Marshall is playing for an unbeaten season. UAB is playing for its life.

If it does, I promise I won't start a thread about it.

 

Marques Colston just dropped another pass.

 

My guess is that UCF brought more fans, who are on the side you can't see. You might be right though. No way to know.

 

RE turnstile count, the only way that I see it mattering is that if they base that report on inaccurate numbers they'll get inaccurate projections. It especially matters if the numbers are jiggered deliberately. Shrug. I have no expertise at photo interpretation of crowds. I guess we'll see what Scarbinsky comes up with and we'll have a few more facts to play with.

Far as that knows, neither photo could actually be what it was labelled as, but I think they were.

Funny how if you win more than two games a year, you get more than 10k. Attendance is up 130% over last year, which in fairness was utterly miserable and very poorly attended. It also points out the misery of having to play in a 70,000 seat dinosaur instead of something appropriately sized.

 

I am not trying to point fingers at anyone at UAB because I don't know but I have long understood the attendance figures of some of non Big 5 schools playing D1 football are padded. Schools are supposed to average 15,000 in attendance so there is an incentive to boost the number.

The link below is to an old scandal where Eastern Michigan was caught inflating attendance from 7,000 to 16,000. While not mentioned in the linked article I remember reading such a practice was widespread in the MAC. And who is auditing attendance reports?

While I don't know if that allegation is true in 2013 three MAC schools averaged between 15,000 and 16,000 which I find to be a very convenient number.


http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2005/05/Issue-166/Collegiate-Sports/Eastern-Michigan-Investigates-Football-Attendance-Numbers.aspx

 

I believe the NCAA had that rule because they were trying to bump some teams from I-A and and prevent just any school from joining that level. The rule was pretty much ignored because half the MAC was under the figure and it would have messed up the conference.

 

That is damn good.

 

So if they legit drew 15,000 fans per, UAB would only half-fill a fancy new 30,000-seat on-campus stadium.

Sorry. Doesn't work for me.

Gene Bartow and that mighty Blazer Nation (which I bet doesn't sell out Bartow Arena like NC predicted ...) tried to build too fast and too high, without a sound plan or infrastructure to make it happen. They bet on the come, and busted.

rb

 

Let's run with some numbers, shall we? Let's assume that the consulting study was correct in its forecast of expenses (independent of any capital outlays or debt servicing thereof). Let's further assume that the program is currently on the cusp of breaking into a new era of excitement, one in which attendance grows substantially (and immediately).

For 2014, UAB season tickets cost $125 (I don't really know why this is ... individual game ticket prices maxed out at $15 and UAB played only six games, but perhaps season ticket seats are way better). Still, let's assume that all of this attendance growth manifests itself in season-ticket sales.

So, how many additional season tickets would UAB have to sell simply break even (i.e., maintain whatever deficit that currently is in play)? UAB would have to sell an additional 50,000+ season tickets. That's 50,000 tickets above and beyond what they're currently selling.

Now, let's suppose that the new demand manifests itself exclusively in single-game tickets. UAB would have to have an additional 70,000+ fannies in the seats for every game played.

You can play around with these assumptions -- let's say UAB can get away with doubling the single-game/season-ticket price; breakeven required growth is between 25,000 and 35,000 ticket buyers -- but they all take you to the same place: There is no way in hell that, if those cost projections are even in the ballpark, UAB football doesn't wind up being a big, big financial sink.

 

They could be ESPN's whore and play every game on Thursday on ESPN2 or ESPNU or whatever, if it meant getting a nice cash infusion.

Make a deal with Boone Pickens and let him lay rail through town if he props up the program.

Lots of possibilities if you *really* want to play D-I football.

 

And you're doing this with Louisiana Tech and North Texas as your opponents. Lots of luck.

 

If you are actually interested in the facts on whats happened and is still happening here, here's a podcast from Saturday Millionaires, the Business of College Sports. This is Kristi Dosh, ESPN writer on sports economics. It's the best part of an hour, but you'll get most of the facts from someone other than me.

http://businessofcollegesports.com/2014/12/04/podcast-saturday-millionaires-episode-11/