"Expect To Win"-Improving The Experience In 2007

[DFW HOYA]

For those outside the Southwest, Todd Graham took over a Rice program last season that had about as much respect in I-A as, say, Georgetown in I-AA. Tonight, Rice has earned its first bowl bid since 1961 after going 13-32 in the four years before Graham.

"The biggest thing we've accomplished is changing the attitudes and expectations of the players and fans," he said. "We may be starting to change the perceptions in the community that we can get it done here. I want people to expect us to win."

Sounds like a plan for the Hoyas in 2007.

www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/justice/4347603.html

[AustinHoya03]

This would be good, too:

"[Graham's] bedrock values are simple. Don't turn the ball over. Don't get penalized. Rice is among Conference USA's best teams at both."

"Expecting to win" is a good thing, but expectations aren't much without the right players, coaches, or system. Rice, a tough academic school with low enrollment, had minimal success recruiting players to run Ken Hatfield's option attack for over a decade. Graham's success has been crazy good, but good work from coordinators contributed as much as 5:30am weighlifitng sessions.

Not trying to say that GU can't be successful next season, just saying there is still work to be done as far as X's and O's and basics like eliminating turnovers. From everything I've heard, Georgetown feels it can win under Coach Kelly -- what the Hoyas need is better execution on the gridiron.

And a note on how difficult it may be to change the "football culture" at any school: at Homecoming on November 18 vs. ECU, Rice was 5-5 and had won 4 in a row. Attendance was 12,669, close to average for the Owls, and many Rice alums didn't make it through the gates, choosing to drink in the parking lot instead.

[DFW HOYA]

austinhoya03 said:

And a note on how difficult it may be to change the "football culture" at any school: at Homecoming on November 18 vs. ECU, Rice was 5-5 and had won 4 in a row. Attendance was 12,669, close to average for the Owls, and many Rice alums didn't make it through the gates, choosing to drink in the parking lot instead.

Houston may be the worst major college football market in the nation. Granted, Dallas is not far behind, but at least TCU posts decent numbers.

Case in point: Houston hosts the CUSA title game this weekend and has sold all of 10,500 tickets as of Monday afternoon...and that's with UH as the home team!

[HoyaTejano]

Howdy DFW--

I think the reason why the big Texas markets are the worst for college football is:

A) the two largest programs in the state, Texas and A&M, are based in small markets
B) the alumni and fans of the two programs who live in Houston and Dallas don't care for the local schools -- UofH and SMU are like drops in the water compared to the tidal wave that Texas and A&M represent. UofH has made it clear in the past they are trying to emulate Miami's success --- but it's hard to do that in light of the fact that both are pro sports towns.
C) OU has a huge fan base in the Metroplex and LSU has one in Houston

Still, it is a minor miracle that Rice qualified for a bowl after there was some doubt as to whether there would even be an athletic program at all down there.

[ExcitableBoy]

austinhoya03 said:

And a note on how difficult it may be to change the "football culture" at any school: at Homecoming on November 18 vs. ECU, Rice was 5-5 and had won 4 in a row. Attendance was 12,669, close to average for the Owls, and many Rice alums didn't make it through the gates, choosing to drink in the parking lot instead.

This certainly wouldn't be a very significant shift from Georgetown's current football "culture." It seems like every year the athletic department tries harder and harder to get alumns and students to hang around after the homecoming tailgate.... and each year, the vast majority file out the second the beer truck shuts down.

[DFW HOYA]

A point on each item above:

1. I understand the Tu and aTm elements, but the plain fact is that few teams are marketed as poorly as SMU, Rice, and UH. As a kid, I went to a game at Texas Stadium in 1979 where SMU drew 49,000 against Rice. Yes, 49,000! A ton of local fans aren't going to games at Kyle or DKR anyway, but lose interest quickly if a team does not reach out to them. Contrast that with TCU, which is now drawing 30-35K paid attendance (the 49,000 figure above was heavily discounted in terms of free tickets) because they market very well to Ft. Worth as "their home team". (Against the Big 12 title game and USC-UCLA on TV, TCU still drew 30,767 for a meaningless game with Air Force Sat night.)

The homecoming tailgate is a disaster and has been for too long. Other schools have figured out that you don't counter-program against a game, and 2007 offers Georgetown the game...and the opponent...to make Homecoming a big deal again.

[htownhoya09]

hoyatejano said:

Howdy DFW--

I think the reason why the big Texas markets are the worst for college football is:

A) the two largest programs in the state, Texas and A&M, are based in small markets
B) the alumni and fans of the two programs who live in Houston and Dallas don't care for the local schools -- UofH and SMU are like drops in the water compared to the tidal wave that Texas and A&M represent. UofH has made it clear in the past they are trying to emulate Miami's success --- but it's hard to do that in light of the fact that both are pro sports towns.
C) OU has a huge fan base in the Metroplex and LSU has one in Houston

Still, it is a minor miracle that Rice qualified for a bowl after there was some doubt as to whether there would even be an athletic program at all down there.

Interestingly enough, a few years ago Rice was very close to ending their football program because it was losing so much money. That being said, however, the only thing that Rice has going for them is their ridiculous amount of money that makes losing so much money bearable.

Its unfair to say that Houston is a TERRIBLE market for college football. Texas as a whole is a great market for College Football; its just that very few Houstonians (myself being of them) have any allegiances to the programs within the city, like UofH. They're usually just Longhorn or Aggie fans, either because they went there or because they're the best two teams. Just because some crappy bowl in Houston is selling poorly does not mean its a bad market. Its just hard to get Houstonians, who are mostly used to big time games by Texas or Texas A&M, excited about such inferiror competition.

[AustinHoya03]

htownhoya09 said:

Its unfair to say that Houston is a TERRIBLE market for college football. Texas as a whole is a great market for College Football; its just that very few Houstonians (myself being of them) have any allegiances to the programs within the city, like UofH. They're usually just Longhorn or Aggie fans, either because they went there or because they're the best two teams. Just because some crappy bowl in Houston is selling poorly does not mean its a bad market. Its just hard to get Houstonians, who are mostly used to big time games by Texas or Texas A&M, excited about such inferiror competition.

Uh, well, I guess since this thread is veering off track, I can go ahead and say this. Houston isn't a very good sports town. It's up there with DC as far as "worst sports towns in America" go.

Houston likes its pro sports teams mostly for the fact that they allegedly make the city "world-class" (does Houston love anything for any other reason?) and give its civic and business leaders an excuse for buidling more "world-class" stadiums with taxpayer money.

Houston supports its sports teams only when they won the night before. The Astros, NL champs in 2005, were hung out to dry by both fans and media alike in 2006. The city's momentary infatuation with the Texans continues, but how long before that joke of a franchise goes the way of the Oilers?

It's mainly the same thing with college sports. Houstonians threw UH and Rice in the ditch as far as athletics support as soon as the SWC broke up and those programs became "small-time." I have friends whose grandfathers played for Rice and have fond memories of semi-crowded games in the alumni section of Rice Stadium for games against Texas and TAMU. Now you're lucky to see 10,000 at Rice Stadium.

For a football program to have true support, you need a large local base (preferably alumni) willing to contribute to the program and purchase season tickets. Rice doesn't have that natural base -- many alums are spread out like GU's. UH alums, for the most part, simply don't seem that interested. There's also the problem of school location -- TCU in Fort Worth has increased attendance by agressively selling season tickets to folks who live in the neighborhood and to families. However, in Houston, the West U crowd hasn't been marketed to for Rice games, most UH neighbors don't have the income to purchase season tickets, and the families that would bring kids to the games live far far away in the mega-sprawl. No wonder Graham wants to reduce the size of Rice Stadium to around 40,000.

I will say that support for Houston and Rice BASEBALL has been very good over the past few years. Regionals/super-regionals in H-town have been very well attended as well. Maybe college football needs to figure out what demographic is supporting college baseball and target it for ticket sales.

[DFW HOYA]

Well, tying to get back on track, this question:

Are there examples out there where Georgetown could learn from in better positioning football as a destination beyond a 100 yard radius of the unnamed MSF? What are the keys to getting those local alumni, those fans driving in for Homecoming, or just a college football fan in the District to give it a chance?

[AustinHoya03]

dfw said:

Well, tying to get back on track, this question:

Are there examples out there where Georgetown could learn from in better positioning football as a destination beyond a 100 yard radius of the unnamed MSF? What are the keys to getting those local alumni, those fans driving in for Homecoming, or just a college football fan in the District to give it a chance?

I think Step One is complete the MSF. While the games are fun, we need repeat customers, and if we implement Step Two first, I think a lot of folks are going to be turned off by temporary bleachers, malfunctioning scoreboards, etc. We need the game atmosphere to feel/look professional.

Step Two is get people out to the field at any cost. TCU, our favorite example, established a fully-staffed, user-friendly ticket office that allowed employees to establish relationships with new and existing customers. Season ticket prices started out dirt cheap (they've now gone up, and don't even bother trying to buy a parking space anymore), and TCU handed out free extras like tickets to the Fort Worth (now Armed Forces) Bowl. Each customer had the name and number of their "ticket guy" and were encouraged to call with any questions/comments/concerns about TCU football. The ticket guys stressed: if you need extra tickets, CALL ME, we'll make something happen.

Were Georgetown to employ a similar system, I would:

1. Give away tickets for one year to anyone living in the Burleith and GU neighborhoods willing to make a two year commitment to buying football tickets. (Campus events really need to be opened up more to neighborhood residents anyway, but that's another topic.) Give a 20% discount on single-game tickets to residents.

2. Mail season ticket order forms to all DC/MD/VA alumni. Include Gridiron Club membership information in mailer.

3. Although we probably already do this, admission for anyone involved with an area high school football program should be free. Not only that, those in high school football programs should be informed of the games and encouraged to attend. Include information on how easy it is to take DC Metro to the Georgetown neighborhood.

4. Free admission for anyone with a military ID. Target Fort Myer, The Pentagon, etc.

5. Target families in the close-in suburbs: Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac, Takoma Park, Silver Spring, etc. Do this through high schools (see above), local advertising, increased media coverage in local papers like Falls Church News-Press, Alexandria Times, etc., and smart direct marketing. Offer the same two-for-one season ticket deal area residents are offered. Again, stress how easy it is to take Metro to the game.

Step Three, or maybe Step 2A, is improve Gameday atmosphere.

1. A serious tailgating area needs to be established. Encourage people to bring tents (McDonough or Gridiron Club could help sponsor individual tailgates). Encourage people to get on campus EARLY and leave LATE. Gridiron Club/Hoya Blue should have a gigantic official tailgate, and it should have the following things: free beer for alumni and of-age students, free food for the same group, DirectTV dishes/monitors showing the day's other football action. The tailgate doesn't have to be McDonough parking lot, either. The SW Quad, Harbin Patio, or even Healy/Copley lawn are all less than 5 minutes from the seats and are in much more visible locations on campus.

2. The Band needs to be bigger and louder. And no canned music. Innovations like playing something, anything on third-down stops would be nice as well.

3. We need to win some football games. A good product on the field can't hurt in attracting repeat customers.

Problem is, all this is going to cost money. Lots of money. The administration isn't committed to spending that kind of cash. Alumni, thus far, don't appear willing to carry the burden themselves. Really, without cash, any idea for getting butts in the seats short of giving away tickets (not a viable long-term strategy) is going to fall short. Maybe step 1 should be: obtain $50M gift earmarked for athletics program.

[SFHoya99]

Step 1.

Win games.

Seriously. Fan support is nice, but Coach Kelly needs to stop the culture of losing with his team, not with promotions or stadiums or whatever. I usually look at bad facilities / lack of money as an excuse, so someone will have to tell me if we simply don't have enough scholarship players. But barring that, there is no excuse for Georgetown not to succeed in the Patriot League.

[AustinHoya03]

sfhoya99 said:

Step 1.

Win games.

Seriously. Fan support is nice, but Coach Kelly needs to stop the culture of losing with his team, not with promotions or stadiums or whatever. I usually look at bad facilities / lack of money as an excuse, so someone will have to tell me if we simply don't have enough scholarship players. But barring that, there is no excuse for Georgetown not to succeed in the Patriot League.

While I agree winning is part of the equation, the locals didn't exactly flock to Kehoe when the Hoyas were winning MAAC championships. The Post and Times do not seem interested in covering GU football, regardless of the team's record in the PL. Winning is nice, but to sustain success and improve the program's economic contribution to the athletics dept., just winning is not a cure-all.

[LBPop]

Just a few comments about some of what has been said:

1. Some of the promotional ideas expressed here are innovative and thoughtful. Given the size of the facility and the level of play (not I-A football) a community type of event could really take off at Georgetown. Some people are simply pure college football fans and might like to drop by and see a local college team for the price of a movie.

2. I would agree that facilities, fan support, lack of publicity are all factors, but they are not excuses for poor performances on the field. And I can tell you that Coach Kelly would completely agree. In fact he will recite a list of advantages that Georgetown has over almost every school against which he recruits. Paraphrasing his assessment, "If I can get them to visit Georgetown, I can get them to come to Georgetown."

3. Winning isn't the only solution, but it is by far the most important. If Georgetown can win, suddenly those players who walk around campus are no longer "those good guys who always lose", but they become those good guys who can play and win. Then perhaps another couple of hundred students will begin to show up on a beautiful fall afternoon to see their friends play and to congratulate them afterward--instead of having to console "those good guys who always lose." Hopefully they will bring some more the following week.

4. Finally, winning will get the attention of the media and then Georgetown could become almost a boutique place to watch college football instead of a large impersonal place like Byrd Stadium. If the Hoyas win, those stories in the Post can start to report victories and promote the key players. That will bring some new faces from off campus to Hilltop. Heck, how many more people can the current MSF hold anyway?

[HealyHoya]

Well, I'll drop into this discussion from the perspective of "I'm exactly who the football program needs to connect with..."

My parents live in the Cloisters. Dad SFS '68, Law '71. My wife and I (CAS '97) live on Cap Hill and have been season ticket holders for basketball since 2000. We're active in the GU community, live locally, and use GU events to see my family and our friends.

Now, I could certainly be more proactive in regard to educating myself about GU football, ie. opponents, kick-off times, activities surrounding games like tailgating, pre-season "hype", rivalries, etc. Honestly, I won't do it. Most people won't. As potential fans, we need help to make GU football a habit just like I, and so many alums, view GU football as a habit, our hobby, if you will.

So, I need to be contacted...repeatedly. Mailings during the off-season. Solicitations (ahem, I can't believe I'm asking for that...). Information about players, about rivalries, about the dominant programs in the conference. Get people to buy into the stories.

It sounds lazy (and it is) but you need to make GU football easy. You need to spoon feed it to alums and locals. It's irritating, sure, but it would work over time.

[AustinHoya03]

"Expect to win." And then expect for your inspirational coach to make a lateral career move within your conference, breaking your hearts and putting your program back at square one.

www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4465079.html

Major Applewhite for HFC!

[DFW HOYA]

Even worse--he got a contract extension on Tuesday.

Or, writes the Chronicle, "The Owls might not have always had a winning record before Graham, but there always was a sense of family and love for the university from those at the core of the program. Thanks to Graham flimflamming an entire university community, gaining free rein to gut the football operation when he was hired, the Owls must find not just a coach but people who genuinely care."

Ouch.


www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/lopez/4468112.html