Radakovich Q&A, part II
Greetings-
Hope you’re well. Forthwith, more questions that either were omitted or abridged from an interview I did with Georgia Tech AD Dan Radakovich a couple weeks ago, linked here. Most of these questions are about football ticket sales.
Q: For a family of four to buy single-game tickets to one of the ACC games, it would cost minimum $200. Does that seem like a reasonable cost?
A: I think we look at our peers and we’re not out of line with our peers. To run an athletic program where you’re a tub on your own bottom, that you need to generate the revenue to create everything here, those seven Satudays this year, or six in previous years, are really the main economic engines that we have to run the entire program.
We have other events that are free or nearly free – softball, volleyball, baseball, women’s basketball. We have a lot of really good team events that are here on campus that people can come and enjoy for a greatly reduced price. Football is the one that we need to be able to create the revenue to allow all of those other things to occur.
My two cents: I acknowledge the point – that the pricing is in line with the market – but I guess I’d say that the market’s prices are expensive, also. The other thing is that, while the prices may be competitive with the cost of Braves or Falcons tickets, the Braves and Falcons have large followings of fans who aren’t season-ticket holders, where Tech obviously hasn’t had that.
Obviously, it’s a balancing act. Tickets have to be expensive enough to create revenue, even if it means sales volume isn’t as high as you’d like. But, as Tech has found over the years, it will probably mean failing to sell out unless the team becomes consistently strong.
Q: Do you feel like you’ve reached a point within the alumni base that you can’t sell more season tickets?
A: Yes and no, because we continue to graduate more people than we ever have before and many of them, we hope, are settling in the Atlanta area. One of the reasons why it’s so important to continue to have great relationships with students is that very soon those students are going to be alumni. We want them to have a great time as students and then we want them to come back as part of the general fan base.
There’s a great deal of passion associated with Georgia Tech and we want to make sure that as our alumni base continues to grow, we increase that footprint like I talked about earlier. But we also want to make sure that our students that are here right now understand that athletics is a great differentiator in their collegiate experience. Without athletics, Georgia Tech would be a very different institution and maybe not one that those students would have wanted to attend.
My two cents: It’s a hopeful way of looking at the challenge and perhaps one that will in time bear itself out, particularly if the Paul Johnson era goes the way many anticipate. However, it doesn’t appear that the school’s increasing enrollment has made a noticeable impact on season ticket sales to this point, unless new alumni are replacing fans who are giving up their tickets.
Q: What’s your opinion on the proposals to pay scholarship athletes a “cost of attendance” stipend?
A: I think that scholarship student-athletes, certainly, they get a lot of benefits being scholarship student-athletes. Some of them, because of their economic circumstance, receive additional dollars through federal Pell grants. To just say all scholarship student-athletes should get paid is a very broad statement and doesn’t really get into individual circumstances.
There’s some scholarship student-athletes that come from backgrounds where they don’t need to get paid. So it’s not a one-size-fits-all answer. I think it’s good to have the debate and good to talk about, but the idea of moving the scholarship calculation from the cost of tuition, feess, room, board and books to then include the cost of attendance at a particular school has some problems with it.
Because right now, the various costs of attendance figures at schools are very different. You could have one school that adds an additional $5,000 because of their location and another school might have $2,000 within that number.
If someone is looking at just, ‘Where am I going to make the maximum amount of money?’ they would be moving towards the school with the $5,000 cost of attendance.
I think each school very thoughtfully does that because there are other scholarhips that are given academically or whatever around college campuses that do include the cost of attendance. So by just willy-nilly increasing that (cost of attendance) number is going to have a lot of affect on other parts of campus who are giving scholarships to other individuals. So it’s really hard. It’s a nice soundbite, but I think there’s a lot more debate that has to go forward before we get to that point.
My two cents: I’m kind of with Radakovich on this one. There’s a lot to wade through. I also wonder about the rationale of the proposal. If the idea is to let student-athletes share in the wealth that they’re helping create, that makes some sense (although the truth is not many schools, Tech included, could handle the extra cost). However, if the people proposing the stipends think it’s going to make street agents or shady boosters go away, they’re bananas.
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82 comments Add your comment
Jacket Backer
June 22nd, 2011
8:26 am
Good stuff Ken…..
Go Jackets!
Casual observer
June 22nd, 2011
8:38 am
Nice interview Ken.
Casual observer
June 22nd, 2011
8:39 am
And now, we await comments from moron dawg fans.
GT-'93
June 22nd, 2011
8:40 am
Sign better talent.
Win more games.
Sell more tickets.
It’s not rocket science.
Casual observer
June 22nd, 2011
8:41 am
It was certainly before Dan’s time, but he might want to find a way to reach out to the fans Dave Braine gave the shaft to and threw out of the east stands.
Big Macon Dawg
June 22nd, 2011
8:42 am
Tech football is a joke, and will be largely ignorned by the media this year, and overshadowed by UGA’s run for the National Championship.
14-0 baby!
Gooooo DAWWWWGS!
Greg
June 22nd, 2011
8:46 am
Man it must really suck to live in Macon.
Tech Fan
June 22nd, 2011
8:51 am
And there you have it Casual Observer……
juvenal
June 22nd, 2011
8:57 am
14 daaug players arrested, 0 thrown off team……
Lunch Money NOW, Nerds!
June 22nd, 2011
9:00 am
Wait, so tech is having trouble selling football tickets to see the mighty honey bees?
Don’t look now, but Georgia State football will surpass you in attendance by 2015 when they join the Big East. Sad, really.
At least then there will finally be a college football team in Atlanta more than once every two years.
Moobs Johnson
June 22nd, 2011
9:16 am
$200 for a family of four??? What happened to the ticket+coke+hot dog promotion?????
MatthewH
June 22nd, 2011
9:17 am
Maybe I’m not smart, but what does “where you’re a tub on your own bottom” mean? It is in the second line of his first answer.
Moobs Johnson
June 22nd, 2011
9:18 am
Tech must try really hard to not sell out your hig school sized stadium in the middle of the largest city in the college football loving south.
dawgmatic
June 22nd, 2011
9:23 am
More importantly, what happened to Dress-Up-As-A-Star-Wars-Character Night? It was always a sell out, but the nerds spent more time arguing over who was stronger in the “force” than watching the honey bees get destroyed or eyeballing those hideous tech cheerleaders. In other news, tech is negotiating with Coca-Cola to trademark “Joke By Coke,” but Dawgs fans deserve some royalties for that one, right, nerds?
Ken Sugiura
June 22nd, 2011
9:35 am
MatthewH – i should have explained that. it means to cover your expenses with your own revenues, i.e., be self-sufficient.
Ken Sugiura
June 22nd, 2011
9:36 am
dawgmatic – you’re welcome to post, but, come on, please be a little more creative than the Star Wars jokes. i hope you’ve got better material than that.
Buzziswiser
June 22nd, 2011
9:39 am
As GT has become more of an international school, would guess a lower percentage of new alumni remain in the Atlanta areaa. When you add the Tech Fund, tickets for ACC/UGA are closer to $100/ea. Success at the gate depends on getting the non-alumni to the game. Find the game experience less inviting with the late decisions on kick-off time, length of games,and cost of concessions.
Players are getting paid. They are called Pell Grants on top of a full scholarship for everything required to go to school including room and board.
Tom
June 22nd, 2011
9:48 am
And oddly enough, Tech’s cheerleaders have actually been HOTTER than UGA’s as of late…..even most of the Dawg faithful are flummoxed. Heck, I’m flummoxed! HA!
dawgmatic
June 22nd, 2011
9:52 am
I’m amused that you think I’m making this up. Any journalist should know that sometimes fact is stranger than fiction, but I’ll let the nerds show you themselves. At least we’re in agreement that those cheeleaders are hideous, since you didn’t accuse me of making that up.
juvenal
June 22nd, 2011
10:04 am
creative? you kidding, Ken?
MatthewH
June 22nd, 2011
10:05 am
Thanks for the info, Ken.
Bill
June 22nd, 2011
10:15 am
Will Big Macon Dawg be leading the charge to fire Richt this year after he goes 6-7 again? Yes.
Tokyo jacket
June 22nd, 2011
10:27 am
The pay for student athletes issue is a way for the programs on top to stay on top as a recruiting edge. Think about it, the conferences that are most seriously considering it are the SEC, BIG10/11/12, and PAC10/12. It’s just like the BCS and a way for the elite to get more elite.
Tokyo jacket
June 22nd, 2011
10:42 am
As a pretty ardent republican, it hurts me to say that the government needs to get involved in the way college football is run. There are a lof of people out there that say “we have more pressing needs for our government to address.” But, from a financial standpoint, this is a MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR industry we’re talking about. And, there are serious exclusion practices going on in NCAA Football at the moment. If players start getting paid, it will only get worse.
By the way, D-Rad’s comment hit the nail on the head. That’s pretty much what I’ve come to expect from D-Rad. Crazy smart.
The Real YellowJacket
June 22nd, 2011
12:38 pm
Your two cents is out of line. Which other sport would you drop to bring football prices below the market?
That’s what would happen. Is it rather high, yes. Should the prices be reduced and other sports cut, no!
Delbert D.
June 22nd, 2011
12:51 pm
Need to get some stats on what percentage of male graduates are living in a defined radius of Atlanta 5 years after they graduate.
CPJ Supporter
June 22nd, 2011
12:59 pm
Ken, you just became my favorite contributor after that, “you’re welcome to post, but, come on, please be a little more creative than the Star Wars jokes. i hope you’ve got better material than that.” reply.
Way to stand up for Tech! And good interview. I would’ve liked to have heard more about how they plan on promoting Tech football more for this season (giveaways, etc.) but good work!
Tech Guy
June 22nd, 2011
1:14 pm
After the 1990 National Champioship season, we did not sell out a 43,000 seat stadium. So the GTAA spent millions on the opponent’s North stands and booted good Tech fans from the East stands.Now GTAA has a debt of $170 million and can’t sell out the stadium. Have you ever heard of large debt causing major problems?
uga cheerleaders
June 22nd, 2011
2:01 pm
kinda hard to find a woman attractive that has a permanent drool mark of ‘baci’ juice on her chins and that wears her makeup so thick it weighs more than a pound.
besides how could one not blow their lunch when they witness their date and cheerleaders squat on the library carpet to urinate!
tokyo jacket dude ,,, dude,,,,
June 22nd, 2011
2:39 pm
you ADMIT to being a republican and than lament about the pubs needing to get involved in college fb? dude…. what planet have you been living on. mars?
you act like pubs are for small government yet…. instead of working on jobs and the economy they have been getting involved in class warfare trying to tear down all that is the middle class.
no more collective bargaining
privatizing of the states
creating a gestapo state that takes away the rights of small towns to do their own thing. heck with the fact that they are tossing elected official to the wayside
drug tests for all govt employees and people who receive any kind of assistance
doing away with ss and medicare
more tax breaks for the rich
allowing for corporations to be treated the same as an individual
making it almost impossible for a woman to get an abortion for any reason
inacting laws that make it almost impossible for the poor and students to vote
doing away with child labor laws
etc etc etc etc etc….
it looks like at least 6 states will have massive recalls on republican legislators including the governors. can you say do over?
and your worried about college fb?
duuuuuuuuuude! if i were you i would be ashamed to admit i was republican!!!
i used to be a pub an i am ashamed of that fact and of that party.
juvenal
June 22nd, 2011
2:53 pm
2:39PM post-this is NOT npr! the only delusions allowed here are about sports, not that pols of any stripe will fix anything…….
Beavis McCann
June 22nd, 2011
3:14 pm
Sure, a less than prime seat to an ACC game costs $50. Plus $20 to park. Plus gas. Plus way over priced concessions. It certainly is reasonable day out — if you are the family of an AD who makes $650,000 or so a year.
Here’s the Catch-22 of college athletics. Athletic departments want to be a part of big money TV deals. They want all of their games on TV — and god forbid the networks fail to show their game in HD.
As a fan, I can sit at home and enjoy the best seat any fan can have for the game right there in my living room. Or I can drop about $250 to $300 for a not so great seat just so I can bask in the atmosphere of ACC football at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Hardly worth it I’d say — and a very hard sell to the very smart fan base that Tech has.
The fans who are paying the price for season tickets do so because Tech football is their passion/addiction. Good for them. And good luck trying to find a lot more like them.
Tech Student
June 22nd, 2011
3:28 pm
The base problem with the revenue is a bad team. Ticket prices should be comparable to the demand, and right now even the students (who get free tickets) don’t show up until halfway through the 2nd quarter. I vote to get rid of the triple option and go with a more exciting offense to put butts in seats. I’m tired of seeing the ground and pound from CPJ.
Ken Sugiura
June 22nd, 2011
4:18 pm
interesting posts, and thanks for the kind words.
@RealYellowJacket – If you read the post again, I said that I think the ticket prices are expensive, and if they don’t reduce them, they’ll likely always have trouble selling out unless the team becomes an perennial powerhouse. that’s their choice. that doesn’t mean i think they should lower prices.
@ tokyo jacket … dude I tend to agree with juvenal. let’s try to stay focused on football.
@ beavis – very good point. another problem is that the proliferation of televised football is that the transplanted college football fan that tech seeks has a much better chance of seeing his/her team on tv now than he/she did five or 10 years ago. “proliferation of televised football” – talk about a nerd.
italian_29
June 22nd, 2011
4:36 pm
I like Tech Student’s solution, who wants to brave Atlanta traffic, pay close to 200 dollars after parking and concessions, to see an offense that you can see free in alot of high school games for 5 bucks.
supersize that order, mutt
June 22nd, 2011
4:43 pm
Tech Student, you are full of it. Tech students have been late for games for the last 30+ years, even during the Hamilton years when Tech ran an offense which you claim is more exciting (more about that later). Students are late for games because they are either tied up with fraternity tail-gating, too hung over from the night before, or just too damn lazy to get out of the bed. And don’t think that Tech students are unique in that aspect. I have not been to many games in Athens, but the students there have always been the last to show up for the games, Believe it or not, I attended one Tech – UGAg game in Athens many years ago where the mutt student section never filled up–not even close. As far as the excitement level of Tech’s TO offense, since when is an offense that can regularly run up 400+ yards and 40+ points less exciting than a “standard” offense that puts up 300+ total yards (sometimes) and still only score 3 or 4 TD’s? Since when is a 60 yard pass play more exciting than a 60 yard run from scrimmage. Ohio State in the 60s can rightfully be accused of running a ground and pound offense, but the TO definitely does not fall into that category. I for one think the TO, when run right, is the most exciting offense in football. A few (completed) passes might make it better, but Tech once beat a highly-favored Notre Dame team without ever throwing a pass, much less completing one. That was, of course, when Pepper Rodgers was coach and ran the wishbone. We even beat the hell out of the mutts that same year without completing a pass (attempted one, if I remember right). If you don’t think Tech’s offense now is exciting, then you must have been one of the hungover ones.
supersize that order, mutt
June 22nd, 2011
4:45 pm
italian_29, so which is it? free or 5 bucks? it can’t be both. And I would repeat the same thing to you that I addressed to Tech Student.
supersize that order, mutt
June 22nd, 2011
4:47 pm
italian_29, in addition, have you ever been to a game in Athens? Even before they increased the capacity of Sanford and Son Stadium to its current level, traffic and parking were worse there than it’s ever been in Atlanta. I live in Augusta, and it takes longer to get to and from Athens for a game there than it does to get to and from Atlanta for a game there.
Sugar Hill Dawg
June 22nd, 2011
4:54 pm
I recall during my years at UGA (’71 – 74 seasons) the games at Grant Field felt more like a UGA home game. (I guess that’s why Tech got rid of the North Ave. end zone seats.) As a former UGA season ticket holder (kids came along – fall baseball, band, etc. no time to go to Athens, much less Jax), I can testify the donation to the Georgia Student Educational Fund (Hartman fund) was a lot higher than the price of the season tickets. I didn’t major in economics, but with UGA’s larger fan base supply and demand factors into the actual cost of a ticket. When Tech announced their version of the “donate to get tickets” plan struck me as a sure fire way to alienate the non – diehard Tech season ticket holders. I wonder if this is fact or fiction – any one have a clue? Tech’s history and tradition will guarantee a certain level of support, but….
supersize that order, mutt
June 22nd, 2011
5:06 pm
Sugar Hill, I think the “donate to get tickets” definitely hurt attendance at Grant Field. Giving to the Alexander-Tharpe Fund didn’t hurt much, if at all, but the year that DRad instituted the required predetermined donation, attendance dropped drastically. I’m not saying DRad was wrong in doing that; every other school in the country has been doing it for years. But Tech fans had been spoiled for so long, that I honestly believe they revolted. I am a die-hard fan, because I didn’t stop buying tickets. The required predetermined donation is not so big as to deter me from buying tickets. But I bet if you took a poll, you would find that it did turn off a good many former season-ticket buyers.
Robert
June 22nd, 2011
5:09 pm
If they pay the athletes, I’m out of here> No more college sports for me.
Sugar Hill Dawg
June 22nd, 2011
5:42 pm
Yo, supersize – stay true to your school! Outstanding! I have two boys at Auburn, but I’m decked out in the Red and Black for that game! I’m sure you’re as loyal to the Trade School as I am to THE University. Keep the faith!
supersize that order, mutt
June 22nd, 2011
5:50 pm
Sugar Hill, thanks. Nice to see a dawg fan in here who can keep it civil. Let’s put it this way about my loyalty: I’ve been going to Tech games since 1962 and I’m not planning on stopping until I can no longer make the drive from Augusta. I’ve been through the worst and the best with the Jackets, and I love ‘em no matter which.
BuggyTownSting
June 22nd, 2011
6:40 pm
dawgmatic we gave up on Star Wars night when we saw what happened to the mutts when y’all all dressed up like Darth Vader and the Death Star errrrrr Alabama destroyed your planet
Who Cares?
June 22nd, 2011
8:38 pm
With all the responses to dawgmatic, it looks like s/he really struck a nerve with the Star Wars comment. Relax, people.
PAUL SUCKS BIG JOHNSON
June 22nd, 2011
9:25 pm
Wait…… tech can’t sell football tickets??? wow, o wait they can’t win games that explains it. How is that high school offense working out for you?
superDawg
June 22nd, 2011
9:29 pm
Ken the real joke is when tek nerds put down UGA when we put the smack down on your jackits year in and year out.If you can’t run with the BIG DAWG get out of the yard!Oh and one other thing good luck in the A-SHE SHE.
superDawg
June 22nd, 2011
9:30 pm
nuff said!
UGA fans must be very proud of.....
June 22nd, 2011
9:41 pm
superDawg
Can’t spell, poor grammar skills, no idea that you leave a space after a period or exclamation mark and obvious latent homosexual issues (”A SHE SHE”).
macrotech
June 22nd, 2011
10:54 pm
superDawg, if you’re going to run with the big dogs…stop pissing like a puppy
WnE
June 23rd, 2011
12:06 am
How can GT have problem selling tickets when we so often read on these blogs that 1 out of every 5 GT Grads is a millionaire?
GT’s PROBLEM is that DRad and every other AD has “tailored” GT’s FB Program to the very narrow, socially inept subset of those that are GT Grads.
If GT wants to grow its fanbase they are going to have to create a FB Program that is the “pride of ATLANTA” and try to grow their fanbase from among the 5.5 Million folks in the Metro Atl. Area.
Making the game-day experience appeal to a middle-aged, white male that Graduated from GT when there were barely any females around, is NOT going to appeal to the “normal resident” that makes up the Metro Atlanta Area, and that is WHY GT cannot pick up any non-Alum fans to follow GT FB.
Up in Athens, mutt FB is tailor made for those that love SEC FB, not for the Khaki & Polo Shirt wearing crowd that lives in the Atlanta Suburbs that actually attended & graduated from ug@, they follow the team and go to the games because they win and they grew up loving CFB, not because the game-day experience up in Athens is intended for their enjoyment.
A great self-description from WnE @12:06
June 23rd, 2011
7:18 am
During his diatribes against CPJ, WnE has stated that he is a GT grad (IM 90 or so). Now he has started complaining about D-Rad.
In his 12:06 post he makes it obvious what his real problem is,
He tells us that GT grads over a certain age are socially inept, middle-aged, white males.
With all that obvious self-loathing it is no wonder WnE is on here complaining about GT, its fans, football coach and AD.
juvenal
June 23rd, 2011
9:06 am
shots at free cokes/hotdogs aside, mlb attendance up every year..exciting product(yawn)? no parking/concessions hassles(yea, right)?…….costs, what, $2 to stand at turner?…….#1 priority is to admit ncaa does NOT control beer sales(not at wisconsin or bowl games) & let marta do the driving home(lots of hotels nearby, it’s the ATL)…..don’t drink but don’t mind those who can CIVILLY(UW comes to mind)…..& put folks in the upper & north stands for whatever you can, the big $ come from TV….
Tech Student
June 23rd, 2011
10:27 am
Supersize- No it’s not exciting and stadium attendance can attest to that. Running the triple option, while sometimes effective, is boring. Let me guess the first offensive play of next season: Tevon Washington runs to the right fakes a hand off and pitches the ball for a 3 yard gain(if that). Break out plays rarely happen when the defense knows what your going to do(which is why our passing plays are so effective when Steven Hill can catch a ball but we did have 7 interceptions last season which is amazing considering the mutts had 8 and threw the ball twice as much as we did). So our passing game is relatively ineffective and our star running back has been drafted. I give it one more season before more people start calling for change. Now onto students attending the game: ITS HOT. No home night games last year made it miserable to stay for the entire game. Especially when the tradition is for all of the fraternity guys dress in long sleeve button downs and khaki’s.We wouldn’t have torn down the goal posts two years ago if everyone was sweating in the Atlanta sun for 3 hours while upsetting the number 4 team in the nation. No one wants to stand up and cheer at 3 P.M. in early September when they can watch it on their big screen tv at home for free. So if CPJ doesn’t pull something out this year Dan should grow some balls and get a new head coach. It only took him 5 years to get rid of Paul Hewitt who hadn’t had a winning record in the ACC since the 04 season(If only Bosh had stayed one more season. *sigh*).
juvenal
June 23rd, 2011
10:56 am
so, supersize, you must take into account the wimpifying of America since we were students-most dedicated fans now are too stoned to notice minor discomforts, which leaves out most of our fanbase…….(wish-bone exciting enough when we upset notre dame)
Buzzed
June 23rd, 2011
11:14 am
supersize: The UGA students not filling up their section on that one game you cite probably speaks more to the competition that day than any other factor.
Tech Student
June 23rd, 2011
11:35 am
Also you keep on bringing up that wishbone offense. Well back then passing was not as prolific as it is now. Fans love great catches, something that I haven’t seen at grant field since Bay Bay left.
juvenal
June 23rd, 2011
11:42 am
always something….used to get cold here…several late nov. games, was below freezing back in the in the 70’s…nothing more exciting than winning, so last year not fun-have often asked why we can’t do some shotgun; & will ask CPJ that media day……
Paul in RDU
June 23rd, 2011
12:02 pm
Tech Student hasn’t seen a great catch in Grant Field since Bay Bay left? Didn’t Bay Bay play in 2009? Talk about short memories. One bad season and the world is coming to an end.
It obviously must get hotter in Atlanta than in Raleigh, Chapel Hill or Greenville, NC – all places where I saw a football game in September 2010. The State, UNC and ECU students were all at their games
supersize that order, mutt
June 23rd, 2011
1:00 pm
Tech Student, you just confirmed what I said. Since when is it hotter in Atlanta than in any other city in the south? It’s hot in Athens, and they almost never play night games there. Apparently Tech students today are just spoiled wimps. Regarding our star running back; our star running back from 2009 left early and was replaced by another star running back in 2010. Who’s to say there won’t be yet another star running back this year? And name me one team Tech has faced, other than Iowa, who knew what we were going to do on offense and stopped it on any kind of consistent basis. No offense gains yards on every single play that is run, but when Tech (or any team running the TO) runs up 400+ yards a game, that sure doesn’t sound like the opposing defenses have figured anything out. True, the passing game needs to be more effective, but it’s Tech’s lack of defense that has caused more problems than its (according to you) boring offense and inability to pass effectively. When the offense has not produced in a given game, again other than the Iowa game, its been for other reasons than the opposing teams’ defenses. As far as passing being more prolific now in college football than it was in the 70s, what rock have you been hiding under? Passing was every bit as prolific back then as it is now; do you remember Theissman, Montana, Doug Flutie, Namath, Stabler……the list goes on and on. You obviously know nothing at all about football.
supersize that order, mutt
June 23rd, 2011
1:02 pm
Buzzed, since Tech won that game handily, I guess it does say something about the competition. The mutt students didn’t want to see them lose.
supersize that order, mutt
June 23rd, 2011
1:03 pm
Also, Tech students, why have so many running backs won the Heisman? You think fans don’t like great running plays too? Again, you are just showing your ignorance.
Tech Student
June 23rd, 2011
1:16 pm
Look at the heisman torphy winners back in the 70’s compared to the winners today. I think you will see a trend of more quarterbacks winning.
supersize that order, mutt
June 23rd, 2011
1:21 pm
Tech Student, if you look at those QB’s who have won it, most of them were multi-purpose QB’s, not exclusively passing QB’s.
supersize that order, mutt
June 23rd, 2011
1:34 pm
Tech Student, I guess the bottom line is this….a TRUE fan (no matter what school or team) supports his team no matter what the weather and no matter what the game plan or results. I have suffered through 1-win seasons and enjoyed the hell out of 10 or 11 win seasons, and I have sat in unbearable heat, freezing cold, pouring down rain, and even sleet to watch the Jackets. If you are a TRUE fan, you would do the same and quit making whiny excuses for not doing so.
juvenal
June 23rd, 2011
1:58 pm
still, supersize, at least he goes some-must be IM-remember many students i asked when i was there in the 70’s if they were going to the game looking quizzical & replying, “what game?”……
supersize that order, mutt
June 23rd, 2011
2:00 pm
juvenal, when I was there in the early 60s, EVERYBODY went to the games and usually got there early. I guess times have changed
Tech Student
June 23rd, 2011
2:41 pm
Times have changed indeed. Next fall look at the north end zone its pathetically empty. Students just don’t care enough about tech sports. Our baseball team played in the regionals at home and the ratio of away to home fans was still pathetic.
Ugaclassof2004
June 23rd, 2011
2:42 pm
In the regards to Tech: I think this season will go a long way in terms of determining what kind of coach Paul Johnson truly is. His team overachieved a bit in 2008 going to the Chick-fil-A and upsetting a UGA team that quite frankly mailed it in during the second half of that 45-42 loss. Many UGA fans will call that win a fluke but I won’t. Tech wanted it more that day and deserved to win.
In 2009, Tech had a pretty good team, but lost games due to a lack of talent on defense( except for Derrick Morgan). They were looking past the Dawgs to the ACC Championship, and got what they deserved with that 30-24 loss.
In 2010, Tech lost their playmakers from the year before on offense, while the defense was still bad and talentless. Losing Nesbitt was the nail in the coffin for ya’ll last season. So it will be interesting to see if Tech can rebound this year. Johnson’s offense CAN work IF it has the right parts( in 2008 and 2009 it did, in 2010 it didn’t). I also think Paul Johnson is a guy who is hungry and wants to win. He has the X’s and O’s but does he have the Jimmy’s and Joe’s? Chan Gailey was a lousy head coach that squandered NFL talent. Johnson is a better head coach than Gailey: but if he isn’t able to recruit better talent, it could lead to his undoing at Tech.
juvenal
June 23rd, 2011
3:20 pm
sell the north stand tix for $10 each……..
supersize that order, mutt
June 23rd, 2011
3:32 pm
Ugaclassof2004, very well said. Damn, I actually complemented a mutt. LOL
supersize that order, mutt
June 23rd, 2011
3:34 pm
Tech Student, I’m not sure anything has really changed as far as baseball goes; I never went to a single Tech baseball game the entire time I was at Tech, and I frankly don’t remember anybody else who did either. But the student sections for both football and basketball games were always full.
GT93
June 23rd, 2011
3:38 pm
For the Record … there are many factors to consider when trying to understand why GT struggles to sell-out their home games. But, here are baseline statistics worth considering:
GT stadium capacity = 55,000
GT student body = 13,600 (Undergrad in 2010)
Ratio = 4.04
… and only for the sake of comparison:
UGA stadium capacity = 92,700
UGA student body = 34,800
Ratio = 2.66
So +/- 13,000 students pumped out every year for GT, versus +/- 34,000 students pumped out every year for UGA (and assuming, for sake of this comparison, that each school has a 100% graduation rate). Considering also that FAR more UGA grads stay in-state after graduation than GT grads do … that’s a lot of barking dogs.
Is GT’s stadium too big for a school of its size? Maybe, maybe not … but those are the numbers.
supersize that order, mutt
June 23rd, 2011
3:41 pm
juvenal, as much as I hate reading the snide remarks by some of the mutt fans on here about the free cokes and hotdogs, it actually WAS a good incentive for many families who otherwise couldn’t afford to go to the games. I have family here in Augusta who would go to at least one game a year taking advantage of that deal; they haven’t been since DRad stopped it; they just can’t afford to go. I don’t see anything wrong with offering breaks like that, at least until (and if) Tech can consistently sell enough season tickets to fill the place up every game. I do believe a consistently winning program will increase the season ticket sales, but to be honest, with Bud Carson, Bill Curry, Bill Lewis, and Chan Gailey didn’t produce that consistency; And those coaches who did produce it, or were on their way to doing so, didn’t stay long enough. You can’t have a merry-go-round of coaches, some good, some bad, and achieve any kind of consistency.
supersize that order, mutt
June 23rd, 2011
3:46 pm
GT93, I can’t argue with what you said, but until they enlarged Legion Field in B’ham, which is where Bama played most of their home games till the mid 70s, Grant Field was the largest stadium in the SEC, outside of New Orleans, and it was always sold out, even though there were less than 10K students at Tech then. Bobby Dodd once said that if the capacity of Grant Field had been 75K, it would still have been sold out. Of course, part of that was, as it still is, the allure of an SEC schedule. If Tech had remained in, or been allowed back into, the SEC, things would probably be a lot different, not only in Atlanta, but in the entire state of Georgia.
GT93
June 23rd, 2011
3:55 pm
… some more factors to consider:
- downtown Atlanta has slowly been evacuated over the past 30+ years. Just about everything related to sustained economic vitality and growth has moved north. People are scared to go there, and I’d say that this unfortunately includes GT’s location on the north fringe of downtown. Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter wrote a book called “Collage City” … buy it and read it. It describes EXACTLY the urban growth patterns that Atlanta has witnessed.
- there just aren’t that many GT grads who stay in-town, or even in-state, after graduation. GT grads get hired all over the world, and of course that’s a good thing, but bad when trying to sustain regular attendance at a football stadium with a capacity that is 4-times the size of the typical student body.
Paul in RDU
June 23rd, 2011
5:21 pm
Some other things to consider:
Since GT’s heyday, when they were in the SEC, there have been a number of pro teams come to town – 1 NFL, 1 MLB, 1 NBA, 2 NHL (and don’t forget the NASL – LOL). Name a college team in a city which has pro teams in all of the major sports that draws “sidewalk alumni”.
BC, Northwestern, Miami, TCU sure as heck don’t.
WnE
June 23rd, 2011
5:43 pm
Weak excuses “Paul in RDU”!
BC, Northwestern, and Miami are not in places that are considered rabid CFB Hotbeds like the Metro Atl. Area is.
The CF-A Kickoff classic. SEC-CG, and the CF-A Bowl Game prove how much Atlanta is passionate for CFB.
TCU is in Fort Worth, and Texas is unlike the State of Ga. in that Texas has about 6-7 D1-A CFB Programs to split loyalties along with Texas being the biggest and on par with a Bama/UF/UGA.
The State of Ga. has only 2 major Programs in-state, AND the Metro Atl Area is 5.5 million people, in Summary, GT HAS NO EXCUSE FOR THE PALTRY STATE OF FAN SUPPORT for their FB program.
supersize that order, mutt
June 23rd, 2011
5:45 pm
Paul, I think Los Angeles would probably be the only one, that is assuming that USC and/or UCLA draw sidewalk fans. I don’t know whether they do or not, but I would think they probably do. Certainly no other city though.
Paul in RDU
June 23rd, 2011
7:36 pm
supersize – What is the name of the NFL team in LA?
Paul in RDU
June 23rd, 2011
7:50 pm
<<>>
Who is this “Atlanta” of whom you speak? Are you telling me that when ALA played Clemson in the Kickoff Classic the tickets were snapped up by local CFB fans? That UGA fans filled the Dome for Auburn-SC?
People in Atlanta may be passionate about college football, but they pay money to watch their own teams play. If you want to see a crowd that truly represents the Atlanta metro area, you need to go to an NFL or NBA game – not to any college football game.
Dear Paul
June 24th, 2011
11:18 am
The SEC champ game receives a ton of revenue from metro Atlanta SEC fans who do not have their teams represented. If you have ever attended the fanfare prior to the game then you would realize that.