Schwartz-Angry Fans article = fail

[ferentz4life]

The author concludes that we will all renew our season tickets, or, at most an "insignificant" amount won't, which he puts at 3,000. To that hypothesis, I offer this:

1. I won't renew my season tickets.

2. I've already cancelled my recurring monthly donations. (My donations were not terribly significant, but the $2,000, $500, $1,000 etc. in lost donations from numerous people will add up).

3. Virtually every school is struggling with declining season ticket sales. Iowa is not immune from this, and the poor on the field product will only accelerate the decline. It's naïve to assume otherwise.

4. You must have missed it, but tickets for the WI and NE games were going for $20.00 and less. Both games-one of which had conference title implications-were not sold out. On this point, have you looked at next year's home schedule?

5. Let's use your figure of 3,000 non renewals. (By the way, I think there will be more than that.) $395 X 3,000=$1,185,000 in season ticket losses, not including the lost per seat "donations." Millions in lost revenue is not "insignificant" to any school/company.

 

[tm3308]

$1.185 million is nothing to sneeze at, but it's still small potatoes in an athletic department like this one.

 

[uihawk82]

TV revenue is now the key. I think I heard Iowa gets $24 million a year from Big 10 and networks. And this is locked in unless people quit signing up for cable or satellite. So if you have cable/sat sports packages you are giving money to Iowa and other teams.

Anyone know the correct amount of TV revenue the hawks are getting in fall 2014- spring 2015

 

[IowaFan81]

TV revenue is now the key. I think I heard Iowa gets $24 million a year from Big 10 and networks. And this is locked in unless people quit signing up for cable or satellite. So if you have cable/sat sports packages you are giving money to Iowa and other teams.

Anyone know the correct amount of TV revenue the hawks are getting in fall 2014- spring 2015

It's only going to increase with new deal. It doesn't matter how many fans are in the stands, schools get equal share. If Iowa continues to be average then they'll just be regulated to BTN and 11 am starts like recent years with no night games. KF has said multiple times this year that the team must get the fans involved not the other way around. He doesn't give the team much to work with to get the fans involved. GD will probably retire so KF gets another 2-3 with a new OC then by that time Barta will just let his contract play out. If change occurs it will be because Barta is gone, KF will not walk away.

 

[SpecialKHawk]

Really silly and short sided article. In fact this might be one of the worst I have read on this site.

The same thing was said about basketball until the stadium was almost empty. We became the laughing stock of the state and league. We have never fully recovered from this despite Fran's relentless efforts on this up hill battle.

Age demographics are change so some of that good-ole loyal crowd no longer attends. If you give the younger group a reason not to attend they will not and good luck getting them back. Only look to the student attendance right now. Who would have thought they would not show up in masses any more just a few seasons ago.

On top of that tailgating has been squashed which is something all ages enjoyed regardless. What's the point now that the product is horrible and you have a head coach who thinks he is better than everyone else by giving the middle finger to the fans whenever he gets a chance.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

$1.185 million is nothing to sneeze at, but it's still small potatoes in an athletic department like this one.

Exactly. I work at the U & the amount of $$ they deal with is amazing. This last year was the most they ever had in construction costs on campus which topped 2 billion. 1 mil to them is nothing. They could prob round up the $$ needed to buy KF out if they had to, along with donors contributing.

So, they pay the coach 3 mil, spend 2.something billion in construction this past year. The Regents hire the firm Deloitte so see how they can streamline the 3 public universities and now hundreds are going to lose their jobs this coming year, many in IT & HR. But hey, at least we're paying the likes of Ferentz, Hoiberg, Rhoads, etc. good cash.

 

[HawkPrdatr40]

The author concludes that we will all renew our season tickets, or, at most an "insignificant" amount won't, which he puts at 3,000. To that hypothesis, I offer this:

1. I won't renew my season tickets.

2. I've already cancelled my recurring monthly donations. (My donations were not terribly significant, but the $2,000, $500, $1,000 etc. in lost donations from numerous people will add up).

3. Virtually every school is struggling with declining season ticket sales. Iowa is not immune from this, and the poor on the field product will only accelerate the decline. It's naïve to assume otherwise.

4. You must have missed it, but tickets for the WI and NE games were going for $20.00 and less. Both games-one of which had conference title implications-were not sold out. On this point, have you looked at next year's home schedule?

5. Let's use your figure of 3,000 non renewals. (By the way, I think there will be more than that.) $395 X 3,000=$1,185,000 in season ticket losses, not including the lost per seat "donations." Millions in lost revenue is not "insignificant" to any school/company.

You won't see a big enough dropoff with this fan base, seriously it's one of the best in the country.. The end of KF won't be due to this Fan base not showing up, because they will keep showing up.. The program has more meaning to this fan base than just KF.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

This article kinda ticked me off..... Don't take your fan base for granted.

 

[brhawks18]

I hope Schwartz is way off on this article and several thousand season ticket holders say screw it and don't renew.

If like someone said, Iowa gets $24 million per year in TV revenue alone, then let's gut this thing and start over.


NOTE TO THE BOARD OF REGENTS: Get off your butts, clean house in Iowa City and you can start with the university president. Of course I'm only dreaming. Nobody in Iowa has the gonads to do anything about the average product being put on the field that charges premium prices.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

You won't see a big enough dropoff with this fan base, seriously it's one of the best in the country.. The end of KF won't be due to this Fan base not showing up, because they will keep showing up.. The program has more meaning to this fan base than just KF.

That's why I always laugh when I see people whine on these boards about how bad the fan base is (when they criticize the coach, program, etc.).. Simply not true. The fan base is the reason why Iowa got an Alamo Bowl invite in 2006 despite going 2-6 in the Big Ten. Or the Outback Bowl in 2005 over Michigan. The bowl reps knew that Iowa fans are loyal and would show up in droves.

 

[ferentz4life]

That's why I always laugh when I see people whine on these boards about how bad the fan base is (when they criticize the coach, program, etc.).. Simply not true. The fan base is the reason why Iowa got an Alamo Bowl invite in 2006 despite going 2-6 in the Big Ten. Or the Outback Bowl in 2005 over Michigan. The bowl reps knew that Iowa fans are loyal and would show up in droves.

Let's talk again after the final talley from this year's bowl game.

 

[trj]

You won't see a big enough dropoff with this fan base, seriously it's one of the best in the country.. The end of KF won't be due to this Fan base not showing up, because they will keep showing up.. The program has more meaning to this fan base than just KF.

At one time I bought into this argument, I am not so sure anymore. Even baby boomers and their huge amount of discretionary income can find other things to do. You can use that RV for many other things than just tailgating at football games.

 

[lightning1]

$1.185 million is nothing to sneeze at, but it's still small potatoes in an athletic department like this one.

It's funny. Barta shrugs his shoulders at the 3,000 or 4,000 small donors that are responsible for that amount. But if you called up the AD and promised to personally write them a 1.8 mil dollar check, Barta'd be at your door step and on his knees in under 60 minutes.

 

[BILLBUCKNER]

Really silly and short sided article. In fact this might be one of the worst I have read on this site.

The same thing was said about basketball until the stadium was almost empty. We became the laughing stock of the state and league. We have never fully recovered from this despite Fran's relentless efforts on this up hill battle.

Age demographics are change so some of that good-ole loyal crowd no longer attends. If you give the younger group a reason not to attend they will not and good luck getting them back. Only look to the student attendance right now. Who would have thought they would not show up in masses any more just a few seasons ago.

On top of that tailgating has been squashed which is something all ages enjoyed regardless. What's the point now that the product is horrible and you have a head coach who thinks he is better than everyone else by giving the middle finger to the fans whenever he gets a chance.

Excellent points.. i have no idea how Iowa will be able to ride the gravy train. Both my sons played fb,but neither ever watches sports of any kind. They would rather play their game systems for entertainment. I have to practically drag them to go to a game which I haven't done in 2 years with the exception of the Ball St game and that was because we got sweet press box seats for free. KF has just sucked all the fun out of Iowa fb for me. Another factor in play is ISU enrollment has grown as large as Iowas. And may surpass it. If that continues,they will become the Program of Iowa in a generation based on alumni.

 

[taffaej]

I agree it was a really bad article.

Every year there is ticket turn over, a million bucks means nothing to the University. Football is "the" sport at Iowa so it will take a few more Iowa State like seasons for people to stop showing up and in fact you can look at Iowa State as our example. When was the last time they were relevant in football?, yet State keeps selling falls hopes and people keep showing up. Heck they are adding onto the stadium because as everyone knows a bigger stadium means better football.....NOT. Anyway back to the Hawks, I think coach will be back for at least more year, not because we cant afford the buyout because we can, its because the fans haven't put enough pressure on the school to make those changes.

 

[lightning1]

Schwartz doesn't get it. He's writing that article like NOW there will be a mass exodus of angry Iowa fans. That's not how it works, David. It's a slow, steady stream. In case you haven't been paying attention, it's already begun. As another poster already noted, loss in attendance for Mens Basketball was not an overnight phenom either. More and more people walk away and when they do, they get REALLY comfortable in that recliner in their living room.
I'm sure David was getting a really good chuckle when Iowa Basketball fans on this board (or the previous HawkeyeNation), walked away from Carver Hawkeye arena, And as previously noted, they still aren't all back.
So, keep laughing David. Everyone here is laughing too. We're just not laughing WITH you.

 

[INTIMIDATORHawk]

Unless the Athletic Department "experts" and blind and stupid, the evidence already exists that attendance is in big, big trouble. The fans have been slowly talking with their wallets since the streak of sold out games came to an end a couple years back.

I buy season tickets, and I will probably continue to do so because as was mentioned, the Iowa program is much bigger than Kirk Ferentz. Unfortunately the amount of empty seats at Kinnick this season was alarming. The students aren't attending which is a huge problem. The fact that the biggest games are not sold out is what is so shocking to me. The problem isn't the cost. The problem is the mediocrity, with no signs of improvement.

Next year's schedule is so bad that I wouldn't be surprised if attendance took a 10% drop. You heard it here first. People were ANGRY as they left the stadium yesterday. I think that passion will translate to a significant decline in ticket sales. Iowa fans at Kinnick have had enough of the Ferentz and Davis show.

I will continue to buy my tickets because I love football Saturdays at Kinnick in the fall. The big difference for me is that I no longer get upset when they lose. It used to one of the worst feelings in the world to leave Kinnick after a loss. These days, I'm used to it. Kirk has conditioned me to expect losses instead of wins. Thanks Kirk.

 

[ferentz4life]

$1.185 million is nothing to sneeze at, but it's still small potatoes in an athletic department like this one.

Again, the $1.185 assumes the author's estimate of 3k non renewals is accurate and does not include the required donation for each non renewed seat.

I think the non renewal number will be closer to 5-6k. Someone smarter than me can calculate the total amount of lost donations for each seat, but it's not unreasonable to think the overall total could be $3,000,000-4,000,000.

I agree this is small relative to the overall revenue, but still a very significant hit.

 

[INTIMIDATORHawk]

Again, the $1.185 assumes the author's estimate of 3k non renewals is accurate and does not include the required donation for each non renewed seat.

I think the non renewal number will be closer to 5-6k. Someone smarter than me can calculate the total amount of lost donations for each seat, but it's not unreasonable to think the overall total could be $3,000,000-4,000,000.

I agree this is small relative to the overall revenue, but still a very significant hit.

As I said in my previous post in this thread, I would not be surprised to see a 10% reduction in ticket sales next season with that horrible schedule. Iowa fans at Kinnick have given Kirk the benefit of the doubt the last few years. It appears that will no longer be the case. I've never heard such a negative tone when I walked out of Kinnick as I did yesterday. Many of them will not be back.

 

[uihawk82]

I think the non renewal number will be closer to 5-6k. Someone smarter than me can calculate the total amount of lost donations for each seat, but it's not unreasonable to think the overall total could be $3,000,000-4,000,000.

I agree this is small relative to the overall revenue, but still a very significant hit.

I think the whole ADept income is around 75 million and they net a huge amount/% but 3-4 million is a significant percentage of the ADept budget.

Dont even look at the other 2 billion in construction projects etc because the UI general budget totally dwarfs the ADept budget. But the ADept is like the IOwa DOT , as the DOT sits up in Ames or used to and was pretty self-sufficient and ran their own kingdom (from several people I know who used to work there). KF has his own kingdom.