I know that you all know the biggest enemy to our MAC teams are a combination of the press and the Big Ten...Here in Pittsburgh Pitt produced as much talent as the Florida teams fro the mid seventies to the mid eighties..after foge erased the program we fell behind Jo pa and to this day the press downplays Pitt and lifts PSU on a pedastool...If you complain they make it sound like you are belly aching...IT can be no coincidence that the some of the MAC worst attendented teams are in areas that have press that obsess over the "local" Big ten team...(Cleveland/Akron/Canton) EMU (Right next to the bighouse) and Ball State (Notre Dame Quasi Big Ten)
My Question is how do you market to the Press to promote the MAC schools? and to get the alumni from these fairly large universities not to buy in to the Big Ten...I think all the marketing/advertisement in the world cannot battle the negative press...I see this with Pitt, the only two ways is to have the "Urban Meyer effects" from 2-9 to 10-1 records or have the Press A. Cover the MAC B. not start off the broadcast with a snide remark about attendance complete with showing the scattered crowd...If the press gave a respectable report alot of "casual" alumni and fans would care I believe...How do you ge the media to show there is life other than the boring Big Ten...Someone give me words of encouragement?
Huh? The press ate up the "cinderalla" story of the MAC last year.
I'd say the MAC got most of the non-BCS coverage last year. BG got game day.
I'm not following your argument.
I am in full agreement that the Press is the MAC's worst enemy.
I believe you have to start by contacting every media outlet that will listen, and make your strongest, friendliest pitch to get more coverage. More air time, more column inches, whatever. It may require give-and-take. Maybe a school has to buy some advertising space. Not a bad thing, just negotiate to get the most bang for your buck.
And in conjunction, you work w/ your current alumni to get them to write letters, ask for more coverage, attend games and boycott when necessary.
You also work w/ current students, get them interested in games. Get attendance up. Get the message repeated, through the campus paper and RA's, that, "This is important to you. The more your school is recognized nationally, the better reputation your school has and the better chance you have at jobs. Besides, it's cheap entertainment and keeps you out of trouble!"
Finally, and this is more delicate, work w/ future students. Take out positive ads in HS newspapers. Create the impression that when they enroll at your school, the games will be a worthwhile event. I had friends who didn't give a damn about football, but they bought their season tix to tOAMU games. I'll bet prospective UNC students get jazzed about bball, whether they like much at all.
Get that impression out early, seed the incoming students, then water it w/ RA comments and positive campus newspaper stories. And then be patient and persistent. The effects will begin immediately, and while maybe not large, they will grow w/ each successive class.
We've been discussing this exact stuff on the internet for 10+ years now. Imagine if every MAC school had started this type of thing a decade ago.
Good Point Knight Time! I guess what I was trying to articulate is it did take a herculean effort to get the exposure...But more of that was National...Local media still seems slow to react...I do not know how it is in Orlando but I doubt you guys get the same press as State or the Gators...Even though you are D-1 and have a decent program Orlando is your city and you stilll may get the second page to state or the gators... also bottom dwellers in the Big Ten I.E. (Indiana,NW) still get more in attendance not so much because of the school size but because the Local Media does not dig the programs into a grave like they do a "bad" MAC school IMO...but of course if a program wins normally fans will come and that is the ultimate exposure, but it would help if Local promoters would get the word out in a less distorted perspective.
Actually bottom dweller Big 10 schools get good attendence numbers because the opposing teams fans buy up all thier seats. But I agree that the media could do a better job of covering MAC football.
IKESHALLRETURN Wrote:Good Point Knight Time! I guess what I was trying to articulate is it did take a herculean effort to get the exposure...But more of that was National...Local media still seems slow to react...I do not know how it is in Orlando but I doubt you guys get the same press as State or the Gators...Even though you are D-1 and have a decent program Orlando is your city and you stilll may get the second page to state or the gators... also bottom dwellers in the Big Ten I.E. (Indiana,NW) still get more in attendance not so much because of the school size but because the Local Media does not dig the programs into a grave like they do a "bad" MAC school IMO...but of course if a program wins normally fans will come and that is the ultimate exposure, but it would help if Local promoters would get the word out in a less distorted perspective.
In Orlando and most of the East Coast in the Central Florida area, we get really good press. Lately we've been getting write up after write up from numerous papers in Florida, out of state papers, and recently an article from ESPN.
At the end of August ESPN is running a feature piece on sportscenter about O'Leary and UCF itself. It should be good.
So, in Orlando we get good coverage, very comprabaly to UF or FSU.
If every paper in a MAC area gave the MAC schools the coverage you see in the Orlando Sentinel, the MAC would be in better shape. I know some UCF folks don't like some of the individual reporters there, but I sometimes found better coverage of midwest MAC schools by looking at the Sentinel.
The Cleveland and Detroit papers are really weak, from what I've seen. Check out the MAC BEAT on the MAC website and a good percentage of the articles posted are from Orlando and West Virginia papers.
After all the major national press the league got, many of the local papers still haven't got a clue.
I will say the Chicago Sun-Times and Trib have kicked up their NIU coverage, but the league needs stronger local voices.
Good points all around. The "get 'em rooting for you when they're still in h.s." is a great concept in particular.
We changed a lot of minds around the country last year as a conference. Moreover, I think another big difference is the fact that the college admission game is so much more competitive now than it was even ten years ago. MAC schools have improved as academic institutions across the board, so you get more students coming to campus with the MAC school as a first choice (in BSU's case, it is now just as difficult to get into Ball State as it is Bloomington or West Lafayette, and I know OU and Miami are considered great admits for most kids in the Midwest). These types of students take more pride in their universities in general and are less likely to spend time pining away for Gargantuan State U. That may seem like a small thing, but it makes a HUGE difference in perception.
Quote:The Cleveland and Detroit papers are really weak, from what I've seen.
I'll give you Detroit, but I think Elton Alexander and Bill Livingston at the Plain Dealer have given the MAC great coverage... they do a special section for the MAC hoops tourney every year, too.
The Trib and Sun-Times now have NIU beat writers, and NIU arguably got better coverage up here than U of I or NW last season.
I know both Rocket and Falcon fans will smack me around on this point, but I also think the Toledo Blade does a damn good job with the two MAC teams in their immediate coverage area.
The MAC is just one of those Leagues where something great has to happen in order to get noticed. You can't just throw the product out there and have "Joe college football fan" take an interest like they do for Oklahoma, USC or Florida State for example.
I'm not trying to bash anyone's school but up until UB joined the MAC I really did not think teams like Akron, Toledo, Kent St, EMU were Division 1A football teams?!? I'm a big sports fan and I had no clue what division they were in. I either thought they were 1-AA ?... or I obviously didn't put any thought into it! I will say that in the past few years the MAC has definitely created more awareness nationally and last year was awesome with all the upsets.
It's up to the school, the Local media and the nearest Large city to create awareness and get people excited. The Northeast and Midwest is chalk full of Pro Sports distractions that makes it more difficult for the MAC. People don't have any distractions in Austin, Norman (Oklahoma City), Tallahassee, etc...
Speaking of the media, Buffalo is actually doing something pretty cool today. Empire Sports Network simulcasts the "Howard Simon Show" from 3-6pm (Ch. 626 on Directv). Howard is doing the whole show today from UB Bulls practice and a good portion of the show will be devoted to interviewing coaches & players from the teams. Not just football, but hoops also. I don't know for sure But I think UB is probably paying him to do the show from campus since Howard is independent (he doesn't actually work for Empire). Anyway, not a bad idea since Empire is seen all over New York State and in 6 million satellite dish homes.
The press is neither our friend or enemy. It will follow news and report on what draws readers. History has shown when a MAC school or player makes news (good or bad), it gets covered. Ask Josh Cribbs. If the MAC shows it can sustain enough interest and fans, the coverage will follow. We should stop blaming other programs who have done this and do it for ourselves.
I think Dr. Torch has nailed it. Students are at the center of Kent State's attendance plan. And, yes, we should have started this long ago. At least we are starting now. There will be 25,000 students on the Kent campus this year. It will help so much if the Flashes have a decent season (which I think they will), but just in case:
1. All 3,500 new students will participate in a Get Your Gold On rally at Dix stadium as part of their orientation- sort of a pep rally.
2. The football team is participating in "move in" days for the dorms.
3. Raffles oriented to students at the games. In fact, students who attend all five home games are eligible for a drawing of a year's tuition and fees, worth about $12K. With approximately 60% of our students covering all or some of their college costs, this is a draw.
4. Incentives for student groups (e.g. Greeks, clubs) to get the most member participation to attend games.
5. A "Homecoming Extravaganza" with student oriented entertainment, competition between student groups and family festival type stuff for returning alumni outside the stadium before the game. The fact that we are playing the Herd for the last time in the forseeable future will also help.
The idea is to infuse into students early that Flashes football games are fun (or are intended to be :rolleyes: ). If the team cooperates and wins a few, including an upset or two, it will really help. The bottom line is that if we can't get our students to care, there is little case to be made blaming the press for our attendance issues.
I guess I am eating Crow on that issue for The knights
, it taste especially bad since you guys are leaving
I am really shocked by that...My guess is that is because Orlando is a "Newer" and growing area with many out of state persons who had no set affinity for the "Big Three"...Most of the MAC and here in Pittsburgh you have the old Staunch and Stale Media that rule dictate things...That is a positive for yu guys maybe we will see you in the Big East someday :wave:
Good Point Flash Fan...It is true we can't blame the media wholeheartedly ...but as I eluded to (at least here) I have had to sit through news braodcast were the anchorman Snidely says "in front of 20,000 fans in a 50,000 seat stadium Pitt played the national powerhouse of Ohio U blah blah blah"...They just could not say "Pitt vs. Ohio at Heinz the results were Blah Blah blah"...All that added reinforcement of the crowd size, of opponent who may be down at that time, and the way the game was negatively presented is absolutely uneccesary...IMO ... I think Media in places like Nebraska get up for a game against Southeast Tech as much as any other team...The talk shows around here call us "Paranoid" Pitt fans I guess I am in a way but you cannot totaly discount the way the Media, televison and Radio present your product...Let the pictures or record show the results don't always add a negative spin...How about some neutrality and equality
IKESHALLRETURN Wrote:I guess I am eating Crow on that issue for The knights , it taste especially bad since you guys are leaving I am really shocked by that...My guess is that is because Orlando is a "Newer" and growing area with many out of state persons who had no set affinity for the "Big Three"...Most of the MAC and here in Pittsburgh you have the old Staunch and Stale Media that rule dictate things...That is a positive for yu guys maybe we will see you in the Big East someday :wave:
Well, it hasn't ALWAYS been this good. But this year it's been much better since O'Leary is here. UCF also took major steps in advertising this year: websites, lifesize cutouts of Coach, billboards, tv ads, radio ads, big banners on campus, and probably the most important aspect is their HUGE partnership they entered into this year with the Orlando chamber of commerce.
The Orlando Chamber is huge, and already they've boosted season ticket sales. I think since Orlando is a very large city and all we have is the Magic, UCF will get good coverage. However, it will get MUCH better if we actually win a big game or 2 :)
First, the MAC has to present a product worthy of good media support. That is just now beginning to happen. The MAC has an opportunity to something special. Will they drop the ball?
Secondly, media people , as a rule, are nothing more than whores. They can be and should be marketed to (bought). Again, if first above is not there, even a whore will not go with you.
There are very few MAC schools with super pros in the media and PR field. Usually, that position is handed by office-type personnel or graduate assistant types. Businesses, the corporate world, will usually reconize the PR leader as very important. They will wine and dine the press and break down the phony "impartialiity school of journalism" view of themselves. The PR position needs to be intellectually superior to the media and that is not that difficult. Thank God for people like Terry Pluto.
The MAC should start with a PR specialist in the conference office. Then, insist on similar types at each school, after the upgrade of the programs top to BOTTOM. I am speaking of my school.
we just have to convert more eer fans :rofl:
Papa Lou BSU Wrote:Quote:The Cleveland and Detroit papers are really weak, from what I've seen.
I'll give you Detroit, but I think Elton Alexander and Bill Livingston at the Plain Dealer have given the MAC great coverage... they do a special section for the MAC hoops tourney every year, too.
The Cleveland PD does a nice job with the MAC Tourney, but nothing else. Elton Alexander knows nothing about the MAC as proven by his horrible preseason picks every year. The PD assigns one beat writer, Elton, to both Kent and Akron. He rarely, if ever, travels to away games. If both teams are home, only one may get coverage. On the road, you MIGHT get the AP paragraph and box score. Their day to day coverage blows. Plus, if you look at the PD website, Kent and Akron are lumped together on the "Local Colleges" page with DIII schools. A joke. :mad:
DrTorch Wrote:You also work w/ current students, get them interested in games. Get attendance up. Get the message repeated, through the campus paper and RA's, that, "This is important to you. The more your school is recognized nationally, the better reputation your school has and the better chance you have at jobs. Besides, it's cheap entertainment and keeps you out of trouble!"
I agree with this completely. When I was in Iraq with my national guard unit we had a guy that was studying pre-law at CMU. He followed scUM closely but didn't even care who his own schools were playing. I presented this argument to him as well as mentioning how much he as a student has invested in that program on his behalf! I asked why he cared more about someone elses university and not his; his response was that many MAC students do root for
their university but just happen to attend a different one
:withstupid:
Papa Lou BSU Wrote:Quote:The Cleveland and Detroit papers are really weak, from what I've seen.
I'll give you Detroit, but I think Elton Alexander and Bill Livingston at the Plain Dealer have given the MAC great coverage... they do a special section for the MAC hoops tourney every year, too.
The P-D is coming around, slowly.
Quote:I know both Rocket and Falcon fans will smack me around on this point, but I also think the Toledo Blade does a damn good job with the two MAC teams in their immediate coverage area.
No argument here. The Blade does a very, very good job. We have no room to complain at all.
IKESHALLRETURN Wrote:I guess I am eating Crow on that issue for The knights , it taste especially bad since you guys are leaving I am really shocked by that...My guess is that is because Orlando is a "Newer" and growing area with many out of state persons who had no set affinity for the "Big Three"...Most of the MAC and here in Pittsburgh you have the old Staunch and Stale Media that rule dictate things...That is a positive for yu guys maybe we will see you in the Big East someday :wave:
UCF has enrollment of almost 42,000. Most people don't realize how big the school is or the commitment to grow the athletic program.
From a marketing pespective the Orlando/Tampa/Daytona population cluster is a great opportunity.It is a long term oppotunity greater than
is availible to the Canes,Gators, or Seminoles.