The Steady Erosion of the Gameday Experience

[NaturalStateReb]

As attendance figures at college football venues across the country continue to decline, administrators are trying to figure out why fans aren't coming.  As the great Yogi Berra once said, "If people don't want to come to the ball park, how are you going to stop them?" 

Athletic directors point to high definition television and the fact that nearly every game is televised, but that's only part of the problem.  The source of the problem are the AD's themselves--the pursuit of the next buck at the expense of the gameday experience.  The gameday experience is no longer about the game or the university, it's about money, and the replacement of the university by the dollar as the object of admiration bleeds from every aspect of the modern college gameday experience.  In their ruthless pursuit to monetize every aspect of the game, AD's will ultimately end up homogenizing it, and in the process trading away what makes each university experience unique for 30 pieces of silver.

Increasingly, universities no longer even control their own stadium experiences.  Many universities have sold the rights to control the stadium experience to media companies.  IMG and CBS dominate the industry, representing nearly every university in major college athletics.  These advertising firms put their own "gameday coordinators" in the stadiums to control the gameday experience.  They control what is shown on the jumbotron, when the band plays, what cheers are done, what music is blasted over the speakers, and what stream of ads will come at you.

Bands, cheerleaders, drill teams, those things aren't controlled by IMG or CBS and can't drive their profits.  The solution--minimize them as much as possible.  Basically, the university agrees to cannibalize itself.  No pushback will be tolerated.  After taking his concerns about the contant rise of canned music public, Tennessee's band director, Dr. Gary Sousa, was reassigned for pushing back against the profit monster. 

Tennessee isn't alone.  It's everywhere, and the SEC is making it easier than ever to inundate fans with canned music and a tidal wave of advertisements.  Before last season, the SEC relaxed the rules for when music and advertising can be played between plays.  Now, the home team can play this stuff until the QB is over the ball.  The SEC, at the urging of Georgia, adopted the rule because the ACC has something similar, probably to paper over terrible gameday atmospheres.

These media conglomerates don't make money by making each stadium experience unique; they make money by using the same stuff everywhere, which lowers the cost to deliver it.  The necessary result is that the gameday experience is being homogenized--making the experience at any particular stadium much like the experience anywhere else.  What makes the college football experience great is its uniqueness from venue to venue; where we're heading is an NFL-type of experience so bland it could be Anywhere, USA. 

This doesn't even reach the constant barrage of sponsorships and advertising fired from every corner of the stadium.  It's really an insult to the average fan.  Basically, the universities and media companies think that our attention spans are so tiny that we need constant amusement, served up with a side of banking, car dealerships, and Coke.  All of this brought to you with long delays for TV timeouts, so that the university can rake in that money, too.  Considering the spiraling costs of tickets, it's not hard to figure why people are staying home.

"Upgrades" like concessions and Wi-Fi aren't the answer; they're the problem in a new and shiny form.  These are just new ways to reach into the fans' wallets.  Paying for premium Wi-Fi will be the new frontier once they upgrade what they've got.  Concessions prices are already out of control.

If this sounds like a rant, well, I guess it is.  Sort of.  I realize that the universities need to make money, but we're rapidly reaching a point where the universities will not have a unique experience or product to offer.  If that's true, why go there?  Why go anywhere?  And if the universities think they can build loyalty through a television, they're fooling themselves.  If I can watch anyone in America on TV, what makes you special?  The next generation, deprived of any reason to consider the local universities unique, will be free to follow any other school in America, 24 hours a day. 

These universities are turning themselves into snowflakes--unique, just like everyone else. 

[WizardofhOgZ]

These media conglomerates don't make money by making each stadium experience unique; they make money by using the same stuff everywhere, which lowers the cost to deliver it.  The necessary result is that the gameday experience is being homogenized--making the experience at any particular stadium much like the experience anywhere else.  What makes the college football experience great is its uniqueness from venue to venue; where we're heading is an NFL-type of experience so bland it could be Anywhere, USA. 

+1

I remember 30 years ago, when I went to a Hog game, I'd hear things I didn't see and hear watching other games.  Now, sometimes if I have the TV on while I'm doing something else, I will hear one of "our" songs being played and - for a moment - think we're playing.

More often, however, I just can't tell who is playing and the "music" behind the game makes me not care as much.  It could just as well be any one of a 100 canned marketing "events".

[razorbrass]

I hate marketing.  Not just at football games either.  The basketball experience has become quite stale.  The only college basketball games I am interested in anymore is the NCAA tournament.  Sad day for college athletics.  They will need all that extra money the marketers are making to pay off the brain damage lawsuits getting ready to blow up. 

[Smokehouse]

I hate the canned music not just because it removes the band from playing (and as an alum of the RMB I certainly hate that), but because they're generally replacing the band with 20+ year old songs. Because the best music choice is clearly to play Enter Sandman and Jump Around and cater to that sweet demographic of 90's kids who aren't students anymore but don't yet make enough money to afford season tickets.

[Simple Swineman]

Nailed it.

Every time I get those "game day experience" surveys I get so frustrated. All the questions revolve around what the university can do to better stimulate me.

"Would you be more likely to attend if there were better Wifi access?" They ask.
"How would you rate the use of the jumbotron?"
"Did you visit a merchandise booth? If not, what items would make you more likely to visit?"
etc, etc

Makes me want to pull my hair out when I read that crap. I just go to the "other comments" section and say "None of the above have any impact on my game day experience. You are asking the wrong questions."

[wildturkey8]

Natural State Reb:  One of the best posts, ever.  +1,000

[Jackrabbit Hog]

I agree with everything that's been posted, but I'll say that college football is STILL a better gameday experience than most other team sports, especially of the pro variety.  The absolute worst is the NBA.  I live in Memphis and will go see the Grizzlies play maybe 2-3 times a year.  It is such a sterile environment; everything is choreographed and the crowd has to be "told" via message board when to cheer and make noise. 

[Hog in Iowa]

Excellent post, NaturalStateReb.  I've noticed the same thing.  When the UofA announced a couple of years ago that they were enhancing the "fan's game day experience" by installing new ribbon-boards, that just cemented my impression that it was all about money, and not about the fans. Attending games now has become more of a hassle and less of being fun.  I don't get to attend many games anymore, but when I do, it's a wake-up call of just how many tv timeouts there are and how long they last.  I don't know how the players even get in a rhythm anymore but to the constant stoppages.

[Hoggish1]

Great post!

Stupid Universities for trying to kill their Goose.

With the TV $ what it is, why not start lowering ticket prices.  Do it little by little.  Pull back on outsourcing the experience and let the bands play.  Take the canned experience out of the day.  TV is already the canned experience; why duplicate it live? 

Never yield to the canned experience!   

[LRHawg]

Great read, thanks.

[jimmiewkersh]

I love my Hogs, have rooted for them from 6 different states that I have lived in over the last 30 years.  I now live 45 minutes from campus and would love to go to games.  My real issue is the cost.  I have a family of 4 and cannot justify the cost in my budget.

In a state where the average income is about $35,000, I cannot imagine a 4 person home shelling out about $400 or more for a game day experience (ticket, parking, snacks, souvenirs, gas).  While the University is "sponsored" and making money hand over fist at this time, most Arkansans are not.

When a family can get a large screen tv for about $400 and watch games on it.  THey can invite friends over and have everyone bring snacks and have their own game day experience every week for the same price as going to one game.

[snoblind]

I've been attending game for decades.  The only improvements in the game day experience over the past few years are much better traffic flow before and after the game as well as being able to keep with stats and replays with the Jumbotron.  Everything else is just fluff at best or annoying at worst.

And Reb, you sum it up perfectly.

[NaturalStateReb]

I love my Hogs, have rooted for them from 6 different states that I have lived in over the last 30 years.  I now live 45 minutes from campus and would love to go to games.  My real issue is the cost.  I have a family of 4 and cannot justify the cost in my budget.

In a state where the average income is about $35,000, I cannot imagine a 4 person home shelling out about $400 or more for a game day experience (ticket, parking, snacks, souvenirs, gas).  While the University is "sponsored" and making money hand over fist at this time, most Arkansans are not.

When a family can get a large screen tv for about $400 and watch games on it.  THey can invite friends over and have everyone bring snacks and have their own game day experience every week for the same price as going to one game.

It's increasingly becoming an event for the single, the childless, or the old and well-off.  The crowd, along with the experience, has changed.  Maybe that's part of the problem.  Half the crowd expects to be nannied, the other half expects to be pampered. 

It doesn't say much about the state of fandom, or its future.  If a broad spectrum of families aren't an active part of the experience, then the fan base is put on an ever-shrinking trajectory.

It's not just Arkansas.  Ole Miss is the same way.  If they could charge for the Grove and not incite violence, I'm fairly certain they'd do it.  It's an everywhere problem.

[wildturkey8]

It's increasingly becoming an event for the single, the childless, or the old and well-off.  The crowd, along with the experience, has changed.  Maybe that's part of the problem.  Half the crowd expects to be nannied, the other half expects to be pampered. 

It doesn't say much about the state of fandom, or its future.

Everything you say in this thread should be reduced to writing and sent to Jeff Long.  If I remember correctly, didn't the students and fans rebel against this sort of thing at Michigan?

[NaturalStateReb]

Everything you say in this thread should be reduced to writing and sent to Jeff Long.  If I remember correctly, didn't the students and fans rebel against this sort of thing at Michigan?

Yes, and there was huge push back from Ohio State fans this season as well. 

It eventually cost the Michigan AD his job, along with the team sucking.  That's the biggest insult of all:  pay inflated ticket prices to be skulled by terrible music and advertising, all to see a team that's terrible.  That's a recipe for disaster if ever there was one.

[wildturkey8]

Yes, and there was huge push back from Ohio State fans this season as well. 

It eventually cost the Michigan AD his job, along with the team sucking.  That's the biggest insult of all:  pay inflated ticket prices to be skulled by terrible music and advertising, all to see a team that's terrible.  That's a recipe for disaster if ever there was one.

Yes, it is in the interest of college sports to fix this.  The TV money won't leave but the fans will and have been.

[snoblind]

It's increasingly becoming an event for the single, the childless, or the old and well-off.  The crowd, along with the experience, has changed.  Maybe that's part of the problem.  Half the crowd expects to be nannied, the other half expects to be pampered. 

It doesn't say much about the state of fandom, or its future.  If a broad spectrum of families aren't an active part of the experience, then the fan base is put on an ever-shrinking trajectory.

It's not just Arkansas.  Ole Miss is the same way.  If they could charge for the Grove and not incite violence, I'm fairly certain they'd do it.  It's an everywhere problem.

I've been spending Saturdays at Razorback stadium since 1964, the family tradition since the late 40's.  Took over the family tickets after the Citadel game when my dad got pissed at Frank over that and said he was never going back.

Every year I wonder is this my last year?  For all the reasons you and others have cited...

[Hog Waller]

I live in KY and try to go see 1 Hog game a year.  This year want to travel to Knoxville, but nose bleed tickets on Stub Hub are already over $100.  It's crazy.

Everything is about $s...and most of these major universities are already sitting on piles of cash.  I'm not sure how one can justify the cost of a football ticket anymore.  Then take tuition and books...my daughter is 'renting' a book for the semester and that still costs $150 at UK!  And don't get me started about all the bs fees for this and that, and the 6%/yr tuition increases.

[Inhogswetrust]

Increasingly, universities no longer even control their own stadium experiences.  Many universities have sold the rights to control the stadium experience to media companies.  IMG and CBS dominate the industry, representing nearly every university in major college athletics.  These advertising firms put their own "gameday coordinators" in the stadiums to control the gameday experience.  They control what is shown on the jumbotron, when the band plays, what cheers are done, what music is blasted over the speakers, and what stream of ads will come at you.

Bands, cheerleaders, drill teams, those things aren't controlled by IMG or CBS and can't drive their profits.  The solution--minimize them as much as possible.  Basically, the university agrees to cannibalize itself.  No pushback will be tolerated.  After taking his concerns about the contant rise of canned music public, Tennessee's band director, Dr. Gary Sousa, was reassigned for pushing back against the profit monster. 

Tennessee isn't alone.  It's everywhere, and the SEC is making it easier than ever to inundate fans with canned music and a tidal wave of advertisements.  Before last season, the SEC relaxed the rules for when music and advertising can be played between plays.  Now, the home team can play this stuff until the QB is over the ball.  The SEC, at the urging of Georgia, adopted the rule because the ACC has something similar, probably to paper over terrible gameday atmospheres.

What makes the college football experience great is its uniqueness from venue to venue; where we're heading is an NFL-type of experience so bland it could be Anywhere, USA. 

This doesn't even reach the constant barrage of sponsorships and advertising fired from every corner of the stadium.  It's really an insult to the average fan.  Basically, the universities and media companies think that our attention spans are so tiny that we need constant amusement, served up with a side of banking, car dealerships, and Coke.  All of this brought to you with long delays for TV timeouts, so that the university can rake in that money, too.  Considering the spiraling costs of tickets, it's not hard to figure why people are staying home.

I believe this is part of the problem. When the band can't play, the cheerleaders can't lead cheers because of "canned" music and content ads and constant recognition of people besides the teams and the constant barrage of ads everywhere and all the time there is a problem. It HAS become like an NFL game.........IF I want an NFL experience I'll go to an NFL game. If Tenners Band Director was reassigned for pushing back that is sad. HIS band members and those across the country work their butts off to be a part of the experience AND to promote the brand yet they have gotten pushed by the wayside. I wouldn't be surprised if bands at sporting events started to decline in numbers and perhaps even someday disappear.

[WoodyHog]

I agree that the band should play more -- there is something about live music, and hearing "our" songs reverberate through the stadium that can't be replicated at home.  The prevalence of DJ's at college games is disappointing -- I'm fine with letting the players pick their music during the pre-game warm-ups, but once the game starts, the band is all I need to hear.

That said, the biggest problem with respect to game attendance isn't the atmosphere - it is simply the ticket prices and next best alternatives.  Simple supply and demand.  While ticket prices across college sports have continued to rise, fans have been offered an alternative viewing experience that narrows the gap -- namely HDTV big screens.  The two ways to bring fans into the stadium are (i) lower ticket prices or (ii) offer in-stadium experiences that can't be experienced on a TV.  Everyone is trying (ii) since nobody wants to lower ticket prices, but I think what your post highlights is that most people going to the game just want to watch the damn game.  They can do this on their TV too.  Therefore, I think we are headed toward ticket price reductions/stabilization in the near future across most sports.

[Smokehouse]

I live in KY and try to go see 1 Hog game a year.  This year want to travel to Knoxville, but nose bleed tickets on Stub Hub are already over $100.  It's crazy.

I recently sold a couple of tickets to a concert on stub hub, and now I know why the prices on there are always so crazy. Not only does Stub Hub charge fees to the buyer, they take 15% of the ticket price as a fee to the seller. So if you list your tickets at face value you take a loss, but if you want to even get back face value on your sale you probably add $20-40 per ticket, minimum. Such a lousy system.

[Smokehouse]

That said, the biggest problem with respect to game attendance isn't the atmosphere - it is simply the ticket prices and next best alternatives.  Simple supply and demand.  While ticket prices across college sports have continued to rise, fans have been offered an alternative viewing experience that narrows the gap -- namely HDTV big screens.  The two ways to bring fans into the stadium are (i) lower ticket prices or (ii) offer in-stadium experiences that can't be experienced on a TV.  Everyone is trying (ii) since nobody wants to lower ticket prices, but I think what your post highlights is that most people going to the game just want to watch the damn game.  They can do this on their TV too.  Therefore, I think we are headed toward ticket price reductions/stabilization in the near future across most sports.

Agreed, AD's only think they're offering experiences that can't be replicated at home. I can get advertisements, wi-fi, cheaper (and better quality) food, and a (better quality) playlist at my house as well.

Lower ticket prices, emphasize the band/cheerleaders that really are unique to the stadium, have events like various meet-and-greets with former players/coaches around the stadium before kickoff, have some competitions to win free Hog gear scattered around the concession stands, etc.

[New Hog]

Good Read!

[ImHogginIt]

Post of the year Reb. You should sticky to the top  :razorback:

[Inhogswetrust]

Nailed it.

Every time I get those "game day experience" surveys I get so frustrated. All the questions revolve around what the university can do to better stimulate me.

"Would you be more likely to attend if there were better Wifi access?" They ask.
"How would you rate the use of the jumbotron?"
"Did you visit a merchandise booth? If not, what items would make you more likely to visit?"
etc, etc

Makes me want to pull my hair out when I read that crap. I just go to the "other comments" section and say "None of the above have any impact on my game day experience. You are asking the wrong questions."

YET they NEVER ask a question that would lead them to believe fans do NOT like all the canned music, constant ads on big and/or ribbon screens and during timeouts. However I believe THAT is what fans really want to change more than those other things they ask about.

[8th Wonder]

I RARELY post, but this topic is sensitive to me for a number of reasons.  I won't go into them only to say that, the original post here is so dead on and something I've thought about for the last few years.  It also mirrors what goes on with any other revenue-generating entities, businesses, etc... It's just another in the montra of 'maximizing shareholder value'....in this case you can substitute 'shareholders' with the athletic dept or school or whatever it is when you follow the flow of money.  It's squeezing the lowest dangling fruit, not just dry, but grinding it into dust.  And, I hate to say this, but it makes someone like myself care less about the on-the-field results b/c of a feeling of alienation.  Maybe I'm too sensitive?  Or just too poor to keep up...

I've said this for a few years--I believe the fuse has been lit on college athletics as we've known them.  Things like the aforementioned details and add to it the scourge of me-first, self-promoting mentalities (at all costs) of the top end athletes coming into the sports...and you have a BAD BAD recipe. 

I could be wrong

[hamARchy in the USA]

Athletic directors point to high definition television and the fact that nearly every game is televised, but that's only part of the problem.  The source of the problem are the AD's themselves--the pursuit of the next buck at the expense of the gameday experience.  The gameday experience is no longer about the game or the university, it's about money, and the replacement of the university by the dollar as the object of admiration bleeds from every aspect of the modern college gameday experience.  In their ruthless pursuit to monetize every aspect of the game, AD's will ultimately end up homogenizing it, and in the process trading away what makes each university experience unique for 30 pieces of silver.

Agree 100%.  They've sold our soul out from under us.

[Simple Swineman]

YET they NEVER ask a question that would lead them to believe fans do NOT like all the canned music, constant ads on big and/or ribbon screens and during timeouts. However I believe THAT is what fans really want to change more than those other things they ask about.

Exactly. The questions are a catch-22.

For example, if I say that the use of the music is "poor" then they will try to add more, play it louder, or change the style. But if I say the use of the music is "excellent" they will keep doing the same garbage.

As I said, they are asking the wrong questions. They are totally out of touch with what fans want at games. Not just Arkansas. It's everywhere.

[redeye]

Great post NSR!  Very informative and I completely agree with you.  Nowadays, gameday experiences for football and basketball feel entirely scripted, like something out of The Hunger Games.

[Sportster365]

As attendance figures at college football venues across the country continue to decline, administrators are trying to figure out why fans aren't coming.  As the great Yogi Berra once said, "If people don't want to come to the ball park, how are you going to stop them?" 

Athletic directors point to high definition television and the fact that nearly every game is televised, but that's only part of the problem.  The source of the problem are the AD's themselves--the pursuit of the next buck at the expense of the gameday experience.  The gameday experience is no longer about the game or the university, it's about money, and the replacement of the university by the dollar as the object of admiration bleeds from every aspect of the modern college gameday experience.  In their ruthless pursuit to monetize every aspect of the game, AD's will ultimately end up homogenizing it, and in the process trading away what makes each university experience unique for 30 pieces of silver.

Increasingly, universities no longer even control their own stadium experiences.  Many universities have sold the rights to control the stadium experience to media companies.  IMG and CBS dominate the industry, representing nearly every university in major college athletics.  These advertising firms put their own "gameday coordinators" in the stadiums to control the gameday experience.  They control what is shown on the jumbotron, when the band plays, what cheers are done, what music is blasted over the speakers, and what stream of ads will come at you.

Bands, cheerleaders, drill teams, those things aren't controlled by IMG or CBS and can't drive their profits.  The solution--minimize them as much as possible.  Basically, the university agrees to cannibalize itself.  No pushback will be tolerated.  After taking his concerns about the contant rise of canned music public, Tennessee's band director, Dr. Gary Sousa, was reassigned for pushing back against the profit monster. 

Tennessee isn't alone.  It's everywhere, and the SEC is making it easier than ever to inundate fans with canned music and a tidal wave of advertisements.  Before last season, the SEC relaxed the rules for when music and advertising can be played between plays.  Now, the home team can play this stuff until the QB is over the ball.  The SEC, at the urging of Georgia, adopted the rule because the ACC has something similar, probably to paper over terrible gameday atmospheres.

These media conglomerates don't make money by making each stadium experience unique; they make money by using the same stuff everywhere, which lowers the cost to deliver it.  The necessary result is that the gameday experience is being homogenized--making the experience at any particular stadium much like the experience anywhere else.  What makes the college football experience great is its uniqueness from venue to venue; where we're heading is an NFL-type of experience so bland it could be Anywhere, USA. 

This doesn't even reach the constant barrage of sponsorships and advertising fired from every corner of the stadium.  It's really an insult to the average fan.  Basically, the universities and media companies think that our attention spans are so tiny that we need constant amusement, served up with a side of banking, car dealerships, and Coke.  All of this brought to you with long delays for TV timeouts, so that the university can rake in that money, too.  Considering the spiraling costs of tickets, it's not hard to figure why people are staying home.

"Upgrades" like concessions and Wi-Fi aren't the answer; they're the problem in a new and shiny form.  These are just new ways to reach into the fans' wallets.  Paying for premium Wi-Fi will be the new frontier once they upgrade what they've got.  Concessions prices are already out of control.

If this sounds like a rant, well, I guess it is.  Sort of.  I realize that the universities need to make money, but we're rapidly reaching a point where the universities will not have a unique experience or product to offer.  If that's true, why go there?  Why go anywhere?  And if the universities think they can build loyalty through a television, they're fooling themselves.  If I can watch anyone in America on TV, what makes you special?  The next generation, deprived of any reason to consider the local universities unique, will be free to follow any other school in America, 24 hours a day. 

These universities are turning themselves into snowflakes--unique, just like everyone else.

It sounds like you'd prefer something more along the lines of a wine and cheese event than a football game. What do you expect? For all the guys to wear blazers and the girls in knitted sweaters with school letters.

That sponsorship and advertisement brings revenue to the athletic dept. which in turn gets used to help better our athletic programs. Something we all want.

Some of you should stop trying to live in this nostalgic past wherewith everything was better way back when. If everything was so great, then why were any changes made in the first place?

[lahawg1]

While I agree that the price of the tickets have put a lot of people out that is only part of it for me. This is what I go through for a game weekend
1) Motel for 2 nights $350-500 depending on where and this is up from any other weekend of $150-250
2) Meals for Friday night, Saturday x3, Sunday x2 will run me and the wife $250. Now that does include going to Doe's on Saturday night. I do like my steaks
3) Fuel for the weekend $125 (800 miles)
4) Souvenirs $200 because the bride has to have shirts and stuff
5) Tickets $140

For me to attend a game we will spend from $1200-1500 depending on some variables. I make a good living but when the motels gouge it sorta puts a dampener on things.

I still make a couple games a year....

[NaturalStateReb]

It sounds like you'd prefer something more along the lines of a wine and cheese event than a football game. What do you expect? For all the guys to wear blazers and the girls in knitted sweaters with school letters.

That sponsorship and advertisement brings revenue to the athletic dept. which in turn gets used to help better our athletic programs. Something we all want.

Some of you should stop trying to live in this nostalgic past wherewith everything was better way back when. If everything was so great, then why were any changes made in the first place?

For money. 

Look, I realize the university needs to make money.  I'm not opposed to that at all.  I don't want things to be frozen in the past, but I refuse to believe that all the future contains is a deluge of billboards with the occasional ballgame. 

I'm not opposed to some canned music; the band can't play every down.  I'm not opposed to advertising.  What I'm opposed to is a game experience that is so choreographed, commercialized, and antiseptic that it basically loses all meaning.  We're on the road to that.

[Hoggish1]

I RARELY post, but this topic is sensitive to me for a number of reasons.  I won't go into them only to say that, the original post here is so dead on and something I've thought about for the last few years.  It also mirrors what goes on with any other revenue-generating entities, businesses, etc... It's just another in the montra of 'maximizing shareholder value'....in this case you can substitute 'shareholders' with the athletic dept or school or whatever it is when you follow the flow of money.  It's squeezing the lowest dangling fruit, not just dry, but grinding it into dust.  And, I hate to say this, but it makes someone like myself care less about the on-the-field results b/c of a feeling of alienation.  Maybe I'm too sensitive?  Or just too poor to keep up...

I've said this for a few years--I believe the fuse has been lit on college athletics as we've known them.  Things like the aforementioned details and add to it the scourge of me-first, self-promoting mentalities (at all costs) of the top end athletes coming into the sports...and you have a BAD BAD recipe. 

I could be wrong

Unfortunately you couldn't be more correct. 

Colleges through their conferences, commissioners and TV deals, have given themselves a wound that instead of healing, just continues to fester.

[LA Football fan]

Instead of canned music, why not mike up the band area and play that through the loudspeakers.  Depending on where you are sitting in the stadium it can be very difficult to even hear the band, much less understand what they are playing.  Put some excellent quality mikes around the band area and pump that through the stadium and you would get everyone rocking.

If the risk of profanity is a problem,  create a sectioned off area for the band that no one other than band members can enter and it should be even easier to mike it up for stadium broadcast.

[DeltaBoy]

The REB is RIGHT I not been back to a Game since I attended the 06 Texas game in Austin, I went by myself and the ticket cost me $110 bucks 5 bucks to park, and another 20 for concessions.  A hour in half drive and 1/2 tank of gas the game cost me 150 bucks time I got home.  Times that by 3 and it would cost me $500 to take my family to a game.  So I stay home watch on TV and spend about 100 bucks a year on Hog stuff like a trash can , shirts n caps !

Games at WMS in the 1980s were cheaper and way more fun.

[Michael D Huff AIA]

Natural State Reb:  One of the best posts, ever.  +1,000

I completely agree.  Very insightful and well written. 

I didn't realize that the "production" of a game experience was sold to an outside vendor.  That takes the uniqueness of our school (and every other one) away and replaces it with a carbon copy of (enter some other school here). 

I guess this can be thrown on the pile of "THINGS WE DON'T LIKE", but the only way to change it would be not to go.  With our program on the rise, it looks like we will have MORE people at our home games than in past years.  I guess you don't feel stiffarmed quite as bad if your team is winning.

[Hawgzinbowlz]

It sounds like you'd prefer something more along the lines of a wine and cheese event than a football game. What do you expect? For all the guys to wear blazers and the girls in knitted sweaters with school letters.

That sponsorship and advertisement brings revenue to the athletic dept. which in turn gets used to help better our athletic programs. Something we all want.

Some of you should stop trying to live in this nostalgic past wherewith everything was better way back when. If everything was so great, then why were any changes made in the first place?

Interesting perspective.
The game day experience is evolving and if we can improve the activities between the actual game, great.
I attend games for the extended 60 minutes of football play, and the secondary activities will minimally, at most, affect my game day experience. I love attending The Hogs football games, for the game of American football, and we are not even close to compiling enough negative peripheral stuff to stop my enjoyment of the game.
We are riding the arms race of newer/better facilities, astronomical coaching salaries, the aggressive push to pay players, etc...The genie is out of the jar and it's not going back.
A push to have the in between plays experience improved would be worthwhile, to help personalize the big picture experience, but I enjoy the heck out of the games at DWRRS and my game day experience is palatable...and as with most things, it can be improved.
Not perfect, but no deal breaker gripes here.

" GO HOGS "

[The_Iceman]

I have to say though, when I have to pay for DirecTV every month, it makes it alot easier to stay home.

I've got HDTV's inside and outside, all the food at want easily accessible, as well as all the beer I want, the ability to watch other games, don't have to pay for parking, don't have to fight traffic, can invite 20 friends over to join in, can set up my own tailgate and games in my yard..... its really easy just to pass on the tickets and costs of going and just stay home.

[Smokehouse]

It sounds like you'd prefer something more along the lines of a wine and cheese event than a football game. What do you expect? For all the guys to wear blazers and the girls in knitted sweaters with school letters.

That sponsorship and advertisement brings revenue to the athletic dept. which in turn gets used to help better our athletic programs. Something we all want.

Some of you should stop trying to live in this nostalgic past wherewith everything was better way back when. If everything was so great, then why were any changes made in the first place?

It's not a zero sum game. You can work better to integrate advertising without making it disruptive to the atmosphere. Simply timing things better would help. Play a quick Petit Jean commercial between quarters instead of during an opponent timeout on third down.

Let companies sponsor things around the stadium. The concourse, the scoreboard, whatever. Advertisements that you see but can blend into the background when the game action is on.

Many companies forgo actions that would make them more profit because they want to continue a brand image. If you simply want to maximize revenue, greatly expand box seats, raise ticket prices, and try and target the more casual fans on TV. But nobody, even the university, wants to do that.

[snoblind]

It sounds like you'd prefer something more along the lines of a wine and cheese event than a football game. What do you expect? For all the guys to wear blazers and the girls in knitted sweaters with school letters.

That sponsorship and advertisement brings revenue to the athletic dept. which in turn gets used to help better our athletic programs. Something we all want.

Some of you should stop trying to live in this nostalgic past wherewith everything was better way back when. If everything was so great, then why were any changes made in the first place?

You missed his point.  All of us understand the $ angle.

[The_Iceman]

Look at the new NFL stadiums:

Levi's Stadium: 68,500
Arizona's Stadium: 63,400
Ford Field: 65,000
Cowboys Stadium: 80,000

The key isn't the size of the stadium, its the quality. I think Arkansas would be wise to upgrade the quality of Razorback stadium. Remove the bleachers in the lower level and install all chairbacks. Expand the NorthEndZone to have as many new luxury boxes as you can fit, like stack them 3 high down there.

[Robert Shields]

As attendance figures at college football venues across the country continue to decline, administrators are trying to figure out why fans aren't coming.  As the great Yogi Berra once said, "If people don't want to come to the ball park, how are you going to stop them?" 

Athletic directors point to high definition television and the fact that nearly every game is televised, but that's only part of the problem.  The source of the problem are the AD's themselves--the pursuit of the next buck at the expense of the gameday experience.  The gameday experience is no longer about the game or the university, it's about money, and the replacement of the university by the dollar as the object of admiration bleeds from every aspect of the modern college gameday experience.  In their ruthless pursuit to monetize every aspect of the game, AD's will ultimately end up homogenizing it, and in the process trading away what makes each university experience unique for 30 pieces of silver.

Increasingly, universities no longer even control their own stadium experiences.  Many universities have sold the rights to control the stadium experience to media companies.  IMG and CBS dominate the industry, representing nearly every university in major college athletics.  These advertising firms put their own "gameday coordinators" in the stadiums to control the gameday experience.  They control what is shown on the jumbotron, when the band plays, what cheers are done, what music is blasted over the speakers, and what stream of ads will come at you.

Bands, cheerleaders, drill teams, those things aren't controlled by IMG or CBS and can't drive their profits.  The solution--minimize them as much as possible.  Basically, the university agrees to cannibalize itself.  No pushback will be tolerated.  After taking his concerns about the contant rise of canned music public, Tennessee's band director, Dr. Gary Sousa, was reassigned for pushing back against the profit monster. 

Tennessee isn't alone.  It's everywhere, and the SEC is making it easier than ever to inundate fans with canned music and a tidal wave of advertisements.  Before last season, the SEC relaxed the rules for when music and advertising can be played between plays.  Now, the home team can play this stuff until the QB is over the ball.  The SEC, at the urging of Georgia, adopted the rule because the ACC has something similar, probably to paper over terrible gameday atmospheres.

These media conglomerates don't make money by making each stadium experience unique; they make money by using the same stuff everywhere, which lowers the cost to deliver it.  The necessary result is that the gameday experience is being homogenized--making the experience at any particular stadium much like the experience anywhere else.  What makes the college football experience great is its uniqueness from venue to venue; where we're heading is an NFL-type of experience so bland it could be Anywhere, USA. 

This doesn't even reach the constant barrage of sponsorships and advertising fired from every corner of the stadium.  It's really an insult to the average fan.  Basically, the universities and media companies think that our attention spans are so tiny that we need constant amusement, served up with a side of banking, car dealerships, and Coke.  All of this brought to you with long delays for TV timeouts, so that the university can rake in that money, too.  Considering the spiraling costs of tickets, it's not hard to figure why people are staying home.

"Upgrades" like concessions and Wi-Fi aren't the answer; they're the problem in a new and shiny form.  These are just new ways to reach into the fans' wallets.  Paying for premium Wi-Fi will be the new frontier once they upgrade what they've got.  Concessions prices are already out of control.

If this sounds like a rant, well, I guess it is.  Sort of.  I realize that the universities need to make money, but we're rapidly reaching a point where the universities will not have a unique experience or product to offer.  If that's true, why go there?  Why go anywhere?  And if the universities think they can build loyalty through a television, they're fooling themselves.  If I can watch anyone in America on TV, what makes you special?  The next generation, deprived of any reason to consider the local universities unique, will be free to follow any other school in America, 24 hours a day. 

These universities are turning themselves into snowflakes--unique, just like everyone else. 

I don't want this to be a GSD thread.  The games will be moved and as I have written a few times over the last two years it's time to move them.  With that out of the way, the tailgating at War Memorial on its golf course is one of a kind.  It will be lost as part of the homogenization of your experience.

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

I still love going to games at the bud but it just isnt the same as it once was.

They play stupid canned music during the starting lineups. The band used to be pretty invloved in game activities and now its so limited.

[Sportster365]

You missed his point.  All of us understand the $ angle.

No I think I got the point. And the fact is some folks won't be happy regardless of what you do. Without change, folks would have the game day experience down to an exact science.  OK 3rd and 10 insert (""feel the in the blank"") or timeout, time for ("You know the routine"). I think some change and spontaneity is good and keeps things fresh. But I do think a school keeping it's uniqueness is an important factor in branding and something the University tries to work on. But I'm afraid with little or no change, things become routine quickly, and as with most things routine can become boring after so long.

Some guy mentioned inviting a band, not a bad idea. Something you wouldn't have to do every weekend, but offers something fresh and different as oppose to the same as usual. Allowing the students to get more involved in the game day atmosphere would be awesome. You want to create an exciting and exuberating crowd to make the folks watching from home think boy what I would do to be in that stadium right about now and the fans that did attend leave thinking... sure can't wait to next week!! Go Hogs

[hogsanity]

All of the things in the OP if they could not see the games on tv.  Now, however, staying home is the better option

1. No drunks, at least the ones in your home you invited
2. No drive time
3. can watch other games before and after "your" game
4. my own food
5. my own coach/chair
6. my own bathroom
7. no one climbing over me 15 times to go get food or hit the bathroom
8. no annoying kid behind me kicking me
9, no annoying people around me talking loudly about who they are dating, or who they dumped, or why they cant stand their spouse/kids/boss

I could list another 20 or 30 things.

[Razorfox]

I certainly don't disagree with anything said here as far as the homogenization of the experience and the $ being the ultimate goal.  But, I'm just wondering, of the people in this thread complaining, how many of you:

1) Brag about the U of A being one of the most profitable programs?
2) Throw out the old adage of, just pay our head coach/assistants whatever it takes. 

[WoodyHog]

All of the things in the OP if they could not see the games on tv.  Now, however, staying home is the better option

1. No drunks, at least the ones in your home you invited
2. No drive time
3. can watch other games before and after "your" game
4. my own food
5. my own coach/chair
6. my own bathroom
7. no one climbing over me 15 times to go get food or hit the bathroom
8. no annoying kid behind me kicking me
9, no annoying people around me talking loudly about who they are dating, or who they dumped, or why they cant stand their spouse/kids/boss

I could list another 20 or 30 things.

On the negative side, you ARE NOT AT THE GAME.  There is lots of stuff you can experience on a TV or computer these days -- sports, concerts, theatre, etc. -- but in my opinion, there is an energy and excitement associated with actually being there, along with thousands of other likeminded people, which simply can't be replicated.  I'm not saying the experience viewing at home hasn't gotten better, or isn't good in its own right, but there is something special about actually going to an event, no matter what it is.

[snoblind]

No I think I got the point. And the fact is some folks won't be happy regardless of what you do. Without change, folks would have the game day experience down to an exact science.  OK 3rd and 10 insert (""feel the in the blank"") or timeout, time for ("You know the routine"). I think some change and spontaneity is good and keeps things fresh. But I do think a school keeping it's uniqueness is an important factor in branding and something the University tries to work on. But I'm afraid with little or no change, things become routine quickly, and as with most things routine can become boring after so long.

Some guy mentioned inviting a band, not a bad idea. Something you wouldn't have to do every weekend, but offers something fresh and different as oppose to the same as usual. Allowing the students to get more involved in the game day atmosphere would be awesome. You want to create an exciting and exuberating crowd to make the folks watching from home think boy what I would do to be in that stadium right about now and the fans that did attend leave thinking... sure can't wait to next week!! Go Hogs

Your post proves you didn't really get the main one, that with the marketing it isn't a unique fan experience, but it is actually becoming more homogenized.  The complaint isn't about change per se, it is the type of change.

Do you go to games?  I've noticed multiple times the past few years when the cheerleaders try to start a stadium wide deal such as a Hog call, the band starts to play, or just fans getting something going it is drowned out by the preplanned, programmed agenda.  Everyone gets that when a sponsor ponies up the big bucks for an ad over the loudspeakers it is going to happen.  Just don't ruin the momentum of the crowd during a crucial point in the game because the schedule says this ad gets played a 3:00 in 3rd quarter.

So the "folks would have the game day experience down to an exact science" is one of the things Reb and the rest of us are complaining about.  You argue that spontaneity is good and at the same time defend the process that is taking it out of the game day experience.  Can't have it both ways.

[hobhog]

All of the things in the OP if they could not see the games on tv.  Now, however, staying home is the better option

1. No drunks, at least the ones in your home you invited
2. No drive time
3. can watch other games before and after "your" game
4. my own food
5. my own coach/chair
6. my own bathroom
7. no one climbing over me 15 times to go get food or hit the bathroom
8. no annoying kid behind me kicking me
9, no annoying people around me talking loudly about who they are dating, or who they dumped, or why they cant stand their spouse/kids/boss

I could list another 20 or 30 things.

But you miss large parts of the game you cant see on TV. And secondly, if the stands were empty because everyone was like you, it wouldnt be near the TV experieince would it? Want to watch two teams play with no one in the stadium? Didnt think so.

BTW- One of the 20 or 30 other things you mention could be "I'm really lazy and don't like people and fun".

[BearsBisonsBoars]

I love my Hogs, have rooted for them from 6 different states that I have lived in over the last 30 years.  I now live 45 minutes from campus and would love to go to games.  My real issue is the cost.  I have a family of 4 and cannot justify the cost in my budget.

In a state where the average income is about $35,000, I cannot imagine a 4 person home shelling out about $400 or more for a game day experience (ticket, parking, snacks, souvenirs, gas).  While the University is "sponsored" and making money hand over fist at this time, most Arkansans are not.

When a family can get a large screen tv for about $400 and watch games on it.  THey can invite friends over and have everyone bring snacks and have their own game day experience every week for the same price as going to one game.

This. I think the University could reduce ticket prices and make a lot of that money up by offering a simulcast of the game over the internet for a subscription or per diem fee. I know that the licensing would be a bear, but those of us who don't have TV would eat it up.

Right now, I'm reduced to going to sports bars or friends' houses to watch the games. That's great, but I don't get to yell and cuss and jump around and throw things out the window - which is half the fun :/