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Topic: RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Topic: RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

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anorris
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Location: Bristol, CT
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 11:52:34 AM

But he doesn't have an ax to grind, folks. No sir.

Gallia Cat
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 12:14:43 PM

BillyTheCat wrote:

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

Uncle Wes wrote:

A complete bowl would take Peden to about 40,000. Upperdecks on both sidelines to 50,000. Make the whole stadium design look NFL caliber. A facility like that will fill and be adequate to wherever the conference journey takes us. 30-40 million should be enough. It doesn't have to have a ton of suites attached to it like Cincinnati.

A 40,000 or 50,000 seat Peden would result in a situation very similar to the Convo; a facility that's simply too big for us, and results in our very good attendance numbers still failing to fill up our building. Averaging 6,100 fans for basketball is a very, very good number that puts us on par with Gonzaga, Auburn, Penn State and Butler. The problem is that we have a giant arena that always feels half empty. Peden at 50,000 would have the exact same impact. Our highest attendance ever was just under 25,000--and it's not like there were 25,000 folks who got turned away at the door. Even if we saw an increase of 10,000 people, which I think is hugely ambitious, there'd still be 15,000 empty seats. Financially, we can't afford to invest that much in additions to Peden and nobody has laid out a reasonable plan as to how you attract an additional 15 or 25 thousand people to Athens. It's a nice dream, but I just don't see how it's realistic. Even Akron, who is located in a much larger population center, built there stadium to seat 30,000. Any expansion should be looking to add 5-10 thousand seats and no more.

I agree as well. 35,000 seats with an end zone hill would be perfect. For Homecoming, Marshalll, parents weekend the place would rock. Also this would be perfect for the UC and Kansas games. I love the Convo but 10-11,000 would be ideal size. Would make tickets tough to get for some games but will create more of a buy your tickets in advance mentality.
I agree

OUs LONG Driver
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 12:15:05 PM

OUPride wrote:

The Situation wrote:

[QUOTE=OUPride]

MCDAVIS IS THE MAN WITH THE PLAN.

Perhaps. Perhaps he is. I, however, prefer to call MCDAVIS: THE TRAIN WRECK WITH THE PAYCHECK.

I've laid out my facts, long term trends and statistics which come directly from Ohio University's own records and institutional data....aka the common data set. People can choose to believe them or not, and time will tell who is right about this.

As for some people on this board, you remind me quite a bit of sports obsessed, football uber alles, Ohio State sidewalk alumni. At the end of the day, I truly hope that your (and McClowny's) vision for Ohio University is not the one that sticks.

So what was your connection to men's track, women's lacrosse, or men's swimming & diving? That seems to be the common element binding those who want to bash McDavis, a very vocal but also tiny group. From what you've provided and laid out I don't see any regression in academics, and do see some small gains. Nothing to get too excited about, but also not something to jump off the deep end about either. Also, a lot of the data is through 2011 or some through 2012. By the time we hit the sweet 16 in March 2012, the majority of HS seniors have already sent out their applications and many have already been accepted and made their college choice. AKA, I think the first year where we'll begin to see an improvement in class quality will be in the 2013 data. Time will tell.

The Flutie effect has been studied many times over the years. I'm not sure there is any disputing it at this point.

www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2013/04/29/the-flutie-effect-how-athletic-success-boosts-college-applications/

Monroe Slavin
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 1:28:58 PM

OUPride wrote:

The Situation wrote:

[QUOTE=OUPride]

MCDAVIS IS THE MAN WITH THE PLAN.

No.

Where's the band?!
WHERE"S THE BAND?!

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Campus Flow
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 7:20:06 PM

Gallia Cat wrote:

BillyTheCat wrote:

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

Uncle Wes wrote:

The original idea on this was that Ohio was going to expand to position itself for the ACC. As I showed to get into the ACC or Big XII its going to require 50,000 seats. If you are going to build with a BCS conference in mind there is no point going below 50,000 with the amount of that will needed to be spent. Either do it right or don't do it at all. All that a 35,000 seat stadium is going to do is attract the attention of Conference USA.

Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended
2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round
2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl
2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086

The Optimist
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 7:41:23 PM

If we join the ACC, the Convo will be perfect size.

I've seen crazier things happen.

colobobcat66
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 7:46:29 PM

OUPride wrote:

The Situation wrote:

[QUOTE=OUPride]

MCDAVIS IS THE MAN WITH THE PLAN.

it's hard to take someone too seriously when they stress the put downs and name calling and start their opening arguments with an apparent false premise. Your use of statistics may be a little dubious as well. Whatever, thanks for your insights into how the anti-McDavis crowd thinks and talks.

Campus Flow
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 8:34:53 PM

Casper71 wrote:

I will be the first to admit that I don't have or know all the admission and student profile stats. What I believe to be true is that OHIO may not be as highly rated as it was 10 years ago in the US News and World Report rankings. Like em or not many people use those rankings when evaluating schools and I fear we are not keeping up. Can anyone verify our ranking 10 over the last 10 years or am I just hallucinating.

As for Cincinnati, I can assure you they have made great strides in academics over the last ten years and have objective criteria in place to measure the academics/progress at the school. After spending a ton of money on all facilities they are now pouring money into BOTH athletics and scholarships and they are starting to see the positive results. I think they are showing that you have to spend money to keep up in the athletic and academic arms race on campuses across the country. Time will tell if they make it to the big5 and AAU status. Does OHIO have those kinds of plans in place? i don't think so. And, I continue to say it is because we simply do not have the financial or alumni support to do what Cincinnati is doing.

The problem OHIO has attracting students has to do with location. Given the fact the school is in the most remote part of the state I would say we are doing fairly well with freshman distributed evenly across the 88 counties of Ohio. Cincinnati and Ohio State benefit from a huge local population to draw on. Miami is a safety school for students considering the top private schools in the Midwest. I've heard that the University of Illinois is hard to get into in-state so suburban Chicago kids often look at IU or Miami as backups. Ohio is 8 hours from Chicago and 8 hours on average from the East Coast. In Ohio location is less of an issue and the advantage of in-state tuition is there. There is nothing the school can do about it. The campus is top notch. Program offerings are comprehensive as you would expect at a major university. The Ohio brand is a very good brand as the state name of the 7th most populated state. Getting confused with Ohio State isn't necessarily a bad thing as it happens a lot to Michigan/Michigan St and University of California schools. Its usually assumed that the schools with the state in their name are of comparable quality. The University of Cincinnati sounds like you picked up your degree at a local college not a major state university. Ohio University has always been a best buy and an excellent deal for that student without the 30 ACT that wants to attend a quality public university. I have a cousins who are attending Alabama (interior design) and LSU (law) from out of state I guess because those schools have big football but if you are doing something more specialized like journalism or engineering I'd rather have a Midwestern state school name on there. Usually its the students who choose professional programs though stay in state and its the 28 ACT English major types that are racing out to attend public schools in other states placing demand on those schools in-state admissions.

Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended
2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round
2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl
2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086

Monroe Slavin
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 9:16:58 PM

We've always talked about Athens' remoteness. Are there any stats on this issue--taking into account population within about 50 miles, student body size, and type of institution (academically, athletically).?

Alan Swank
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 9:27:04 PM

Monroe Slavin wrote:

A story from 1979. One if not my best long time friend, drove with his parents from NJ to OU in the spring of 1979 to check out OU. He wanted to major in journalism. The suggested route by the university had him coming across 70 and down 93 and 13 from Zanesville. They got to Corning and were about ready to turn back. Fortunately they made it and of course he enrolled, became an RA , got a degree and was accepted into the sports ad program and is now one of the most sought after entertainment execs in the industry.

What's the point? In less than two months any student coming to visit OU or enroll at OU will be able to travel a four lane highway all the way into town whether they come from the north, south, east or west. I truly believe this will make a huge difference in people's perception of the remoteness or isolation of Athens.

Monroe Slavin
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 9:30:25 PM

Hope so, Alan. Then, we get that airport expanded to international status and we're 'flying.'

Campus Flow
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 10:34:06 PM

OUPride wrote:

The Situation wrote:

[QUOTE=OUPride]

MCDAVIS IS THE MAN WITH THE PLAN.

McDavis's options are pretty limited for upgrading the school. Graduate programs are controlled by the state and its a hard fight to get additional PhD programs considered. Its a very anti-competitive way of doing business for the state. The amount of H.S. students in Ohio is in decline making it more challenging to fill out that high achieving class you wish for. The school under his watch has added a nursing program to handle demand and now offers online degree completion programs. The big X factor is in fundraising and that is one area where Ohio is not constrained or impeded by the state legislature. If some of that money could be directed toward enhancing the research profile and turn Athens County into a tech corridor.

http://www.ohio.edu/campaign/

Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended
2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round
2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl
2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086

The Optimist
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 10:42:40 PM

Monroe Slavin wrote:

Hope so, Alan. Then, we get that airport expanded to international status and we're 'flying.'

This 1 hour 28 minute guess by google isn't even taking into account the bypass..

https://maps.google.com/maps?safe=off&q=athens+ohio+to+columbus+airport&ie=UTF-8&ei=jRH_UfzKFKL0iQKJpoHgBw&sqi=2&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg

Last Edited: 8/4/2013 10:44:57 PM by The Optimist

I've seen crazier things happen.

Alan Swank
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 10:48:50 PM

The Optimist wrote:

Monroe Slavin wrote:

Hope so, Alan. Then, we get that airport expanded to international status and we're 'flying.'

1:28 is accurate in that I do that 6 times a month (up and back counted as 2).. My guess is that on an average day, the bypass will take 5 to 7 minutes off of that. I'll let you know as soon as it is opened.

That said, in 1979 it wasn't so much the time it took to get here but the observational comments as to "where in the heck are we.?"

Campus Flow
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/4/2013 11:41:58 PM

Alan Swank wrote:

Monroe Slavin wrote:

I don't know about that Alan. I drive in from the East past Frostburg (MD) State University then past WVU in Morgantown to get to Athens for football games. WVU is remote! At least its only 3 hours from where I live instead of 5-6 hours from Athens. Why would I want to send my kid to Athens when you can get the same effect in Morgantown? I'm not talking someone like your friend who actually was driven to pursue a program but a deer-in-the-headlights kid that wants to major in general studies. The perception of Athens would be different if Oracle and Microsoft moved into town out on Columbus Road. The problem isn't student recruiting from the 3 C's, its student recruiting from the Chicago, New York and Atlanta which have a ton of options. Thinking about it a good sales pitch would place the professional schools out front and center to attract people like your friend who are looking for both a campus and a serious academic environment.

Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended
2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round
2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl
2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086

UpSan Bobcat
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/5/2013 9:33:22 AM

Alan Swank wrote:

The Optimist wrote:

Monroe Slavin wrote:

Hope so, Alan. Then, we get that airport expanded to international status and we're 'flying.'

And perhaps even more when this goes into effect:

http://www.toledoblade.com/State/2013/06/11/70-mph-limits-urged-for-more-Ohio-highways.html

70 mph speed limits for all rural divided highways, not just interstates, meaning much of 33 could go up to 70.

Alan Swank
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/5/2013 9:37:32 AM

Uncle Wes wrote:

Alan Swank wrote:

Monroe Slavin wrote:

Wes, you missed my point. In 1979 getting to Athens was an ordeal. You had a two lane road from Coolville to Athens coming from the east, a two land road from Zanesville to Athens from the north and a two lane road from just this side of Logan to Athens from the west. Not only were those roads two lane but they were windy and went through a bunch of small Appalachian towns. To folks from NJ and Columbus and Cleveland, it was rather eye opening - for some a Deliverance experience. With the last piece of the puzzle, the Nelsonville bypass, opening in a couple of months, it will be highway driving to Athens from all directions. That four lane through the countryside will look like a four lane anywhere else in these parts. In a way that's sad though, because one of the things that many if not most students at OU miss today is the cultural heritage of the region. There is much to be learned outside of the classrooms on campus.

Mike Johnson
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/5/2013 11:56:14 AM

Alan Swank wrote:

Uncle Wes wrote:

Alan Swank wrote:

Monroe Slavin wrote:

In the summer of 1962 Ohio was hosting Buckeye Boys State. I was a delegate from my high school in Shelby in north central Ohio. A local American Legion member offered to drive our 4-student delegation to Athens. He looked at a road map and saw that if he drove east toward Ashland he could pick up Rt. 13 which would take us south to Athens. Yikes! What an ordeal. It must have taken nearly 5 hours to get from Shelby to Athens via Ashland and Rt. 13. Amazingly, three of the four of us wound up going to Ohio.

Last Edited: 8/5/2013 11:57:08 AM by Mike Johnson

http://www.facebook.com/mikejohnson.author

Deciduous Forest Cat
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/5/2013 12:41:49 PM

Alan Swank wrote:

Deciduous Forest Cat wrote:

Alan Swank wrote:

Branding? Ohio? Tom Boeh is gone - the paw is back in addition to the attack cat. For that matter have you seen this years OU homecoming theme?

http://www.ohio.edu/homecoming/

It's tough when the majority of your alumni call their school OU or Ohio U and the various university departments both academic and non-academic call it OU.

Head. Sand.

DCF I didn't say things couldn't change I simply said that it's tough when things are so engrained. Additionally as an example I cited the OU theme of this year's university sponsored homecoming. When the actual car is calling itself different things it's hard to get very far very fast.

Alan, I absolutely acknowledge that these things are ingrained, especially with the eldest of our alumni. However, you aren't acknowledging how things have changed. It's the right approach, and progress is definitely being made. No one expected it to be overnight, but the fact of the matter is We Are Ohio and it's catching. Hell, even the Ohio Athletics marketing department is catching on! Taking ownership of the state name and preventing osu's monopoly on it is extremely important, even if it isn't our goal to become another 800 lb gorilla in the state or nationally.

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 8/5/2013 1:07:46 PM

Uncle Wes wrote:

Gallia Cat wrote:

BillyTheCat wrote:

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

Uncle Wes wrote:

But the ACC won't be attracted by a half empty stadium. The ACC/Big XII ships have sailed. Making decisions with those goals in mind is pointless. Over the last two years, the landscape of college athletics has shifted drastically and conferences have realigned and grown, and Ohio's name hasn't been mentioned once. We're not even on the ACC/Big XII radar, and that has nothing to do with our stadium.

BillyTheCat
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 12/5/2023 7:59:33 AM

This thread is worth revisiting, talk of the playoffs in football, OHIO's spot in the world, and of course expanding Peden.

greencat
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 12/5/2023 9:59:22 AM

If SMU, Memphis, Tulane, Tulsa, San Diego State, etc. are still stuck in their obscure leagues, there is little hope for a MAC member to get into a P5 league. It's not even a pipe dream at this point.

.
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 12/6/2023 1:07:48 PM

Idaho is having way more fun in FCS. I would be jacked to be in an awesome 24-team playoff right now. Maybe build our own Kibbie Dome.

Last Edited: 12/6/2023 1:08:28 PM by .

L.C.
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 12/6/2023 1:57:58 PM

. wrote:

Idaho is having way more fun in FCS. I would be jacked to be in an awesome 24-team playoff right now. Maybe build our own Kibbie Dome.

Perhaps the fans that remain are having more fun, but there seem to be less of them.

Average attendance at home games, by year:
2014 (1-10) 12,886
2015 (4-8) 11,847
2016 (9-4) 13,487
2017 (4-8) 10,533 last year in FBS
Four years of FBS - Average=12,157
Average in winning years = 13,487
Average in losing years = 11,755

FCS years
2018 (4-7 )11,280 (4-7)
2019 (5-7) 6,885
2020 covid year
2021 (4-7) 5,478
2022 (7-5) 8,892
2023 (9-3, so far) 11,160
Five years of FCS - Average = 8,046 -34%
Average in losing years = 7,881 -33%
Average in winning years = 10,026 -26%

It took a year for attendance to drop, but then it dropped hard. This year attendance, with them in the FCS playoffs, it is still not quite back to their FBS level. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here.

�We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.� ― Epictetus

M.D.W.S.T
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RE: Looks like Christmas is coming sooner for a lot of you...

Posted: 12/6/2023 2:00:27 PM

. wrote:

Idaho is having way more fun in FCS. I would be jacked to be in an awesome 24-team playoff right now. Maybe build our own Kibbie Dome.

After bouncing around for years, being kicked out of the Sun Belt, and having no other offers, Idaho dropped down as a last resort to save the program, based on being adrift and without a home, the rise of Boise State and the closer proximity of FCS teams.

People were IRATE. The AD was FIRED, due to the backlash. Their budget deficit GREW. They were going to cut more sports, but were bailed out by the state. I hardly think you're gonna get too many Ohioians to vote to bail out OU athletics.

Since the move, the football program has seen a loss of more than 50 percent in ticket revenue and contributions, according to the Idaho Press.

New Mexico State was in a similar situation, they stayed in FBS, and went Independent. Eventually found a home in CUSA, won 10 games in their first year and took Liberty to the brink in the Conference Championship last week.

But yeah - the 9,000 people watching Southern Illinois in the cavernous Kibbie Dome was terrific.

There's a reason no other teams have followed this path.

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