Tulane Game Week (pregame)

[sportsfanatic21]

I told myself that I would never join this site, but as a frequent reader and proud alum, I feel like this thread has hit my breaking point.

As someone who has:
1. Recently finished a proud career in College Athletics (not at UL) that spanned for 12 years, THE UNIVERSITY NOR THE CONFERENCE DOES NOT SET THE GAMETIMES. Each University give recommendations or preference but ultimately, it’s up to the TV networks (not just ESPN, but also FOX, NBC, CW etc.). They all have to work together to plug and play based on conference contracts and yes, they also look at matchups when selecting kick-off times; however, in UL’s or Tulane’s case, we are not a very high on the list of potential marquee matchups. If we were, then we’d be on ESPN2, ESPN or very very rarely, and maybe one day, ABC. The networks decide the Saturday lineups two weeks out which is why we found out on Monday of our game time. This system was in place last year…and the year before that…and the year before that…and the year before that etc. I’m sure UL admin AND Tulane admin requested a different time, but again, it wasn’t either of their decision. Midweek game, including Friday games, are preset at the beginning of the year due to available inventory which is why we’d know before the season if a mid-week game is on ESPN2, ESPN or ESPNU (see our game vs. Texas State on Tuesday Oct. 29 on ESPN2). It wasn’t long ago when I had to listen on the radio for the game or download some sketchy website to watch any UL sport. Being on a national broadcast to showcase our program, conference, university AND our future with the visible redevelopment of Cajun Field allows me to see my alma mater.

The system is getting better. The SEC’s new contract with ESPN allows a handful of kickoff times to be set at the beginning of the season. Look at LSU at South Carolina, that kickoff time was set before the season started. But looking at both of their schedules, you’ll notice some “FLEX” games which means the kickoff time isn’t set and will be announce (again) two weeks in advance. I have reason to believe that this system will trickle down in the future to benefit all conferences. Both last weekend and this weekend, College Gameday will be at both noon/11am kickoff. Do you really think either one of those schools fan bases cared about an early kickoff time? Hell no. Yeah I’m sure it sucks _____, but they get up, rain or shine and support their teams. No. Matter. What.

2. I haven’t been able to see UL play in-person since 2016 when we hosted Arkansas State in late November. I currently live 10+ hours away and would do ANYTHING to be able to drive to Cajun Field to see my team play in-person. I’m excited about our TV deal and hope it continues to get better as the league continues to get stronger and stronger every season. Fans and Alums like myself get to be a part of the action being so far away. Quit **tching and go the game and support our boys and university no matter what and remember how blessed you are to not only be a Cajun fan, but also be able to go every home game. Those who are complaining and boycotting because they don’t get their way are the reason why our fan base is dying. Lead by example and show the students and younger generation how amazing it is to be a Cajun. If we don’t, then our students and young alumni turn into LSU fans after graduation. Something often joked about on here and in-person about the other in-state schools. Find some damn joy and pride.

3. We ALL understand that this admin (both athletics and Martin Hall) have made very very questionable choices throughout all of UL history that include branding, conference affiliation, facilities, student engagement etc. The more we act like a bunch of spoiled 12-year-olds who complain and cry when we don’t get our way, doesn’t make the situation better and makes our fanbase look petty as hell. Stand up and voice your opinions when a situation requires it, but something like this is not it.

I’m proud as hell to be a Cajun and to see this on full display is embarrassing. This is a big game for us because it’s against a rival and I can't wait to watch it. When I go to the grocery store that morning to get my beer and snacks, I'll wear my new Cajun script t-shirt that my sister sent me with absolute pride.We might not be at the level we want to be at as an athletics department, but we’ll never get there if we continue to act this way. Like I said, find some joy and get out to Cajun Field on Saturday, because many of us who can’t wish they could.

Thanks for the lecture.

PS…you can watch every Cajuns game not on one of the ESPN channels via espn+.

Playing at 11:00 am on ESPNU does WAY less to grow the fan base than does playing in the evening, when kids don’t have their own sports going on, and people can tailgate all day (which they pay for the right to do for more than a couple hours in the early morning) and make a day out of it. Making tailgating the place to be is the key to fan engagement in the local culture. And having that experience become the norm for kids leads to them becoming students, alumni, and the butts in the seats on Saturdays.

This has been a problem for years for a myriad of reasons that have been discussed here ad nauseum.

When you finally get the chance to have an in-state opponent, who would also bring a nice contingent of fans to fill the stadium after a great day of tailgating…and it’s taken away, the current fans who DO continue to show up and support the program and want to see it prosper, have every right to be ____ed about it.

But again, thanks for the lecture.

[facelessjonmoon]

I told myself that I would never join this site, but as a frequent reader and proud alum, I feel like this thread has hit my breaking point.

As someone who has:
1. Recently finished a proud career in College Athletics (not at UL) that spanned for 12 years, THE UNIVERSITY NOR THE CONFERENCE DOES NOT SET THE GAMETIMES. Each University give recommendations or preference but ultimately, it’s up to the TV networks (not just ESPN, but also FOX, NBC, CW etc.). They all have to work together to plug and play based on conference contracts and yes, they also look at matchups when selecting kick-off times; however, in UL’s or Tulane’s case, we are not a very high on the list of potential marquee matchups. If we were, then we’d be on ESPN2, ESPN or very very rarely, and maybe one day, ABC. The networks decide the Saturday lineups two weeks out which is why we found out on Monday of our game time. This system was in place last year…and the year before that…and the year before that…and the year before that etc. I’m sure UL admin AND Tulane admin requested a different time, but again, it wasn’t either of their decision. Midweek game, including Friday games, are preset at the beginning of the year due to available inventory which is why we’d know before the season if a mid-week game is on ESPN2, ESPN or ESPNU (see our game vs. Texas State on Tuesday Oct. 29 on ESPN2). It wasn’t long ago when I had to listen on the radio for the game or download some sketchy website to watch any UL sport. Being on a national broadcast to showcase our program, conference, university AND our future with the visible redevelopment of Cajun Field allows me to see my alma mater.

The system is getting better. The SEC’s new contract with ESPN allows a handful of kickoff times to be set at the beginning of the season. Look at LSU at South Carolina, that kickoff time was set before the season started. But looking at both of their schedules, you’ll notice some “FLEX” games which means the kickoff time isn’t set and will be announce (again) two weeks in advance. I have reason to believe that this system will trickle down in the future to benefit all conferences. Both last weekend and this weekend, College Gameday will be at both noon/11am kickoff. Do you really think either one of those schools fan bases cared about an early kickoff time? Hell no. Yeah I’m sure it sucks _____, but they get up, rain or shine and support their teams. No. Matter. What.

2. I haven’t been able to see UL play in-person since 2016 when we hosted Arkansas State in late November. I currently live 10+ hours away and would do ANYTHING to be able to drive to Cajun Field to see my team play in-person. I’m excited about our TV deal and hope it continues to get better as the league continues to get stronger and stronger every season. Fans and Alums like myself get to be a part of the action being so far away. Quit **tching and go the game and support our boys and university no matter what and remember how blessed you are to not only be a Cajun fan, but also be able to go every home game. Those who are complaining and boycotting because they don’t get their way are the reason why our fan base is dying. Lead by example and show the students and younger generation how amazing it is to be a Cajun. If we don’t, then our students and young alumni turn into LSU fans after graduation. Something often joked about on here and in-person about the other in-state schools. Find some damn joy and pride.

3. We ALL understand that this admin (both athletics and Martin Hall) have made very very questionable choices throughout all of UL history that include branding, conference affiliation, facilities, student engagement etc. The more we act like a bunch of spoiled 12-year-olds who complain and cry when we don’t get our way, doesn’t make the situation better and makes our fanbase look petty as hell. Stand up and voice your opinions when a situation requires it, but something like this is not it.

I’m proud as hell to be a Cajun and to see this on full display is embarrassing. This is a big game for us because it’s against a rival and I can't wait to watch it. When I go to the grocery store that morning to get my beer and snacks, I'll wear my new Cajun script t-shirt that my sister sent me with absolute pride.We might not be at the level we want to be at as an athletics department, but we’ll never get there if we continue to act this way. Like I said, find some joy and get out to Cajun Field on Saturday, because many of us who can’t wish they could.

If you want to go to a game- Where there's a will there's a way

[CajunT]

Their fans absolutely did show up, and when you think about it, they used to not show up.

That's pretty much the option for every home game, right? For me it's simple, we have a rival that has been at the top of the G5 and a state rival. Be there or be somewhere else. That is a decision everyone has to make weekly for home games. Since it's a quality opponent I plan on being there. It really is that simple to me.

[Turbine]

I told myself.

Read it all.

Good stuff.

Thanks

[facelessjonmoon]

That's pretty much the option for every home game, right? For me it's simple, we have a rival that has been at the top of the G5 and a state rival. Be there or be somewhere else. That is a decision everyone has to make weekly for home games. Since it's a quality opponent I plan on being there. It really is that simple to me.

Same here .

Huge game for our team

[ColaCajun]

You're more than welcome for the lecture!

Sure you can be ____ed just like I can be ____ed at our fanbase for complaining about useless crap. Either way you look at it, it doesn't change the fact that neither UL or Tulane handpicked that time slot and fans complaining about it doesn't change the time slot either. I get the tailgate situation, but as I mentioned, this system of selecting kick-off times two weeks out isn't new and you knew that 11am kick-off times are a possibility.

Geaux Cajuns.

[ColaCajun]

I can't wait to be back to catch a game with my family!

Go Cajuns!

[cajun4life]

I mean who on here isn’t going to show up

[fanof71]

I mean who on here isn’t going to show up

My grandson is on a trifecta youth travel team...TBall, Soccer, flag football...don't know if I'll make it...

[ULvictory]

After reading 10+ pages, I’ve come to a simple conclusion: the 11 AM kickoff is great for national exposure but bad for tailgating.

If there is a way we can charge tailgate costs based on kickoff times, that would help. Unfortunately, kickoff times being announced a week before doesn’t help with that. Anyway, I’ll be there next weekend. See you at 11!

[CajunNation]

I think the midweek games are better for exposure than Saturday games on the network. Those dumb Tuesday/wed games are the only game in town. There’s football fans all around the country watching whatever game is available.

Wrong.

30 years ago, the Thursday night college football game drew Monday night football ratings. It truly was the only thing on TV.

Nowadays, there are usually multiple college football games on, including P4 games, AND NFL games on midweek. The ratings for any midweek game involving SBC schools is usually in the crapper.

[JayWalker]

Good morning,

Hope all of you got through the storm ok. I know some on this board aren't from Lafayette.

There is good news here.

If the mothership believes your product has value, there is a chance your game will be flexed to a different time, with notice given 12 days before.

Before the new contract with ESPN (it's a Sun Belt contract, not a UL contract), when all we could hope for was a weeknight game, we originally were excited to be on TV. (This was before the PLUS).

But as we got more success, we had more and more weeknight games, and sometimes as many as two of our home games. We started to be less happy. But weeknight games and Saturday games at less than ideal times are tied to your success as a program. Case in point.we have only one weeknight game and it's on the road. If we were coming off an eight or nine win season, we'd have more weeknight games. And, more flexed games on Saturday, perhaps.

But the mothership still feels we have some value, and playing a program that has value has made this game desirable. We don't have to like it.

I think the question about this particular game's attendance will depend more on whether we get anything close to the student support we got for game one. IMO, that time really makes it less desirable for those folks, especially as it relates to pregame. Again, it's my opinion.

Linear television is directly tied to value according to ESPN. If we become what we were before and at the end of Hud, we won't have to worry about kickoff times. Or days of the week. We'll be able to play whenever we like. (I was told Wake has asked for a 3:30 EDT kickoff for the following week. The ACC Network/ESPN will make that decision on Monday, according to the twelve day window.

Just FYI, it was announced an hour ago that all south end zone seats for the Tulane game are sold out.

OK, have a great day. I'll go back to my cave now.

Blessings to all of you.

[Jacob81]

Just saw the south endzone is sold out. Guess the 11:00 kick didn’t effect the crowd

[jaxmc1023]

I think the question about this particular game's attendance will depend more on whether we get anything close to the student support we got for game one. IMO, that time really makes it less desirable for those folks, especially as it relates to pregame.

Students and anyone with children under 16

We had two families of four ready to roll -- now we're out because of conflicts.

I'm not saying UL screwed up because I know they have zero control over it but these are the kinds of things that continue to neuter attedance and fanbase numbers.

It's also another example of why only pushing season tickets as your main pricing promotion sucks ... if I had season tickets and now can't go to the best game on the schedule, I'd want to rip up the rest

[CajunJack55]

I think the question about this particular game's attendance will depend more on whether we get anything close to the student support we got for game one. IMO, that time really makes it less desirable for those folks, especially as it relates to pregame. Again, it's my opinion.

OK so we know the question, so are we just gonna wait and find the answer next Saturday or are we going to try and figure out how to make it worth it for them to come to the game at 11 AM.

I saw Purdue was giving cars away (ok maybe bad example, seems like its ending badly)