Iowa nets $55k from Orange Bowl; but band cost nearly $500K?

hawkeye12345 said:
I think we need to separate the band argument from the "drop in the bucket" argument.

I personally don't see any added value that the band brings to the football atmosphere. Piping in better music and / or sounds is common place amongst major universities and yet at Iowa we choose to pay for the band.

1) The seats at Kinnick the band members occupy can be additional revenue for the program.
2) Halftime could be enjoyable again. I would rather watch a bunch of 10 yr old peewee football kids have the chance of lifetime to play in Kinnick than watch a group of, shall we say rotund, college kids trying to spell something on the field.
3) Travel expenses to and from the bowl games are ridiculous. If the band members want to go then go out and do a fund raiser or pay for it out of your own pocket.
4) The $500k goes to the athletic budget I'm guessing not directly to the football program. Assuming this is the case then that $500k could have gone to help buyout Lick. Improve facilities for all sports programs. Increase scholarship $ for non-revenue generating sports. Title XI initiatives. Paint the water tower. Lower ticket prices. A million things or at least a half-million $1 things.

Screw the band. They blow.
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agree with everything except the last statement
 
Wow, nice tattoo. Too bad you stole it. STOLE IT!!!

And how do you know it was worth it? You were wasted by the time the band played that!
whammer33024 said:
but who will play our famous victory dance after the game? just to hear in heaven, 500k was well worth it
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hawkeye12345 said:
I think we need to separate the band argument from the "drop in the bucket" argument.

I personally don't see any added value that the band brings to the football atmosphere. Piping in better music and / or sounds is common place amongst major universities and yet at Iowa we choose to pay for the band.

1) The seats at Kinnick the band members occupy can be additional revenue for the program.
2) Halftime could be enjoyable again. I would rather watch a bunch of 10 yr old peewee football kids have the chance of lifetime to play in Kinnick than watch a group of, shall we say rotund, college kids trying to spell something on the field.
3) Travel expenses to and from the bowl games are ridiculous. If the band members want to go then go out and do a fund raiser or pay for it out of your own pocket.
4) The $500k goes to the athletic budget I'm guessing not directly to the football program. Assuming this is the case then that $500k could have gone to help buyout Lick. Improve facilities for all sports programs. Increase scholarship $ for non-revenue generating sports. Title XI initiatives. Paint the water tower. Lower ticket prices. A million things or at least a half-million $1 things.

Screw the band. They blow.
Click to expand...

The problem with your argument is you are assuming that if they saved $500k from not taking the band that there would be some tangible end result - and there wouldnt be

Iowa's athletic budget is doing just fine. If they had saved $500k i can guarantee you ticket prices wouldnt be lowered and sadlly the water tower still wouldnt be painted
 
hawkeye12345 said:
I think we need to separate the band argument from the "drop in the bucket" argument.

I personally don't see any added value that the band brings to the football atmosphere. Piping in better music and / or sounds is common place amongst major universities and yet at Iowa we choose to pay for the band.

1) The seats at Kinnick the band members occupy can be additional revenue for the program.
2) Halftime could be enjoyable again. I would rather watch a bunch of 10 yr old peewee football kids have the chance of lifetime to play in Kinnick than watch a group of, shall we say rotund, college kids trying to spell something on the field.
3) Travel expenses to and from the bowl games are ridiculous. If the band members want to go then go out and do a fund raiser or pay for it out of your own pocket.
4) The $500k goes to the athletic budget I'm guessing not directly to the football program. Assuming this is the case then that $500k could have gone to help buyout Lick. Improve facilities for all sports programs. Increase scholarship $ for non-revenue generating sports. Title XI initiatives. Paint the water tower. Lower ticket prices. A million things or at least a half-million $1 things.

Screw the band. They blow.
Click to expand...

Epic Fail...

The marching band at college football games is an irreplaceable part of the culture and tradition of college football. That's like saying get rid of the cheerleaders or banning tailgating. It's all part of the gameday atmosphere, and cannot be tampered with.
 
hawkfan8691 said:
Wow, nice tattoo. Too bad you stole it. STOLE IT!!!

And how do you know it was worth it? You were wasted by the time the band played that!
Click to expand...

ahh yes but i've watched the orange bowl about 25 times since the january 5th, and each time i love hearing it. fatty.
 
Iowa has one of the best "margins" of any athletic department overall. We're just fine.

Paying for the band...$500k
Paying for the tagalong "administrators"....$90k

Winning a BCS bowl....PRICELESS.
 
Remember the system before being critical of the spending. The U. brings whatever travel party, team, band , Drs., admin. After all bills are paid, anything left goes to the Big Ten to be divided up 11 ways. They are wise to spend it all on us, just wish I knew how to become one of the "us's" and I work here!

ToothGuy
 
Not to get all political or anything or irritate busabus and his fellow rusty trombone players, but the athletic department's probably gotta spend the money or else they'll lose it the next time there's a BCS game. So you fly the band down, let them do their thing, whatevs. But at the end of the day, GarBar is left with two bad choices, (1) fly the band down and waste a bunch of money (they should go, but they should take the Dog down there, not an airplane) or (2) kick the money back to the general university fund where it will be used to hire more feminist studies "professors" who will use their scarce free time (they are obligated to "teach" 6 hours a week, ya know) to write scathing diatribes about the pink locker rooms. I think GarBar chose the lesser of two evils and I support his decision.
 
Our athletic department has always taken superb care of the music department. They obviously seem to think that the band adds something to the game atmosphere as they try to get the band to at least one road Big 10 game per year. There are also several events at bowl games that the band is required to be at by the bowl committee. It is part of the contract.

When Iowa played Texas Tech in the Alamo bowl (waaaay back when), TT only sent over the minimum required sized pep band early in the week to fullfill their obligations and the rest of the band didn't arrive until the day before the game. Thankfully our athletic department takes better care of our band than that.

As far as costs go - the band usually stays at a pretty cheap motel and the meals are quite often a buffet type thing with the opposing band to keep costs down. At least that is how it was 15 years ago when I was in the band.

Heck even the pro teams in the immediate area seemed to wish they had marching bands to play at halftime as 4/5 years that I was in the band either the Vikings or Bears invited us to play at one of their games (the Vikings even wanted us to come for the playoffs one year but as that is over Christmas break the director had to decline). So obviously a marching band at a football is at least a somewhat desired thing by many.
 
okeefe4prez said:
Not to get all political or anything or irritate busabus and his fellow rusty trombone players, but the athletic department's probably gotta spend the money or else they'll lose it the next time there's a BCS game. So you fly the band down, let them do their thing, whatevs. But at the end of the day, GarBar is left with two bad choices, (1) fly the band down and waste a bunch of money (they should go, but they should take the Dog down there, not an airplane) or (2) kick the money back to the general university fund where it will be used to hire more feminist studies "professors" who will use their scarce free time (they are obligated to "teach" 6 hours a week, ya know) to write scathing diatribes about the pink locker rooms. I think GarBar chose the lesser of two evils and I support his decision.
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Lol
 
DBorwig316 said:
Epic Fail...

The marching band at college football games is an irreplaceable part of the culture and tradition of college football. That's like saying get rid of the cheerleaders or banning tailgating. It's all part of the gameday atmosphere, and cannot be tampered with.
Click to expand...
I agree 100%, The only bad part about the orange bowl was that the bands weren't allowed to perform at halftime. College football should include the bands. Plus the bowl game is a reward for band members who work hard all season. Also, the band did not get their regular season trip this year because of budget cuts. Iowa not having a band at the Orange Bowl would have been very embarrassing for a Big Ten institution.

If you don't like bands, get Chiefs tickets. I will admit $1800 per kid seems a little high. I figure I spent about $500 on the trip, although I drove and slept on a hotel floor.
 
I wish the kids in the band had the opportunity to go pro. I'd love to hear a marching band at NFL games.
 
I believe the Athletic Department pays all costs associated with the marching band as well as some salaries in the Music Department. The Athletic Department does more than take good care of them as stated in an earlier thread.
 
$1800 per band member for a nice trip at the end of the season is a nice reward for their work all season. I have no problem with this.

Is anybody upset that we sent our cheerleaders down there, too?
 
As far as I know, the only thing that the athletic department pays for in the actual music department is the Golden Girl's scholarship as that is actually an athletic scholorship and she is subject to all of the athletic rules and regulations.
 
From my understanding, traveling to the bowl game is considered a bit of a reward to the band for all their hard work through the year. Furthermore, throughout the season, they definitely add to the game-time environment.
 
Maybe the Orange Bowl felt cheated by their Halftime Entertainment and made the university pay for part of the trainwreck Kool and the Gang. That would be considered a band expense right?
 
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