(05-17-2016 12:24 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  Yes, exactly. I happen to know other companies who were totally disrespected back at that time, and those bridges were forever burned. Scott Carter may have been on the team back then, but I'm sure he wasn't old enough to be cognizant of those mistakes. It's just so very sad to see this way of thinking coming around again.

http://vcuathletics.com/tickets/MBB/MBBSingleGameHome <- Check the prices for the different games.

It seems we have some fans on this board who want high school level prices with D1 power 5 results. This athletic department is finally trying to do things like other successful programs.

I just don't get the complaining. If you are and have been a loyal fan (AKA season ticket holder) then you don't have to worry about paying any extra for the UT game. It will be the casual fan or UT fan who is going to have to pay a little more to see this particular game.

RodShaw2: "Well my season tickets went up $25 dollars so actually we do seem to be paying for that game."

Again.......I don't care what other programs are doing. I'm an idealist, and this is simply the wrong way to build a fan base for the long term.
And if indeed the women's tickets have gone up 50%, then that further proves, as Rod put it, "price-gouging". Disgusting. You've got a TREMENDOUS opportunity to bring in new fans with the addition of the Marosites twins, and yet you're holding up the "HALT" signal to some of those Carter Countians who honestly can't afford that kind of price point for games. You first need to build a bigger fan base, THEN REWARD that fan base. Winning, and then financial success will surely follow.

One would have to search long and hard to find as loyal and faithful an ETSU fan as myself, for as long as I have been one. My history of posting and obvious knowledge of the past are testament to that. So I'm saying that if you're pissing me off, you've had to work pretty hard to do it.

(05-17-2016 01:10 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  Again.......I don't care what other programs are doing. I'm an idealist, and this is simply the wrong way to build a fan base for the long term.
And if indeed the women's tickets have gone up 50%, then that further proves, as Rod put it, "price-gouging". Disgusting. You've got a TREMENDOUS opportunity to bring in new fans with the addition of the Marosites twins, and yet you're holding up the "HALT" signal to some of those Carter Countians who honestly can't afford that kind of price point for games. You first need to build a bigger fan base, THEN REWARD that fan base. Winning, and then financial success will surely follow.

One would have to search long and hard to find as loyal and faithful an ETSU fan as myself, for as long as I have been one. My history of posting and obvious knowledge of the past are testament to that. So I'm saying that if you're pissing me off, you've had to work pretty hard to do it.

That's just a garage sale mentality. You will not build a fan base by just giving away tickets. It takes marketing, promotion and most of all WINNING at consistent, high levels to build a true fan base.

Pricing does not hold casual fans back from going to ETSU games.

(05-17-2016 01:39 PM)brock20 Wrote:  Pricing does not hold casual fans back from going to ETSU games.

Respectfully, yes it does. I know this as gospel fact.
I can't even believe someone would think otherwise. Just a few posts ago I thought you were arguing *in favor* of price elasticity. Now you say it doesn't exist?

(05-17-2016 01:50 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  Respectfully, yes it does. I know this as gospel fact.
I can't even believe someone would think otherwise. Just a few posts ago I thought you were arguing *in favor* of price elasticity. Now you say it doesn't exist?

Agree to disagree then. I'm not saying there are not a handful of people who can't afford tickets but want to go but its not enough to consider. If ETSU would have charged $5 for a single game ticket last year instead of $15 you would not have seen much of a difference in attendance. That $10 difference does not matter to the casual sports fan.

If free tickets is all that is needed for people to show up, why are there not more students at the games?

Does anyone think the hike in ticket prices is due to the expanded student section for the UT game leading to less seats available for sale.

Winning and giving away tickets is a great way to build a fanbase. It also leaves a damn bit of money on the table that supports future winning. All's well that wins well.

Everybody finished whining yet?? Just remember, steak costs more than hamburger.

(05-17-2016 03:41 PM)Just Buc Wrote:  Everybody finished whining yet?? Just remember, steak costs more than hamburger.

We are talking about Tennessee and looking at their roster next year they sure aren't going to be steak. That is the ONE game they are jacking the price up so weren't talking about ETSU.

I personally don't have an issue with the ticket prices.

This should sum up this disscusion. You raise a kid, you nuture them, you spend a lot of money on their well being, only to see your ex's boyfriend come into the picture. Then your kid starts calling him Daddy.

(05-17-2016 06:18 PM)bucs77 Wrote:  I personally don't have an issue with the ticket prices.

Make sure you understand the issue I've raised. It's not the absolute ticket prices - it's the fact that they've decided to profiteer just because the Awringe are coming to town. They're taking advantage of the situation in a way that punishes the most loyal fans. My objection has *nothing* to do with the absolute ticket prices.


Let me propose something I would have been ok with......

If they had made it known, by all reasonable means necessary (letters, on the website, media, etc., etc.) that they had decided that they had been under-pricing their ticket structure as a rule; that they had decided (and they could lay out the reasons) that their "product" (and I hate that term when used with sports) was worth more; that they were trying to "move to the next level" (or however they wanted to parse that); that they were thankful for all the past support of their fans; and that now they believed a "new era" had dawned at ETSU that justified a higher price point for ALL their tickets -- then I could live with that philosophy -- assuming they still charged the same for the UT tickets. If they raised season ticket prices 20-30%, NOT because of the UT game, but just "because we're (or "the experience is") worth it", and that was going to be the new price point going forward, then that would have been acceptable. (And that would have also had to have been the logic behind the increase in women's ticket prices.)

I don't feel totally comfortable even suggesting that scenario, but that would have been a much more tolerable approach than what they've done.

But.....to use the argument of "whatever-the-market-will-bear", or "flex pricing" (that one's funny), or "dynamic pricing", is just punishing the loyal, and pure profiteering.

And as Rod clearly made the point, if UT is going to be $25-35, then Miligan, UVa-Wise, and Tusculum should be about $3-$5. The fact that they apparently *don't* see it that way is even further evidence of simply taking advantage of the situation.

This is a classic textbook case of situational ethics. Heck, apparently some of you think that's an ok way to live life, perhaps having been inured to the ways of the world these days, and abandoning absolute right and wrong. (And I'm not making any personal judgements or attacks here; that's just a general commentary on accepting this way of thinking and doing business.)

I just see it as simple supply and demand, that's it. High demand for tickets, low supply, therefore higher pricing. I'm OK with that and you are too.

You don't send part of the insurance money you receive back because you're an MD and make more than a PhD doctor teaching over at ETSU do you? Maybe that's situational ethics then if you don't. They have a doctorate too, why shouldn't you both make the same money?? Both went to the same amount of schooling, both do important work, so why such the huge discrepancy in salary?

(05-18-2016 04:45 AM)Efan Wrote:  I just see it as simple supply and demand, that's it. High demand for tickets, low supply, therefore higher pricing. I'm OK with that and you are too.

You don't send part of the insurance money you receive back because you're an MD and make more than a PhD doctor teaching over at ETSU do you? Maybe that's situational ethics then if you don't. They have a doctorate too, why shouldn't you both make the same money?? Both went to the same amount of schooling, both do important work, so why such the huge discrepancy in salary?

I am done with the debate, don't care but that was a really weak analogy, for many reasons, but mainly way to simplistic.


.

I personally brought this up to Stansbury when he was was AD. I let it be known to him that paying regular prices for anything other than a D1 school is ridiculous. I also had issues with the senior and kids discount pricing leaving a portion of us to subsidize the rest. Even now as I approach senior status I don't expect to pay four or five dollars less than the thirty year old next to me. The older folks are usually the ones with all the money. Just my ''2 cents''......sorry, I meant just my ''1 cent'' cause my hair's gray.

I have no problem with the ticket prices. For years the university gave away tons of freebies and low cost tickets and where did that get them, nowhere.

This board is constantly gripping about facilities, the lousy sound system, no scoreboards, poor home schedules, old broken seats, etc. Finally these things are getting done, why because money is finally becoming available through partnerships with JC, students fees, donations and ticket sales. Why are these things happening, because the current administration is running the university like a business rather than a hobby.

As I have said before, the university is not forcing anyone to buy a ticket.

(05-18-2016 07:24 AM)buc73 Wrote:  I have no problem with the ticket prices. For years the university gave away tons of freebies and low cost tickets and where did that get them, nowhere.

This board is constantly gripping about facilities, the lousy sound system, no scoreboards, poor home schedules, old broken seats, etc. Finally these things are getting done, why because money is finally becoming available through partnerships with JC, students fees, donations and ticket sales. Why are these things happening, because the current administration is running the university like a business rather than a hobby.

As I have said before, the university is not forcing anyone to buy a ticket.

Bingo.

(05-18-2016 07:24 AM)buc73 Wrote:  I have no problem with the ticket prices. For years the university gave away tons of freebies and low cost tickets and where did that get them, nowhere.

This board is constantly gripping about facilities, the lousy sound system, no scoreboards, poor home schedules, old broken seats, etc. Finally these things are getting done, why because money is finally becoming available through partnerships with JC, students fees, donations and ticket sales. Why are these things happening, because the current administration is running the university like a business rather than a hobby.

As I have said before, the university is not forcing anyone to buy a ticket.

+1

(05-18-2016 08:09 AM)TheShadow Wrote:  

(05-18-2016 07:24 AM)buc73 Wrote:  I have no problem with the ticket prices. For years the university gave away tons of freebies and low cost tickets and where did that get them, nowhere.

This board is constantly gripping about facilities, the lousy sound system, no scoreboards, poor home schedules, old broken seats, etc. Finally these things are getting done, why because money is finally becoming available through partnerships with JC, students fees, donations and ticket sales. Why are these things happening, because the current administration is running the university like a business rather than a hobby.

As I have said before, the university is not forcing anyone to buy a ticket.

+1

That's how the University improves the experience. If nobody was bitching, we'd still be watching another Murry Bartow led team in the dome.

Dare I say we see the day when tickets are being scalped outside a sold out Freedom Hall?