Dave Brandon says students actually aren't showing up

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November 16th, 2012 at 11:38 AM
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M-Wolverine
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Dave Brandon says students actually aren't showing up

Contrary to the "everyone is just squeezed in", Dave Brandon claims that students aren't showing up for kick off, or at all-

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121116/SPORTS0201/211160345/Michigan-seeks-solution-student-no-shows-football-games?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports

 

Last weekend, athletic director Dave Brandon said there were 11,000 empty seats — there are approximately 22,000 student tickets — for the noon kickoff against Northwestern. It only sparsely filled in as the game went on.

Apparently it's a problem at big, non-early games too.

 

For the 3:30 p.m. kickoff against Michigan State on Oct. 20, there were 3,500 no-shows, Brandon said. And, another 1,000 students came in and validated their tickets to re-sell, bringing the total to 4,500 no-shows.r

Though it's not not just Michigan Students-

 

There is a trend," Brandon said. "I talked to my colleagues across college football and it's becoming more and more difficult to deal with the number of no-shows in the student section and the fact they arrive so late."

There seems to be an actually change over time by students, if not just by locale.

"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

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November 16th, 2012 at 11:43 AM | Granted, I'm a huge football (Score:5 Normal)
Phil Brinkma
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Granted, I'm a huge football fan, but this just boggles my mind. Perhaps trimming the student section isn't such a wild idea.

-- Hot ice!

November 16th, 2012 at 12:17 PM | It leads me to wonder if the (Score:0 Overrated)
November 16th, 2012 at 12:47 PM | Even I don't remember Jim (Score:5 Normal)
cbuswolverine
Joined: 08/14/2008
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Even I don't remember Jim Cooper.

November 16th, 2012 at 8:23 PM | You may have heard of one of (Score:2)
HermosaBlue
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You may have heard of one of his relatives, though, by the name of John.

November 16th, 2012 at 1:54 PM | 2006 was pretty damn (Score:2)
Needs
Joined: 08/05/2008
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2006 was pretty damn interesting (though it was a year with the bad home schedule).

November 16th, 2012 at 10:17 PM | I agree. I thought 2006 was (Score:1)
The Wolf
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I agree. I thought 2006 was an immensely fun year. Could have been a confluence of other factors as well, but I remember that season being exciting almost every week. The hype just kept building and building all year.

The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right.

November 16th, 2012 at 2:22 PM | And the "Carr era/RR (Score:5 Normal)
Red is Blue
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And the "Carr era/RR experiment" malaise is infecting the whole country?

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November 16th, 2012 at 5:17 PM | Does anyone else have a hard (Score:5 Normal)
Blue_in_Cleveland
Joined: 09/04/2010
MGoPoints: 226

Does anyone else have a hard time putting the Carr era and RR experiment in the same category? One of those resulted in a national championship and perennial bowl game appearances and winning records... the other one, not so much.

November 16th, 2012 at 8:02 PM | I believe the poster was (Score:-1 Normal)
November 17th, 2012 at 12:14 AM | All of Carr's recruiting (Score:4 Normal)
snarling wolverine
Joined: 12/14/2011
MGoPoints: 4702

All of Carr's recruiting classes were ranked highly.  People are making the guy sound like he was Ron Zook and his recruiting fell off a cliff at the end.   That's not true.   His classes look worse than they really were in large part because 1) Mallett, the centerpiece of the offensive recruits, left and 2) a horrible defensive staff replaced his own.

 

 

 

 

 

November 17th, 2012 at 10:16 PM | so by "the last few years" (Score:2 Normal)
Brodie
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so by "the last few years" you mean the first two games of his last season, which ended in a long win streak and a big upset over Florida in a bowl? 

 

let's forget the three Rose Bowls in the previous 4 seasons, too. 

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November 17th, 2012 at 10:06 PM | or the constant diet of (Score:2)
quakk
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or the constant diet of snakky cakes?

November 16th, 2012 at 1:34 PM | Trimming the student section (Score:2 Normal)
RickH
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Trimming the student section isn't the solution nor is raising prices.  What we really should do is make student tickets free, first come first serve at the gate.  Then you couldn't sell tickets and no more waking up late or tailgating into game time because seats won't be there.

November 16th, 2012 at 1:48 PM | Trimming the student section isn't the solution (Score:5 Normal)
Don
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Give us hard logical reasons why trimming the student section isn't the solution to the problem of many thousands of students routinely not showing up for games, when at the same time there are multi-year waits for regular fans to become eligible to get season tickets.


November 16th, 2012 at 2:17 PM | I am ok with trimming the (Score:5 Normal)
Indonacious
Joined: 01/03/2012
MGoPoints: 514

I am ok with trimming the student section but worry about the ways in which it would be done. Since the issue seems to be that students who have bought tickets are not coming...how will the trimming of the section selectively exclude them and not somone who attends the games. I just worry about a scenario in which people like freshman (who hypothetically would go to the games) or good fans are left out and people who are casual fans, at best, receive tickets due to their credit standing...In that situation, we have shrunk the student section and still kept all of the shitty fans there - double whammy.

November 16th, 2012 at 3:01 PM | 1) reduce season ticket (Score:2)
wolverinestuckinEL
Joined: 09/21/2010
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1) reduce season ticket allotment to students

2) require that students meet attendance minimums and enter the stadium promptly

3) give ticket priority to students who meet or exceed these guidelines and determine seating based in attendance criteria first

November 16th, 2012 at 8:33 PM | This is clearly the way to do (Score:2)
jackfl33
Joined: 05/14/2011
MGoPoints: 168

This is clearly the way to do it. As a student, I don't want to camp out before every home game and waste hours of my time. I should, however, be rewarded next year for showing up on time throught this year when my seats are assigned next year. And I shouldn't have to prove my arrival time on some shitty HAIL app with spotty service when a ticket could do it for me much more easily.

Grow Blue

November 16th, 2012 at 7:21 PM | Because there are plenty of (Score:1)
RickH
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Because there are plenty of students that want those seats.  I think that's pretty obvious with the amount of students there are.  The reason the student section doesn't fill is because students already have the tickets and can 1) be late because they still have that seat and 2) choose not to show up if they don't care about losing their money.

The student section is the only thing that makes the stadium somewhat loud.  Other than that it's dead half the time.

November 16th, 2012 at 1:50 PM | thats what UF basketball (Score:2 Normal)
white_pony_rocks
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thats what UF basketball does.  Tickets are free, but the students put their name into a lottery, if you get a ticket and you don't go to the game you cant put your name in for the next 3 games.

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November 16th, 2012 at 7:33 PM | A lot of basketball teams do (Score:1)
RickH
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A lot of basketball teams do this from what I've heard.

November 16th, 2012 at 3:36 PM | How does the later work (Score:2)
M-Wolverine
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If you don't do the former? 

If you have a seat for everyone, and they didn't even pay for it, doesn't that decrease the value and reason to go?  Now if you trimmed the section in half, and then instituted your policy, it'd be full.  But without trimming you're going to get empty seats every game.

"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

November 16th, 2012 at 7:32 PM | You don't have a seat for (Score:1)
RickH
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You don't have a seat for everyone though.  There are a lot of students that can't buy tickets or couldn't get tickets.  The students paying for tickets aren't the only people that want tickets, just the people that had the money to buy them.  Whether they chose to go to the game, arrive late, or sell them is up to them.

November 16th, 2012 at 4:11 PM | I like... (Score:1)
French West Indian
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...the first come, first served general admission style of seating.  But I'm not a student these days so what do I know.

November 16th, 2012 at 11:43 AM | Maybe it's just me, but (Score:5 Normal)
Johnny Blood
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Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't imagine not going to the game when I was a student.  Granted we didn't have the sweet television setups that people have today (but how many students really have that option?). 

Not sure I understand this trend, anyone have any possible explanations?

Third generation Michigan alum

November 16th, 2012 at 11:49 AM | I think sometimes it's just (Score:5 Normal)
Magnus
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I think sometimes it's just easier for people to recover from their Friday night drunkenness by watching the game on a high-definition TV.

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November 16th, 2012 at 12:01 PM | False. The best way for (Score:5 Normal)
andrewG
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False. The best way for students to recover from their Friday night drunkenness is to wake up at 8am, crack open that ice cold Natty Light, hop in the shower, play pong for a few hours, and then head to the game. Worked for me every time.

November 16th, 2012 at 12:11 PM | Yep. (Score:3 Normal)
Maize and Blue in OH
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Noon games were perfect.  Keep the buzz going from Friday night. Crash for a few hours after the game and repeat the process Saturday night.

November 16th, 2012 at 12:15 PM | It's true. 3:30 games require (Score:5 Normal)
andrewG
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It's true. 3:30 games require you to actually deal with the hangover rather than waking up still drunk.

November 16th, 2012 at 2:22 PM | Rookie (Score:3 Normal)
Vivz
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330 Games give you more time to be blackout by powering thru the hangover.

History is written by the victors-Winston Churchill
November 16th, 2012 at 2:51 PM | i'm not a rookie, i'm a (Score:3 Normal)
andrewG
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i'm not a rookie, i'm a retired veteran. speaking of rookie though, do you really need more than 3 hours to get blackout? sounds like you should work on your efficiency.

November 16th, 2012 at 11:52 AM | Probably just too many (Score:5 Normal)
wile_e8
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Probably just too many students getting tickets because it's the thing to do, not because they are die hard fans. The problem with shrinking the student section is taking the tickets away from the students that don't care without keeping out die hards.

November 16th, 2012 at 11:59 AM | i can't speak to how it's (Score:5 Normal)
well.....
Joined: 01/20/2011
MGoPoints: 95

i can't speak to how it's changed, but i can make some observations from this year and last year as a grad student with tickets. i have been in a group both years with fellow students in the nursing school. when march rolls around and the idea of buying tickets in a group is brought up, everyone jumps on the bandwagon and wants in. people seem to come to the first game - school hasn't really started, weather is nice, good excuse to tailgate/get drunk, etc. One girl in my group hasn't come to a single game since then. One friend hasn't come to a single game because her boyfriend would rather tailgate then go to the game. I've bought a lot of her tickets for friends who wanted to go, but she didn't mention that she wasn't going to the msu game and i didn't specifically ask her, assuming she'd at least go to that game - but she didn't, and her ticket was completely unused. The other people who come in my group come to maybe 50% of the games, always come late (mid 1st quarter or beyond), prefer talking to watching the game, and always leave early. this seems to hold true for the majority of people we sit around (row 64ish). come late, leave early, lots of picture taking for facebook, lots of texting, lots of drunkenly falling all over. my conclusion is a LOT of people who buy tickets don't enjoy football, but do it b.c it's cool and they do enjoy the tailgating. i'm not sure what you do to discourage this though. raising ticket prices would be criminal for those of us who go to games to (gasp) actually watch football. 

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November 16th, 2012 at 12:13 PM | This has always been the case though (Score:4 Normal)
AAB
Joined: 01/14/2009
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not the Facebook thing obviously, but there have always been students who bought tickets because it was cool and who were more interested in getting drunk/talking.  I just don't get why it's apparently getting worse.  

There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter.

November 16th, 2012 at 12:39 PM | I think the current (Score:5 Normal)
jeag
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I think the current undergrads didn't get hooked on football in the same way that many of us were. Freshmen arrived to see 5-7 Rich Rodriguez teams and never got hooked. Die-hards couldn't take the disappointment week after week and had to care a little less. Kids started doing other things on Saturdays; it was more fun.

Also, being a sports fan isn't as cool anymore. When I was 18 we all played NCAA and Madden and Fifa incessantly. Now I'm nerdy because I still play those and not Modern Warfare or Skyrim or whatever the kids are doing these days.  They generally don't wear jerseys around and watch Sportscenter highlights. It's just a different and less sports-centered generation, maybe.

November 16th, 2012 at 3:37 PM | Nice idea, but can't be true/big reason (Score:2)
robpollard
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As noted in the article, it is happening all over the country, not just places that didn't have success in 2008. I mean, at MSU, their group of freshman has seen their best run of success in almost 40 years at that school in football.  Yet, they have even worse problems than UM does in terms of students showing up.

Like others, it is more of a generational/technology thing - you now can watch the game on 60" flat screen (or your phone, or your computer - whatever) and not have to go through the "difficulty" of actually getting off your butt, shaking off your sleepiness/hangover, getting dressed, watiing in line, etc.  Combine that with Michigan's student section being huge, so that pretty much any student who (at least in theory) that is somewhat interested can get a ticket, along with no real penalty/benefit at UM if you show up on time (if at all) -- you're going to have a lot no-shows.

 

It only ends once. Anything that happens before that, is just progress.

November 16th, 2012 at 3:46 PM | Even top 10 Florida had an (Score:1)
spartanfan123
Joined: 02/15/2012
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Even top 10 Florida had an almost empty student section around kickoff a couple of weeks ago. 

November 16th, 2012 at 4:36 PM | Shit (Score:3 Underrated)
STW P. Brabbs
Joined: 08/27/2008
MGoPoints: 2409

Modern Warfare and Skyrim are less dorky than Madden and other sports games now? Is that really true. Christ I'm old.

This is almost as shocking to me as when I left my lily-white Livonia for Ann Arbor and discovered that being in band made you a badass at HBCs (thanks, Nick Cannon, for sparking that conversation.)

November 16th, 2012 at 11:31 PM | Wait, you're nerdy because (Score:3 Normal)
WolvinLA2
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Wait, you're nerdy because you don't play Modern Warfare?

Now my mind is officially blown.

November 16th, 2012 at 5:00 PM | I totally agree. I'm a (Score:2 Normal)
althegreat23
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I totally agree. I'm a freshman and the idea of not showing for a game is crazy to me. There's nothing better than a Saturday at the Big House.

"A Michigan Man will coach a Michigan Team"

November 16th, 2012 at 11:44 AM | Dave, we need moar (Score:1 Normal)
Andrew Jackson Jihad
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Dave, we need moar advertising to get student's to show up

/Brandon'd

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November 16th, 2012 at 12:03 PM | Or a mascot! (Score:5 Funny)
UMfan21
Joined: 09/28/2009
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Or a mascot!

November 16th, 2012 at 12:12 PM | (No subject) (Score:5 Normal)
Wolverine Devotee
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When the ADept sells special jerseys and gear, you'll see my picture next to the targeted customer crowd. A sheep.....but a Blue one.....

November 16th, 2012 at 12:48 PM | Hey Devotee (Score:2 Normal)
inthebluelot
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What's with pirating my pirated avatar and blowing it up to mock a mascot that I mock by having it as my avatar? I want half of all your up votes!

November 16th, 2012 at 12:20 PM | Fancier... (Score:1)
wolpherine2000
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...uniformz!

As a matter of fact I like beer.

November 16th, 2012 at 11:48 AM | Wisconsin (Score:5 Normal)
Naked Bootlegger
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When I first arrived in Madison in the early 2000's, I incessantly mocked rabid Badger fans about the UW student section arriving very late - or not at all - for many games.   I constantly claimed "when I was at Michigan, the student section was always full and arrived in time for kickoff".   I'm apparently very old since my statement is no longer true at UM, and I'm dismayed by this fact.  Now get off my lawn.

November 16th, 2012 at 11:53 AM | Having spent the 2009 season (Score:2)
Maizeforlife
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Having spent the 2009 season in the upper bowl of the student section, I can attest to two things:
1) it's mainly underclassmen who are there more for the social scene than the game
2) There is little to no coordination among the students as in other sports on campus.  The upperclassmen need to take control and organize the students.  They are a rudderless ship

You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is never get involved in a land war in Asia - but only slightly less well-known is this: Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line!

November 16th, 2012 at 11:54 AM | Full disclosure, I spent the (Score:2)
Maizeforlife
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Full disclosure, I spent the 2006 season in much better seats of the student section and these problems did not exist.  People showed up, on time, and were rocking for the entire game.

You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is never get involved in a land war in Asia - but only slightly less well-known is this: Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line!

November 16th, 2012 at 12:04 PM | When I was an upperclassman I (Score:3 Normal)
BlueGoM
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When I was an upperclassman I didn't have time to go to games.  I watched on tv , sometimes, other times listened to the games on radio while trying to get homework done.

/engineering'd

 

November 16th, 2012 at 12:11 PM | Pretty much my story as well. (Score:2 Normal)
david from wyoming
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Pretty much my story as well.

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November 16th, 2012 at 1:47 PM | Priorities (Score:5 Normal)
Kilgore Trout
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You can make time, it's all about what's important to you. I don't mean to imply that choosing to not go to games is wrong or anything, but I got a BSE and MSE in 4.5 years and never missed a game. I missed a lot of sleep, but never a game. 

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