Greetings everyone from MAC territory!

I'm a fan of Western Michigan and the MAC, but will cheer for any G5 team. I was recently in Atlanta and just noticed how HUGE college football is down there. Problem is, 7 out of 10 people are in ACC/SEC gear (as opposed to no college gear)

My question is, how does the Sun Belt survive down there? We in the MAC are unfortunate being surrounded by top programs like Notre Dame, Ohio St, and Michigan. We're also not helped that it's too cold to sit and watch mid-major football for most people once the season is half over. But it seems like it's just worse down there. Pro sports have less of a sway and you're still also surrounded by teams like Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, NC St, etc. There's also of course still the Big 10 alumni who are down there for the warm weather.

I don't know, maybe the Sun Belt does OK with it being perfect weather to watch football the whole season? I don't know.

Thoughts?

Thank you!

Go to any Walmart in Alabama and you can count on seeing at least 25% of the folks in Tide or Tiger gear. It is disgusting and at epidemic levels. You also cannot drive anywhere at anytime on any day without seeing those stupid car flags flapping everywhere. To most people, Bama and Auburn are the only schools with football. The SEC rules here. You just have to learn to ignore it while gritting your teeth. Having said that, we still can draw crowds for our games.

We average better in attendance than the MAC if that tells you anything.

(09-08-2015 05:42 PM)Atlanta Trojan Wrote:  We average better in attendance than the MAC if that tells you anything.

He came in peace, relax a bit.

Like the previous poster said....we have a ton of "Walmart" fans.

I'm sure our fans battles are very similar. It does help that it never gets to the dangerous temps that Northern teams gets, but a wet 34 degrees will chill you to the bone. However, there's no danger of losing extremities.

My brother lives in North Dakota, and says the most "teeth chattering cold" he's ever experienced was during a Tennessee winter.

I wasn't trying to be rude. Just stating what it is.

(09-08-2015 05:21 PM)Bronco14 Wrote:  Greetings everyone from MAC territory!

I'm a fan of Western Michigan and the MAC, but will cheer for any G5 team. I was recently in Atlanta and just noticed how HUGE college football is down there. Problem is, 7 out of 10 people are in ACC/SEC gear (as opposed to no college gear)

My question is, how does the Sun Belt survive down there? We in the MAC are unfortunate being surrounded by top programs like Notre Dame, Ohio St, and Michigan. We're also not helped that it's too cold to sit and watch mid-major football for most people once the season is half over. But it seems like it's just worse down there. Pro sports have less of a sway and you're still also surrounded by teams like Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, NC St, etc. There's also of course still the Big 10 alumni who are down there for the warm weather.

I don't know, maybe the Sun Belt does OK with it being perfect weather to watch football the whole season? I don't know.

Thoughts?

Thank you!

TXST has 11 other FBS programs just in Texas to contend with, without figuring who is close by in other States (Arkansas, OU, OSU, LSU). The n state schools consist of TCU, Baylor, A&M and UT. We understand your pain.

We just go about our business of building our own little niche. Our coaching staff are good recruiters and the rest of the TX teams know it. No, we aren't getting the 4's and 5's yet but I think we will snag some in the future.

Yes, the weather here helps. However, we can be still in the 80's late into November or drop into the 40's. One never knows for certain.

In arkansas their's only 2 FBS programs, obviously Arkansas State being one; however thanks to certain powers that be along with other shrewd maneuvers throughout the decades, Arkansas is practically the professional team of the state and you can't go anywhere in Arkansas without seeing some form of red pig let alone listen or watch local media without it being over loaded about the razorbacks and the SEC. In the last 10 years I would say Astate certainly has grown and especially with the mascot change (along with our coaching changes and success) has certainly brought awareness and somewhat exposure that the program never had but make no mistake that unfortunately U of A still dominates the state

Much like what everyone has already said, I just have to grit my teeth, keep repping my red wolves and support them through and through. With the prospects of Arkansas playing all their home games in Fayetteville in the near future (for those that aren't aware for the longest time Hogs in the heyday played Three games a year in Little rock and four in Fayetteville-eventually, they lessend it to two and now only play one). If they do bounce from playing any game from the capitol city, I really think Red Wolves filling in that void and playing one game in Little Rock really could have a huge, beneficial effect on the program (and adding onto the fanbase and coverage in the major market in the state).

(09-08-2015 05:21 PM)Bronco14 Wrote:  Greetings everyone from MAC territory!

I'm a fan of Western Michigan and the MAC, but will cheer for any G5 team. I was recently in Atlanta and just noticed how HUGE college football is down there. Problem is, 7 out of 10 people are in ACC/SEC gear (as opposed to no college gear)

My question is, how does the Sun Belt survive down there? We in the MAC are unfortunate being surrounded by top programs like Notre Dame, Ohio St, and Michigan. We're also not helped that it's too cold to sit and watch mid-major football for most people once the season is half over. But it seems like it's just worse down there. Pro sports have less of a sway and you're still also surrounded by teams like Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, NC St, etc. There's also of course still the Big 10 alumni who are down there for the warm weather.

I don't know, maybe the Sun Belt does OK with it being perfect weather to watch football the whole season? I don't know.

Thoughts?

Thank you!

We take advantage of one important factor thats different up North. Football is king down here. Even with all of the major SEC/ACC games going on (and most of our campuses are way too close to those towns) there is still enough of a interest in football that the casual fan shows up.

The key for our programs is to offer games that can pique interest. We try to bring in Major Conference schools, or regional G5 schools. Many of us take advantage of the local FCS to bring in large crowds. (ULL and Southern could get 40K on the right day, Arkansas State and UCA could get 30K easy) The rest of it is spent catering to our own alums. We do what we can to try and prevent the issue of our alums becoming fans of larger schools, and bring them back to the program.

Ultimately, those of us who are the most successful on the field, bring in the largest crowds, those struggling, play games in front of empty seats (See Georgia State)

I dont know how many still do it, but I know a few SBC schools offer deals where if you turn in the gear of a large conference school, we give you our gear for free. (No word yet if we all burn the larger school gear)

I don't know if you have been through NC, but in ACC basketball country App and ECU have carved out a nice niche as football first schools. Winning of course helps, since tradition ties in directly with that.

This is how I think about it, teams like GS, UL, stAte, App St. etc., those communities will support the local team, instead of the SEC school that could be 100 miles away. That's because they take pride within there community. Winning does help. People love them some football, football is king. .

This is why I think FIU, and GSU will always struggle with attendance, because Miami and Georgia Tech is a stones throw away.

BigTom has a point-though you will see some hogs stuff in Jonesboro, the city itself embraces red wolves and the community itself is mostly pro astate. Lafayette is the exact same way (minus with lsu to contend with) which is pretty incredible considering how large the city of Lafayette is.

I've been to Denton/Dallas for north Texas games, Miami for FIU, Murfreesboro for middle games just to name a few and their was virtually no form of advertisements, window paintings, etc., of community support for these teams. In fact, I remember being in Miami and talking with locals and nobody k ew who I was talking about (keep in mind this was in 2010, the year they won a share of the SBC title and went bowling in Detroit).

(09-09-2015 08:32 AM)RamblinRedWolf Wrote:  BigTom has a point-though you will see some hogs stuff in Jonesboro, the city itself embraces red wolves and the community itself is mostly pro astate. Lafayette is the exact same way (minus with lsu to contend with) which is pretty incredible considering how large the city of Lafayette is.

I've been to Denton/Dallas for north Texas games, Miami for FIU, Murfreesboro for middle games just to name a few and their was virtually no form of advertisements, window paintings, etc., of community support for these teams. In fact, I remember being in Miami and talking with locals and nobody k ew who I was talking about (keep in mind this was in 2010, the year they won a share of the SBC title and went bowling in Detroit).

My wife is from Arkansas and she has keen that went to AState all her grandpa side are big AState fans and graduated from AState, but when we went to a family reunion, you would not believe how many homes have AState flags outside of homes, and have AState chairs, and you can tell people in Jonesboro have embraced and support the University. I felt the pride that she was feeling, and she almost wanted to go against me at this family reunion. I told her we need to come back when UL plays AState.

Lafayette is the same way. People take pride within that community, people feel a connection with the city and the area, and even though LSU is 50 miles away, the areas are totally different. We are the center of Cajun Culture not Baton Rouge, no matter how much they want to be, they will never be.

I will pick on Monroe, but there is a difference in Monroe. People will support High School Football, Monroe has the best High School football in the state of Louisiana. They will get record crowds for high school. I think people love a winner, but I think people take more pride within what section of town they live in. Instead of having pride for the city of Monroe, they rather support LSU instead of supporting ULM. If that makes sense.

(09-09-2015 08:02 AM)Bigtom12 Wrote:  This is how I think about it, teams like GS, UL, stAte, App St. etc., those communities will support the local team, instead of the SEC school that could be 100 miles away. That's because they take pride within there community. Winning does help. People love them some football, football is king. .

This is why I think FIU, and GSU will always struggle with attendance, because Miami and Georgia Tech is a stones throw away.

Within the South we have pockets of resistance against the SEC, ACC team. Some areas more than others.

That's true to a certain extent but we all know in the state of GA who's king of the castle. UGA has cornered the market on fandom in this state. I don't care what anybody says the dawgs are #1 in ATLANTA too. I have no ties or affection to the bulldawgs having grown up in Statesboro in Southern's championship years. That being said there are a lot of UGA fans in Statesboro and the greater Savannah market which is pretty large for a city its size (260,000).

(09-09-2015 08:02 AM)Bigtom12 Wrote:  This is how I think about it, teams like GS, UL, stAte, App St. etc., those communities will support the local team, instead of the SEC school that could be 100 miles away. That's because they take pride within there community. Winning does help. People love them some football, football is king. .

This is why I think FIU, and GSU will always struggle with attendance, because Miami and Georgia Tech is a stones throw away.

Athens is only 40 miles from GSU and the Dawgs fans are the ultimate WalMart fans. Dawg football totally rules the state of GA. The good new is that GA and the ATL area in particular is a hotbed of high school football talent and GSU should still be able to attract some talent. App has done very well in the ATL area, as has GS and at some point, GSU should get their share. That said, when not winning big, GTECH even has trouble selling out their stadium, not so with the Dawgs....and count me as a true Dawg hater! The IQ of Athens drops by a collective 50 points/person on game day, as it goes up 20 in ATL on GTECH game day.

I think the big problem for G5s in P5 areas or large urban areas is lack of interest (relatively speaking). For instance, in Huntington (pop. 50,000 with a metro area roughly 100,000) it is everything Marshall all over the front page and sport section. Local news puts the Herd highlights first in coverage, so we really get max exposure not to mention that the whole city lives, breathes, and bleeds Kelly green. I suspect things are largely similar in Hattiesburg, Ruston, Denton, Statesboro, Greenville, Boise, Boone, and the like.

FIU and FAU, Rice, SMU, Tulane (lmfao), UTSA, etc are probably buried on page 25 of the sports section, get little to no news coverage and no publicity of any relevance. Not their fault, it's just hard to compete with UM, the Dolphins, and the other Florida schools.

Just my opinion. I could be wrong.

You're accurate I'd say. Jonesboro media is primarily astate however outside the city, asu gets primarily buried with occasional front page highlights or leading sports coverage in little rock

(09-09-2015 09:48 AM)THUNDERGround Wrote:  I think the big problem for G5s in P5 areas or large urban areas is lack of interest (relatively speaking). For instance, in Huntington (pop. 50,000 with a metro area roughly 100,000) it is everything Marshall all over the front page and sport section. Local news puts the Herd highlights first in coverage, so we really get max exposure not to mention that the whole city lives, breathes, and bleeds Kelly green. I suspect things are largely similar in Hattiesburg, Ruston, Denton, Statesboro, Greenville, Boise, Boone, and the like.

FIU and FAU, Rice, SMU, Tulane (lmfao), UTSA, etc are probably buried on page 25 of the sports section, get little to no news coverage and no publicity of any relevance. Not their fault, it's just hard to compete with UM, the Dolphins, and the other Florida schools.

Just my opinion. I could be wrong.

This is true in Statesboro about the local community they do support the eagles. But you have to realize that Southern has only been playing for about 30yrs in the modern area. A lot of GS fans are also UGA fans as well and root for them equally. I know a lot of season ticket holders who keep up with the score at the game when the dawgs are playing. As you can see on this board we have some of the most loyal fans at any level.

(09-09-2015 09:48 AM)THUNDERGround Wrote:  I think the big problem for G5s in P5 areas or large urban areas is lack of interest (relatively speaking). For instance, in Huntington (pop. 50,000 with a metro area roughly 100,000) it is everything Marshall all over the front page and sport section. Local news puts the Herd highlights first in coverage, so we really get max exposure not to mention that the whole city lives, breathes, and bleeds Kelly green. I suspect things are largely similar in Hattiesburg, Ruston, Denton, Statesboro, Greenville, Boise, Boone, and the like.

It's true that the Eagles get tons if exposure in Statesboro. Statesboro is true blue through and through. The only problem is that Bulloch County has max 30k people in it. We get decent coverage in Savannah and even a little in Macon. The AJC is even throwing us a bone every now and then. I think the media goal should be to capture at least a part of the market in Savannah, Augusta, and Macon - which make a triangle that Statesboro is smack in the middle of - and the way to do that is by constantly staying relevant and doing things like winning conference championships.

It's weird because Marshall within 3 hours of 6 of the ten FBS conferences (4 of the P5 conferences):

P5: WVU - 3hours (Big 12), Virginia Tech and Louisville - 3 hours(ACC), UK - 2 hours (SEC), and Ohio State - 2 1/2 hours (B1G)
G5: Cincinnati - 3 hours (AAC), Ohio - 1 1/2 hours (MAC)

Nearest schools from the rest:
PAC 12 - UTAH
MWC - CSU
SBC - App (7 hours)
CUSA - WKU (4 hours)

We have our own little pocket of a fanbase, then its pretty much pot luck....lol

(09-08-2015 05:21 PM)Bronco14 Wrote:  Greetings everyone from MAC territory!

I'm a fan of Western Michigan and the MAC, but will cheer for any G5 team. I was recently in Atlanta and just noticed how HUGE college football is down there. Problem is, 7 out of 10 people are in ACC/SEC gear (as opposed to no college gear)

My question is, how does the Sun Belt survive down there? We in the MAC are unfortunate being surrounded by top programs like Notre Dame, Ohio St, and Michigan. We're also not helped that it's too cold to sit and watch mid-major football for most people once the season is half over. But it seems like it's just worse down there. Pro sports have less of a sway and you're still also surrounded by teams like Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, NC St, etc. There's also of course still the Big 10 alumni who are down there for the warm weather.

I don't know, maybe the Sun Belt does OK with it being perfect weather to watch football the whole season? I don't know.

Thoughts?

Thank you!

I think the answer is that we don't compete with them. We rely strictly on alumni to attend the games and donate. Also as you alluded to, the lack of pro sports teams opens up opportunities for regional coverage. The passion behind many smaller programs is just as intense as it is at OSU or UGA or LSU, there's just less of us.