryst explained, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Most, if not every spring game I've been a part of, you really end up sacrificing a lot. It sounds crazy, but just being locked into a place, bad weather. ... You're kind of locked into that day. These days are really valuable for us."

The school will organize new opportunities for fan interaction this spring in place of the spring game. Panthers fans can expect details on those events in the coming weeks.

"It's a little bit selfish doing what's best for the program," Chryst said. "You appreciate [the fans]. You don't want it to come off as not being appreciative. It's not the intent. But there is real conviction that for this group of guys, the guys in the building ... you feel really good that this is the right thing. You hope the people appreciate that."

(03-13-2014 08:31 PM)blazr Wrote:  The coach makes a good argument. They only get 15 full sessions and not only do they not make money off the Spring game, nothing gets done in terms of better preparing the team for Fall and they risk injuries. The administration is organizing other events for fans to interact with the program.

Pitt cancels 2014 Spring game

Quote:"The thought behind [the decision], honestly, is to get one more good work day out of them," Chryst explained, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Most, if not every spring game I've been a part of, you really end up sacrificing a lot. It sounds crazy, but just being locked into a place, bad weather. ... You're kind of locked into that day. These days are really valuable for us."

The school will organize new opportunities for fan interaction this spring in place of the spring game. Panthers fans can expect details on those events in the coming weeks.

"It's a little bit selfish doing what's best for the program," Chryst said. "You appreciate [the fans]. You don't want it to come off as not being appreciative. It's not the intent. But there is real conviction that for this group of guys, the guys in the building ... you feel really good that this is the right thing. You hope the people appreciate that."

Good thinking - college football is not for the alumni and fans it is a big business and all about the $ money.

Marshall makes a couple hundred thousand off its spring game. That amount of money doesn't mean much to a P5 school, but it's important to a school like ours. It's the biggest fundraiser of the year for the QB Club. The QB Club spends all it's funds to buy things specifically for the football program, augment recruiting budgets, provide bonus money to assistant coaches, etc.

(03-13-2014 09:45 PM)banker Wrote:  Marshall makes a couple hundred thousand off its spring game. That amount of money doesn't mean much to a P5 school, but it's important to a school like ours. It's the biggest fundraiser of the year for the QB Club. The QB Club spends all it's funds to buy things specifically for the football program, augment recruiting budgets, provide bonus money to assistant coaches, etc.

You sure? I know Auburn and Alabama pull 80k+ for their games and barely break even. Maybe it's the biggest opportunity for your QB Club to directly hit up donors...

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(03-13-2014 10:04 PM)blazr Wrote:  

(03-13-2014 09:45 PM)banker Wrote:  Marshall makes a couple hundred thousand off its spring game. That amount of money doesn't mean much to a P5 school, but it's important to a school like ours. It's the biggest fundraiser of the year for the QB Club. The QB Club spends all it's funds to buy things specifically for the football program, augment recruiting budgets, provide bonus money to assistant coaches, etc.

You sure? I know Auburn and Alabama pull 80k+ for their games and barely break even. Maybe it's the biggest opportunity for your QB Club to directly hit up donors...

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I find that hard to believe...

(03-13-2014 10:05 PM)Ole Blue Wrote:  

(03-13-2014 10:04 PM)blazr Wrote:  

(03-13-2014 09:45 PM)banker Wrote:  Marshall makes a couple hundred thousand off its spring game. That amount of money doesn't mean much to a P5 school, but it's important to a school like ours. It's the biggest fundraiser of the year for the QB Club. The QB Club spends all it's funds to buy things specifically for the football program, augment recruiting budgets, provide bonus money to assistant coaches, etc.

You sure? I know Auburn and Alabama pull 80k+ for their games and barely break even. Maybe it's the biggest opportunity for your QB Club to directly hit up donors...

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I find that hard to believe...

They don't charge admission (or minimal admission for better seats...no extra booster club donation or even normal face value) and still have to provide full staffing of a typical gameday.

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Some programs know how to make money on it, and some don't. If you have a good baseball program, you schedule the Spring game in coordination with a baseball home game and extend it into an entire weekend of fun.

For our spring game tickets are $10 and parking passes to the west lot are $20. The west lot, the one right in front of the stadium, is full of tailgaters for the spring game, not much different than the regular season.

They actually make more than that if you consider the several sponsorships we have for the game.

(03-13-2014 09:23 PM)winston70 Wrote:  Good thinking - college football is not for the alumni and fans it is a big business and all about the $ money.

I was thinking along those lines. The Spring game is a chance for the university community to come and see the team one last time before the long summer break.

Pitt is turning the whole thing into an NFL-type training camp. Where's the pomp and circumstance Pitt?

Best thing about our spring game is that it usually falls on the same day as Wing Fling - an all you can eat outdoor wing festival fundraiser.