that could lead to leaving UALR in 3rd place in central Arkansas with basketball fans. According to the Democrap paper, they signed a $3.3 million deal with a sports management company to give UCA sports a greater presence in the Conway-Little Rock area by building an enhanced radio or television network.
Some of us have been saying for years that UALR is missing a bet by not getting our program on some type of television plan, either some live games or tape delayed. I said as recently as last week that I could see with five or ten years that they would be a better basketball program than us. It looks like they have taken another step toward that.
The very first thing we could is make the Trojan Tracker-thingy free. I suspect the fee they charge generates next to nothing, while blocking 100% of potential fans from picking it up.
(12-12-2012 10:45 AM)LRTrojan Wrote: [ -> ]that could lead to leaving UALR in 3rd place in central Arkansas with basketball fans. According to the Democrap paper, they signed a $3.3 million deal with a sports management company to give UCA sports a greater presence in the Conway-Little Rock area by building an enhanced radio or television network.
Some of us have been saying for years that UALR is missing a bet by not getting our program on some type of television plan, either some live games or tape delayed. I said as recently as last week that I could see with five or ten years that they would be a better basketball program than us. It looks like they have taken another step toward that.
"And so Nero fiddled while Rome burned." That's kind of how I view this situation. Our leadership does virtually nothing to promote our program. We have no coaches show on local TV or on local radio. We have no TV coverage of our games. We never have any local sponsorship of games for promotions, etc. And we have less and less interest from the few fans that we still have every year. Sure makes you wonder about who's on the bridge as UALR's program heads towards the iceberg. Meanwhile, this is what the guys up the road in Conway are doing:
State sports briefs
— Democrat-Gazette Press Services
UCA agrees to deal with Peak
The University of Central Arkansas athletic department has signed a $3.3 million deal with a sports management company.
The school announced Tuesday that a deal with Peak Sports MGMT to exclusively sell corporate sponsorship and give UCA sports a greater presence in the Conway-Little Rock area by building an enhanced radio or television network.
The university said in a news release the deal is for five years and includes three one-year renewal options. It also includes a provision for revenue sharing once certain thresholds are met, which UCA said would take revenues beyond the $3.3 million guarantee over the life of the contract.
“We are happy to have their professionalism and expertise in the field of corporate athletics sponsorships,” UCA Athletic Director Brad Teague said in a news release. “The model provided by Peak Sports for our athletics program will further enhance our image and extend our promotion throughout the community, state and region.”
Originally Peak Sports MGMT was located in the Dallas area but has moved to Conway. Peak Sports MGMT President Ryan Holloway will serve as general manager of the UCA property.
One of my pet-peeves is the lack of Internet access inside The Jack. Media has access; students, faculty and staff have access. But the ones that pay premium dollars to get in..? Nada. That's irony right there.
Conway-Little Rock area? Should that be the other way around? This is bad news for UALR as if things aren't bad enough. Let's get us one of them sports management deals.
(12-12-2012 12:00 PM)Robert C Wrote: [ -> ]Conway-Little Rock area? Should that be the other way around? This is bad news for UALR as if things aren't bad enough. Let's get us one of them sports management deals.
Sounded nice to me as well. Just not sure where they get 3.3 million dollars. I would bet we don't have 3.3 million just lying around.
UALR Athletics might not have it, but UALR does have an advertising budget. 3.3 mil just might be possible from that pocket.
(12-12-2012 12:07 PM)mjs Wrote: [ -> ] (12-12-2012 12:00 PM)Robert C Wrote: [ -> ]Conway-Little Rock area? Should that be the other way around? This is bad news for UALR as if things aren't bad enough. Let's get us one of them sports management deals.
Sounded nice to me as well. Just not sure where they get 3.3 million dollars. I would bet we don't have 3.3 million just lying around.
I don't believe that 3.3 million is an all at once fee. I got the impression that it was 3.3 million over the life of the contract. The story didn't address how long the contract was for, so it's impossible to know what the outlay is year to year. But this is just another example of one school being proactive to promote itself and to try to fill the stands vs. one that does nothing to promote those things and would rather spend money on things like seat police to make sure that perpetually empty seats stay empty.
(12-12-2012 12:59 PM)Scotto Wrote: [ -> ]Heir-apparent senior point guard leaves the team. That alone speaks volumes. Of what, I'm not sure.
In his case, I think we may have misjudged his ability (although I thought he woudl be good, also) and tried to use him at the wrong spot.
(12-12-2012 12:07 PM)mjs Wrote: [ -> ]Sounded nice to me as well. Just not sure where they get 3.3 million dollars. I would bet we don't have 3.3 million just lying around.
I'm sure we don't have $3 million laying around, but I'll bet it wouldn't take anywhere near that to get a network station coaches TV show, a competent radio station contract, a decent radio station for a coaches show, and some sort of TV deal to televise or tape delay some of our home games. It's all about getting the advertising to pay for the time isn't it? Mike Newell obtained these things for our program when probably 90% of the people in Little Rock didn't even know Little Rock had a D-1 basketball program, and many probably didn't even know that we even had a basketball team here.
There is too much competition these days. You can't be a viable program without these things. That's one reason ours isn't viable. If you're trying to play with the big boys, you've got to have big boy toys. All we're concerned with is selling seats to people who don't use them. I want to see butts in those seats. I wouldn't be surprised that Mr. Stephens is turning over in his grave, knowing that this program has regressed since the time this arena has been built, thanks to his generous gift.
...but Chris is doing a great job, most of you say...
I believe everything begins at the top. The top dogs at UCA are determined to have a viable athletic program, and seem to be willing to pay to do it, so their AD aggressively pursues these things. Of course half of them end up in the pokey, but that's o.k. Their athletic programs get promoted. Obviously Chris's boss is happy the way things are and isn't too concerned about a high profile basketball program. I sometimes have the feeling he might be happy with a DIII program. Or maybe even intramurals. That's it. Use that 21 million facility for intramural basketball. We'd probably have as many fans show up for those games as they do for our D1 games. And Jack Stephens would really be turning over in his grave.
They are doing what Trojan has been saying we need to do for years now. It's ridiculous we can't get a coaches show on local TV. And some game broadcasts, plus having one radio station that is ours exclusively. Don't have the answer. Just a lot of questions.
(12-12-2012 02:51 PM)eh9198 Wrote: [ -> ]...but Chris is doing a great job, most of you say...
He has in a lot of areas. I give Chris credit for having done a good job of keeping this program in good financial shape. I give him credit for getting Mr. Stephens to give the money for the new arena. I thought we'd never get one. He's hired the best women's basketball coach in the state, and one of the best in the country, who has turned this program around and is without a doubt the second best in the Sun Belt.
The men's program hasn't improved one notch as far as I can see. We're still about the third or fourth best team in the league, and that varies from year to year. Our attendance is bad, and while we are evidently staying afloat financially, it is pretty evident that the number of butts in the seats is sliding yearly.
We have no TV at all. We play second and third fiddle to the hogs, and even the sows for the Cincinnati game last week on our primary radio station. As far as I know, we have no coaches radio shows, and if we do, it hasn't been advertised, and what we've had for a coaches TV show probably doesn't get 10 viewers on Comcast. I even gave up trying to watch it when it didn't even come on several times for the entire thirty minutes.
We don't do much at all in the way of promotions. Promotions draw new fans. Fans buy hot dogs, pop, and beer. They keep the cobwebs off the empty seats and put real live people in those seats. And maybe, those fans will come back to a game and buy a ticket next time.
Perhaps the school administration is telling him that all they want is to keep the program financially solvent. I've suspected since Newell left, that perhaps the higher-ups want to keep this program exactly where it is. I like Chris personally. He has always been very nice to me. But something isn't clicking out there, and I don't know what it is, but we sure aren't progressing in anything other than women's basketball. This post is about our basketball programs, and has nothing to do with the minor sports, and I don't know much if anything about them, although I do enjoy watching the baseball team play.
As I said, he's done well in many areas, but there are some things that we fans think that could be done to improve things.
(12-12-2012 03:48 PM)LRTrojan Wrote: [ -> ]He has in a lot of areas. I give Chris credit for having done a good job of keeping this program in good financial shape. I give him credit for getting Mr. Stephens to give the money for the new arena. I thought we'd never get one. He's hired the best women's basketball coach in the state, and one of the best in the country, who has turned this program around and is without a doubt the second best in the Sun Belt.
The men's program hasn't improved one notch as far as I can see. We're still about the third or fourth best team in the league, and that varies from year to year. Our attendance is bad, and while we are evidently staying afloat financially, it is pretty evident that the number of butts in the seats is sliding yearly.
We have no TV at all. We play second and third fiddle to the hogs, and even the sows for the Cincinnati game last week on our primary radio station. As far as I know, we have no coaches radio shows, and if we do, it hasn't been advertised, and what we've had for a coaches TV show probably doesn't get 10 viewers on Comcast. I even gave up trying to watch it when it didn't even come on several times for the entire thirty minutes.
We don't do much at all in the way of promotions. Promotions draw new fans. Fans buy hot dogs, pop, and beer. They keep the cobwebs off the empty seats and put real live people in those seats. And maybe, those fans will come back to a game and buy a ticket next time.
Perhaps the school administration is telling him that all they want is to keep the program financially solvent. I've suspected since Newell left, that perhaps the higher-ups want to keep this program exactly where it is. I like Chris personally. He has always been very nice to me. But something isn't clicking out there, and I don't know what it is, but we sure aren't progressing in anything other than women's basketball. This post is about our basketball programs, and has nothing to do with the minor sports, and I don't know much if anything about them, although I do enjoy watching the baseball team play.
As I said, he's done well in many areas, but there are some things that we fans think that could be done to improve things.
All that, and I forgot about two good Trojan traditions someone has done away with,
Dancing Curtis and the Trojans in Motion.
(12-12-2012 03:48 PM)LRTrojan Wrote: [ -> ] (12-12-2012 02:51 PM)eh9198 Wrote: [ -> ]...but Chris is doing a great job, most of you say...
He has in a lot of areas. I give Chris credit for having done a good job of keeping this program in good financial shape. I give him credit for getting Mr. Stephens to give the money for the new arena. I thought we'd never get one. He's hired the best women's basketball coach in the state, and one of the best in the country, who has turned this program around and is without a doubt the second best in the Sun Belt.
The men's program hasn't improved one notch as far as I can see. We're still about the third or fourth best team in the league, and that varies from year to year. Our attendance is bad, and while we are evidently staying afloat financially, it is pretty evident that the number of butts in the seats is sliding yearly.
We have no TV at all. We play second and third fiddle to the hogs, and even the sows for the Cincinnati game last week on our primary radio station. As far as I know, we have no coaches radio shows, and if we do, it hasn't been advertised, and what we've had for a coaches TV show probably doesn't get 10 viewers on Comcast. I even gave up trying to watch it when it didn't even come on several times for the entire thirty minutes.
We don't do much at all in the way of promotions. Promotions draw new fans. Fans buy hot dogs, pop, and beer. They keep the cobwebs off the empty seats and put real live people in those seats. And maybe, those fans will come back to a game and buy a ticket next time.
Perhaps the school administration is telling him that all they want is to keep the program financially solvent. I've suspected since Newell left, that perhaps the higher-ups want to keep this program exactly where it is. I like Chris personally. He has always been very nice to me. But something isn't clicking out there, and I don't know what it is, but we sure aren't progressing in anything other than women's basketball. This post is about our basketball programs, and has nothing to do with the minor sports, and I don't know much if anything about them, although I do enjoy watching the baseball team play.
As I said, he's done well in many areas, but there are some things that we fans think that could be done to improve things.
Rack him, post of the year.
(12-12-2012 03:53 PM)LRTrojan Wrote: [ -> ] (12-12-2012 03:48 PM)LRTrojan Wrote: [ -> ]He has in a lot of areas. I give Chris credit for having done a good job of keeping this program in good financial shape. I give him credit for getting Mr. Stephens to give the money for the new arena. I thought we'd never get one. He's hired the best women's basketball coach in the state, and one of the best in the country, who has turned this program around and is without a doubt the second best in the Sun Belt.
The men's program hasn't improved one notch as far as I can see. We're still about the third or fourth best team in the league, and that varies from year to year. Our attendance is bad, and while we are evidently staying afloat financially, it is pretty evident that the number of butts in the seats is sliding yearly.
We have no TV at all. We play second and third fiddle to the hogs, and even the sows for the Cincinnati game last week on our primary radio station. As far as I know, we have no coaches radio shows, and if we do, it hasn't been advertised, and what we've had for a coaches TV show probably doesn't get 10 viewers on Comcast. I even gave up trying to watch it when it didn't even come on several times for the entire thirty minutes.
We don't do much at all in the way of promotions. Promotions draw new fans. Fans buy hot dogs, pop, and beer. They keep the cobwebs off the empty seats and put real live people in those seats. And maybe, those fans will come back to a game and buy a ticket next time.
Perhaps the school administration is telling him that all they want is to keep the program financially solvent. I've suspected since Newell left, that perhaps the higher-ups want to keep this program exactly where it is. I like Chris personally. He has always been very nice to me. But something isn't clicking out there, and I don't know what it is, but we sure aren't progressing in anything other than women's basketball. This post is about our basketball programs, and has nothing to do with the minor sports, and I don't know much if anything about them, although I do enjoy watching the baseball team play.
As I said, he's done well in many areas, but there are some things that we fans think that could be done to improve things.
All that, and I forgot about two good Trojan traditions someone has done away with, Dancing Curtis and the Trojans in Motion.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=P2cun2KUlrQ
Bob, we don't recruit this kind of talent any more. These girls were nice looking and notice that they move as one.
(12-12-2012 08:02 PM)insideualr Wrote: [ -> ] (12-12-2012 03:53 PM)LRTrojan Wrote: [ -> ] (12-12-2012 03:48 PM)LRTrojan Wrote: [ -> ]He has in a lot of areas. I give Chris credit for having done a good job of keeping this program in good financial shape. I give him credit for getting Mr. Stephens to give the money for the new arena. I thought we'd never get one. He's hired the best women's basketball coach in the state, and one of the best in the country, who has turned this program around and is without a doubt the second best in the Sun Belt.
The men's program hasn't improved one notch as far as I can see. We're still about the third or fourth best team in the league, and that varies from year to year. Our attendance is bad, and while we are evidently staying afloat financially, it is pretty evident that the number of butts in the seats is sliding yearly.
We have no TV at all. We play second and third fiddle to the hogs, and even the sows for the Cincinnati game last week on our primary radio station. As far as I know, we have no coaches radio shows, and if we do, it hasn't been advertised, and what we've had for a coaches TV show probably doesn't get 10 viewers on Comcast. I even gave up trying to watch it when it didn't even come on several times for the entire thirty minutes.
We don't do much at all in the way of promotions. Promotions draw new fans. Fans buy hot dogs, pop, and beer. They keep the cobwebs off the empty seats and put real live people in those seats. And maybe, those fans will come back to a game and buy a ticket next time.
Perhaps the school administration is telling him that all they want is to keep the program financially solvent. I've suspected since Newell left, that perhaps the higher-ups want to keep this program exactly where it is. I like Chris personally. He has always been very nice to me. But something isn't clicking out there, and I don't know what it is, but we sure aren't progressing in anything other than women's basketball. This post is about our basketball programs, and has nothing to do with the minor sports, and I don't know much if anything about them, although I do enjoy watching the baseball team play.
As I said, he's done well in many areas, but there are some things that we fans think that could be done to improve things.
All that, and I forgot about two good Trojan traditions someone has done away with, Dancing Curtis and the Trojans in Motion.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=P2cun2KUlrQ
Bob, we don't recruit this kind of talent any more. These girls were nice looking and notice that they move as one.
Inside- If you think that was good, you would have loved the original Trojans In Motion in spandex. Wow! Those gals, along with a really exciting brand of basketball got everybody's attention in Little Rock. Seems like now were not too interested in getting anybody's attention.