RE: New "piggyback neutral site" concept for championship game
Good job, sturt. Don't listen to the Negative Nancy Naysayers, they just live to cast aspersions on everything they didn't think of. It's a "plan." Of course, General Custer had a "plan" too and we see how that worked out for him.
But, the Naysayers have some valid points, in this case. If a neutral site CUSA championship game were part of a double-header, with say, the SEC championship game....well. Problem is the SEC CG is 99% certain to sell out on its own. If there was some premium price bumping a $75 ticket to say, $82, but said ticket was now good to see the CUSA CG at 2pm and the SEC CG at 7pm, SEC fans would still gobble up the available tickets, complaining mildly about the small increase in price, but still buying them anyway, and what...? Would maybe 500 CUSA fans pay $82 just to get access to both games? So, the 2pm CUSA game is on TV with 500+ fans in attendance.
If the two games are marketed separately, and tickets sold separately, but somehow tied together...come to Atlanta and watch two CGs that day...Well, what possible motivation would the SEC have to cooperate in such a marketing endeavor?
I'm not knocking the thought process, even though it might appear that way. I like the notion of thinking outside of the box! In theory, IF it worked, big IF!, I guarantee the other G5 leagues would immediately express envy and seek to lock up something similar with the ACC, and maybe the Big 12 and/or Big 10 (the MAC). Problem is the practical aspects of the idea.
Backing up....
the issue facing CUSA today is the lack of a history between most of its members, and thus, no rivalries. If the current alignment remains intact for some years (decades) then yeah, some rivalries will develop. Fans/supporters are more likely to flock to games, including the CUSA CG, to see their team play a rival. And! just as importantly, winning the CUSA championship has to mean something more than it does now.
Right now our conference champ goes to Boca Raton, nice destination, but we get a MAC opponent. UAB gets to play NIU (MAC champion, but not the best team in the MAC). No disrespect intended, but...."come on, man!" Middle Tennessee lost in the CG and gets a conference champ, Appy State, in New Orleans! Many CFB fans, who don't give a hoot about CUSA, say, MT got a better bowl game than the CUSA Champ got. Whether you agree with that or not, that's the perception.
Other CUSA fans have rightfully pointed out, we, ALL OF US, need to take care of business in our own house first. CUSA programs have to get better both on the field, and off of it. YES! no need to cast stones, I agree we at Louisiana Tech are GUILTY of this too. More so than others.
In summary....the whole CUSA CG, with the attendance issues, is a symptom of a bigger problem, not the problem itself.
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