(04-25-2016 09:27 AM)Love and Honor Wrote: That casual fan started coming because you guys made it a fun social event, but your football-oriented fan base will dwindle if you stop winning. And if you lose those devoted fans and your team starts losing every week by three TDs, the games become much less fun and you'll stop drawing good crowds every Saturday (your band is admittedly your ace in the hole). You think it's impossible because the changes you've made, but take one look at the stands in Oxford and you'll see that it isn't. Our average attendance in 2003 was only a few hundred shy of your record at Peden and that was long before we inflated the numbers; now it's obvious where we are. You may think those alumni who come back to tailgate are really committed, but if OU wins nine games in four years like Miami has, they'll just go to the bars in Athens instead if they want to visit OU.
The 2011 Potato Bowl year did help build season tickets. Winning has been some of the factor to build numbers as high as they are.
Then the Bobcats started losing. The last 4 years Ohio has been .500 in the MAC. But season ticket sales continued to crest higher to go with higher ticket prices. Many fans want to see Solich go with his second half of the season meltdowns.
I don't think any other MAC school besides Ohio has hotels sold out for the first home football game by April. There are only a few rooms available in Athens for the September 3rd opener on Priceline. Its 200 dollars for a decent hotel in Athens. Its not only Athens where the prices are up but also Logan and Lancaster are charging 200 for Bobcat football weekends.
The closest hotel that you can find online for October 8th game against Bowling Green is a hostel 13 miles from Athens. Then 16 miles at Burr Oak for $160 and beyond that 24 miles to Logan for $210. Nothing in Athens and its not like there is just one hotel in town there are now 10 of them.
https://www.priceline.com/stay/#/search/...ESS&page=1
A few thousand in hotels but thousands more making the day trip to Athens. Then local support and student support which is close to 8,000 for the games. Enrollment has grown and its helping student support.
20 years ago, football weekends in Athens were nothing. 5 hotels in town and they weren't even full. If Miami was in town who traveled 2,500 fans back then Ohio could get 20k in the house. Else 15,000 if the weather was great early in the season.
The best two months of sunshine in Athens is in September and October. Rain outs only once every 3 years or so. Its a big edge.
1) Weather.
2) Weekend Student Population.
3) Setting on the river.
4) Located in the Hocking Valley a tourist area.
5) Distance from Alumni.
Alumni are figuring if they are going to go back to Athens why not do during a football weekend. Its the easiest time of year to go down there.
Once the athletic department understood how to market home football games support soared due to the natural advantages.
Miami has pretty good weather and a sizable student population going for. But Oxford is not in a tourism zone where you can be on campus and then go hiking the next day. There are no wineries or national forests around there. Plus you need to travel 2 lane roads to get to Oxford. There is less reason for a Miami grad to want to go back to campus unless in the immediate area.