Toonces

I wish I had 100 upvotes for this.  

Well...sounds like the players like them!  http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2012/12/michigan_players_say_they_love.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WolverinesSports+%28Michigan+Wolverines+Sports%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Kids...As in the kids who are on scholarship and wear them on the actual field and stuff. DB has repeatedly said that the jerseys are popular with the current players on the team, that they want to wear them. He's also said that the jersey line item on the athletic department income statement is actually very small after the retailer and addidas get their cut, so contrary to popular belief, it ain't about selling more jerseys.

As an alum, I feel I have a stake in how the team represents my alma mater, but that takes a backseat to the players on the team right now. The alternative jerseys haven't been my cup of tea, but it's a stretch to say they refelect poorly on the university as a whole, so I have to respect their choices.

what;s your 40 time?  might you be 6'2 225 and a 4* recruit?  i think that would make your opinion matter more

There are numerous reaction videas from teams around the country when they find out they will be doing something different. I am in the "If you have tradtion sell it, if you don't, sell change" boat. I don't like a lot of the different uniforms because I think they are poorly designed. It would be ridiculous, though to claim Oregons flashiness does not attract young fans and sell apparrel. It's not just about getting recruits ( I don't think uniforms impact that). It's more about attracting attention. All you have to do is look at twitter on a fall Saturday and you can see that Oregon, among others, attract attention. I actually like the helmet. I like matte finish on about every helmet I have seen. I don't like the jerseys. I think they look cartoonish. Nike does a much better job with these things than Adidas has. 

Then why is it that if I see someone wearing a jersey on campus it's one from UTL??  Your friend group is probably a group of a similar people = misrepresentation of all young people

I am not saying you're wrong, but my assumption is that there is some process to anticipate public reaction to these uniforms. Brandon is a corporate guy who has been making money for the department, so I have to assume that these decisions are taken based on some data. At the least I'd think they do focus groups or something.

Even if the uniforms are not broadly appealing, the classic unis are always available for purchase. If someone decides they don't want to shell out for the special bowl design, they can still get a classic jersey--Michigan makes money. Long-term, I think it is a bad strategy, but Brandon is doing what he is trained to.

Yeah but it's clear he'd like to. It exists in the other venues and DB has allowed ads in the stadium, just not for fall games (lest any of you forget the Abundance of ads and the walking French Fries at the big Chill or the ads during the spring game). Don't give him credit there. He's not doing ads solely because he knows he'll be crucified.

I generally think Brandon's done a good job, but it's a myth that he has not tampered with advertising in the Big House.  

Inside the stadium bowl, there's no *third party* advertising, but the constant ads for weddings in the Big House, etc. are advertising, plain and simple.  Just because there isn't a fixed billboard doesn't mean showing ad content on the jumbotrons doesn't run afoul of the no advertising principle.

Outside of the bowl, we've seen more and more stuff, like the various static third party ads on pillars, etc.

"Get married in the Big House" bullshit then?  It is an ad plain and simple.  Just because it isn't an outside company it is an ad trying to sell something other then Michigan sports.  There are plenty of ads in Crisler and under Brandon I guarantee you that they are headed to the Big House.  They were in the Big House for the Big Chill.

it's just a bit harder to enjoy the game with seven nation army playing every damn minute.  Play something else you A-holes!

the stadium face to face at a local meeting several months back, and he told me and everyone there in no uncertain terms he won't do it knowing the huge amount of resistance there is in the U-M community.   He didn't say he doesn't want to do it - just that he won't because of the shitstorm (not his words) that it would create.  

The video boards had PNC ads taking up the entire screen.



Also, I would like to see how much revenue new uniforms and other streams Dave Brandon has implemented have generated. The argument is made that the AD is sitting on a pile of cash, but it clearly wasn't enough to pay for the band to go to Dallas.



Few people would complain about the jerseys if they weren't so damn hideous. Seriously, the design is something high school wouldn't wear.



Lastly, I'll be happy when the Dave 'The Wow Factor' Brandon leaves UM



/get of my lawn and I'm only 27

to profit from it.

Your constant reminders put me at ease and make me think that no matter how bad it gets I will always be able to count on you to be right by your computer or cell phone to police the chaotic ruins of the once great MGoBlog. However, you might be out of a job once the point system is reintroduced. The glory days shall soon return!

Those Florida jerseys look sweet, and are exactly what alternate jerseys should be about. They embrace a theme (in this case gator scales) and apply it to the jersey (in this case new patterns on the numbers and helmet). Add in some cool but subtle work on the shoulders and that's a pretty cool jersey. 

This is in pretty stark contrast to our plan of "move large blocks of color various places and hope it looks good."

I think he has done a decent job.  I don't mind the money grab, but sometimes he seems like a sanctimonious prick.  He makes lots of decisions with little input from the football stakeholders (from my perspective).  Crappy scheduling, move of the home game to Dallas, odd uniforms, screaming promotional efforts are on the downside.  Reworking facilites, hires have been good.

I would give him B so far.

^ This.
In fact, I stopped reading after that line, down-voted, and came to make a very similar point.
Plus, one of my pet peeves here is seeing people preface with "I know this will be down-voted / unpopular / whatever," since it almost always feels like a lame appeal for up-votes from someone who cares way too much about that.

I had the same reaction.

What kind of ass starts with "hey, I know you all are a bunch of lemmings who just repeat whatever it is Brian says, but I'm really a smart guy who has his own opinions" ? 

downvote: check.

 It's one thing to vent through your keyboard, but if you're trying to actually persuade people you should have the self-discipline to erase what you started with and replace it with something less inflammatory before clicking the post button. If you give people the impression that you don't respect them, they will tune you out regardless of how strong your argument is.

Can't deny the university gets residual value from the football team but the Athletic Department revenue stays with them and does not cross Hill St into the main university. In fact most of the university development fundraiser a hate Brandon since he's the first AD to hire a huge fundraising staff and start going head to head with the University fundraiser a trying to raise money for scholarships, academic buildings, research and professorships.

...The University is seeking an individual with experience in the development and management of a significant, revenue-based budget; who exhibits documented creativity in exploring and developing revenue streasm; and who has a demonstrated ability to generate revenues through fundraising and other strategies consistent with the mission of the University.

So, Dave Brandon's job is, in part, to make money for the university.

Helps when you read your own documents.

There are very few places in the country where you can both make money and lose. His job is to make money through being successful and promoting the brand. 

You can't say "the guy who runs the site holds Opinion X, and the people who frequent the site hold Opinion X, therefore the people who visit the site get their opinion from the guy who runs the site."

By that logic, if (a) Brian doesn't like getting kicked in the balls, and he says so on this site, and (b) I don't like being kicked in the balls, then (c) I don't like getting kicked in the balls because Brian told me so.

Correlation. Causation. HOLY BALLS THEY ARE SO NOT THE SAME THING.

Excellent.  I think that is part of the DB problem.  It's sometime less his message than how he delivers it.  "condescension and dismissiveness toward those who view things differently" is spot on.

I think if he did not sometimes appear to be a dick his message would be better received.  He strikes me as CEO who sometimes does not give a damm about his minions. 

"and it's thanks to his kind that one of these days I will probably no longer be able to suspend my contempt for all things corporate and just enjoy college football." This is the one argument I don't understand. People keep talking about how money has ruined college football, hasn't that happened to everything else in the world? Money plays a huge part in everything we enjoy today. If you take the attitude that money and corporations have ruined everything then you will find little enjoyment in life.  

Here's the thing: Brandon has not removed from you the ability to be hot and miserable in early September, or cold and wet in late October. He (or rather, Bill Martin) has simply made it possible for some people with the resources available to enjoy attending a game without those things. If you would rather everybody be miserable, fine; but isn't that just resenting people who have it better than you? It's not like your experience is any worse.

In fact, it's actually better--the revenue from suites and such allow the Stadium to be improved in many ways that benefit everybody; it also allows Crisler to be improved in ways that benefit everybody. And, crucially, it allows the department to equip its teams to win. Paying assistants properly, for example.

In the average person's actual position, you can still go to a game, be miserably hot, and enjoy it--with better concessions, restrooms, and a better team on the field. The alternative is to make sure that everybody is equally miserable, and more miserable because the team is worse. Cutting off one's nose to spite one's face.

To paraphrase Bruce Lee, "their style is to have no style".

And like Bruce Lee, they are amazingly good at it.

Again, he doesn't make the University money. Athletic dept funds are kept over there. It's not like anyone outside the student-athletes benefits from DB's exploits financially though we all enjoy going to games and rooting for our team. So take that off the table. In fact he's taking quite a bit of criticism from those north of Hill St for really cutting access to athletics for the academic side people. He also tries to boost academic side people and even alumni association clubs to pay more fees to use their facilities.

I disagree, both Canhan and Martin were self made entrepreneurial millionaires.  Brandon has risen up the corporate ranks and has done extremely well.  I'll take a successful entrepreneur over a corporate manager many times

Classy alternate uniforms that befit the tradition and legacy of the University of Michigan.

OSU and Michigan in the same division.

World peace.

A decent schedule that does not involve sending games to Jerryworld.  No more games with Div II teams like App State.  I think he has done well which makes his minor mistakes more obvious. 

Co-signed and well put State St.....

But the fact that he gets slammed here for everything from the basketball schedule, to the music in the big house,  to uniform colors, to the band's transportation to away games, to the teams the football team is scheduled against and how we performed against them, the preferred seat donations, to ticket prices and let's not forget the charity run cancellation angst argues we DO need this thread.   And those are just the bitches that came to mind while I typed this - I'm sure there are lots more but-hurt he's responsible for to some people I've conveniently forgotten.

Sadly to me, he has been cast as public enemy #1 by a lot of people around here who seemingly ignore all the good he has done.

Well Mussolini made the trains run on time.  Doesn't mean that he wasn't deeply flawed underneath his facade of "improvements".

~Herm

The opinion of the kids is all that matters. Why should we care if alums like what they see on the field?

/Looks at PSL increases

Oh. Right. That.

So did Tom Goss.  If you are asserting that Mr. Brandon and Mr. Goss are equals in their Athletic Directoring skills, that would make you one of those lemmings that the OP was talking about.

Personally, as much as I dislike several of the things Mr. Brandon has done, I would never consider insulting him the way you just did.

Ah, that would explain the strange choices for alternate unis then.

in 2000 and 2001 when the Athletic Department was operating in the red and needed an infusion from the General Fund.  Martin did that to keep sports from being eliminated.  It greatly helped convince the Regents to agree to bail out the department.  Once the department was back in the black (2003 I think), Martin took a salary of roughly $300,000.

Martin also was the one who implemented the PSD program back in 2005 and he raised football ticket prices more than once.

Exactly! People seem to think that we hired a CEO for an AD, and he came in, looked around, and said, "we should start monetizing everything!"

The reality is that the desire to start monetizing everything was made at the president of the university level, and they then went out to find an AD who would be good at monetizing everything, and decided a former CEO fit the bill.

Creative revenue generation is part of Dave Brandon's job description. People may not like it, but he's just executing the strategy of the university. If not DB, it'd be someone else.

The funny thing is, all the bitching seems to boil down to some pretty petty complaints:

• I don't like the newfangled music in the stadium.
• I don't like the newfangled alternative uniforms, that still aren't half as garish as a lot of the ones I've seen (The two face helmet that ND wore comes to mind).
• I don't like having to pay more for being entertained.
• I don't like those pom-pom things.

Meanwhile, the legitimate benefits of this revenue increasing focus is discounted.

• Significant Football, Basketball, and Hockey stadium improvements.
• Promotion of a club LAX team to a full D1 LAX team.
• Payouts to retain high caliber coaching staffs.
• Increased support and resources for other olympic sports.

I just don't get it. Would people really prefer to go back to the old Chrsler and Yost arenas in order to get rid of seven nation army and alternative jerseys?

You're doing God's work, son.

Tradition is the winged helmets, the M Club Banner, The Victors, Michigan Stadium, Maize and Blue and more.

Why do you get to decide what "tradition" is? Seriously. I consider the jerseys to be "tradition."  I consider "No Rawk Music" to be a tradition. I consider "ANYTHING BUT IN THE BIG HOUSE" to be a tradition. Where do I go to get those considered for tradition status?

This is the primary mistake I think Brandon has made. He has sacrificed at what HE considers to be the fringes of Michigan Tradition, but there are plenty of us who disagree.

Sincerely,

Tyrannosaurus BiSB. Class of '05.

to be innovative and care what the public thinks.  If DB were to take the Michigan fan base into account, nothing about Michigan would ever change.  They don't care what WE think, we're already fans, read the blogs, buy the shit....they want thise who aren't fans to start buying the shit, going to games etc