“The Wolfpack want to drive as much revenue as possible while remaining fan friendly.”

Well, don’t we all.

It’s just funny how it seems like there’s a lot more thought put into being wallet friendly…

Old Hat came back with ideal price points for different areas of the stadium to ultimately allow NC State to optimize revenue, donations, and capacity. One key finding from the survey data was that fans understood NC State’s price points, as they were consistent with other entertainment options in the area. Of the 4,500 responses received, only 27 mentioned ticket price as an area that needed improvement at NC State.

… than fan friendly.

Most comments in the fan survey were related to overall fan experience. For example, some fans mentioned difficulties finding their way to certain parts of the stadium. That direct feedback helps Hargis and NC State craft policies that better adapt to their consumers’ needs.

“We, as employees, really know our way around the stadium, as do a lot of our season ticket holders,” Hargis remarks. “But for our single-game ticket buyers, it could be more difficult. So putting up some additional signage might be a good opportunity for us, as well as adding some concessions options for fans with more specific dining preferences or allergies.”

“Wolfpack fans, you may pay more, but at least you’ll have an easier path to finding your seat” doesn’t sound like the kind of sales pitch that will encourage fans not to stay home to watch, but, then again, I’m no marketing guru.

Does college football sound like it’s in trouble a little?  Sure does to me.

Advertisements

Nothing like kicking a program when it’s down.

A lot of you know my other alma mater is the University of Virginia.  It’s a mild understatement to acknowledge that the football program fell on hard times (although it looks like Mendenhall has things turned in the right direction now), so it gives me great pleasure on a number of levels to share this news with you.

Virginia announces their 2019 Homecoming game is set for November 9 vs. Georgia Tech.

— FBSchedules.com (@FBSchedules) March 20, 2019

If you’re GT, there isn’t enough Waffle House in the world to make that one go down easier.

The forever war

I know Tommy Perkins is tired of me quoting him, but I’ll never get enough of this analogy:

Miami: From a Bulldog perspective, if you looked at the state of Florida as though it were Afghanistan (and I do), the Gators, obviously, are the Taliban, while Miami is whatever warlord is running things in the Northeast. The Hurricanes don’t occupy anything remotely resembling moral high ground, but they are useful.

Indeed.

The quote came to mind again after reading Bud Elliott’s look at in state recruiting by Florida’s big three.  The good news there is that there’s a reason times haven’t been as good as usual in the Sunshine State.

There were 42 in-state four- and five-stars from Florida. Only 20 stayed in the state. That is not a good sign for the in-state schools.

The bad news is that it appears the Gators are starting to get a little traction ahead of their two in state rivals.

It is, however, somewhat understandable. Florida needed time to build relationships with targets and should be set up to have an even stronger 2020 class. FSU had a losing record for the first time in almost four decades and if it can make it back to a bowl in 2019, should be better on the trail. And Miami had its coach retire after a tumultuous season. Manny Diaz should be better in his first full class.

‘Bama and Clemson (natch) have done their respective parts in harvesting some of the recruiting wreckage and Georgia helped itself to three four-star kids, but overall, there are some warlords who need to step up their recruiting games and soon.

Everyone’s a winner.

Honestly, in reading this, I don’t know whether it says more about Willie Taggart or the NCAA.

Willie Taggart says the Mark Snyder will coach special teams and help with linebackers. David Kelly will be recruiting coordinator. Kelly will still be considered and “on-field” coach.

— Tim Linafelt / FSU (@Tim_Linafelt) March 4, 2019

Defensive ends coach Mark Snyder will take on special teams duties and help Raymond Woodie out with linebackers. David Kelly remains the recruiting coordinator with Ron Dugans as the new receivers coach. FSU was denied a waiver to keep Kelly on the field.

— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) March 4, 2019

In another example of bizarre NCAA rules, #FSU needed a waiver to move David Kelly from WR coach to off-field coach. Waiver was denied so Kelly will be the 10th assistant but in an off-field capacity.

— Curt Weiler (@CurtMWeiler) March 4, 2019

Willie Taggart says the waiver to move David Kelly off the field was denied. He will be the recruiting coordinator, but doesn’t sound like there will be a 10th assistant on the field this year.

— Brendan Sonnone (@BSonnone) March 4, 2019

Sheesh.

Another Mark Richt story

I’m just wondering how this fits in to the narrative some of y’all insist is the real Mark Richt, the money stealer.

Miami fans may be mad at Richt because of the way last season went and because of the state of the roster he left behind, but they should understand that few coaches in America would have done for a school what Richt did for his alma mater on the way out the door. He’d already donated his own money to spearhead a project to give the Hurricanes the indoor facility they sorely needed, and by retiring instead of insisting to coach or be fired, he removed several financial impediments to future success. He could have chosen to try to coach his way through a no-win situation, which would have forced Miami to pay him this year and pay him a buyout when he ultimately got fired. Miami is a private school, so Richt’s contract isn’t a matter of public record, but since he received an extension that lasted until 2023 and made about $4 million a year, it’s safe to assume his buyout would have been far more than the $4 million Miami had to pay Temple to buy back Diaz. And remember, had Miami fired Richt after the 2019 season, the school would have had to buy him out and probably would have had to pay a buyout for the coach it hired to replace Richt. The total price tag would have easily pushed into the double-digit millions for a small private school that doesn’t exactly have an overflowing war chest of booster donations.

I’m not posting this to start a debate about Richt’s coaching chops.  His offensive guru reputation took a serious hit last season and hiring his son as the quarterbacks coach went about as well as those moves usually do.  No need to go there at this time.

But maybe some of you who insist Richt was nothing more than a greedy SOB can explain how that works in light of the above.  Just wonderin’.

How dominant was Clemson in 2018?

I’m generally fascinated by the strength of schedule debate.  It’s certainly not irrelevant, but there is a danger in overrating its importance.  The simple truth is that a great team can play a weak schedule.  The latter shouldn’t define the former, but I’ve seen plenty of cases where that’s argued.

What’s important is that a great team should dominate mediocre opposition and do it on a consistent basis.  Take a look at what Matt wrote about Clemson’s latest national championship season.

A little less than four weeks ago, Clemson won their second national title in the past three seasons (and third overall). The Tigers dominated (on the scoreboard if not in the box score) an Alabama team that many thought might be one of the best of all-time. Clemson was touted as one of the best teams in the nation all season, but with the Tide sucking most of the oxygen out of the college football ecosystem, I feel like most casual football fans didn’t realize how dominant Clemson was this (I know I didn’t realize it until I was crunching the numbers for bowl season). The Tigers did survive a few tight games in 2018, edging Texas A&M in College Station and rallying to beat their Orange adversaries in Death Valley. However, those games share a common thread: quarterback Trevor Lawrence did not both start and finish them. In games Lawrence both started and finished, the Tigers won by an average of 36 points per game, with no team coming closer than twenty points!

He concludes, “The ACC was mediocre at best in 2018, but Clemson thoroughly dominated it, and with their non-conference performance (victories against two SEC bowl teams as well as a solid Sun Belt squad) and subsequent playoff thrashing of two unbeaten heavyweights, the Tigers can make a case they are the best national champion of the new century.”  Agree or disagree?  If you disagree, how much do you hold the overall weakness of last season’s ACC against Clemson?

When bad things happen to shitty programs

Well, it’s good to see that at least some folks made out just fine from Jordan McNair’s death.

The investigation into the University of Maryland’s football program cost the University System of Maryland more than $1.57 million, with four of eight members of a special commission billing the university more than six figures apiece for their two months of work, according to recently released documents and invoices…

Much of the investigation’s legwork was done by the Baltimore law firm DLA Piper, which charged the university system $636,772 for its services. The eight commission members each charged an hourly rate of $650 an hour.

Charles Scheeler, the DLA Piper attorney who served as the commission’s point person, billed the university system for $283,855, and Ben Legg, a retired federal judge, charged $161,915. Alex Williams, also a retired judge, charged $155,194 for the work he did alongside an associate.

Bonnie Bernstein, the journalist and Maryland graduate, billed for $118,463, and Frederick M. Azar, the chief of staff at Campbell Clinic Orthopaedics in Memphis, charged $71,129.62.

Rounding out the group, Tom McMillen, the former Maryland basketball star who served three terms in Congress, charged $58,996; former Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. billed $40,300; and Doug Williams, retired Redskins quarterback and current team senior vice president, charged $30,550.

All that for a whitewashed report the school president ignored a few days later.  So much for you get what you pay for.