ARTICLE linked from Syracusefan.com

They dumped te ACC for the BIG and now their attendance is way down. They got what they wanted and now crawling back to the ACC.

Side note, good to see that Tenn and Phil Fulmer have made up after that ugly episode that followed his firing. He's now the AD at Tenn.

(04-21-2019 10:43 AM)cuseroc Wrote:  ARTICLE linked from Syracusefan.com

They dumped te ACC for the BIG and now their attendance is way down. They got what they wanted and now crawling back to the ACC.

Side note, good to see that Tenn and Phil Fulmer have made up after that ugly episode that followed his firing. He's now the AD at Tenn.

I believe the last three Gator Bowls featured ACC teams rather than B1G teams. The attendance for those three games have been way down from the SEC-B1G games prior. The loss of the January 1 date, the CFP making non-NY6 bowls less relevant, the ho-hum Jacksonville area, and the fact that the payout has been so low that it makes getting a top tier program from the SEC/B1G/ACC nearly impossible are the factors I see having the biggest impact on the bowl's decline.

Cheers,
Neil

When the Big Ten and the SEC made a triple header in the Citrus, Outback, and Gator, things got really boring really quickly. The ACC should have been involved in one of those every year just for the simple fact there are two Florida teams and then Georgia Tech and Clemson not terribly far away

The Gator between the ACC and Big East with a Notre Dame tie-in was my personal favorite.

(04-21-2019 12:27 PM)OrangeDude Wrote:  

(04-21-2019 10:43 AM)cuseroc Wrote:  ARTICLE linked from Syracusefan.com

They dumped te ACC for the BIG and now their attendance is way down. They got what they wanted and now crawling back to the ACC.

Side note, good to see that Tenn and Phil Fulmer have made up after that ugly episode that followed his firing. He's now the AD at Tenn.

I believe the last three Gator Bowls featured ACC teams rather than B1G teams. The attendance for those three games have been way down from the SEC-B1G games prior. The loss of the January 1 date, the CFP making non-NY6 bowls less relevant, the ho-hum Jacksonville area, and the fact that the payout has been so low that it makes getting a top tier program from the SEC/B1G/ACC nearly impossible are the factors I see having the biggest impact on the bowl's decline.

Cheers,
Neil

It's certainly true that the last 3 Gator Bowls have had poor attendance. It's also true that the ACC replaced the Big Ten in all of those 3 games. However, we can pretty much dismiss that effect since in the 19 Gator Bowls prior to that the ACC was the host conference and neither the SEC nor the Big Ten played in it -- and the attendance was between 5,000 and 6,000 higher!

The REAL determining factor, IMO, is this:
Gator Bowl attendance when played on New Year's Day: 64,785
attendance when played BEFORE New Year's Day: 40,873
difference due to the date: 23,912
That effect is HUGE!

(04-21-2019 03:34 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(04-21-2019 12:27 PM)OrangeDude Wrote:  

(04-21-2019 10:43 AM)cuseroc Wrote:  ARTICLE linked from Syracusefan.com

They dumped te ACC for the BIG and now their attendance is way down. They got what they wanted and now crawling back to the ACC.

Side note, good to see that Tenn and Phil Fulmer have made up after that ugly episode that followed his firing. He's now the AD at Tenn.

I believe the last three Gator Bowls featured ACC teams rather than B1G teams. The attendance for those three games have been way down from the SEC-B1G games prior. The loss of the January 1 date, the CFP making non-NY6 bowls less relevant, the ho-hum Jacksonville area, and the fact that the payout has been so low that it makes getting a top tier program from the SEC/B1G/ACC nearly impossible are the factors I see having the biggest impact on the bowl's decline.

Cheers,
Neil

It's certainly true that the last 3 Gator Bowls have had poor attendance. It's also true that the ACC replaced the Big Ten in all of those 3 games. However, we can pretty much dismiss that effect since in the 19 Gator Bowls prior to that the ACC was the host conference and neither the SEC nor the Big Ten played in it -- and the attendance was between 5,000 and 6,000 higher!

The REAL determining factor, IMO, is this:
Gator Bowl attendance when played on New Year's Day: 64,785
attendance when played BEFORE New Year's Day: 40,873
difference due to the date: 23,912
That effect is HUGE!

Good Post! Here's a LINK that shows the Gators attendance the last 70 years. The ACC vs BE had some of the best attended games of any matchups. Catlett is reaping what he sowed. When he severed ties with the BE he said some not so nice things to say. Then said some similar things when he severed ties with the ACC years later. I believe that when he severed ties with the ACC to go with the BIG is when he settled for a less appealing date for the Gator. Now his salary has been cut in half, which is deserving, if he was the one who encouraged these bad decisions that affected attendance so negatively.

(04-21-2019 03:34 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(04-21-2019 12:27 PM)OrangeDude Wrote:  

(04-21-2019 10:43 AM)cuseroc Wrote:  ARTICLE linked from Syracusefan.com

They dumped te ACC for the BIG and now their attendance is way down. They got what they wanted and now crawling back to the ACC.

Side note, good to see that Tenn and Phil Fulmer have made up after that ugly episode that followed his firing. He's now the AD at Tenn.

I believe the last three Gator Bowls featured ACC teams rather than B1G teams. The attendance for those three games have been way down from the SEC-B1G games prior. The loss of the January 1 date, the CFP making non-NY6 bowls less relevant, the ho-hum Jacksonville area, and the fact that the payout has been so low that it makes getting a top tier program from the SEC/B1G/ACC nearly impossible are the factors I see having the biggest impact on the bowl's decline.

Cheers,
Neil

It's certainly true that the last 3 Gator Bowls have had poor attendance. It's also true that the ACC replaced the Big Ten in all of those 3 games. However, we can pretty much dismiss that effect since in the 19 Gator Bowls prior to that the ACC was the host conference and neither the SEC nor the Big Ten played in it -- and the attendance was between 5,000 and 6,000 higher!

The REAL determining factor, IMO, is this:
Gator Bowl attendance when played on New Year's Day: 64,785
attendance when played BEFORE New Year's Day: 40,873
difference due to the date: 23,912
That effect is HUGE!

There's a serious flaw in that analysis. The period showing the New Year's Day average runs from 1996-2016. But before that, the game was played on or about New Year's Eve, just as it is now. In the last 12 of those years when the game was played in December, attendance averaged 74, 649. That's almost 10,000 more than when they switched to New Year's Day.

The date isn't the only factor, and it may not be much of a factor at all.

(04-21-2019 08:55 PM)cuseroc Wrote:  

(04-21-2019 03:34 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(04-21-2019 12:27 PM)OrangeDude Wrote:  

(04-21-2019 10:43 AM)cuseroc Wrote:  ARTICLE linked from Syracusefan.com

They dumped te ACC for the BIG and now their attendance is way down. They got what they wanted and now crawling back to the ACC.

Side note, good to see that Tenn and Phil Fulmer have made up after that ugly episode that followed his firing. He's now the AD at Tenn.

I believe the last three Gator Bowls featured ACC teams rather than B1G teams. The attendance for those three games have been way down from the SEC-B1G games prior. The loss of the January 1 date, the CFP making non-NY6 bowls less relevant, the ho-hum Jacksonville area, and the fact that the payout has been so low that it makes getting a top tier program from the SEC/B1G/ACC nearly impossible are the factors I see having the biggest impact on the bowl's decline.

Cheers,
Neil

It's certainly true that the last 3 Gator Bowls have had poor attendance. It's also true that the ACC replaced the Big Ten in all of those 3 games. However, we can pretty much dismiss that effect since in the 19 Gator Bowls prior to that the ACC was the host conference and neither the SEC nor the Big Ten played in it -- and the attendance was between 5,000 and 6,000 higher!

The REAL determining factor, IMO, is this:
Gator Bowl attendance when played on New Year's Day: 64,785
attendance when played BEFORE New Year's Day: 40,873
difference due to the date: 23,912
That effect is HUGE!

Good Post! Here's a LINK that shows the Gators attendance the last 70 years. The ACC vs BE had some of the best attended games of any matchups. Catlett is reaping what he sowed. When he severed ties with the BE he said some not so nice things to say. Then said some similar things when he severed ties with the ACC years later. I believe that when he severed ties with the ACC to go with the BIG is when he settled for a less appealing date for the Gator. Now his salary has been cut in half, which is deserving, if he was the one who encouraged these bad decisions that affected attendance so negatively.

A big part of the problem is that the quality of the matchups has dropped quite a bit. The Gator used to host the number 1 runners up from the Big East and ACC. It dropped a notch around 2006, when it dropped to the number 2 runner up from the ACC behind the Chick-fil-A , and an even lower selection from the SEC.

The Gator would have been wise to go hard after the number 1 ACC runner up after the Chick-fil-A was promoted to the NY6. It probably would have needed a financial commitment from ESPN or another TV partner, of course. With the Gator Bowl's tradition, though, it's a shame ESPN didn't support a better matchup for this game. It would make a lot more sense than the Camping World, which is stuck in a 5 pm kickoff slot several days before New Year's.

(04-21-2019 03:34 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(04-21-2019 12:27 PM)OrangeDude Wrote:  

(04-21-2019 10:43 AM)cuseroc Wrote:  ARTICLE linked from Syracusefan.com

They dumped te ACC for the BIG and now their attendance is way down. They got what they wanted and now crawling back to the ACC.

Side note, good to see that Tenn and Phil Fulmer have made up after that ugly episode that followed his firing. He's now the AD at Tenn.

I believe the last three Gator Bowls featured ACC teams rather than B1G teams. The attendance for those three games have been way down from the SEC-B1G games prior. The loss of the January 1 date, the CFP making non-NY6 bowls less relevant, the ho-hum Jacksonville area, and the fact that the payout has been so low that it makes getting a top tier program from the SEC/B1G/ACC nearly impossible are the factors I see having the biggest impact on the bowl's decline.

Cheers,
Neil

It's certainly true that the last 3 Gator Bowls have had poor attendance. It's also true that the ACC replaced the Big Ten in all of those 3 games. However, we can pretty much dismiss that effect since in the 19 Gator Bowls prior to that the ACC was the host conference and neither the SEC nor the Big Ten played in it -- and the attendance was between 5,000 and 6,000 higher!

The REAL determining factor, IMO, is this:
Gator Bowl attendance when played on New Year's Day: 64,785
attendance when played BEFORE New Year's Day: 40,873
difference due to the date: 23,912
That effect is HUGE!

Just want to say that the highlighted part from my post was merely correcting an error in the post I was responding to. Everything after that highlighted part are the reasons why I believe the Gator has fallen off, which includes your point and two other points made by subsequent posters. Your point by itself isn't the answer either since the Gator match-ups featured higher rated and/or better rated teams for that area from the conferences involved prior as well.

Cheers,
Neil

They are facing the same issue as the rest of the sporting world. High ticket prices, competition from TV, hassle of getting in/out of the stadium. Plus the expense of traveling.

(04-23-2019 09:53 AM)Wolfman Wrote:  They are facing the same issue as the rest of the sporting world. High ticket prices, competition from TV, hassle of getting in/out of the stadium. Plus the expense of traveling.

The "cash cow" is being milked to death.
The "goose that lays the golden eggs" is not feeling well.

Having contracts with conferences is ridiculous, except for maybe the highest level bowls. The bowls should be independent and bid out to who they want like the old days. The Gator should be inviting a regional team and whoever else they can entice.