JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
- Chicago
I'm shocked that Standards and Practices signed off on allowing this kind of bloodbath to be broadcast on ABC.
Michigan State (Nov. 5th) & Purdue (Nov. 12th) Games
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redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- North Aurora
The Medill alumni committee had to have pulled some nerd mafia hijinks to make this happen.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Yeah, seriously, WHY?? Lol. I get that OSU pulls in crazy ratings by themselves, but Northwestern is a non-starter and the game itself has almost no appeal outside of those fan bases.
I guess the question is, what game that day would be a better choice? Pretty bad slate of games which often means the prime spot goes to the single team that's the biggest draw, even if it's a bad match up.
ABC is owned by Disney who is of course ran by Mickey Mouse. Its best to not question him at this point. I mean good lord just look at what he did to the Jonas Brothers when they asked a simple harmless question.
Those are all fair questions, and good points. First of all I agree that the Illini game tickets are a relative bargain, and that the DIA has marketed these games more in past years and have done an impressive job selling tickets the week before a game. I totally agree with your points on that.
My point is that the DIA is not attempting to sell 60,670 tickets per game; that is not their goal even though that is their publicly stated goal. They want to sell tickets, and they want to sell them at their price points, but they aren't interested in selling 60,670 tickets.
Here's why I think that:
1. The DIA sold more season tickets this year than they did last year. Season ticket prices this year were sold at 5 price points, plus a FamILLy Four Pack. They did not sell-out standard season tickets, but they did sell out FamILLy Four Packs:
Prime = $51
Sideline = $40
Orange = $27
Blue = $22
Horseshoe = $22
Four Pack = $15
2. The DIA raised single game prices, changed their pricing strategy to a flat $75/$85 price, and sold fewer tickets this year through the first 3 games than they did last year. They sold 3,058 more tickets last year total over the first 3 games than they did this year. This information coupled with the increase in season ticket sales tells me they sold fewer single game tickets this year than they did last year.
3. Ticket "sales" to the Virginia and Chattanooga games included thousands of free ticket promotional give aways which inflate the sales numbers beyond the natural consumer demand at the $75/$85 single game price point.
4. Flash sales for Iowa and Minnesota at $24 helped increase ticket sales 7,000 over previous weeks. The $18 flash sale for Michigan State sold 13,000 tickets, but did not sell out the stadium.
The fact that the FamILLy Four Pack sold out at $15 per ticket, and the 18 hour flash sale results for Michigan State tell me there is a natural demand at the $15-$20 price point. The DIA can play gimmicks to get as many people as possible to buy the $75/$85 tickets, but that is not where their demand is at. How the Illini prices compare to the other BigTen teams does not matter at all in this context.
They knew coming into the season demand was saturated at the standard season ticket price points, and there was still demand at the $15 FamILLy Four Pack price. If they wanted to sell more tickets they needed to be sold at price points between the season ticket prices and the Four Pack prices; in other words $15 - $20. The success of the Michigan State sale compared to the Iowa (rival night game) and Minnesota (homecoming) sales tells me that fans are still price sensistive and that same $15-$20 price point is the sweet spot even when special draws like homecoming are factored in.
The DIA knows the only way they'll ever sell out the stadium is to set prices at $15-$20 until demand is saturated, and then lower prices even further, or incetivize through promotions. The problem is they have never allowed demand to saturate at its natural levels so they don't really know how many potential butts are out there sitting at home that would be in a seat in the stadium at the right price.
Keep in mind, this year even with the promotions and team success is on track to be one of the 5 worst attended seasons in the last 20 years. Its not like the fans don't have a history of attending games; it's quite the contrary. The problem in my opinion is the pricing structure and ticket sales strategy is anti-fan.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
The big advantage this game has compared to the last couple of home games is that there’s actually time to plan your day/get your ticket because of the bye week + road game.
If MSU sells out, and we win the next two, you have to assume Purdue will sell out too.
They likely still have 20k seats to sell for Purdue based on the seat map. Going to be tough without more advertising of the 4-pack deal. That could be a pathetic site with the West title on the line.
After losing to PU last year, this is another one of BB's revenge games. He is not going to let this one slip away.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of fans are waiting for said deal … I think the DIA knows a season ticket bump is coming if we keep winning, they won’t let the Purdue game be a bad crowd.
Not sure if I am reading this incorrectly or not, but there is already a deal--4 for $99 in the horseshoe. LOTS of seats available there.
B-ILL
- Working From Home
Now if we only knew what time kickoff will be!! Then I could actually plan my day…
the national
- the Front Range
I drove out to the rose bowl in a blizzard. I’d definitely drive to Indy
the national
- the Front Range
I was there. It felt more than 16000 but not much more…
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I have gone twice with my Iowa friends, and it’s a truly amazing experience - even if your team gets smoked! Absolutely great atmosphere and the downtown scene in Indy is nice, quaint, clean, stocked with bars and right by the stadium.
Only downside? Hotels downtown are outrageous (and many push for two nights), and you’ll spend an arm and a leg on Ubers if you stay too far away and want to get rowdy!
Looking at the College Gameday forecast....I think we have a decent chance to get it against Purdue, even if Purdue loses to Iowa. Even with back to back losses, they would be in the drivers seat for the West if they beat us because we have an assumed loss coming later against Michigan. So Gameday could still spin it as a battle for the division, even though Purdue's losing streak would take some air out of the game in the general public's eye.
As for the other options that week....
Georgia @ Miss St - Nah, Miss St picked up a couple losses and Gameday will likely be at Georgia the week before.
Bama @ Ole Miss - This is probably the favorite, unfortunately. Hopefully one (or both) of them loses in the next 2 weeks.
TCU @ Texas - Good game, but not enough for Gameday to go back to Austin a 2nd time.
UNC @ Wake - Maybe, but being in seperate divisions takes some appeal out of the game. Still rooting for either team to lose so it's not an option.
As for the other options that week....
Georgia @ Miss St - Nah, Miss St picked up a couple losses and Gameday will likely be at Georgia the week before.
Bama @ Ole Miss - This is probably the favorite, unfortunately. Hopefully one (or both) of them loses in the next 2 weeks.
TCU @ Texas - Good game, but not enough for Gameday to go back to Austin a 2nd time.
UNC @ Wake - Maybe, but being in seperate divisions takes some appeal out of the game. Still rooting for either team to lose so it's not an option.
No they wouldn't.
JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
- Chicago
Us losing to Michigan has very little impact on the race for the West.
What am I missing? If Purdue loses to Iowa, that puts them 2 games back. If they beat us, then they are 1 game back. If we lose to Michigan, we are even and Purdue has the tie breaker.
I'm not sure this is what 0440 was talking about, but Wisconsin currently has 3 losses and beat Purdue head to head.
I see. Assuming Wisconsin makes it through the @Iowa, @Nebraska, Minnesota guantlet, there could be a three way tie which gets messier in the tie breakers.
JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
- Chicago
Michigan is in the East.
East and West don't matter for conference. Indiana is in the East and that loss counts against us for conference record. Penn St is in the East and that loss counts against Purdue.
JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
- Chicago
Big Ten Conference Football Divisional Tiebreaker
The Big Ten football championship will be decided by a game played between the two division champions. A team or teams that are not eligible to participate in a postseason football bowl game as a result of NCAA and/or Big Ten sanctions shall not be eligible to participate in the Big Ten...
bigten.org
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