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The Evil Empire strikes again....

I am in no way qualified to give an official statement.

My understanding is that The MOB declined to pay $100/seat several months ago. No statement as to whether that price was set by UT or someone inside Rice. The band will NOT be in attendance because of the terms as they were presented to us at the time. We have no visibility into the contractual relationship between Rice and UT and no control over where these 300 tickets went.

Here is the UT release: http://texassports.com/news/2015/9/11/GE...55248.aspx

Quote:For non-conference play, we have provided 300 complimentary tickets to both Rice University and the University of California at Berkeley for their marching bands. These tickets are specified in their contracts and have been provided to both institutions by The University of Texas. We are disappointed that the MOB from Rice University has chosen not to attend, as we were excited to host one of the great traditions of college football. We are excited to host the band from the University of California at Berkeley at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium and will enjoy the pageantry that they will add to our gameday environment.

(09-11-2015 11:57 PM)dragon2owl Wrote: [ -> ]Here is the UT release: http://texassports.com/news/2015/9/11/GE...55248.aspx

Yes, I had seen that. Short of a contradictory statement from Rice, it sounds like the Rice Athletic Department appropriated the 300 tickets (allegedly earmarked for "band") and offered these or other seats to The MOB at a cost of $100/ea. We declined to pay, thus "releasing" these complimentary tickets back to athletics for whatever use they desired.

Only Chuck can comment on how the $100/ticket price was originally presented to the Rice Bands department and whether it was stated (more likely implied) that UT was imposing the cost vs. an internal decision. As far as The MOB's budget is concerned, it probably doesn't matter which side was responsible -- that cost is prohibitive, and band + instruments + support equipment requires more seats (tickets) than butts. I have been told that The MOB would have had to pay (to someone) $45/ticket to attend the Baylor game.

I don't think that's the whole story. As mentioned in another post on another thread, Scott Van Pelt did a segment on UT in his midnight SportCenter show the other night, and mentioned that Paterson had up season ticket pricing and terms, and had started charging visiting bands $100 per ticket....and this was confirmed by a UT beat writer. (They are still charging the Tech band $100/seat for their game later this year.) It's quite possible that at the last minute, under pressure, UT waive the $100, but it appears that they originally did issue a $100/seat charge for the Rice tickets.

BTW, I find it VERY hard to believe that Dr. K would have taken complimentary tickets earmarked by UT for the MOB and simply used them for Rice parents and staffmembers.

Someone is being dishonest. The UT press release says 300 tickets for the band, specified in the contract. So either Rice stole the tickets from the MOB or the contract just says 300 free tickets without specifying the purpose.

(09-12-2015 08:59 AM)temchugh Wrote: [ -> ]Someone is being dishonest. The UT press release says 300 tickets for the band, specified in the contract. So either Rice stole the tickets from the MOB or the contract just says 300 free tickets without specifying the purpose.

If Rice redirected the tickets, it was probably not the wisest idea. I can see how Rice admins might undervalue the MOB as compared to the average Texas fan. The average UT fan at DKR loves the MOB, in my experience. The cover up is where it always goes bad. Good thing this is only on the LHN (i.e. ESPN the Ocho) so when it comes up it won't be further spread. It is a shame that everyone I have run into wants to talk about how they wish the MOB was coming to Austin, instead of a quality Rice squad potentially upsetting Texas.

Were they actually going to be "allowed" to play at halftime? IIRC the last few times the MOB has been relegated to pre-game performance since it was UT-EX band night and the combined UT band took up all the halftime allotment.

There needs to be clarity on what was given to the Athletic Dept and what was done with those tickets.

Perhaps the ticket crime was done by The Shepherd Music School, in the Conservatory, with a Stradivarius. /s

Rice should release, verbatim, the portion of that contract that references those tickets. If the university does not, then one must believe that Texas did set aside tickets for the band, and that someone at Rice arranged for the "appropriation" of the tickets.

(09-12-2015 10:16 AM)Tiki Owl Wrote: [ -> ]Were they actually going to be "allowed" to play at halftime? IIRC the last few times the MOB has been relegated to pre-game performance since it was UT-EX band night and the combined UT band took up all the halftime allotment.

There needs to be clarity on what was given to the Athletic Dept and what was done with those tickets.

Perhaps the ticket crime was done by The Shepherd Music School, in the Conservatory, with a Stradivarius. /s

Given the report on SportsCenter, it sounds more likely to me that UT is trying to put a positive PR spin on things. We shouldn't all just assume that the UT press release is entirely accurate, and that the Rice administration and athletic department took complimentary tickets from the MOB and used them elsewhere. And, BTW, why would UT give us 300 complimentary tickets for the MOB when they know full well the MOB doesn't have anywhere near 300 members? We do know as a fact-- reported by ESPN and confirmed by a UT beat writer-- that UT is charging $100/ticket for visiting bands. (Note-- the UT press release cited above was dated the day after the Scott Van Pelt/ESPN report.) Did they make a late change in that by waiving the cost to MOB and Cal members? Who knows, but the change might have been done to ward off the negative publicity, and it might have occurred too late to allow the MOB to make appropriate plans.

It's standard operating procedure for families of players and coaches to get free tickets to games.. Something more to this story.

(09-12-2015 10:28 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-12-2015 10:16 AM)Tiki Owl Wrote: [ -> ]Were they actually going to be "allowed" to play at halftime? IIRC the last few times the MOB has been relegated to pre-game performance since it was UT-EX band night and the combined UT band took up all the halftime allotment.

There needs to be clarity on what was given to the Athletic Dept and what was done with those tickets.

Perhaps the ticket crime was done by The Shepherd Music School, in the Conservatory, with a Stradivarius. /s

Given the report on SportsCenter, it sounds more likely to me that UT is trying to put a positive PR spin on things. We shouldn't all just assume that the UT press release is entirely accurate, and that the Rice administration and athletic department took complimentary tickets from the MOB and used them elsewhere. And, BTW, why would UT give us 300 complimentary tickets for the MOB when they know full well the MOB doesn't have anywhere near 300 members? We do know as a fact-- reported by ESPN and confirmed by a UT beat writer-- that UT is charging $100/ticket for visiting bands. (Note-- the UT press release cited above was dated the day after the Scott Van Pelt/ESPN report.) Did they make a late change in that by waiving the cost to MOB and Cal members? Who knows, but the change might have been done to ward off the negative publicity, and it might have occurred too late to allow the MOB to make appropriate plans.

As I stated earlier, Rice needs to release the relevant portion of that contract. Otherwise, someone should make a FOIA request from the University of Texas. Also, I'm still waiting for a denial of that story from anyone at Rice.

Chuck has made mention of the end result of this on Facebook. I'm currently working on getting hold of him to see whether he is ok with someone sharing that here.

(09-12-2015 10:28 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-12-2015 10:16 AM)Tiki Owl Wrote: [ -> ]Were they actually going to be "allowed" to play at halftime? IIRC the last few times the MOB has been relegated to pre-game performance since it was UT-EX band night and the combined UT band took up all the halftime allotment.

There needs to be clarity on what was given to the Athletic Dept and what was done with those tickets.

Perhaps the ticket crime was done by The Shepherd Music School, in the Conservatory, with a Stradivarius. /s

Given the report on SportsCenter, it sounds more likely to me that UT is trying to put a positive PR spin on things. We shouldn't all just assume that the UT press release is entirely accurate, and that the Rice administration and athletic department took complimentary tickets from the MOB and used them elsewhere. And, BTW, why would UT give us 300 complimentary tickets for the MOB when they know full well the MOB doesn't have anywhere near 300 members? We do know as a fact-- reported by ESPN and confirmed by a UT beat writer-- that UT is charging $100/ticket for visiting bands. (Note-- the UT press release cited above was dated the day after the Scott Van Pelt/ESPN report.) Did they make a late change in that by waiving the cost to MOB and Cal members? Who knows, but the change might have been done to ward off the negative publicity, and it might have occurred too late to allow the MOB to make appropriate plans.

Texas doesn't even have a fully staffed SID/PR department, let alone a way back machine to allow them to go back in time and add the comped tickets to the contract...

(09-12-2015 08:21 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote: [ -> ]I don't think that's the whole story. As mentioned in another post on another thread, Scott Van Pelt did a segment on UT in his midnight SportCenter show the other night, and mentioned that Paterson had up season ticket pricing and terms, and had started charging visiting bands $100 per ticket....and this was confirmed by a UT beat writer. (They are still charging the Tech band $100/seat for their game later this year.) It's quite possible that at the last minute, under pressure, UT waive the $100, but it appears that they originally did issue a $100/seat charge for the Rice tickets.

BTW, I find it VERY hard to believe that Dr. K would have taken complimentary tickets earmarked by UT for the MOB and simply used them for Rice parents and staffmembers.

(09-12-2015 08:59 AM)temchugh Wrote: [ -> ]Someone is being dishonest. The UT press release says 300 tickets for the band, specified in the contract. So either Rice stole the tickets from the MOB or the contract just says 300 free tickets without specifying the purpose.

Everyone needs to keep one thing in mind - there is a difference between conference games (which fall under conference rules and probably include mandates for X number of tickets allocated to the visiting school and possible revenue sharing of ticket sales) and non-conference (which are essentially negotiated contracts).

One of the things that was a factor in the breakup of the SWC was the perception that UT and TAMU were not making as much money as they could because of the fact that the home team split the gate with the visitors for conference games (I think it was something like 50-50). For non-conference games, I think they could negotiate a contract that didn't obligate any ticket or band allocations. Thus, whatever UT may charge Tech has little relevance to what is in the contract for Rice. I tend to believe that UT would not say the 300 ticket allocation was in the contract if it were in fact not in the contract... However, calling them 300 complimentary tickets is meaningless if it is part of the negotiated contract. It's like saying the payout is $1,970,000 with 300 complimentary tickets rather than a $2,000,000 payout where Rice is required to purchase 300 tickets at $100 apiece. That may be where there is some common ground in the narratives. It could be that the tickets were thrown in, but Rice is telling the MOB that either the MOB must pony up $30,000 or Rice will have to sell those tickets because they can't justify passing up the revenue.

One way or the other, I suspect Rice is the one with issues here that make the situation FUBAR, and that almost any other school would've traveled with the band in similar circumstances.

Courtesy, RUBPA mailing list:

UPDATE: UT comped 300 tickets for Rice MOB

http://www.hornsports.com/wire/articles/...ce-mob-r21 Wrote:Subsequent to HornSports publishing the story below, we have learned that the University of Texas Athletics Department has, in fact, comped Rice University 300 tickets for use this weekend (band). Reports from the Rice MOB member we spoke with were not accurate. The agreement the University of Texas has with Rice University and the University of California-Berkeley (Texas plays in Game 3) specify 300 comped tickets to be used at their discretion. The 300 tickets allotted for Rice would accommodate all of the MOB's members. Our apologies for reporting misinformation.
...
(twitter) Steve Patterson @SWPatterson
@notthefakeSVP All Big 12 teams charge each other for tickets for the band or fans.UT was charged & paid last year.
7:13 PM - 9 Sep 2015
...
An anonymous MOBster told me Texas Athletic Director Steve Patterson had increased the charges for visiting bands, making it cost prohibitive.

"Steve Patterson increased the charge for visiting bands to $100/seat this season. Unlike the Goin' Band from Raiderland, The MOB doesn't have a large alumni group to ask to pay Steve Patterson's ransom. I am sure that we would love to play for UT, but we simply cannot afford it. We will be playing at North Texas the following week instead."

Texas Longhorns Athletics - Visiting marching band policy at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium

http://www.texassports.com/news/2015/9/1...55248.aspx Wrote:For Big 12 Conference games, six of the 10 schools in the Big 12 have historically charged visiting schools for both band and fan seats. The four Texas schools had a gentleman's agreement to simply charge the fans for the tickets and provide complimentary tickets to the marching bands. The change to smaller venues across the conference, such as TCU and Baylor, caused a shift in that agreement. 

Last year, when Texas traveled to Lubbock to play Texas Tech, we were charged for and paid full price for all tickets, including the tickets provided to the Longhorn Band. The current policy, clarified and approved by Big 12 business managers this past summer, states all visiting schools pay for all seats they use at full price. Texas did not initiate the discussions on this policy. We are merely following the practice approved by the Big 12 member institutions.

It keeps looking worse for some people at Rice.

If Rice was given 300 tickets as part of the deal, then:

1. Someone in Rice Athletics made the decision to exclude the MOB by informing the band that no tickets would be available due to Texas's decision to charge $100 per person (a LIE); and

Planned to use the now-available tickets to sell to big donors to raise some cash; OR

2. Steve Patterson is lying.

Still waiting to hear from someone at Rice ......

(09-12-2015 10:16 AM)Tiki Owl Wrote: [ -> ]Were they actually going to be "allowed" to play at halftime? IIRC the last few times the MOB has been relegated to pre-game performance since it was UT-EX band night and the combined UT band took up all the halftime allotment.

Actually, the last few times we travelled to Austin we were allowed to perform at halftime. Prior to that, there was at least one game where The MOB declined to attend if we were only slotted during pre-game activities. When that story broke, apparently there was sufficient complaining from Texas fans that Texas ensured we'd have a halftime slot on the subsequent games. I am under the impression that, had we attended, that we would have had "full rights and privileges" at DKR.

(09-12-2015 10:28 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote: [ -> ]Given the report on SportsCenter, it sounds more likely to me that UT is trying to put a positive PR spin on things. We shouldn't all just assume that the UT press release is entirely accurate, and that the Rice administration and athletic department took complimentary tickets from the MOB and used them elsewhere. And, BTW, why would UT give us 300 complimentary tickets for the MOB when they know full well the MOB doesn't have anywhere near 300 members?

Keep in mind that I have no first-hand knowledge and none of this is an official statement. I'm not saying that UT isn't spinning, but Rice's silence isn't helping the fact that the proposed scenario is completely plausible. Those tickets have more financial value to Rice Athletics than The MOB's presence. I fully believe those 300 tickets exist, so the only reason I can fathom to NOT provide them at no-cost to The MOB is exactly for financial gain and/or donor-stroking.

Why would UT give us more tickets for The MOB than we have members? I addressed this earlier in the thread. The space required by an average MOBster is greater than the space allotted to a single seat. Sousaphone players only take up 2-2.5 seats as long as they never, ever put their instruments down; some percussion members could be as many as 3-6, depending on the size and positioning of the drum and its supporting stand. On the other MOB thread I listed MOB average game attendance for past years and, at a local maximum of nearly 100 members, do the math. Granted, that estimate would be on the high end but it doesn't hurt (and it is a wise idea) to give a buffer of seats around the group to allow for space inefficiencies and to reduce view blockages for adjacent fans.

(09-12-2015 10:31 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote: [ -> ]It's standard operating procedure for families of players and coaches to get free tickets to games.. Something more to this story.

I didn't do any exact counts, but I could believe that the area reserved for The MOB -- in previous years -- was of approximately 300-seat size. Coincidence? Ask the players' families that were there if they enjoyed being seated (in some cases) in the row immediately behind the row of tall sousaphones. It did seem like, on those occasions, the band and family/guests were sharing the same allotment. The only thing I don't know is the exact size and cost of those past allotments.

It's by no means the only possible explanation, but Rice needs to come forward and give its official side of the story. Right now, Rice Athletics' silence makes it look guilty.

(09-12-2015 01:20 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote: [ -> ]It keeps looking worse for some people at Rice.

If Rice was given 300 tickets as part of the deal, then:

1. Someone in Rice Athletics made the decision to exclude the MOB by informing the band that no tickets would be available due to Texas's decision to charge $100 per person (a LIE); and

Planned to use the now-available tickets to sell to big donors to raise some cash; OR

2. Steve Patterson is lying.

Still waiting to hear from someone at Rice ......

No, it's YOU who appears to have an axe to grind with the Rice athletic department. Patterson IS lying, as this was the insinuation when Scott Van Pelt and ESPN reported on the story Wednesday or Thursday evening. They most definitely are charging visiting bands $100/ticket this year, and this was confirmed by a UT beat reporter onn ESPN. UT PR has subsequently tried to put a positive spin on things with the media.