palmbeach post article
Posted
#165809
(In Topic #29631)
First Flight
Member since 2004
look, as a wall streeter, you wouldn't be thrilled with a business that predicted results and then fell far short. the 50 pct. increase in attendance is nice, but it's way below the projections that were supposed to make FAU football not only self-sustaining by this point, but profitable. that clearly hasn't happened.
what evidence do you have that attendance will increase 50 percent, or by any pace? that's wishful thinking of the sort you wouldn't tolerate in a corporate analysis. as they say in the mutual-fund offerings, past performance is no guarantee of future results.
if, as you point out, the marlins can win 2 world championships in their short life and still be struggling with building a reliable fan base, how can you argue with any confidence that FAU will do any better?
as you'll notice, i said it's not the team's fault. they've been playing beyond expectations. even so, too many students still can't be bothered.
it's not just football, by the way. FAU men's basketball, which has been division I for 10 years, averages a mere 550 souls at home games. they tried enticing students to the games by offering free meals beforehand…. but the kids just ate the barbecue and left.
south florida is a very tough market for sports teams. back in 1999, when schnellenberger came to FAU, he mentioned that miami – miami! – was having trouble selling enough tickets. why he then thought that FAU could prosper at the gate is a mystery i don't understand.
listen, i agree with you that football is a great part of college. i happen to love football. but the numbers are in negative territory here.
anyway, thanks for reading the column and for writing.
cheers,
Howard Goodman
Palm Beach County Metro Columnist
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
561-243-6638 office
561-312-6076 cell
[Goodman, Howard]
—–Original Message—–
From: Justin Dirico [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 10:50 AM
To: Goodman, Howard
Subject: RE: FAU editorial
no but look at every great college in America besides the Ivy's and they all have great sport programs. Why are students not turning out? Because 32 year old commuters have no school spirit and too busy getting a college education and working full time, attracting a traditional college student with athletics will only increase attendance. With every non-traditional graduating class there is a new more impressionable class enrolling at younger age and living on campus.
If students are not interested why has that attendance increased 50% a year? On this pace games will see 15k this year and 22k in 06'. 15k and 22k are a lot more than marlins have at there game with the same facilities.
"Goodman, Howard" <[email protected]> wrote:
thank you for making my case for me. if students don't pay for tickets and they're still turning out in poor numbers, what does that tell you about their level of interest? as an economics major, you must know the answer to that.
you seem not to have noticed that i give brogan credit for recognizing that he inherited a bad situation.
in your last sentence, are you saying that a university should be judged mainly by the fame of its football coach? c'mon….
[Goodman, Howard]
—–Original Message—–
From: Justin Dirico [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 10:17 AM
To: Goodman, Howard
Subject: FAU editorial
I'd like to see those comments in five years. I love the fact you don't mention students do not pay for tickets to sporting events, attendance increases by over 50% a year and Brogan is slowly turning a commuter school into a traditional college atmosphere. Your comments are narrow minded and shouldn't be subjected to the public, I can't believe such a reputable newspaper could post such juvenile, uneducated comments without showing both sides of a story. You are narrow minded and ought to be ashamed of yourself, the university has accomplished great goals in the last eight years. I went there in from 98' to 02' and graduated with a degree in Economics and make six figures on Wall Street, you don't know how many times people have asked about Schnellberger and not once about a chemistry experiment.
Justin Dirico 02'
516.428.1313
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2004
palmbeach post article
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2003
palmbeach post article
I think this is mostly a marketing problem. More specifically, the lack of it. Hopefully with moving to D-I and playing ing higher profile games, this problem will sort itself out. Until then, we are going to keep reading articles from people like Goodman who would rather put down the program than support it.
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2004
palmbeach post article
palmbeach post article
2017 and 2019 Conference USA Champions
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2004
palmbeach post article
The Palm Beach market is growing and not only should you look to the south when talking about markets, but north. With more kids coming in from central florida area it will increase the interest of fans. As the recruiting spreads throughout the country so will the fans interest.
The move to Division I will will be huge, as the national exposure increases so will the base. it really is amazing how somethings begin to grow on a person and all it takes is a little patients and time.
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2004
palmbeach post article
2017 and 2019 Conference USA Champions
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2004
palmbeach post article
IMO the stadium is more a part of the solution to money problems than a contributor. The reason especially if it is a Dome is the events other then football that it can be used for. Put your marketing cap on for a minute and think about it. One big non athletic event I can think of is Concerts.
Posted
Bytor
Member since 2004
palmbeach post article
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Wise Owl
Member since 2004
palmbeach post article
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2004
palmbeach post article
I agree about the stadium. The point I was trying to make is that our deal with ProPlayer really put us in a financial hole. An on-campus stadium should right all of that given enough time. It won't happen over night.
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