SchedULing Paradox

[Cajunsmike]

Not playing Saturday home games in October is depressing. I know we had a couple last year after some down years but in recent history we have not. That's prime-time tailgating and game weather.

Blame the conference for some of that as much as ESPN. For the second time in 2 years we have 2 home games wrapped around Thanksgiving Day. One of those should have been on an October SAturday.

[cajun4life]

I’m 100% against mid week games. It does absolutely nothing for us. It helps raise the profile of the Sun Belt but kills individual programs. Give us 7pm kickoffs at home Saturday nights from mid September to mid November. Attendance would rise and perception around Acadiana would increase. We are selling our souls to the networks with minimal ROI. Produce our own content and sell it ourselves.

[Cajunsmike]

I'm 100% against mid week games. It does absolutely nothing for us. It helps raise the profile of the Sun Belt but kills individual programs. Give us 7pm kickoffs at home Saturday nights from mid September to mid November. Attendance would rise and perception around Acadiana would increase. We are selling our souls to the networks with minimal ROI. Produce our own content and sell it ourselves.

This deal with ESPN is not ours. It is a contract between the Sun Belt Conference and ESPN. We have no choice in the short term but to play when they tell us. Next time the contract comes up, it is perhaps something we can discuss. Not sure when that is. I imagine if we don't agree to some mid week games, they may drop the ESPN+ option which allows everyone to see all our games. Perhaps some type of middle ground could be reached whereas no team plays more than 2 mid week games and no more than 1 at home per season. Having 3 total (like we have this year) is quite a burden. We should start by offering no more than 1 a year and no more than 1 at home every other year for any team. That would force them to show more of the teams in the league. For this to change, we have to lobby the commissioner and folks in the conference office, not our administration.

[CajunSaint08]

This is just my opinion and I have stated it many times, but there is two ways to get 30k+ at every home game.
1. Play the Alabama's, LSU's, Notre Dame's, USC's......types at home. People will come in groves to see these teams at Cajun Field. (I'm not talking money here...that is another subject for another time.)
2. Play the Alabama's, LSU's, Notre Dame's, USC's......types at their stadium and beat the crap out of them. Not a moral victory, but a true butt whipping type of victory. Then you will get 30k+ no matter who you are playing, even if it is CHS.

I'm so tire of moral victories. They mean nothing. There is no reason in the world why the Cajun's can't start kicking butt of their opponents, even if the opponent happens to be in the SEC.

[CajunT]

This is just my opinion and I have stated it many times, but there is two ways to get 30k+ at every home game.
1. Play the Alabama's, LSU's, Notre Dame's, USC's......types at home. People will come in groves to see these teams at Cajun Field. (I'm not talking money here...that is another subject for another time.)
2. Play the Alabama's, LSU's, Notre Dame's, USC's......types at their stadium and beat the crap out of them. Not a moral victory, but a true butt whipping type of victory. Then you will get 30k+ no matter who you are playing, even if it is CHS.

I'm so tire of moral victories. They mean nothing. There is no reason in the world why the Cajun's can't start kicking butt of their opponents, even if the opponent happens to be in the SEC.

1) Will never happen in the modern era. But do you know that UL and Cajun Field was the only non-power conference program that Alabama has visited in the modern era? They have never been since to any other program's field that would be considered today a G5 school.

[facelessjonmoon]

More than just October.

September 14th to November 2nd.

7 weeks of prime football weather with 0 Saturday home games. Whatever ESPN is giving us to destroy our schedule is not close to being enough.

Unreal

This has to adversely affect season tickets I would think . Not to mention the loss of value in tailgating spots

[CajunSaint08]

1) Will never happen in the modern era. But do you know that UL and Cajun Field was the only non-power conference program that Alabama has visited in the modern era? They have never been since to any other program's field that would be considered today a G5 school.

Did not know that. I know it will probably never happen today, but I can dream. I would love to see UL listed in the top 20 every year in football, with the occasional top 10 ranking. That would bring fans also.

[Cajunrunner]

Did not know that. I know it will probably never happen today, but I can dream. I would love to see UL listed in the top 20 every year in football, with the occasional top 10 ranking. That would bring fans also.

Not going to happen on a $30 Million Athletic budget.

[cajun4life]

Not going to happen on a $30 Million Athletic budget.

Won’t ever happen as along as the P5 is around.

[zephyr]

He is also against 2 for 1 scheduling in basketball. Now you can disagree with that view but he is the one making the decisions for now. For this to change someone will have to convince him that is not the wisest view or a new AD will have to come aboard.

That's going to limit us to other more high profile G5 or certainly P5 teams that might consider coming here to the cajundome. It's hard enough for us to get a 1 for 1 with those guys and I would imagine we'd have to entice them with the 2 for 1 or even 3 for 1 scenario.