UNI can’t afford “buy games”?

[clenz]

I'd also like to see what NDSU, SDSU, and YSU are paying their cupcakes.

200k is about the right range

[run&blade]

Maybe they should play everybody in conference every year if scheduling non-conference is a loser.

[Mudrafan]

The BOR ordered UNI to play road games against the Big Sky Conference?

Is that what i said you moron.

[vbfan19]

Maybe they should play everybody in conference every year if scheduling non-conference is a loser.

10 conference games and a BCS money game.
haha, the selection committee would have absolutely zero reference to judge how one conference stacks up against any of the others.

[Cat80]

Again, as we've discussed before on this forum it's a short term vs long term thinking.

You want to draw fans to games? You need them playing at home and winning games. Going on the road to Weber State, taking the L, getting banged the hell up, and coming home and finishing OOC 2-2 isn't going to draw fans.

Not only that, playing Weber State cost UNI a seed this year, meaning we had a money losing playoff game. Replace Weber State with Hampton again and UNI is 9-3, not losing money hand over fist this last weekend, have an extra week to get guys healthy (AKA Weston has an extra week and Kolarevic doesn't end up on crutches). Playing EWU, Montana, Weber State, Southern Utah, etc. ends up costing FAR more money once you look past the day of game, than playing a home game.

So we lost casual fans because they see UNI is 2-2 and "disappointing" OOC, YET AGAIN, and go "Well, don't need to see that". Going 3-1 OOC in 12 game years and 2-1 in 11 game season does far more to build excitement, position for the playoffs, etc. Turns out when the program gets seen as disappointing (7 or 8 wins) donations fall. Ticket sales fall. Media coverage falls. Money goes away real fast.

Adding another game worth of money to season tickets. Call it another $25 per season ticket package (that's what it broke out too this year). Shockingly, that eats up a hell of a lot of that $200k up front. We get 500-600k+ from Iowa State and Iowa every single season. Give what Harris wants to charge per game we eat up another chunk of that 200K pretty quick as well. Plus concessions, parking, etc.

The difference that's left can't be all that different than flying the entire program to Idaho, Washington, Montana, California, Utah, etc for 2.5-3 days.

Right after the selection show Farley held a press conference. Jim Nelson asked Mark directly about scheduling mentality and if it needs to change given how the committee has now shown many times that OOC SoS doesn't matter, especially when you play in a conference like the MVFC (remember SIU played 2 FBS games this year and won one of them and got left home). Mark was protected in his answer but it was pretty clear he's pissed about our scheduling style and mentioned that was a discussion that needs to happen behind closed doors.


This interview is not a good look for David - "I just signed a new deal so now I'm going to go guns blazing at our fans.". If he showed half the emotion he showed in that interview being pissed at fans and donors at promoting UNI rather than just monotone reading of a cue card in interviews we'd have an AD with some personality. I don't know how someone that worked under Jamie Pollard for a decade can be so Ben Stein personality wise. He attacks fans that are wondering where his promised facility upgrades were saying it takes money and fans aren't doing enough to make it happen, thus questioning it is horrible and we are not true fans for it.

Um, David. The fans that care enough to question it. The fans that care enough to want status updates on it. The fans that care enough to want to see it happen are the fans that are already donating. Already buying tickets. Already going to games. Going out of your way to talk down to/about those fans is a real bad look. We are the ones that promised 3 shovel ready projects 20 months ago and then have done nothing on them. You promised that in the days after last season a new team room/suites were to be built and ready for this year and then never mentioned it again. That's not on us as fans.

The wrestling mats? Entirely crowd funded and led by Schwab.
The basketball court? Cheapest thing he could have gotten done and needed to be done. It was a decade old.
The football turf? He didn't have a choice. I've been told by some well connected people that he was told, by Patty V, to replace the turf or they'd pull home games from UNI because of how bad our turf was. He didn't have a choice.

Hell, it's not even replacing/upgrading facilities at this point. Where I was Saturday I saw no less than 3 broken seat backs of existing seats. I watched someone lean back and fall through the seat as the back popped off. We aren't even spending money on maintenance at this point.

For him to go after the donors like that is not smart.

Book it, rack it, whatever. Well done, sir and absolutely correct. I(We) don't HAVE to spend thousands each year on PSC, tickets and travel to games. Piss us off enough and those funds can easily be reallocated to other purposes.

[TravelingPanther]

10 conference games and a BCS money game.
haha, the selection committee would have absolutely zero reference to judge how one conference stacks up against any of the others.

So basically the Southland? Lol

[sevelev711]

Maybe they should play everybody in conference every year if scheduling non-conference is a loser.

See you joke, but honestly? I'd be hyped as hell for one buy game and then a full conference slate. Beats skipping one (soon to be two) schools a year.

[Mudrafan]

10 conference games and a BCS money game.
haha, the selection committee would have absolutely zero reference to judge how one conference stacks up against any of the others.

They don’t have a clue regardless and even if they are actually looking at it, they aren’t doing it right as they have their own biased agenda and it’s been this way for years. From getting in to seeding to logistics, it’s a complete cluster annually. Especially for Valley teams who are screwed by undeserving east coast teams and other non scholarship auto qualifiers.

[vbfan19]

They don’t have a clue regardless and even if they are actually looking at it, they aren’t doing it right as they have their own biased agenda and it’s been this way for years. From getting in to seeding to logistics, it’s a complete cluster annually. Especially for Valley teams who are screwed by undeserving east coast teams and other non scholarship auto qualifiers.

You mean the non-scholarship auto-qualifier that held the offense of UNI (who you were whining deserved a top 8 seed) scoreless through almost 3.5 quarters on UNI's home turf?

[run&blade]

See you joke, but honestly? I'd be hyped as hell for one buy game and then a full conference slate. Beats skipping one (soon to be two) schools a year.

Not joking. I would take that over what we get now.

[run&blade]

10 conference games and a BCS money game.
haha, the selection committee would have absolutely zero reference to judge how one conference stacks up against any of the others.

When much of the Valley is playing Pioneer teams I don’t no what that does to clarify it. Besides all they go by is number of W’s.

[Neighbor]

I'm not saying this is relevant but it's a spot to hang it,,, Jacksonville University is dropping football and exiting the Pioneer Football League.

https://judolphins.com/news/2019/12/3/jacksonville-university-discontinues-football.aspx

Look for St. Thomas to slide in there?

[Wxcpanther]

I'm not saying this is relevant but it's a spot to hang it,,, Jacksonville University is dropping football and exiting the Pioneer Football League.

https://judolphins.com/news/2019/12/3/jacksonville-university-discontinues-football.aspx

Look for St. Thomas to slide in there?

Good call. Ya that would be a great fit for St.Thomas. plus another school UNI could schedule

[ronfitch]

Good call. Ya that would be a great fit for St.Thomas. plus another school UNI could schedule

A lot of UNI alum in the Twin Cities .... just saying'.

Their current stadium is 5k, but they added temporary end zone bleachers to get 12k in for a game against St. John's a few years ago (https://tommiesports.com/facilities/...hnessy_Stadium). I reckon they travel well, too.

[Mudrafan]

You mean the non-scholarship auto-qualifier that held the offense of UNI (who you were whining deserved a top 8 seed) scoreless through almost 3.5 quarters on UNI's home turf?

No. The east coast ones