IUP Football 2019

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: IUP Football 2019

Since this somehow - again - morphed into an attendance discussion. Here's what I'll say...

There's a lot of truth to my previous post:
1) Student attendance is down in college football (including big boy schools in the FBS Power 5).
2) Non-student attendance is down in college football as well.
3) Going to games live does not have the same appeal as it once did. That's really not opinion either. There's numerous well-written articles that talk about that subjects. Students, even at the brand name schools, don't find it a necessity to be in the stadium every Saturday. Numbers back all of this up.

When the discussion goes to IUP, I think there's really three discussion points that are debated on here:
1) Poor student attendance
2) Poor atmosphere
3) A generally apathetic, uninterested, and non-excitable clientele at the games.

All have merit and all are important to discuss. Aside from IUPBigIndians, nobody else discusses the average age of what those giving to the IUP football program actually is. And IUPgroundhog, please here me out. I'm not trying to act like some jerky young millennial - I promise. The real issue that needs discussed is a sort of blending of what those three discussion points are that I listed above and what IUPNation claims in terms of his belief that "people should go because they care and want to."

Increasing student attendance is a tired issue. It hasn't improved and it won't. That ship has sailed. It is what it is. What I think we often forget is that there are still students who show up - a small percentage of the student body on a campus with 12,000-13,000 students - but there are kids who go. Is it something to do on a Saturday, or do they care like IUPNation did. That's what really needs to be discussed, and that's what IUP Football and the IUP athletic department need to figure out. What made Johnny get out of bed on a Saturday morning to watch IUP and Lock Haven at noon in a stadium worse than most high schools in the area? Because those are the kids they need to target, not the ones streaming Penn State versus some directional college at 3:30 in their dorm room.

I want the powers that be within the athletic department to discuss how they can get the small percentage more engaged; how they can become involved with the program; what it will take for them to become more invested. If you start asking those questions and taking those steps with the ones who already show up, that's how you get a younger fan base and grow a donor base.

That's what I think we should really be discussing on here. Student attendance isn't increasing, but how can we turn the students that show up for a noon snooze fest against Millersville into donors 10 years later?

Could you get students to Miller and make it an event? Yeah, you could. But, it all starts with the tailgates. Look what SRU has done. Those games are wild. And, they've become on-campus events.

Ironically IUP has a stellar party-school reputation yet doesn't want a party at the games.

So, you're right. No tailgating and noon kicks ... no hope of a big student turnout. It's too boring.

They're also missing out on tons of families who are still at Pee-Wee and soccer at noon.

On the positive we still get to see the big games on TV at the real time slots.

[IUP24]

Re: IUP Football 2019

Since this somehow - again - morphed into an attendance discussion. Here's what I'll say...

There's a lot of truth to my previous post:
1) Student attendance is down in college football (including big boy schools in the FBS Power 5).
2) Non-student attendance is down in college football as well.
3) Going to games live does not have the same appeal as it once did. That's really not opinion either. There's numerous well-written articles that talk about that subjects. Students, even at the brand name schools, don't find it a necessity to be in the stadium every Saturday. Numbers back all of this up.

When the discussion goes to IUP, I think there's really three discussion points that are debated on here:
1) Poor student attendance
2) Poor atmosphere
3) A generally apathetic, uninterested, and non-excitable clientele at the games.

All have merit and all are important to discuss. Aside from IUPBigIndians, nobody else discusses the average age of what those giving to the IUP football program actually is. And IUPgroundhog, please here me out. I'm not trying to act like some jerky young millennial - I promise. The real issue that needs discussed is a sort of blending of what those three discussion points are that I listed above and what IUPNation claims in terms of his belief that "people should go because they care and want to."

Increasing student attendance is a tired issue. It hasn't improved and it won't. That ship has sailed. It is what it is. What I think we often forget is that there are still students who show up - a small percentage of the student body on a campus with 12,000-13,000 students - but there are kids who go. Is it something to do on a Saturday, or do they care like IUPNation did. That's what really needs to be discussed, and that's what IUP Football and the IUP athletic department need to figure out. What made Johnny get out of bed on a Saturday morning to watch IUP and Lock Haven at noon in a stadium worse than most high schools in the area? Because those are the kids they need to target, not the ones streaming Penn State versus some directional college at 3:30 in their dorm room.

I want the powers that be within the athletic department to discuss how they can get the small percentage more engaged; how they can become involved with the program; what it will take for them to become more invested. If you start asking those questions and taking those steps with the ones who already show up, that's how you get a younger fan base and grow a donor base.

That's what I think we should really be discussing on here. Student attendance isn't increasing, but how can we turn the students that show up for a noon snooze fest against Millersville into donors 10 years later?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: IUP Football 2019

[QUOTE=Big Ike 97;2397033]Lot of truth in your last sentence. It feels like a high school game.

[IUP24]

[Big Ike 97]

Re: IUP Football 2019

[QUOTE=IUPNation;2397019]

[IUPNation]

IUP Football 2019

You aren't getting kids rolling in to Miller at noon (soberly). If that sounds bad ... so be it. But ... It. Ain't. Happening.

[Fightingscot82]

Re: IUP Football 2019

You aren't getting kids rolling in to Miller at noon (soberly). If that sounds bad ... so be it. But ... It. Ain't. Happening.

Not with that atmosphere. Nobody is going to sit in the sun (August/September) or cold (October/November) to watch what looks like high school football on Saturday afternoon and a marching band playing Aaron Copland. The start time is terrible too. With streaming, students watch stuff until 3 or 4 in the morning. They eat lunch at 2:00 and dinner at 7:00. So that may as well be a 10am kickoff.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: IUP Football 2019


You aren't getting kids rolling in to Miller at noon (soberly). If that sounds bad ... so be it. But ... It. Ain't. Happening.

[IUPalum]

Re: IUP Football 2019

This is true. Though, in all fairness, it doesn't matter if it's a message board forum or real life, D2 or the pros, "football drives the bus" as Dave Wannstedt once said. Even if the site were to change it's name to "D2 Sports Insiders" or something like that, football will likely still drive the bus on this forum.

This may be true on a whole but we are talking IUP. Basketball has become more popular than football since Lombardi has taken over as coach.

[IUPNation]

Your post brought up a great point. IUP football best get some young fans in the next 1 to 8 years. That home side is old now. The next generation best be found soon.

[ctrabs74]

Re: IUP Football 2019

I think you're wrong on all accounts. More people post about football here because the main site is "D2football.com." A lot of people don't even know about the basketball forum linked to the football board. To me the message boards don't show which sport gets supported more. It's all about the buzz and basketball brings that buzz with quality human beings playing!

This is true. Though, in all fairness, it doesn't matter if it's a message board forum or real life, D2 or the pros, "football drives the bus" as Dave Wannstedt once said. Even if the site were to change it's name to "D2 Sports Insiders" or something like that, football will likely still drive the bus on this forum.

[IUPalum]

Re: IUP Football 2019

I think that it is still a football school by and large. Just look at these forums---much more football participation. Only a half dozen or so who regularly post about IUP hoops. Football is hurt by the dumb kickoff times, the insane prices they charge to get into a total dump of a stadium, the lack of atmosphere (i.e. tailgating), and of course as you always correctly allude to-----the dying off of the old guard that made up so much of the loyal football legion.

But I do concur that Bravado has made leaps and bound with the places that he has taken IUP hoops. Certainly, Gary and Kurt Kanaskie deserve some credit here as well.




I think one caveat here is that PSAC as well as D-II WBB is down across the board as far as I have been able to deduce. I don't believe that there are as powerful WBB teams in D-II. For example---I don't think any of these recent IUP or Cal WBB teams that have achieved some measure of success would last very long at all against Darcie Vincent's 2003 and 2004 teams and some of the teams they went up against in the Elite Eight. I think the more recent teams would have been ripped apart and destroyed going up against them. I very strongly believe that.

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I think you're wrong on all accounts. More people post about football here because the main site is "D2football.com." A lot of people don't even know about the basketball forum linked to the football board. To me the message boards don't show which sport gets supported more. It's all about the buzz and basketball brings that buzz with quality human beings playing!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: IUP Football 2019

Your post brought up a great point. IUP football best get some young fans in the next 1 to 8 years. That home side is old now. The next generation best be found soon.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: IUP Football 2019

I think that it is still a football school by and large. Just look at these forums---much more football participation. Only a half dozen or so who regularly post about IUP hoops. Football is hurt by the dumb kickoff times, the insane prices they charge to get into a total dump of a stadium, the lack of atmosphere (i.e. tailgating), and of course as you always correctly allude to-----the dying off of the old guard that made up so much of the loyal football legion.

But I do concur that Bravado has made leaps and bound with the places that he has taken IUP hoops. Certainly, Gary and Kurt Kanaskie deserve some credit here as well.




I think one caveat here is that PSAC as well as D-II WBB is down across the board as far as I have been able to deduce. I don't believe that there are as powerful WBB teams in D-II. For example---I don't think any of these recent IUP or Cal WBB teams that have achieved some measure of success would last very long at all against Darcie Vincent's 2003 and 2004 teams and some of the teams they went up against in the Elite Eight. I think the more recent teams would have been ripped apart and destroyed going up against them. I very strongly believe that.

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Success ... Joe's blown out the football program. Not even close. A big Jan-Feb basketball game versus a football game ... atmosphere ... no comparison. Joe blows them out. Not even close.

Tom's been to two strait Final Four's and has won two straight Regionals. Era to era ... who knows. But ... stats are facts.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: IUP Football 2019

Gotta give serious props to Lombardi. He turned a football school into a basketball school.

That's not really even debatable the past 12 years.

I think that it is still a football school by and large. Just look at these forums---much more football participation. Only a half dozen or so who regularly post about IUP hoops. Football is hurt by the dumb kickoff times, the insane prices they charge to get into a total dump of a stadium, the lack of atmosphere (i.e. tailgating), and of course as you always correctly allude to-----the dying off of the old guard that made up so much of the loyal football legion.

But I do concur that Bravado has made leaps and bound with the places that he has taken IUP hoops. Certainly, Gary and Kurt Kanaskie deserve some credit here as well.

And, what Tom is doing with the women is just unprecedented. Tom has the flagship program at IUP right now followed by Joe.

I think one caveat here is that PSAC as well as D-II WBB is down across the board as far as I have been able to deduce. I don't believe that there are as powerful WBB teams in D-II. For example---I don't think any of these recent IUP or Cal WBB teams that have achieved some measure of success would last very long at all against Darcie Vincent's 2003 and 2004 teams and some of the teams they went up against in the Elite Eight. I think the more recent teams would have been ripped apart and destroyed going up against them. I very strongly believe that.

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