Unverified Voracity Is A Mobius Strip Argument
Yes. Terrific article from John U Bacon on ticket sales and program malaise and the things we've been talking about all summer. There are about five money quotes. Here's one:
Brandon said, “We all think of every home Michigan football game like a miniature Super Bowl.”
I don’t know any Michigan fans who think that. Quite the opposite, they think Michigan football games are the antidote for the artificial excess of the Super Bowl.
Bacon has hit a nerve here—his server is imploding under the pressure.
The problem with Dave Brandon is that he is a mediocrity in a suit with one skill, which is wearing the suit. Unfortunately, this is who is in charge most places. But when Georgia fans, who were until recently saddled with one of our nation's greatest suited mediocrities in Michael Adams, are pointing at us and saying "it could be worse"… well, it ain't good.
At least we have the student government?
The move to general admission was fairly disastrous for Michigan last fall, and former student body president Michael Proppe launched a survey of students midway through the season.
“It was so overwhelmingly negative, we knew we had to come up with something,” Proppe said.
The first survey that had 6,000 respondents was taken after the fourth home game and responses — including 76 percent saying they did not approve of general admission — were shared with the athletic department.
“It just didn’t really work,” he said.
A second survey administered with the athletic department gave a better gauge of what students want. They were asked to rank what’s most important for their game-day experience, and No. 1 was being able to sit with friends. Interestingly, students said having Wi-Fi was the lowest priority.
“That is such a misconception that putting in Wi-Fi is going to get students to show up,” Proppe said.
Michael Proppe for AD. Seriously.
Also yes. Bo Pelini suggests doing away with Signing Day altogether, which I almost support for this reason:
"If somebody has offered a kid, let him sign, it's over," Pelini told ESPN.com on Wednesday. "That will stop some of the things that are happening -- people just throwing out offers, some of them with really no intention of taking a kid."
The "almost" part is that the kid should be able to get out of the LOI if the coach he committed to gets the axe. The best system would maintain the Signing Day hoopla but also feature a non-binding LOI that you could sign whenever that would 1) prevent coaches from contacting you, 2) prevent you from taking an official visit to another school, 3) let the coaches you signed with talk to you whenever they want, and 4) guarantee you a scholarship at school X.
you get better pictures from the Mars lander
Well that clears up everything. The Ann Arbor News has an in-depth investigation about whether Taylor Lewan was the guy who punched some Ohio State fans who were begging to get punched ("Munsch had been walking around with a megaphone … taunted U-M fans on the street and inside the Brown Jug") after last year's edition of The Game. They have video that clears nothing up and quotes that contradict each other from about a dozen different people.
My takeaway is that this is time that could have been better spent finding anything else out. It seems like this incident has gotten a ton of attention for some drunk bar punchin' such as happens just about everywhere most years.
The last time I mentioned a potential transfer coming in for a visit it worked out all right. West Virginia shooting guard Eron Harris will be on campus this weekend, and a commitment to someone should be forthcoming soon. Harris has already been at Purdue and Michigan State, his other two finalists.
Perhaps relevant: MSU just landed a commitment from 2015 OH SG Kyle Ahrens, a guy who was vaguely on Michigan's radar. Harris is effectively a 2015 SG, so that may be a signal MSU doesn't have a great vibe with him.
2016 IN PG Eron Gordon is also slated to be on campus this weekend, and then the Michigan elite camp will bring in all manner of 2016 gentlemen fighting for Michigan's love and vice-versa.
The new guy. MGoVideo has a supercut of every Ty Isaac touch from last year. Sorry, you'll have to go over there—no embedding. I'm a little torn—Isaac doesn't look particularly explosive but then he outruns defensive backs in that game against Cal. Maybe he's just one of those guys who don't look like they're moving at high speed but somehow are. Guys do tend to bounce off him; Isaac had some nice chunks of YAC and tends to fall forward when that's at all a possibility.
You cannot be seeeeeeeerious. The NCAA published a snippy little press release about the portion of the O'Bannon case that EA settled on that must be seen to be believed:
![BpU0BWuIcAEBhT7[1]](https://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/UV_B27B/BpU0BWuIcAEBhT71.jpg "BpU0BWuIcAEBhT7[1]")
The NCAA did finally find someone in their office who had a dictionary and changed "benefactors" to "beneficiaries." Meanwhile, the NCAA claiming that the "real benefactors" are the lawyers, who have dared to make money off the backs of student-ath…
uh… this is a terrible idea
I know, but that's never stopped us before
…DARED TO MAKE MONEY OFF THE BACKS OF STUDENT-ATHLETES is just… wow, man.
And they're probably going to try to draw a line between athletes being compensated for the use of their likeness in a court case and being compensated for the use of their likeness legally. I set the over under on exploded heads at NCAA HQ in the next two years at 2.5.
None of this does anything. The hockey rules committee was looking at some notable changes including three-quarter shields and changes to overtime procedure. Those all went away. The most notable change they have suggested:
Faceoff Location – Offensive Scoring Opportunity: If the offensive team is attempting to score and the puck goes out of play – the faceoff will remain in the attacking zone.
Okay.
Status quo. Jake Butt is still on track to return by week three:
"I don't think we know (exactly when he'll be back) yet, but I wouldn't expect him back until after week three," Hoke said. "He feels great, he thinks he's Superman. They all do at that age.
"But he feels good."
Hoke said the hope is to get Butt back to seeing live contact action after the week three game against Miami-Ohio -- at the earliest.
This will be interesting. The Ed O'Bannon case kicks off Monday. SI has a primer and the NCAA witness list, which consists of folks disproportionately relevant to you: both Brandon and Mary Sue Coleman are on it, as are MSU AD Mark Hollis and Jim Delany. It seems like bad news that one of the economists on the NCAA side has this quote in a book of his:
“The NCAA restricts competition in a number of important activities. To reduce bargaining power by student athletes, the NCAA creates and enforces rules regarding eligibility and terms of compensation.”
It'll be interesting, but not suspenseful. Claudia Wilken, the judge in the case, has already dismissed the word "amateurism" and ruled that the NCAA can't even mention non-revenue sports, leaving:
Her reasoning is that no one forces schools to sponsor teams that can't financially support themselves, so she considers the impact on those teams irrelevant in the eyes of the law. This doesn't leave much for the NCAA to argue except the pro-competitive aspects of its rules.
A pro-competitive aspect that anyone who's ever looked at a recruiting site knows doesn't exist and the SEC commissioner just said this about:
“I consider this period of time one of the historic moments that all of us are witnesses to — an evolutionary change where we put the student-athletes first and we build our philosophies on the student-athlete rather than the so-called level playing field,” Slive said.
The NCAA is gon' die. Their current arguments are straightforward descriptions of functioning markets.
"In those circumstances, it is basic economics that allowing cash payments for (name, image and likeness usage) for the first time will tilt the distribution of talent and success towards colleges and universities with more cash to spend."
And?
Oh, and this one.
They are only in the stadium at all because their colleges and universities have agreed to let them play ... (Athletes) cannot own the right to broadcast their games when they need the same permission that broadcasters do to be in the stadium at all.
The only tension is in how fast the NCAA will get laughed out of court.
Etc.: Caris finds his way onto a list of the top 15 draft prospects already in school. If you have no idea about soccer here's a good place to start. Looking at next year's softball team. MVictors points out a Kickstarter for old-timey jerseys. B10 championship to stay in Indy; basketball tournament to still mostly rotate between Chicago and Indy. North Carolina's Rashad McCants says the school bit of his career was a total sham.
The thing that's most tantalizing to me is how naturally he catches the ball. He catches the pass with soft hands away from his body and pivots effortlessly to turn and run downfield. If he doesn't win the starting spot for whatever reason, he'll still have a big role as catching passes, either as a slot or H back.
I think Brian is completely wrong on Isaac not being explosive. I think when Isaac cuts into a hole I think he totally explodes upfield. I think he just does it so smoothly that you don't quite realize he is doing it. Watch some of those clips--when he makes his one cut and starts going north-south, he makes a lot of the defense look like they are standing still. Plus he is big enough that he pretty much runs through arm tackles.
Also remember, these are clips of a true freshman who hadn't been through an off-season of weight-training and conditioning.
I don't think he's going to be at his best running super long stretch plays. He's not a super-elusive runner who is going to make half the defense miss. He's a one-cut hit the seam and RUN guy who can blow through arm tackles. He's gonna need the O-line to make him a seam, but he seems to show VERY good vision at finding that seam.
With Michigan's O-line disarray I'm not expecting much this year, but I'm excited about Isaac's future. I think with an kind of a decent O-line, this kid will be a good one.
Green reminds me a lot of star high school backs that have a ton of tools (speed/size) but are constantly getting tripped up in college because they don't have great balance/footwork. Hopefully he can get better at those things.
I know the NCAA is bad and amateurism is a crock, but how can college football players be employees without the whole system becoming full of 27 y/o not-quite-NFL-calibre players?
As I understand it the Sherman Act prevents discrimination in employment based on age. The way the NBA and NFL can prevent teens from joining is through collectively bargaining those particular restrictions. Older players in the union can protect their livlihood for a little longer by effectively keeping out the younger players; so it's a win-win for both the league and the union.
In college sports the only thing that would keep a good 22-28 y/o football player from remaining an employee would be a CBA akin to the pro leagues. The CBA would have to require that teams can only employ players for five years (and playing four) to maintain the status quo.
Here, however, the union is representing a large collection of employees that will never be pros and in all liklihood will never be able to make the kind of money/perks the market will be paying them as a college football employees.
Now, what college football player (NFL talents excepted) is going to voluntarily step away after five years when they are at their earnings peak in order to allow some 18 y/o to take their job (insert South Park gif)? I don't foresee the schools demanding such a short window either as they would be purposely hamstringing themselves with inexperienced workers rather than keeping the proven workers that they trained.
If neither party to a CBA see any benefit in preserving the current 18-23 y/o system, why would they bargain it into their contract? Is this something you would root for?
...that's one of those unintended consequences that I've been harping on.
If student athletes are going to be considered employees and universities their employers, then why would a university willing let those employees walk away after just 4 years despite training them for a full career? The current model of 4 years of eligibility is pretty arbitrary given than a normal student can easily remained enrolled for a decade if they want.
Are you talking about the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890? It had/has nothing to do with age discrimination---or employee/union rights whatsoever. It was, as its name suggests, concerned with monopolies and collusion--ya know the Standard Oils of the world.
There is no age discrimination issue as eligibilty isn't based on age but eligibility (4 year of eligibility subject to redshirt, medical and hardship waivers). 22-28 year olds (and older) are already allowed to participate in NCAA sports--so long as they have not used up their eligibility. Moreover, allowing student athletes to unionize would have no impact the NCAA's rules on eligibility
I must have missed this.
Regardless, more and more this David Brandon character is coming off as a certifiable, future-creating douchebag.
If come September 2014, those Michigan Stadium blimp shots are in any way embarrassing, then Brandon alone deserves 100% of the blame.
Revoking a press pass from someone like Bacon or the Freep guys will not end well for the AD, but they did banish him to the pressbox nosebleeds after Three And Out.
The parenthetical 8th paragraph of Mr. Bacon's essay:
http://johnubacon.com/2014/06/the-real-reasons-why-students-and-others-…
Certainly implies that his press pass has been revoked by the athletic department.
there are apparently no bounds for the pettiness of DB. He also excluded the Daily from the Gibbons conference with Hoke--almost certainly for what it had published. And I am told by a sportswriter, who has dealt with the athletic department, that this "with us or agin us" attitude is standard operating experience.
The negativity in the content here about Dave Brandon has reached such a level that although I agree with the sentiment in Bacon's article, and although I have myself written to Dave Brandon with concerns, I feel compelled to make an attempt at restoring perspective.
As a poster in the Bacon thread noted, there was a comparable drop in the early nineties after two 8-4 seasons, during which time the UM basketball team made two deep runs in the tourney. Then, as now, it was a down year for the home schedule, and there was also an increase in ticket prices (erm, non-Brandon increase). There was no Beyonce. No fly-over. No piped-in music. No ticket policy changes. No wow factors. No jumbotron promotions.
I don't doubt that the (now abandoned) ticket policy from last year had an effect at the margin, but enthusiasm for Michigan football is just down, and our on-field success and prospects for future success are the most likely key drivers. The ticket policies didn't change for non-students, and those sales have been slow, too.
Regaring enthusiasm for the coming year, take a look at HTTV. Two years ago, after our 11-win season, it asked for $20K and it got $54,486 in pledges. The following year it asked for $30,000 and got $69,275. This year it asked for $30,000 and it got $37,772, hitting its funding only in the final two days. Beyonce! J'accuse!
Success on the field will always fill seats whether it's the students or non-students. As far as filling seats up before kickoff, I think you need to give students a financial incentive similar to the "credit" proposal I outline above. For cupcake games, students will always show up late (even Alabama has difficulty getting their students to show up early for the lowly teams on their schedule and they're the most successful program over the past 5 years). Giving students the opportunity to reduce their ticket prices for the following season with credits might get them in the stadium before kickoff. I know it would've worked for me when I was a student at UM.
but Brian said some mean things to people and banned some posters. I thought that is why HTTV's numbers are down.
/s
I shouldn't be surprised when the NCAA shoots down 3/4 shields every summer, but I still get my hopes up.
After all, this is the same governing body who moved back their contact date and text limits almost 10 years after the OHL moved their draft date back.
I really wish we'd institute the half or 3/4 shield too. I don't think there's been any studies showing that they lead to anymore injuries (though it obviously creates potential for one that wasn't there before) and I think the 'looking cool' factor to teenage prospects is a bigger deal than many in the NCAA ranks realize
There is so much truth to this.
Having worked in the corporate world for 25+ years, I can tell you that what is easy to measure crowds out what is just as important or more important, but not as easy to measure.
I recall when our business unit planning department was denied a capital acquisition request for personal computers because we could not quantify the benefit of personal computers to the satisfaction of the beancounters.
There was nobody watching the store with any vision or leadership. The spreadsheet results (greenbar mainframe reports actually) determined everything.
We finally got the networked PCs when it became so obvious that our competition and the rest of the business world was using them that the benefit must be self-evident.
James C Scott wrote a really interesting book, Seeing Like a State, on the consequences of state programs to make complex entities more measurable from a centralized perspective. Bending over backwards to make outcomes more legible does bad things.
Brandon thinks too much like a short-sighted CEO (pump up the profits this quarter) and not enough like the head of a nonprofit (stick to your stated mission as closely as possible without losing money).
Just watched the first bit of the Ty Isaac every carry video.
If he can go 5.9 per carry yes thank you very much. That, or can he bring the O-Line with him?
That is news I can get behind.
So what happens when O'Bannon wins and college football very much becomes a business ruled by those who have the most money? Do we then need a guy like Brandon? Or are we just then doomed. It strikes me that many of the same people that hate Brandon are those who most want the NCAA to change, which strikes me as ironic.
College football is changing, and all the things that Bacon highlighted as why people love the game are going away. I recommend we all enjoy these next couple of seasons while we can.
great article.
and those old jerseys are cool. i even liked a couple of the n.d. jerseys. does that make me a bad person?
"The best system would maintain the Signing Day hoopla but also feature a non-binding LOI that you could sign whenever that would 1) prevent coaches from contacting you, 2) prevent you from taking an official visit to another school, 3) let the coaches you signed with talk to you whenever they want, and 4) guarantee you a scholarship at school X."
The early LOI has to be binding on both parties otherwise the student is free to change their mind at any point prior to signing day while the school can't pull the offer. That is the point of the LOI it binds both parties. Now the early LOI could include a couple of outs like if the coach is fired or quits (rather than dies), or if the student ends up with various behavioral problems etc.
Such as system would tend to diminish if not eliminate verbal commits. The student announces they've committed to school X and is presented a LOI to sign. If they refuse then they aren't committed period and the coach might elect to pull the schloarship offer. This might have the commendable effect of teaching 17 year olds what committing means in the real world.
If the school does not present the student a LOI to sign then they really didn't have an offer, which has the commendable effect of reducing over signing and "non-committable offers".
"... Michigan is all about lifelong fans who’ve been coming together for decades to leave a bit of the modern world behind – and the incessant marketing that comes with it – and share an authentic experience fueled by the passion of the team, the band and the students. That’s it."
- John Bacon
Fin.
Quote of the day and in contention for quote of the year.
Brian Cook says, "The problem with Dave Brandon is that he is a mediocrity in a suit with one skill, which is wearing the suit."
I say Brandon is starting to make Tom Goss look competent.
Disagreement with Brandon's decisions shouldn't veer into Brandon Derangement Syndrome.
You all don't understand this is planned. The falling of the sellout record and the empty seats this season are necessary for the next steps, using these empty areas as an excuse:
1. Move season ticket holder up and out further by a section, reducing the student section.
2. Replace 30-30 yd lines, first 30 rows with club boxes.
3. These will be stadium seating, not benches, with concierge service.
4. These will be bought mostly by corporations, and the wealthly.
5. These will be empty most games, and guarded from unauthorize seat movers.
6. The skybox will be fitted with an awning to cover these people eventually.
This is what happened to pro sports and is moving to college. Used to be you could walkup to Tiger Stadium or Olympia Stadium and get seats just before game time and rather affordable. Now, with the superbowlizing of all sports, new stadiums have all these mostly empty corporate boxes. College sports is just a couple decades behind the curve.
No poolside cabanas? Not interested.
While I agree with much of the Bacon column in theory, one important dimension being ignored is the increasing pressure on Michigan to keep up with the Joneses and Alabamas of the world. It's really only in the last 12 or so years that college ball has taken on this spiraling financial arms race flavor, spurred mostly be the SEC, and at the end of the day Brandon probably sees himself as #1 the money guy for Michigan athletics, and that while tradition is extremely important, winning is more so, and to win you must keep up financially.
Has he made mistakes re student seating? Yes. But I'd be curious to see how he grades on the financial front in terms of overseeing enhancements and additions and other items that help woo recruits. End of day, Bacon makes great points, but if Michigan was winning as it used to, I'd suspect many of these attendance issues would be mitigated.
All goes back to Hoke and now Nuss and their ability to deal with Meyer and Narduzzi.
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