Big Four Doubleheader Announcement

[Section136]

Can you explain what advantage this has for Iowa or Iowa State? The way I see it a move like this only gets them 1 extra home game. You are giving up a home game against Drake/UNI where you can draw 12K to add an extra game against another cream puff that draws 8k. Instead you give everyone the burden of extra travel expenses to go to Des Moines to play a game where you split the revenue 4 ways.

I know most people here could care less about UNI/Drake but this is a horrible deal for them. IMO, this is a horrible deal for the entire state as games like this create excitement for college basketball.

And then when Iowa would be traveling to Des Moines or Cedar Falls for away games against MVC schools, we now get an extra home game. If it is good for Iowa, then I am all for it. This is a good thing for Iowa.

And who gets excited for Drake/Iowa games other than Drake fans?

 

[H8IAST8]

Drake and UNI will make MORE money. Isu and Iowa will likely make more too.

 

[Section136]

Drake and UNI will make MORE money. Isu and Iowa will likely make more too.

I'm not sure how UNI and Drake will make more money. They lose a home game every year which is more than likely their highest attended game of the year in exchange for an event in which they split the revenue 4 ways.

What am I missing that explains how they will make more money?

 

[sioux34]

Please explain to me how UNI and Drake will make more money. They are giving up a sold out home game for a fraction of the gate to a non sold out away game.

Damn, beaten to the punch again.

 

[H8IAST8]

#1 UNI AD has stated numerous times they will make more money on this

6,000 fans x $25ticket =$150,000/2 years = $75,000/year

Iowa last year
2011 $$$
Drake $150,000 (10,000 fans x $15)
at UNI $0
TOTAL $150k

vs. Next year very conservative on the other home game
2012 $$$
Drakeor UNI in DSM $150,000 (15,000 fans x $40/4)
Other Home Game: $90,000 (9,000 fans x $10)
TOTAL $240k

 

[ssckelley]

And who gets excited for Drake/Iowa games other than Drake fans?

Drake attracted 10,479 fans this season and UNI attracted 10,667 (on a Tuesday) last season. Not bad considering how bad the non conference attendance has been the last couple of seasons.

Non conference games against the MVC is better for your RPI and fan interest than games against Central Arkansas, Campbell, Chicago State, or Brown. You would think they could make a better deal for UNI & Drake to where they only get a home game every 3rd or pay just pay them to play every year in CHA.

 

[H8IAST8]

It’s a more lucrative event for UNI and Drake than hosting Iowa and Iowa State every-other year. But cash-strapped Northern Iowa is giving up more than just money, Dannen said. It’s giving up tradition and playing major-conference, large-school rivals on its home floor.

Iowa, UNI have differing views of ‘Big Four Classic’ | TheGazette

 

[H8IAST8]

Drake attracted 10,479 fans this season and UNI attracted 10,667 (on a Tuesday) last season. Not bad considering how bad the non conference attendance has been the last couple of seasons.

Non conference games against the MVC is better for your RPI and fan interest than games against Central Arkansas, Campbell, Chicago State, or Brown. You would think they could make a better deal for UNI & Drake to where they only get a home game every 3rd or pay just pay them to play every year in CHA.

that is about 2,000 more than what season ticket sales are.

 

[BryceC]

It's a no-brainer make more money game for any team. Most likely they are only selling a few more thousand tickets for a home game every other year than they would for any other game.

Let's say a conservative estimate for the game is that each team makes 150k. I think that's reasonable. They said the arena would hold 15k fans, and the average ticket price would be around 50 bucks this morning on KXNO.

This year, for the UNI game ISU sold 13,509 tickets. About a week later they sold 12,915 tickets for Prairie View A&M. Assuming each extra ticket sold is 20 bucks that's 11,880 dollars. So ISU probably stands to make around 140k more by playing this game, and I think that's a conservative estimate.

UNI drew 6,831 fans for the Iowa game. Their next home game was Milwaukee and they drew 4,067. Assuming each additional ticket sold was 20 bucks for the Iowa game that is 55,280 dollars. So they’d probably make about 100k more. For a brutally cash strapped athletic department that’s pretty good.

Granted I hate the format of this thing and I hope they change it. Frankly I’m going to try and find a friend who is an Iowa fan we can split the $75 tickets with so we can get better seats at half the price and we can both watch our favorite teams play. If I can’t get any of my Iowa friends to bite I’ll probably be trolling this board to see if anybody wants to trade.

 

[ssckelley]

#1 UNI AD has stated numerous times they will make more money on this

6,000 fans x $25ticket =$150,000/2 years = $75,000/year

Iowa last year
2011 $$$
Drake $150,000 (10,000 fans x $15)
at UNI $0
TOTAL $150k

vs. Next year very conservative on the other home game
2012 $$$
Drakeor UNI in DSM $150,000 (15,000 fans x $40/4)
Other Home Game: $90,000 (9,000 fans x $10)
TOTAL $240k

At those prices then it does make a little sense. They are more than doubling the price of each ticket to make up the difference. I don't know how much they charged for the Iowa/Creighton game but it attracted just under 13K fans. Add Iowa State to the mix they should be able to sell it out.

 

[Section136]

just pay them to play every year in CHA.

No thanks....we already pay them a bunch to come to Kinnick every 3-4 years. Why should Iowa play home and homes with smaller in state schools or pay them to play in Carver every year?

Illinois doesn't do it, Indiana doesn't do it with Valpo or IUPUI, UM or MSU dont do it with the directional schools in their state.

 

[ssckelley]

No thanks....we already pay them a bunch to come to Kinnick every 3-4 years. Why should Iowa play home and homes with smaller in state schools or pay them to play in Carver every year?

Illinois doesn't do it, Indiana doesn't do it with Valpo or IUPUI, UM or MSU dont do it with the directional schools in their state.

You sure about that? I always thought the smaller schools were getting some kind of cut to play against bigger schools on the road.

 

[Section136]

You sure about that? I always thought the smaller schools were getting some kind of cut to play against bigger schools on the road.

I don't think the schools I mentioned play the smaller in state schools every year.

 

[MisterLucky]

Not unexpectedly, the UNI AD is not happy with this new arrangement. I have to assume he relished the idea of having ISU or Iowa come into their little arena and get hosed by the refs.

Coach McCaffery has stated that we need to bulk up our OOC schedule. This will give us another game to do so. I seriously doubt that we are going to go out and schedule another cupcake and drag down our RPI.

 

[H8IAST8]

At those prices then it does make a little sense. They are more than doubling the price of each ticket to make up the difference. I don't know how much they charged for the Iowa/Creighton game but it attracted just under 13K fans. Add Iowa State to the mix they should be able to sell it out.

I paid about $45 after fees. There wasnt as much variation in prices for that game.

 

[H8IAST8]

Not unexpectedly, the UNI AD is not happy with this new arrangement. I have to assume he relished the idea of having ISU or Iowa come into their little arena and get hosed by the refs.

Coach McCaffery has stated that we need to bulk up our OOC schedule. This will give us another game to do so. I seriously doubt that we are going to go out and schedule another cupcake and drag down our RPI.

We are guaranteed to have a Big 12 Team, Pac 12 team, and an ACC team every year. Then figure in OOC tournamaents (3-4 games). That leaves room for 6-7 games. We need at least 3-4 cupcakes and the rest can be middle of the road mid majors (all home games or 1 on the road).

 

[SpiderRico]

If I'm the UNI or Drake AD, then I'm ecstatic, for several reasons:

1. Not only do I get more money than I would for a home game, I'm getting that money each year, rather than every other year.

2. I'm getting national exposure each year on either the Big 10 television package (via the Big 10 Network or ESPN/ESPN2) or the Big 12 television package (via Fox) whereas before it may have only been regional coverage or not on TV at all.

3. I don't have to travel to their home court for a potential loss....it'll be a more even playing field.

4. It frees them up to be able to schedule an additional home game every other year, bringing in even more revenue.

Drake and UNI aren't one of the "big boys" (i.e. BCS conference schools), so why they feel they are entitled to a home/home with one of the "big boys" is beyond me. No other MVC or non-BCS school in any other state gets that privilege....in fact, I'd venture to guess that most of the smaller ones, if they want to play one of the in-state big boys, has to always go to their home court. We are doing them a favor by doing this on a neutral site. If they want to keep being big freaking babies about it, then let's see how they like simply coming to our court every year instead. Or, if they don't like it, they can take their ball and go home and play some pansy and muck up their RPI. Doesn't matter to me either way.

 

[DodgerHawki]

Not to be trite..

So what?

but you've pretty much hit the nail on the head. Despite what Iowa/ISU will say about more scheduling flexibility (and there is some truth to that), the real reason it's changing is that Iowa (and I assume ISU, although I don't know for sure) are tired of having guaranteed road games at Valley schools.

If Iowa is going to play on the road in the non-con, it wants to do so only at a neutral site as part of a tournament or on the road against another power conference school. For football, I believe Iowa has only played a road game against a non-BCS school once since KF has been the coach, at Miami (Ohio) in 2002. The game against Northern Illinois this fall in Chicago is a "road game" but Iowa agreed to it only if the game would be played at Soldier Field. One could argue that the bigger schools "shouldn't be afraid" of the smaller schools, and there is some truth to that. But neither should Iowa put itself in a position that none of its conference mates get put in - playing on the home court of a team outside of a power conference.

I understand UNI and Drake's dislike for the new setup. Drake will almost certainly never be able to get a power conference school to come to the Knapp Center for a game. UNI is a better program, and may be able to get selected power conference schools to come to UNI as part of a 2-for-1 or one-time event, but I would be surprised if they were able to get a power conference school into Cedar Falls every year like they have been able to do with Iowa and ISU.

 

[ssckelley]

If I'm the UNI or Drake AD, then I'm ecstatic, for several reasons:

1. Not only do I get more money than I would for a home game, I'm getting that money each year, rather than every other year.

Between ISU & Iowa they were getting that home gate every year.

2. I'm getting national exposure each year on either the Big 10 television package (via the Big 10 Network or ESPN/ESPN2) or the Big 12 television package (via Fox) whereas before it may have only been regional coverage or not on TV at all.

You sure about this? I have not seen anything announced that this would get national exposure and I do not know why anyone outside the state of Iowa would even care.

3. I don't have to travel to their home court for a potential loss....it'll be a more even playing field.

4. It frees them up to be able to schedule an additional home game every other year, bringing in even more revenue.

Teams like Drake & UNI struggle to find quality opponents to fill their non conference slate. Even a loss on the road at Iowa is still better for them than a win at home against Mississippi Valley State.

Drake and UNI aren't one of the "big boys" (i.e. BCS conference schools), so why they feel they are entitled to a home/home with one of the "big boys" is beyond me. No other MVC or non-BCS school in any other state gets that privilege....in fact, I'd venture to guess that most of the smaller ones, if they want to play one of the in-state big boys, has to always go to their home court. We are doing them a favor by doing this on a neutral site. If they want to keep being big freaking babies about it, then let's see how they like simply coming to our court every year instead. Or, if they don't like it, they can take their ball and go home and play some pansy and muck up their RPI. Doesn't matter to me either way.

I hope someday Iowa gets good enough in basketball again where trips to the McLeod Center do not scare us anymore.

 

[DodgerHawki]

Of the reasons you cited..

If I'm the UNI or Drake AD, then I'm ecstatic, for several reasons:

1. Not only do I get more money than I would for a home game, I'm getting that money each year, rather than every other year.

2. I'm getting national exposure each year on either the Big 10 television package (via the Big 10 Network or ESPN/ESPN2) or the Big 12 television package (via Fox) whereas before it may have only been regional coverage or not on TV at all.

3. I don't have to travel to their home court for a potential loss....it'll be a more even playing field.

4. It frees them up to be able to schedule an additional home game every other year, bringing in even more revenue.

Drake and UNI aren't one of the "big boys" (i.e. BCS conference schools), so why they feel they are entitled to a home/home with one of the "big boys" is beyond me. No other MVC or non-BCS school in any other state gets that privilege....in fact, I'd venture to guess that most of the smaller ones, if they want to play one of the in-state big boys, has to always go to their home court. We are doing them a favor by doing this on a neutral site. If they want to keep being big freaking babies about it, then let's see how they like simply coming to our court every year instead. Or, if they don't like it, they can take their ball and go home and play some pansy and muck up their RPI. Doesn't matter to me either way.

only No. 1 matters to them, and only a bit. UNI has already stated they acknowledge they will get more money but that doesn't matter as much to them as getting Iowa or Iowa State into their home court.

2) There is no guarantee that they will get regional or national TV coverage every year. The years Iowa is designated as the "home" team, the BTN would have rights to televise the game. If Iowa is not the home team, the BTN would not have rights to televise. UNI gladly takes televising of the home games against ISU or Iowa on the Panther Television Network, when they are broadcast statewide with their own broadcast team.

3) UNI/Drake gladly travel to Iowa or ISU every year, for the tradeoff of having that team at home the next year. If UNI happens to win at ISU or Iowa, it is a road win against a likely (at minumum) Top 150 RPI team. If they lose, it doesn't really hurt them for what they want to accomplish that year.

4) Possibly, but the caliber of opponent is likely not going to match Iowa or ISU. Depending upon the opponent, UNI may even have to pay that team to come to Cedar Falls.