Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, WVU, Pitt, Oregon State...I would love to hear your definition of "huge schools" if these don't qualify.
UC finished in the top 20 the past two years. Six players off of last year's team got drafted and they're still ranked #23 this year.
The only thing that's not "elite" enough is the media perception and perception of some people in this city that still view UC as being small time.
Oregon State, Oklahoma, Fresno State, Illinois, & Virginia Tech all signed home and homes with UC recently. Ohio State was supposed to play in Cincy until they paid $1 million to move the game to OSU (won't get into the debate over why it was moved). Add in the conference games and there are plenty of big dogs coming to UC.
The only reason the Oklahoma game is headed to PBS is because of capacity problems at Nippert; it's not really an issue of Oklahoma refusing to play there. Nippert's capacity is only 35,097, and the expansion plans are a tough task because the stadium is land-locked by several buildings.
There's another firm doing a Nippert expansion study currently, and they're expected to have some results later on this year.
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Why are they trying to expand Nippert when UC already struggles to fill their paltry 35k on a regular basis?
They struggled until last year. Now it's no longer the case. The question is can they keep doing it. If they want to keep Brian Kelly, they have to start the expansion project very soon. If they keep Kelly, they won't struggle to fill the stadium not matter what size it is. The new part of the equation will be the new president and what they allow the athletic department do with the stadium.
Last edited by acredsfan; 09-09-2009 at 02:15 PM.
Building a huge stadium addition at a school that has traditionally struggled to draw and keep fans when you also play in the Big East conference is a risky proposition and hardly a 'sure thing.' Way too many in-conference 'throw away' games in the eyes of the 'average fan.' Perhaps we're just talking about 5-10k seats here which would be easier to understand, I suppose.
No talks at all of building a huge stadium. They're keeping Nippert, just renovating and expanding it. Last I heard was the study they're working on now is planning to add luxury suites and 10,000 seats. Not sure why the Big East makes it risky, UC has the smallest stadium in the Big East.
I think you also have to factor in a stagnant economy as well -- especially in this part of the country.
Really, UC is in a period where it should start to experience strong growth in fan support. They're starting to tap into previously dormant alums and to pull so-called "bandwagon" fans on board. More importantly, though, they're are engaging the student body.
Current students (and recent '07 / '08 grads) now have a taste of what big-time college football is like. They're packing into sold-out games, tailgating before matchups with national post-season implications, and watching a football team that not only wins but wins with a bit of flair. The atmosphere for some of these games has been electric. These students are the ones who will swell the season ticket base, as the graduate from the student section to general admission ticketing.
There were entire generations of UC students that went through the school thinking that Nippert Stadium was a waste of perfectly good parking space for the Shoemaker Center. It's been harder to engage those alums as fans because they don't have a tradition to draw upon. These current fans? It'll be a much easier sell to remind them how amazing the 2008 run was.
So yeah, they haven't reached the point where Nippert is a sell-out as soon as tickets go on sale in the summer -- but they're going to reach that point very soon, IMO. Better to be prepared for that with expansion plans that accommodate everyone who wants a ticket than be caught flat-footed and stagnant.
And that doesn't even get into the benefits for the "Keep Brian Kelly" plans.
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