Coaching Carousel (Football)

Status
Not open for further replies.
#52      
I'm genuinely not sure what you are referring to, haha. I agree the Rose Bowl is awesome ... but what does that matter if it is an hour away from campus (with traffic) and in an area dominated by USC fans? If the venue itself could simply WILL UCLA fans to attend, they would have better crowds for actually decent teams ... and they don't. So the Rose Bowl's beauty and uniqueness is clearly not, in and of itself, helping UCLA's fan base issues.

And my example of playing in Bloomington actually went out of its way to NOT equate traffic patterns between Central Illinois and LA, and that was the entire point ... it takes about an hour to get 50 miles over to B-N from Champaign and also takes an hour to only go 26 miles from UCLA's campus to the Rose Bowl! The point is, it takes an hour to both ... that's a lot to ask of students, regardless of if they are cruising or stuck in stop-and-go traffic ... it takes two hours of your day, round trip.

The entire point is that UCLA would probably benefit from a smaller stadium near campus more than their current setup in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl ... do you disagree??
In a perfect world, UCLA and the LA Galaxy would share a 40-45K seat stadium near the campus that could also serve as a US soccer west coast stadium location. But the Rose Bowl is nearly 50 miles from Carson, where the Galaxy currently play. Moving closer to the Valley would be a big move for the Galaxy.
 
#53      
I'm genuinely not sure what you are referring to, haha. I agree the Rose Bowl is awesome ... but what does that matter if it is an hour away from campus (with traffic) and in an area dominated by USC fans? If the venue itself could simply WILL UCLA fans to attend, they would have better crowds for actually decent teams ... and they don't. So the Rose Bowl's beauty and uniqueness is clearly not, in and of itself, helping UCLA's fan base issues.

And my example of playing in Bloomington actually went out of its way to NOT equate traffic patterns between Central Illinois and LA, and that was the entire point ... it takes about an hour to get 50 miles over to B-N from Champaign and also takes an hour to only go 26 miles from UCLA's campus to the Rose Bowl! The point is, it takes an hour to both ... that's a lot to ask of students, regardless of if they are cruising or stuck in stop-and-go traffic ... it takes two hours of your day, round trip.

The entire point is that UCLA would probably benefit from a smaller stadium near campus more than their current setup in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl ... do you disagree??
Yes, I disagree.

Property values (and overall scarcity) in Westwood are prohibitive when compared to the existing, world-renowned structure that currently hosts UCLA home games.

And most people who live in LA are accustomed to tedious drives. It takes an hour to go get a gallon of milk from the closet grocery store at midnight in many nice parts of LA. Have you lived there?

If "proximity to football stadium" is a key factor for a student in choosing an undergraduate institution, then I concede they will probably be happier somewhere besides UCLA.

UCLA has a lot of problems that hamstring football success, but the Rose Bowl and its location isn't one of them.
 
#54      
Yes, I disagree.

Property values (and overall scarcity) in Westwood are prohibitive when compared to the existing, world-renowned structure that currently hosts UCLA home games.

And most people who live in LA are accustomed to tedious drives. It takes an hour to go get a gallon of milk from the closet grocery store at midnight in many nice parts of LA. Have you lived there?

If "proximity to football stadium" is a key factor for a student in choosing an undergraduate institution, then I concede they will probably be happier somewhere besides UCLA.

UCLA has a lot of problems that hamstring football success, but the Rose Bowl and its location isn't one of them.
I don't know man, there's a lot of evidence that says it is.

Apparently they've been vastly overinflating their attendance numbers (to end up at the already pathetic officials numbers they put out). https://www.themightybruin.com/p/fu...reveals-ucla-football-real-attendance-numbers

According to that article, their attendance for their 2022 season opener was about 12k. This was in the Chip Kelly era. The 2021 team went 8-4. 12k in a stadium that houses 90k. For a school whose total enrollment is nearly 50k, and is located in a major metropolitan area, and is coming off an 8-win season. That 2022 team went 9-4, was ranked for the entire 2nd half of the season, had 3 games where actual attendance was less than 20k, and their only well attended game was against USC (still at about 2/3 capacity).

I get that UCLA has a lot of students who commute, and have long commutes, and that people in LA are used to lots of traffic and long drives everywhere. I do understand that. But I also can't imagine that people in LA are impervious to the practical effects of a commute. If I have already spent X number of hours in a week commuting, isn't that likely to decrease the amount of additional time I can spend commuting? At some point I will have to spend on things I can't do while commuting, like homework, work, sleep, read, catch up on TV, etc. Aren't I therefore more likely to forego a commute to the Rose Bowl and just watch the thing in my dorm room? And at the same time, a lack of a commute opens up other opportunities, such as people who decide to just go to the game the same day. Less likely to happen if there's a long commute on either end of the equation.
 
#57      
they are having the problem we had from 1968-1979 . An admin that is totally ambivalent
UCLA has a new Chancellor who came from Miami, where he was a strong and active supporter of the athletic program, so UCLA fans are cautiously optimistic that he could be a difference maker.

Pretty strong rumors over the past 24 hours that he is looking to hire a football GM who will take the decision for the next coaching hire out of the hands of the out-of-his-league Athletic Director. Honestly, I’d rather that he just fire the AD. We’ll see over the next 3 months.
 
#59      
Yes, I disagree.

Property values (and overall scarcity) in Westwood are prohibitive when compared to the existing, world-renowned structure that currently hosts UCLA home games.

And most people who live in LA are accustomed to tedious drives. It takes an hour to go get a gallon of milk from the closet grocery store at midnight in many nice parts of LA. Have you lived there?

If "proximity to football stadium" is a key factor for a student in choosing an undergraduate institution, then I concede they will probably be happier somewhere besides UCLA.

UCLA has a lot of problems that hamstring football success, but the Rose Bowl and its location isn't one of them.
This is exactly right.

(1) there will never be a football stadium on campus because the wealthy, politically connected neighbors across the street in Bel Air will never allow it.

(2) school doesn’t start until late September, and students don’t show up in mass at many schools regardless (how often does Illinois attract even 10k?), so why cater to the students?

(3) UCLA has had periods of success while playing at the Rose Bowl, they just haven’t been able to sustain it. When the team is good, fans come out. In 2014, UCLA led the PAC-12 in attendance, averaging over 76k per game (3 games topped 80k), because the team was good. How many programs draw more than that?

(4) If they figure out the right coach, there really is no reason why UCLA can’t be as big a problem for the rest of the country as USC was in the 1970s and 2000s. Same fertile recruiting base, lots of rich alumni, great weather/girls, all the benefits of playing in a huge city, etc.
 
Last edited:
#60      
Yes, I disagree.

Property values (and overall scarcity) in Westwood are prohibitive when compared to the existing, world-renowned structure that currently hosts UCLA home games.

And most people who live in LA are accustomed to tedious drives. It takes an hour to go get a gallon of milk from the closet grocery store at midnight in many nice parts of LA. Have you lived there?

If "proximity to football stadium" is a key factor for a student in choosing an undergraduate institution, then I concede they will probably be happier somewhere besides UCLA.

UCLA has a lot of problems that hamstring football success, but the Rose Bowl and its location isn't one of them.
I dont think he was claiming proximity to the stadium would affect whether a student attended UCLA. It would affect whether they attend games. I can't believe anyone would suggest differently. Drive an hour and pay for parking vs. walk in 10 minutes. It seems obvious.
 
#63      
I dont think he was claiming proximity to the stadium would affect whether a student attended UCLA. It would affect whether they attend games. I can't believe anyone would suggest differently. Drive an hour and pay for parking vs. walk in 10 minutes. It seems obvious.
I've mentioned in previous threads, but I did security for UCLA home games back in the early 2010s.... There was no student section/pre-game tailgating to be found. Atmosphere was lukewarm, more regular season baseball than rowdy football.

I also never met a UCLA football fan in 5 years in SoCal. They just don't care about college football there. Dodgers, Lakers, and pro football was king.

(Of note, you just need a miniscule fraction of your population be fans in a huge population center like that but it was hidden well if it existed).

There weren't billboards, no cars with decals/stickers --or those window flags--that were everywhere come GameDay in the south. Never saw anyone walking around with Bruins swag..
 
#64      
This is exactly right.

(3) UCLA has had periods of success while playing at the Rose Bowl, they just haven’t been able to sustain it. When the team is good, fans come out. In 2014, UCLA led the PAC-12 in attendance, averaging over 76k per game (3 games topped 80k), because the team was good. How many programs draw more than that?
They had good teams in 2021 and 2022. Fans didn't come out. In 2022, a 9-win season following an 8-win season, they had 3 games where actual attendance was under 20k. We had better attendance in Lovie's worst season. They hit 50% capacity one time (against USC). In fact, I dont know that a we had a single game with under 20k attendance under Lovie.

Also they've been vastly inflating their attendance numbers since the 1960s (see link I provided in my earlier comment), so those 2014 numbers are probably way off the actual number.
 
#66      
They had good teams in 2021 and 2022. Fans didn't come out. In 2022, a 9-win season following an 8-win season, they had 3 games where actual attendance was under 20k. We had better attendance in Lovie's worst season. They hit 50% capacity one time (against USC). In fact, I dont know that a we had a single game with under 20k attendance under Lovie.

Also they've been vastly inflating their attendance numbers since the 1960s (see link I provided in my earlier comment), so those 2014 numbers are probably way off the actual number.
To be fair, the News-Gazette used a Freedom of Information Act request a few years ago to get the turnstile attendance numbers during a few of the bad years here, and the delta between announced attendance and people who passed through the turnstiles wasn't that different than at UCLA.
 
#67      
Yes, I disagree.

Property values (and overall scarcity) in Westwood are prohibitive when compared to the existing, world-renowned structure that currently hosts UCLA home games.

And most people who live in LA are accustomed to tedious drives. It takes an hour to go get a gallon of milk from the closet grocery store at midnight in many nice parts of LA. Have you lived there?

If "proximity to football stadium" is a key factor for a student in choosing an undergraduate institution, then I concede they will probably be happier somewhere besides UCLA.

UCLA has a lot of problems that hamstring football success, but the Rose Bowl and its location isn't one of them.
The houses there must be even bigger than I imagined if it takes an hour to get to your closet. Though the concept is intriguing...
1758026614867.png
 
#73      
i don't see why lunney would go to utsa he makes more than their hc rn
Two successful years in San Antonio, no doubt.

But home is Arkansas. From there, played quarterback for razorbacks, coached highschool football there 05-12, coach at Arkansas 2013-2019
The call home is always strong, but yes, as an outsider that seems like a poor choice.
Will say, if the Lunney has to go the G5 route to be a HC, UTSA is a pretty good spot. UTSA is place Lunney knows well. Despite being a new program, I think is ok funded and in pretty good recruiting spot.

Also does UTSA get any of the UT oil cash? I am not expecting much if so, but might be decent chunk of change for a G5.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back