(08-16-2018 05:16 AM)UofToledoFans Wrote: Where would that 150k or 200k gate receipt come from? Unless gate is already close to that.
If average attendance is 2k to 8k for an EMU home game, Kentucky wouldn't make Rynearson burst at the seams... They are about as low profile of a P5 team as you will find. Sure Kentucky would bring 1000 or so but EMU fans won't all of the sudden show out for Wildcats.... Toledo has played Kansas, Purdue, ISU, and Colorado during our years of being meager (06-09) and those crowds weren't any better than MAC foes besides the fact that they were in September.
An instate rivalry game vs. MSU or a BIG team dropping would be far more tragic. I can see the displeasure with being a MAC team who doesn't grab good OOC games to build the fanbase, but sometimes winning has to come first.
Kentucky isn't horrible but year to year they are in danger of losing to about half of the G5 teams out there. Playing that game in Ypsi in front of 14,000 is a loss loss. Especially if EMU will be halfway decent (which they should be). At least getting the Eagles at home relieves them of some chance of falling on their face. Kentucky is in the game of being bowl eligible. The 1m cost to get that extra OOC win is probably worth it compared to keeping the cash/giving a 7 point swing to a team that would "SOUND" like a very very bad loss.
I agree with you.
I was being generous by 'assuming' EMU would sell 8 - 10k paid tickets at say $20 or $25 bucks each. Many would be 'bundled', BOGO, etc. and result in less than a $20 average ticket revenue.
Add a few thousand students, admitted free, and maybe EMU draws a legitimate 12K fans but loses its shirt financially.
I'm not sure of the current market, but it seems we can get 1M (give or take) on the road and may pay say 250 - 300K for a FCS team at home.
Based on that, I agree with this poster that taking the 1M for a game like KY is a good deal. The money is good and the game should be competitive. SEC teams get good TV exposure.
My big problem with dropping the KY home game is if we start 2019 with say 3 straight road games. That isn't good.
I like playing teams like KY, IL, etc. as they seem to have some attractiveness and make sense. B1G games, like Rutgers, IL, Purdue, etc. get us on the BTN. In today's media environment, if you aren't on television you are almost irrelevant.
I do like playing in neighboring states as EMU exposure in KY, IL, etc. (playing P5 teams) is a good thing.