Ted hutton?
Posted
#163990
(In Topic #29392)
Wise Owl
Member since 2004
(again) he wrote a artical that headlined "owls narrowly get by" Im sorry but we won… I dont care by how much Ted, we beat the Div. champions, dont down play it. Its just really starting to irk me, people at work have read the sunsential and thought we had an awfull season because of the articals they read… even in todays paper " FAU has been winning, going 11-3 last year and 9-3 this year, but the Owls have been playing mostly at the I-AA level, against teams such as Gardner-Webb, Illinois State and Northern Colorado, which have no resonance in South Florida." How about instead of reporting that we talk about how we beat Middle Tenn., N. Texas, and Hawaii…. what about that Ted…. he talks about us needing fans, well when you report negativly of course people dont want to go…. Personally I dont think to highly of him…. I think we need a new sports writer…. What are some of your oppinions of Hutton
Posted
Bytor
Member since 2004
Ted hutton?
FAU, FIU hope to win games, fans
By Ted Hutton
Staff Writer
Posted December 14 2004
Attracting enough of South Florida's fickle fans is critical to the future of Florida Atlantic and Florida International's football programs, but it's been a tough sell as the teams try to wedge their way into the area's crowded sports market.
FAU and FIU both needed to average 15,000 fans at their home games this season to continue their two-year transitions from Division I-AA to I-A. Both fell well short as the Owls averaged 10,784 and the Golden Panthers drew 10,095.
While that was an improvement of more than 3,000 fans per game for the teams, it still leaves their transition in doubt, and raises questions as to whether they can find enough fans to support the programs at the level required by the NCAA this early in their development.
"You'll always be ahead of your fan base until you go to a major bowl and win," FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger said. "Then it explodes."
Schnellenberger has the experience to support that, taking Miami to the 1983 Orange Bowl and beating Nebraska for the national championship, then getting Louisville into the 1990 Fiesta Bowl, where the Cardinals beat Alabama.
Both programs flourished after those wins.
Adding to the difficulty is the location of the NCAA's two newest football programs.
"This may be the most crowded and challenging event market in the country," said Scott Becher, president of Sports & Sponsorships, a sports marketing agency based in Miami Beach.
"The NCAA model is the opposite of the way South Florida ticket buyers operate," Becher said. "Here it's win first and the ticket sales will follow."
FAU has been winning, going 11-3 last year and 9-3 this year, but the Owls have been playing mostly at the I-AA level, against teams such as Gardner-Webb, Illinois State and Northern Colorado, which have no resonance in South Florida.
That is why FAU and FIU decided they needed to move to I-A as quickly as possible, knowing it would be hard to survive as I-AA teams, looking up at not just Miami, Florida and Florida State but also South Florida and Central Florida.
"I think that's exactly right," Becher said.
Becher said FIU and FAU also made smart decisions by hiring well-known coaches to lend the programs instant visibility and credibility. FAU's Schnellenberger and former Dolphins quarterback Don Strock at FIU have strong local ties and name recognition.
But that has not translated into fans in the stands.
"We have little patience for nurturing a program," Becher said. "Down here, it's, `Wake us when you're a champion, and we'll be there.'"
FAU and FIU are also trying to siphon fans from three established programs that are usually in the hunt for a national title – the Hurricanes, Gators and Seminoles.
"If you identify with college football and you live in Florida, you probably already have that need satisfied, and you have already picked your team," said Christian End, an assistant professor at Xavier who specializes in the psychology of sports fans.
"The Miami, Florida and Florida State teams have been hyper-successful over the last 20 years and there is no reason to jump off that bandwagon," he said.
End said winning is one of the best ways to help build a fan base. "People want to back a winner. Then they start wearing the apparel, publicizing their identification, and other people see that and think it's safe to join in."
Becher thinks that because South Florida is one of the biggest bandwagon markets in the country, there is hope for FAU and FIU.
"There appears to be an insatiable appetite for football at any level here," Becher said. "There is no reason why they can't succeed, but you can't expect a fan base to come in front of success, not in this market."
That is something the schools' athletic directors understand.
"In this town, if you don't win, it's a problem," said Rick Mello, FIU's athletic director. "We will both have viable I-A programs, but right now we have to deal with an NCAA requirement where we don't have the tradition yet to draw from."
FAU Athletic Director Craig Angelos said, "Can we continue to increase our attendance base and get past 15,000 on a regular basis? Yes. Next year? I don't know."
FAU and FIU will find out in January the consequences of not averaging 15,000 this season. That is when the NCAA Board of Directors is meeting to decide whether to keep, eliminate or modify the attendance rule.
"There is no magic attendance dust," End said. "Most of it is fostering an emotional connection between the team and fans. That can take a while."
Posted
Bytor
Member since 2004
Ted hutton?
The article above paints a pretty clear picture of what FAU & FIU faces with attendance. Botton line, we are in a tough market.
It's not the medias place to market FAU or any team for that matter - so don't expect them to make any exception or to sugar coat things just for FAU cause.
I understand your fustration, but again it does take time to build a fan base.
"You'll always be ahead of your fan base until you go to a major bowl and win," FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger said. "Then it explodes."
Schnellenberger has the experience to support that, taking Miami to the 1983 Orange Bowl and beating Nebraska for the national championship, then getting Louisville into the 1990 Fiesta Bowl, where the Cardinals beat Alabama.
Both programs flourished after those wins.
This is the plan that FAU is following and one reason the schedule is getting tougher every year for us to be able to compete at the highest level as soon as the means will allow. The NCAA's attendance issue is a major concern for our progress, but right know all we can do is wait for the what happens in the meetings in January - till then we can't worry about things out of our control.
FAU has been winning, going 11-3 last year and 9-3 this year, but the Owls have been playing mostly at the I-AA level, against teams such as Gardner-Webb, Illinois State and Northern Colorado, which have no resonance in South Florida.
The teams he mentions are teams we have played at home and the truth is they are not a big draw. He has given us good write-ups in the past with our wins against Hawaii, MTSU & NTU.
I will say this, I am happy with the overall exposure and attention we have received and if we continue to be successful on the field there is no reason why the fans will not come.
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2003
Ted hutton?
Personally I never met the guy but I cringe when I read his column. I, and some of the other FAU fans, have been complaining about him for 4 years now. The man is constantly lurking for negatives. His responses are full of FAU failures. His job is not to build FAU's fan base. True. But to constantly harp on negatives will not help the exposure either. I've written him a few times over the years. Naturally no response because he don't have to. He has some leaks from the Oxley which hasn't set too well either. I'd say the majority of his columns have not been too favorable in subject. The basic stuff about practices? Not even he can screw that up. He's a beat writer who leans towards sensationalism.
My favorite is Marcus Nelson from the Post. This guy writes with a little more compassion and deals with the positives more than Ted Hutton.
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2003
Ted hutton?
Posted
Bytor
Member since 2004
Ted hutton?
Ted hutton?
As far as Hutton goes, I wasn't trying to convey that I agree with everything he says, but the Sun-Sentinel has given FAU pretty good coverage, so you have to take the good with the bad sometimes. Whatever his motivation behind the negative stuff I don't know, maybe he's piss for being stuck covering FAU or he doesn't like Coach or he lives in Boca, whatever!!
I just don't let one writer effect or have that much power in the way I perceive stuff. They all have there own agendas behind their writings and most are pretty predictable. Now, how it effect FAU overall who knows -all schools have their critics that will bash them no matter what.
Some of the stuff he does write good or bad is still accurrate and just may not be the spin or angle you would want, but that journalism for you. I would hope that any intelligent person would not be persuated by any one writer, then again.
It's easier for them to take shots like this, instead on doing real investigating work to come up with something more original :o What I would like to see, is one of these writers make an effort in maybe writing about how ridiculous this attendance issue really is, but that would take time and a little effort on their part.
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2004
Ted hutton?
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2004
Ted hutton?
Posted
Full Flight
Member since 2004
Ted hutton?
The official FAU site also has pretty lame article, I would expect more from the officail site. If they pumped out stronger articles and released them on the wires it could offset other media negativities… I don't know :-/ what do you guys think?
Posted
Curious Owl
Member since 2004
Ted hutton?
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