http://annarbor.com/mi/wolverines/2012/11/dave_brandon_offering_uconn_as/
Does anybody else think it is an a-hole move of Brandon to keep trying to convince UConn to move this game? I imagine whatever football fans UConn has have been looking forward to UM coming to campus for a few years now and he wants to pull out and move it to a sterile NFL stadium.
It is always about the money with Brandon. BOO-urns!
Yeah, he is probably overly concerned with money,
Why do some people act like
Why do some people act like Brandon is keeping the money when he is actually getting awesome things like this built?
In such a cynical, sarcastic society, oftentimes looking for the negative on anybody or anything, if you're fortunate enough to spend five minutes or 20 minutes around Tim Tebow, your life is better for it. -Thom Brennaman
HOLYSHEEZ
Is that...
Where'd all the concrete go?
Looks amazing. Can't wait to visit this interplanetary vessel.
Back on topic: It's ridiculous that this thing was ever scheduled in the first place. We should just play it and put it in the rear view.
"The Artes, The Scientia, The Veritas."
That...
...does not look awesome.
It's a disposable shopping mall aesthetic that will not age well and will require a reboot about every 7 years. By comparison, as originally built Crisler had a timeless design. Someday the university community will rediscover it's integrity but for now it's clear that the barbarians have breached the gate.
Crisler is awesome
It seems pretty obvious that you have not seen it in person yet. Pretty incredible and not 100% complete. Go Blue!
MGoBlog....kinda like crack, but more addicting...
Wolverine Convert
OOO!
Sorry. Couldn't help
OOO!
Sorry. Couldn't help it.
It is a different place altogether. I was beginning to wonder (over the past few years) if a Crisler renovation would be in the works or a tear-down and rebuild. I wouldn't have guessed that the old Crisler could yield this radically different place.
I think it was due
and it took a lot of cash to bring that wreck of an arena up to snuff.
Any AD with any sense would
Any AD with any sense would continue try to move this game.
This!
I won't necessarily disagree with the Brandon/$$$$$ thing BUT with the exception of the handful of M fans in the greater Hartford area and the three or four M grads who are professors at UConn (speculating), moving the game to MetLife would be a boon for Michigan. We have a large alumni base in New York City, New Jersey that would (a) have more seats to accomodate them at a larger stadium since UConn will mostly sell its tix to its alums (b) Some of these people will find the trip to East Rutherford infinitely more palatable that making the 2/3 hour trip out to Hartford thus giving our team at least an even fan representation instead of the away game.
I do wonder what dollar amount it will take to bend UConn. I agree with the original poster that the greater UConn community is probably salivating at the thought of getting their first really big name to visit their stadium. Conversely, everyone's got their price. What's yours UConn?
Here's the thing about people
Here's the thing about people who complain about Brandon that gets me.
1. People like new facilities
2. People like new sports (like LAX)
3. People like their athletes to be taken care-of
4. People generally like things that cost money
But when Brandon tries to raise money, he's a bad man.
For today, goodbye. For tomorrow, good luck. And forever, Go Blue.
If all these outside sources of income aren't cultivated
How much MORE would our ticket prices be going up? They're going to double dip us anyway (remember when ticket prices were going to freeze because we were putting in skyboxes?), but unless we hire Tom Goss Jr., we're not going to start losing money again. They'll just raise what we pay till they break even. So better a stadium or network pays than me.
"I love him, he's a great coach, he's a great mentor, he's a great friend. He's every single thing you want a college coach to be, and he does it flawlessly." -David Molk
I live in CT, so selfish me
I live in CT, so selfish me wants the game here so I can go :(
I, too, live in CT...
and would prefer to see Michigan in a real stadium than have to trek to Storrs to see them at UConn's crappy 40,000-seat Rentschler Field.
Compromise?
Maybe the Yale Bowl in New Haven would be a good compromise. I believe it seats 65,000 and is only an hour away from UConn. Plus it is a college stadium instead of an NFL stadium.
Yes, please
classic stadium and 20 minutes from my house... I'll take 5 tickets
I understand the appeal (I
I understand the appeal (I live pretty close to a nice stadium myself), but you might have trouble squeezing 5 tickets out of such a small venue, yes?
List of places without Yale 2013 schedule:
The Internet
ESPN
yalebulldogs.com
insideyalefootball.com
Go Blue!
I'm not sure that Ivy League
I'm not sure that Ivy League Football actually exists. I say this as someone who bought tickets last night to watch Columbia play Cornell on Saturday and has sunk a sizable amount of time into trying to read up on the two teams before going to see them.
It's like some kind of inverse rule of the internet. If it doesn't exist online, it probably doesn't exist in the real world.
The funny thing is...
their hockey and softball schedules are really easy to find. Also, Yale season tickets are $65 for the top tier of seats.
Go Blue!
Just like Profit!
Man, someone sure doesn't like you. It seems like every post you make will at some point be negged into the gray.
Are you sure...
it's not just profit and I negging each other? Seriously though, I don't know man. I guess it's just one of those things that makes MGo an interesting place.
Go Blue!
I'll admit it...
...Yale Bowl would be pretty damn cool. I love the atmosphere in New Haven.
I kind of doubt that UConn
I kind of doubt that UConn would be receptive to playing at another college's stadium, which is why an NFL stadium would make more sense.
It is called the business of college sports. Brandon is doing exactly what he should to promote the finances of the athletic department. Stupid contract to make in the first place.
Not a bad idea
I would take it a step further and just play Yale. It would probably be more competitive.
Think of it this way. Its
Think of it this way. Its better for UConn. They will get to sell more quantity of expensive tickets for the game. As apposed to what I looked into and I'm sure a lot of local um fans have noticed as well. Season tickets for uconn are 95 bucks if I remember right. I bet dollars to donuts they sell out the season tickets to Michigan fans, and they are left with an my stadium the rest off the year because all the tickets are sold out
Also remember if it was all
Also remember if it was all about money. DB would just pay the 2 million to buy out of the contract.
110k x 70 dollars a ticket for a home game against a Mac team makes a whole lot more than 2 million.
UCONN football fans? I'm not
UCONN football fans? I'm not familiar with this concept...
If you're doing nothing, how do you know when you're finished?
But, but, remember when UConn was good?
For a year or two....
Heh, I just had a hilarious
Heh, I just had a hilarious thought. UCONN has been to more BCS bowls than MSU
If you're doing nothing, how do you know when you're finished?
bazinga!
bazinga!
boom! roasted!
boom! roasted!
It's been a lot. Its been a roller coaster that for some reason seemed like it would never get good. But you know what? We kept fighting. It's like that old saying goes, "Those Who Stay Will Be Champions." -David Molk
You mean back when they had
You mean back when they had Randy Edsall as their coach? Ah, those were the days.
I think it's an idiot move
I think it's an idiot move for the UConn AD not to move it. He can double the number of tickets sold, sell them at a higher price, and get more exposure for his football team (unless, of course, he wants to limit the exposure of the beatdown they are about to take).
UConn AD
And that UConn AD is none other than Warde Manuel, former Michigan football player and Assistant Athletic Director.
Damn you University of
Damn you University of Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon thinking only of the University of Michigan athletic department and not the poor, downtrodden students of U Conn. Damn you and your misplaced priorities putting the well-being of MIchigan's athletic budget ahead of something all 12,000 of the U Conn Huskie's football season ticket holders have been looking forward to for years.
The Anti-Brandon Posts Are Crazy
In his biggest decision, he controversially went with Brady Hoke -- and that decision has since been widely lauded and approved. All the panic over the mascot now looks ridiculous. The road uniforms were being changed around well-before Brandon took over. The only criticism with any merit is having OSU in the other division, and we still play them the final game of the year. Who knows what Brandon's position was behind the scenes too. He's looking like an excellent AD, get over it.
I'd also say he's failed
I'd also say he's failed pretty miserably at achieving good home schedule balance from year to year.
He does seem to want to nickel and dime fans until they cry uncle. Generally his attitude seems not to be "what will make fans happy and provide as many fans a s possible with the best overall experience, sustainable in the long term" but rather "what can I get away with to make a quick buck". The $500 charge to be on the season ticket wait list, the Cowboy Classic instead of a home and home, and the blatant ads creeping into the stadium concourse are good examples of this.
I wonder what say he had in this
OSU and MSU are in alternating years. Yeah, I'd rather have MSU and Neb together, as OSU is by far the biggest game. The ND contract was fixed. Really, this complaint is just about getting Nebraska to align with MSU, not OSU.
But that's precisely the
But that's precisely the point, only one game really had to be moved to make the schedule much better. Shouldn't have been that hard. In just B1G games, OSU+NU >>> MSU+Iowa. Having ND at home the same year as OSU/NU was just icing on the crappy cake.
The schedules put together for the post-ND years aren't much better, which seems to imply that DB is not making this much of a priority. I think that's a mistake.
I agree that the home/away
I agree that the home/away schedule is poorly balanced from year to year, but I don't think Brandon could have done much about that. He does not have control over our conference schedule. Regarding ND, we have always played them at home in odd-numbered years and away in even-numbered years, ND won't do it otherwise - it's always wanted to alternate having U-M and USC visit. But now that the series is nearing a hiatus, there is a chance to rectify that with a new non-conference series.
The road uni's weren't
The road uni's weren't changed nearly as often as they have been under Brandon
If you're doing nothing, how do you know when you're finished?
Road?
Don't forget home uni's...the UTL "throwbacks" and adding numbers to the helmets, for a year...
Larry
I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV
Both those things are true
I guess I give a free pass on the UTL unis as a one-time deal, although this bothers me more than the road unis. On the whole, I don't really care about the road unis, but I retract the uni issue as something not to rag on Brandon for. The essential point I maintain.
Let's not forget...
...that the Brandon administration wants to pave over Ferry Field in favor of a surface parking lot. Frankly, I find that to be as unsettling as anything else that has transpired recently.
I like money too (we should
I like money too (we should hang out), but he's trying to back out of a contract in addition to cheapening the "college athletics experience" for actual fans of college football.
Would you rather attend a college game in an NFL stadium or on-campus? Why don't we just have UM Basketball play MSU at the Palace instead of Crisler? We can sell more tickets that way!
Jon Runyan plugged my toilet.
He not backing out. He's renegotiating.
And if you're asking whether I'd rather go see Michigan play a game in a professional stadium, or U-Conn's stadium, then I'd go with the former. If you're asking whether I'd rather see Bama in the Jerrydome or on their campus, I'll go with the latter.
Of course, if you're asking if I was in the area and would rather see Michigan play U-Conn in person because I could get a ticket in a bigger stadium vs. having them in my area of the country but not getting in and watching on tv because their stadium is small and sold out, I might have a different answer then too.
"I love him, he's a great coach, he's a great mentor, he's a great friend. He's every single thing you want a college coach to be, and he does it flawlessly." -David Molk
It's not ALL about money
It's not ALL about money. MetLife has twice as many seats - so regardless of ticket price, twice as many people can go. There's no way all the UConn and Michigan fans that will pay to see the game can fit into Renstchler Field.
It's that simple. If the game is at MetLife, I'll take a train from DC and see it with my NYC friends. If it's at UConn, I'm not bothering to head up to Storrs because tickets will be extremely scarce. I bet there are a lot of East coast alums and fans with similar thoughts.
And the issue for UConn's AD is not money - he's not an idiot and relizes what would happen if they move to MetLife. The issue is that the state of Connecticut invested money into Renstchler Field, so taxpayers are kind of pissy about moving the biggest game they've hosted away from the place they just paid for.
Intensity is a lot of guys that run fast.
I may be totally off base but
I may be totally off base but he may also be concerned about there not being enough tickets to go around. Also I hate to point this out but thinking about money is a large chunk of his job responsibilities.
If being an "a-hole" means
If being an "a-hole" means looking out for the best interests of University of Michigan athletics, yes.
No.
Let's see....we can make more money, yes (though not the majority), get more of OUR fans in, and maybe make it an easier atmosphere for our team to win (not that it should be a really tough place to play)...all things in the interest of the University of Michigan, who David Brandon works for. Sounds like he's just doing his job. Now if they say no and he pulls us out of the game, even though contractually it's permissible, that's kinda of a take your ball and go home dick move. If you want to blame someone, blame Martin for thinking this was a marquee game worthy of opening the new Stadium improvements up with, and giving them a return game for it. Brandon at least holds out for Arkansas...and gets Colorado to make a solo trip here.
Frankly, it's probably better for the U-Conn program, if not the U-Conn fans, because besides more money a Michigan game in NEW YORK is likely to get better tv coverage than Michgan in a heavily favored road game, so more exposure for the program. But if they want
but on the other hand, the renovated Crisler center is awesome.
Formerly 'mgoblaniel.'