(01-13-2015 11:52 AM)BringDaRuckus Wrote:  My only real concern is that the Cincinnati-Dayton media market merging could actually have a negative effect on UC's power struggle with OSU.

When you combine the OSU fans in Cincinnati with the OSU fans in the Dayton area, I'm concerned that they may heavily outnumber UC fans when the Cincinnati and Dayton markets merge.

The last thing I want is for UC to be the little brother in its own city.

Those days (70's and 80's) are long gone.

College football does not remain stagnant - it's always changing. Look at Alabama - 3 out of 4 BCS titles, then 0 for 2. O$U earned their championship and should have their moment in the sun.

I don't see anything changing with respect to local coverage. Next year, O$U may fall on their face and the media will be attacking them.

The plan for UC is simple - win. This program has a lot going for it and it's only getting better. We need to sell out Nippert, win the AAC, get into the Top 25 and win the Access Bowl.

Everybody (including the media) loves a winner. We have national signing day coming up followed by March Madness and the Reds. It won't be long (maybe a week) before O$U isn't mentioned in the papers - there's always something else coming up.

(01-13-2015 09:46 AM)Billy_Bearcat Wrote:  My worries as well. When 700 ran a promo congratulating O$U this morning I think the writing was on the wall. The local sports guys are going to force feed us Buckeye sports now.

They also ran the bUCkeye state promos during the short time UC was ranked higher than OSU in the polls. They'll do whatever they need to do in order to drum up interest.

IMO - OSU hasn't been a competitor in the past, and they won't be one in the future.

I don't have the numbers in front of me - but I'd be willing to bet that UC's football and basketball attendance hasn't declined, overall, in their second year in this "subpar" conference.

I think that many of you are overracting to the influence the Enquirer, and WLW have. As a recent grad, I have never gone to the newspaper, or radio for my sports news.The only reason I even look at a copy of the Dispatch is because it sits in our lunchroom. The younger generation goes online. I can go on numerous websites to find articles on all of my teams without having to look at a paper. Many of us are even cutting our cable, and very few people listen to the radio unless it is for a game.

The print media is dying. In 5 to 10 years this will probably be a laughable discussion.

Need to engage students so that when they graduate a pattern has been established. Then not let a grad get half priced tickets (up to 2) for the first 2 years after graduation.

few thoughts...

1. OSU just won a national title...they are going to get and deserve coverage right now.
2. Will OSU coverage increase in the future? Maybe. While they are playing in the B1G and going to the playoffs, we are hosting teams like Houston, Tulane, and Tulsa. Honestly, I wouldn't blame the local paper for giving more coverage to OSU and less coverage to us relative to what it has been in the past. Do you?
3. If UC can get a seat at the big boy table and teams like Texas, OU, and WVA start rolling in here, then point #2 is null and void.
4. If UC can get into the B12 and starting winning and going to major bowls OSU coverage, what there is of it will shrink even more.

But as of today, OSU wins titles and plays ranked teams in the B1G....we host Tulsa and Tulane. That's where things are.

(01-13-2015 12:49 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  few thoughts...

2. Will OSU coverage increase in the future? Maybe. While they are playing in the B1G and going to the playoffs, we are hosting teams like Houston, Tulane, and Tulsa. Honestly, I wouldn't blame the local paper for giving more coverage to OSU and less coverage to us relative to what it has been in the past. Do you?

And yet we have not won this conference outright. Before I complain about the competition, I would like to beat that weak competition.
We have some good games at Nippert next year and we need to sale out ALL of them and win ALL of them.

When I was at UC, there were more osu fans than uc fans. I couldn't believe the number of osu flags kids would have hanging in their dorm rooms. It was really kind of sick. I have a hard time believing there are uk flags hanging in any Louisville dorms. I remember talking to someone about our favorite college football teams. When I said UC, he gave me a kind of puzzled look, and said, "no, I meant REAL college team". As if UC was minor league or something. Of corse UC was in a BCS game a few years later, so that perception on campus may have changed,, but the AAC schedule cannot be helping.

(01-13-2015 12:58 PM)Bearcat61 Wrote:  

(01-13-2015 12:49 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  few thoughts...

2. Will OSU coverage increase in the future? Maybe. While they are playing in the B1G and going to the playoffs, we are hosting teams like Houston, Tulane, and Tulsa. Honestly, I wouldn't blame the local paper for giving more coverage to OSU and less coverage to us relative to what it has been in the past. Do you?

And yet we have not won this conference outright. Before I complain about the competition, I would like to beat that weak competition.
We have some good games at Nippert next year and we need to sale out ALL of them and win ALL of them.

True, no sense in being holier than thou, if we aren't dominating the guys we do play.

Not to worry. As long as Lance is in town he will drone on and on about baseball even when it has no bearing whatsoever re: current sports events.

My two cents:

(1) There's no way the Enquirer starts to add OSU coverage. They're cutting back so much there's no way they add a beat they don't now cover.

(2) OSO winning a NC is a big story today. But beginning tomorrow you won't hear a peep about OSU again on WLW until next year if they're in the game again. OSU is not a priority for WLW. Never has been, never will be.

(3) Relax, my friends. OSU coverage and fan intensity in southwest Ohio didn't increase after the 2002 championship. If anything, it's worse today than it was 20 years ago. This too shall pass.

(4) What was interesting to be was how little coverage OSU's run to the championship got in Cincinnati. In general, the build-up to that game in all of our local media didn't even approach what we get every year for the Reds Opening Day. Not even close. In Columbus all life on earth literally stopped for that game. There was nothing else anybody was talking about up there. Down here I'll bet more people were talking about the Dez Bryant catch/no catch at work on Monday morning than the OSU game coming up.

(5) All that being said, UC does need to keep tooting its horn and getting the word out. Ono is the best Prez UC's ever had for that. And they have been making huge efforts at recruiting students in Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland. I think I read somewhere that Columbus applicants are at an all-time high. When my kid did marching band the last few years I saw paid UC banners in the endzones of every high school football stadium we visited, including many in Dayton and farther north. UC is working it but there's plenty of work still to be done.

(01-13-2015 01:50 PM)JP Bearcat Wrote:  My two cents:

(1) There's no way the Enquirer starts to add OSU coverage. They're cutting back so much there's no way they add a beat they don't now cover.

(2) OSO winning a NC is a big story today. But beginning tomorrow you won't hear a peep about OSU again on WLW until next year if they're in the game again. OSU is not a priority for WLW. Never has been, never will be.

(3) Relax, my friends. OSU coverage and fan intensity in southwest Ohio didn't increase after the 2002 championship. If anything, it's worse today than it was 20 years ago. This too shall pass.

(4) What was interesting to be was how little coverage OSU's run to the championship got in Cincinnati. In general, the build-up to that game in all of our local media didn't even approach what we get every year for the Reds Opening Day. Not even close. In Columbus all life on earth literally stopped for that game. There was nothing else anybody was talking about up there. Down here I'll bet more people were talking about the Dez Bryant catch/no catch at work on Monday morning than the OSU game coming up.

(5) All that being said, UC does need to keep tooting its horn and getting the word out. Ono is the best Prez UC's ever had for that. And they have been making huge efforts at recruiting students in Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland. I think I read somewhere that Columbus applicants are at an all-time high. When my kid did marching band the last few years I saw paid UC banners in the endzones of every high school football stadium we visited, including many in Dayton and farther north. UC is working it but there's plenty of work still to be done.

(01-13-2015 11:26 AM)Eastside_J Wrote:  

(01-13-2015 10:54 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  No one to blame but ourselves? Why do people say things like this? It makes zero sense. We are the ones supporting UC. What are we to do? Buy more season tickets? Yell at people for not being big enough fans?

What you are really complaining about is the fact that UC does not have a huge fan base....and it doesn't. And with the exception of the margins on the edge, that is not likely to ever change. With the exception of alumni who have moved abroad, this is a local program.

UC us not trying to get in a P5 conference so that we can play in a game like OSU did last night. We are trying to get into a P5 to bring in the cash to just try to stay relevant on the periphery. And yes, the relevancy clock is ticking down. But that has nothing to do with Ohio State or the local media.

^^ This^^

For football: In the right conference, I think we have a chance to bang on the door of a championship once in a stretch. We are not going to become a semi-pro football factory. For Columbus and much of the rest of the state -The OSU FB team is IT. Period. That is true for most football factory's now and historically ALA, AUB, TX, OKLA, ND, MI, WI, etc etc. No pro team distraction. Heck in some of those places other than hunting and drinking, there is nothing much else to do at all

You forgot to add watching Duck Dynasty.

(01-13-2015 01:27 PM)QSECOFR Wrote:  Not to worry. As long as Lance is in town he will drone on and on about baseball even when it has no bearing whatsoever re: current sports events.

Who is this Lance person that you speak of?

(5) All that being said, UC does need to keep tooting its horn and getting the word out. Ono is the best Prez UC's ever had for that. And they have been making huge efforts at recruiting students in Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland. I think I read somewhere that Columbus applicants are at an all-time high. When my kid did marching band the last few years I saw paid UC banners in the endzones of every high school football stadium we visited, including many in Dayton and farther north. UC is working it but there's plenty of work still to be done.
[/quote]

This brings up a fear which wakes me up at night. What happens to UC’s upward trajectory when Ono departs?

Every time I read another message about his tours promoting UC and visiting with other universities I can’t help but think about the fact that he is also promoting himself even if it is not his intention. At some point someone very very big is going to come calling with an offer he cannot refuse and UC cannot match. We describe the coaches as the “face of a program” but Ono has become the face of the university. His departure would be a true loss for the university.

(01-13-2015 02:38 PM)Bearcat1010 Wrote:  (5) All that being said, UC does need to keep tooting its horn and getting the word out. Ono is the best Prez UC's ever had for that. And they have been making huge efforts at recruiting students in Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland. I think I read somewhere that Columbus applicants are at an all-time high. When my kid did marching band the last few years I saw paid UC banners in the endzones of every high school football stadium we visited, including many in Dayton and farther north. UC is working it but there's plenty of work still to be done.

This brings up a fear which wakes me up at night. What happens to UC’s upward trajectory when Ono departs?

Every time I read another message about his tours promoting UC and visiting with other universities I can’t help but think about the fact that he is also promoting himself even if it is not his intention. At some point someone very very big is going to come calling with an offer he cannot refuse and UC cannot match. We describe the coaches as the “face of a program” but Ono has become the face of the university. His departure would be a true loss for the university.
[/quote]

Cannot worry about things one has no control over. He very well is promoting himself, however he is promoting the University. Have faith the same process that bought Ono to UC will indeed bring another high caliber individual.

Thing I took away from this thread are a lot of worried individuals, there are some passionate UC suppoprters on here, Cincinnati is a pro-sports town and the Cincinnati media does a poor job covering any college sports.

Take a deep breath, continue to go out and promote the University as much as possible, turn a deaf ear to some blowhard ragging on UC, and the Cincinnati media is not going to change overnight.

(01-13-2015 02:38 PM)Bearcat1010 Wrote:  (5) All that being said, UC does need to keep tooting its horn and getting the word out. Ono is the best Prez UC's ever had for that. And they have been making huge efforts at recruiting students in Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland. I think I read somewhere that Columbus applicants are at an all-time high. When my kid did marching band the last few years I saw paid UC banners in the endzones of every high school football stadium we visited, including many in Dayton and farther north. UC is working it but there's plenty of work still to be done.

This brings up a fear which wakes me up at night. What happens to UC’s upward trajectory when Ono departs?

Every time I read another message about his tours promoting UC and visiting with other universities I can’t help but think about the fact that he is also promoting himself even if it is not his intention. At some point someone very very big is going to come calling with an offer he cannot refuse and UC cannot match. We describe the coaches as the “face of a program” but Ono has become the face of the university. His departure would be a true loss for the university.
[/quote]

I think I read that when he got the President's job (which was quite a step up for a guy who had not been a college president before) he gave UC a ten-year commitment. And yeah, I know how reliable promises are, but I hope he's good for it. He seems to love the job , the school and the city.

(01-13-2015 11:26 AM)Eastside_J Wrote:  

(01-13-2015 10:54 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  No one to blame but ourselves? Why do people say things like this? It makes zero sense. We are the ones supporting UC. What are we to do? Buy more season tickets? Yell at people for not being big enough fans?

What you are really complaining about is the fact that UC does not have a huge fan base....and it doesn't. And with the exception of the margins on the edge, that is not likely to ever change. With the exception of alumni who have moved abroad, this is a local program.

UC us not trying to get in a P5 conference so that we can play in a game like OSU did last night. We are trying to get into a P5 to bring in the cash to just try to stay relevant on the periphery. And yes, the relevancy clock is ticking down. But that has nothing to do with Ohio State or the local media.

^^ This^^

For football: In the right conference, I think we have a chance to bang on the door of a championship once in a stretch. We are not going to become a semi-pro football factory. For Columbus and much of the rest of the state -The OSU FB team is IT. Period. That is true for most football factory's now and historically ALA, AUB, TX, OKLA, ND, MI, WI, etc etc. No pro team distraction. Heck in some of those places other than hunting and drinking, there is nothing much else to do at all

Wait a sec....

(01-13-2015 02:38 PM)Bearcat1010 Wrote:  

(01-13-2015 01:50 PM)JP Bearcat Wrote:  (5) All that being said, UC does need to keep tooting its horn and getting the word out. Ono is the best Prez UC's ever had for that. And they have been making huge efforts at recruiting students in Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland. I think I read somewhere that Columbus applicants are at an all-time high. When my kid did marching band the last few years I saw paid UC banners in the endzones of every high school football stadium we visited, including many in Dayton and farther north. UC is working it but there's plenty of work still to be done.

This brings up a fear which wakes me up at night. What happens to UC’s upward trajectory when Ono departs?

Every time I read another message about his tours promoting UC and visiting with other universities I can’t help but think about the fact that he is also promoting himself even if it is not his intention. At some point someone very very big is going to come calling with an offer he cannot refuse and UC cannot match. We describe the coaches as the “face of a program” but Ono has become the face of the university. His departure would be a true loss for the university.

IMO Ono is a little too quirky to get a "promotion" to president at a bigger school. He tweets over a dozen times a day about things as diverse as Eminem and the Macarena. He takes pictures like this:


A school like Michigan or Harvard would have a heart attack if their president did that. There's not many schools with higher prestige than UC that would allow him to do that type of stuff; most of them would only hire a president with a polished, uptight, old school public image.

At UC we let Ono be himself. And it helps us tremendously because we need that type of exposure. IMO UC and Ono are a perfect fit for each other.

Can we stop "woe is me-ing" for one mother-loving minute? Let's enjoy basketball season.