The unofficial online home for fans of the Old Dominion University Monarchs. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(01-11-2024 05:59 PM)Stat Geek Wrote:  

(01-11-2024 05:51 PM)TribeinVB Wrote:  

(01-11-2024 05:01 PM)Stat Geek Wrote:  

(01-11-2024 04:55 PM)TribeinVB Wrote:  

(01-11-2024 04:51 PM)Monarchist13 Wrote:  Matchups with App, Marshall, JMU, Coastal and Georgia Southern are better than anything we're going to see in FCS.

Better talent wise or interest wise? JMU yes, but I think the fan interest in App, Marshall, Coastal and GS is not as deep as you think. Football fanatics yes, but the casual fan could care less about playing these schools just as they did about playing virtually all of CUSA.

Rather play Elon, W&M, Albany, New Hampshire

Or Marshall, Coastal, Ga State, JMU, etc?

You cant possibly think people care more about playing CAA schools. Maybe the super casuals enjoy playing W@M but who else?

Again I think you overestimate the lure of our current opponents outside of Madison.
It's casual football fans that get Ballard filled, not the die hards and the casual fan, in my opinion, doesn't care anymore about most of the Sunbelt as it would about playing Elon or UNH. I think our attendance bears this out. Also, I am not sure what you mean by "care." I "care" about watching football teams I am interested in play for something. If I just "cared" about the level of play, I'd watch nothing but the NFL We play for nothing and try sell the mediocrity of "getting bowl eligible!!!" as something grand.

If today's rumor of no more VT games is true, which certainly means the UVA game will never be rescheduled, the remaining G5 attraction that separates us from FCS goes away. ODU, just like W&M, will get their one road game payday each year against a P5. With virtually no more chance of getting a P$ on the home schedule, it will be very interesting to see how season ticket sales go. I doubt very well and it will have nothing to do with Wood Selig.

We are playing glorified FCS football right now, only without the reward of a playoff system between teams on the same financial footing. Is JMU a more interesting opponent than Elon or UNH? Sure. But is Ga State or Coastal or Louisiana or Texas State or Troy more interesting than Richmond, Villanova or W&M to the casual fan that you need to fill stadiums when you aren't playing for anything, I don't think so. But we can agree to disagree.

We will agree to disagree then.

If the playing fields are so similar, what is the CAA tv deal vs Sun Belt?

First and foremost winning is what puts casual butts in the seats. Secondly, consistently beating G5s has far more cache than beating any FCS team , perhaps excepting SDSU.
Bottom line, play and consistently beat peers and the casual fan will come.