CSNbbs

ESPN2's gonna do BC-CMU in HD according to their TV schedule.

Getting 20,000+ fans in there will make it look plenty nice.

I would hope you can do better than 20,000 for a prime time BCS opponent when you have the only game in town. Just keep the camera off the tool shed and I'm sure it will come off okay. I wish the Chips nothing but the best of luck when they lock up with BC. Last years game w/ Indiana on ESPNU was intense and the Chips played it right down to the wire. Wouldn't suprise me if that kind of effort and intensity help knock off BC.

Liam9903 Wrote:Last years game w/ Indiana on ESPNU was intense and the Chips played it right down to the wire. Wouldn't suprise me if that kind of effort and intensity help knock off BC.

BC is just a little better than Indiana. A lot of D1-AA schools can beat indiana.

Quote:BC is just a little better than Indiana. A lot of D1-AA schools can beat indiana.

I wouldn't go that far.

Quote:I would hope you can do better than 20,000 for a prime time BCS opponent when you have the only game in town.

The official count for IU was 22,000 and change. Most of us think the count was low. I would hope for at least 25,000, if the weather cooperates, but anything above 20,000 should look fine on TV.

utpotts Wrote:

Liam9903 Wrote:Last years game w/ Indiana on ESPNU was intense and the Chips played it right down to the wire. Wouldn't suprise me if that kind of effort and intensity help knock off BC.

BC is just a little better than Indiana. A lot of D1-AA schools can beat indiana.

CMU is going to be better than they were last year as well IMO, and this game should have more intensity coming off a winning season for the first time in almost a decade.

Tjhis is a key game for the MAC. Winning games on national tv vs the BCS makes people take notice. A win on the first day would get CMU some early votes for top 25. MAC needs to get a few teams in the polls early to help it get into position later for a BCS at-large bid. MAC needs to win the home games against BCS teams. Northwestern at Miami and Minnesota at Kent State are other games that MAC has a bcs team at home that first nite.

CMichFan Wrote:Getting 20,000+ fans in there will make it look plenty nice.

You're bringing in BC on national TV and 20,000 is what you're "hoping" for??

Yikes.

Actually, I said I was hoping for 25,000. I was simply stating taht 20,000 and above should look fine on TV. Remember, Mt. Pleasant (population ~30,000 last I checked) doesn't have the kind of population center that Orlando has to draw from.

CMichFan Wrote:Actually, I said I was hoping for 25,000. I was simply stating taht 20,000 and above should look fine on TV. Remember, Mt. Pleasant (population ~30,000 last I checked) doesn't have the kind of population center that Orlando has to draw from.

Where is CMU located within the town? Centralized or on the outskirts?

I'm intrigued by a university being in such a tiny town.

CMU's campus is technically south of town but is bordered by two of the main roads. You could walk North through the frat houses and other student rental housing and reach the downtown area within 1/2 hour. Mt. Pleasant is easily the largest city within 30 miles (Ithaca is maybe half the size and is the next-closest). CMU is about 1 1/2 hours from Lansing (and Michigan State) and Saginaw is roughly the same distance. Metro Detroit, where a lot of CMU alums live, is a healthy 2 1/2 hours away.

In other words, we're less likely than UCF to get casual fans strolling in. CMU has a solid "die-hard" base of 10,000-15,000 people. Students have been coming to games in healthy numbers the last couple seasons (5,000-10,000 / game). It's getting guys like myself -- but less dedicated than myself -- to drive 2+ hours to games that is a challenge. For reference, CMU's largest-ever crowd was 29,822, and we regularly averaged around 19,000 a game in the early 1990s, when CMU won two MAC titles and was in at least semi-regular contention.

CMichFan Wrote:CMU's campus is technically south of town but is bordered by two of the main roads. You could walk North through the frat houses and other student rental housing and reach the downtown area within 1/2 hour. Mt. Pleasant is easily the largest city within 30 miles (Ithaca is maybe half the size and is the next-closest). CMU is about 1 1/2 hours from Lansing (and Michigan State) and Saginaw is roughly the same distance. Metro Detroit, where a lot of CMU alums live, is a healthy 2 1/2 hours away.

In other words, we're less likely than UCF to get casual fans strolling in. CMU has a solid "die-hard" base of 10,000-15,000 people. Students have been coming to games in healthy numbers the last couple seasons (5,000-10,000 / game). It's getting guys like myself -- but less dedicated than myself -- to drive 2+ hours to games that is a challenge. For reference, CMU's largest-ever crowd was 29,822, and we regularly averaged around 19,000 a game in the early 1990s, when CMU won two MAC titles and was in at least semi-regular contention.

Interesting. I would have thought with such a small town that every local would rally around CMU.

that is what 10 losing seasons in a row will do to a university in a small town However, there is much optimism in the CMU faithful, hopefully we can regain the fan support of mid michigan and we can start seeing some good atttendance numbers again.

Quote:...that is what 10 losing seasons in a row...

Actually only six, but that's still a good point. If CMU can remain in contention in the West for awhile, or at least remain in the hunt for a winning record, I think we'll see the local support increase and the student support remain constant.

utpotts Wrote:

Liam9903 Wrote:Last years game w/ Indiana on ESPNU was intense and the Chips played it right down to the wire. Wouldn't suprise me if that kind of effort and intensity help knock off BC.

BC is just a little better than Indiana. A lot of D1-AA schools can beat indiana.

Yes, BC is better than Indiana - quite a bit.

But exactly which 1AA schools have been beating Indiana. And which MAC teams have beaten them in the recent past?

HuskieDan Wrote:

utpotts Wrote:

Liam9903 Wrote:Last years game w/ Indiana on ESPNU was intense and the Chips played it right down to the wire. Wouldn't suprise me if that kind of effort and intensity help knock off BC.

BC is just a little better than Indiana. A lot of D1-AA schools can beat indiana.

Yes, BC is better than Indiana - quite a bit.

But exactly which 1AA schools have been beating Indiana. And which MAC teams have beaten them in the recent past?

They haven't been world beaters against I-AA. Admittedly, they've only played three I-AA games since 1958. Indiana St. is towards the bottom of the I-AA rungs.

2005: beat Nicholls St., 35-31
2003: beat Indiana St., 33-3
2002: beat William & Mary, 25-17

The Knight Time Wrote:

CMichFan Wrote:Actually, I said I was hoping for 25,000. I was simply stating taht 20,000 and above should look fine on TV. Remember, Mt. Pleasant (population ~30,000 last I checked) doesn't have the kind of population center that Orlando has to draw from.

Where is CMU located within the town? Centralized or on the outskirts?

I'm intrigued by a university being in such a tiny town.

The MAC has a lot of big universities in small towns.

Athens, Ohio: 21,342
Oxford, Ohio: 21,943
Ypsilanti, Mich.: 22,362
Mt. Pleasant, Mich.: 25,946
Kent, Ohio: 27,906
Bowling Green, Ohio: 29,636
DeKalb, Ill.: 39,018
Muncie, Ind.: 67,430
Kalamazoo, Mich.: 75,312
Akron, Ohio: 217,074
Buffalo, N.Y.: 292,648
Toledo, Ohio: 313,619

mattsarz Wrote:

HuskieDan Wrote:

utpotts Wrote:

Liam9903 Wrote:Last years game w/ Indiana on ESPNU was intense and the Chips played it right down to the wire. Wouldn't suprise me if that kind of effort and intensity help knock off BC.

BC is just a little better than Indiana. A lot of D1-AA schools can beat indiana.

Yes, BC is better than Indiana - quite a bit.

But exactly which 1AA schools have been beating Indiana. And which MAC teams have beaten them in the recent past?

They haven't been world beaters against I-AA. Admittedly, they've only played three I-AA games since 1958. Indiana St. is towards the bottom of the I-AA rungs.

2005: beat Nicholls St., 35-31
2003: beat Indiana St., 33-3
2002: beat William & Mary, 25-17

A displaced Nicholls St team (located in Louisiana) nearly beat Indiana in Bloomington, while CMU couldn't get it done at home in an electric atmosphere. Methinks that if 1AA teams come closer than our teams to knocking a team off - and not having the benefit of a homefield to do so - smack should cease.

I was suprised when I checked the population of Orlando and found it to be 185,951. I thought it was much larger, but certainly the metro area is larger than the Mount Pleasant metro area. I don't know the number of students at CMU who are not included in the census, but let's just say that amounts to 20k. Getting 75% of those students to attend a game would be pretty darn good at any school, and that would amount to 15K. Another 5k from the town (20% of Mt Pleasant) would bring attendance to 20k. Maybe MAC attendance isn't so bad. I wonder what attendance is of other schools in terms of non-commuter students and city/town population? UT would have over 30k per game if they were to get 10% of Toledo to attend. Maybe we don't have any room to talk if we don't sellout all our games.

RocketJeff Wrote:I was suprised when I checked the population of Orlando and found it to be 185,951. I thought it was much larger, but certainly the metro area is larger than the Mount Pleasant metro area. I don't know the number of students at CMU who are not included in the census, but let's just say that amounts to 20k. Getting 75% of those students to attend a game would be pretty darn good at any school, and that would amount to 15K. Another 5k from the town (20% of Mt Pleasant) would bring attendance to 20k. Maybe MAC attendance isn't so bad. I wonder what attendance is of other schools in terms of non-commuter students and city/town population? UT would have over 30k per game if they were to get 10% of Toledo to attend. Maybe we don't have any room to talk if we don't sellout all our games.

Orlando is big because of tourism. As you said the number of residents isn't that incredibly large, but the Central Florida area is incorporated and is very large.

My apartment is right next to campus and technically is in Oviedo, Fl which has a population of 26,000. UCF is on the most Eastern point of Orlando you can possibly be and barely is technically in Orlando.

That may be better though so UCF can pull from the Oviedo over to Cocoa area as well as Orlando.