The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(06-29-2020 10:33 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(06-29-2020 09:43 AM)OKIcat Wrote:  It's hard to know what is really happening between UA and UCLA, but I'd have to believe licensed merchandise sales have been well below projections as Bruins' football and basketball have really struggled of late in the Pac12. One of the biggest media markets, but lots of professional and collegiate competitors vying for interest in L.A. too. Do you buy your son a Lakers jersey or one from a pretty average UCLA squad?

It begs the question, will UA, Adidas, and Nike try to downgrade lots of deals in 2020 given the precarious position of college athletics? If we have college football and basketball (I believe we will) crowd restrictions will limit game day retail merchandise sales as never before.

UC can ill afford to lose revenue on this side of the equation, given the current conference TV deal and looming attendance restrictions.

I used to work for a California based company up until a few years. I had a contact out in the LA office who was a UCLA alum and fan. To listen to him talk, he was not bullish on the Bruin fanbase of administration. He acknowledged they were distantly behind pro sports and USC in the pecking order out there. Said fans were extremely fickle, and attendance (butts in the seat, not tickets distributed) were much worse than reported.

With respect to the administration, he did not believe they were committed to winning at a high level in revenue sports. In the PAC12 the Olympic sports are a big deal, so there are limitations there that schools in other parts of the country do not face.

i think it's really difficult for college teams in big pro sports markets or cities that have a ton of other stuff to do to build a critical mass of supporters. This is especially tough if you aren't a great team to begin with. in recent memory only SC and the Canes come to mind as having continued success in cultivating a fan base for colleges located in those big pro sports markets/"big city" environments. Boston College, Rutgers, ucla, Cal, Northwestern, Washington, GA Tech the list goes on and on.

i'm not disputing what you're saying about their admin/leadership but it certainly isn't unique to ucla.