Hunter Lochmann does not appreciate you complaining about ads
Another beautiful quote
Lochman, on why Michigan does not do in-game sponsorships: “We don’t do anything in the stadium. Us and Notre Dame are the two cleanest stadiums in college football, so that makes it easier. But, for instance, we had a Cadillac display this past year outside of the stadium, two beautiful cars with winged helmets on them, and we were getting some grief from our fans on social media about them. ... We're trying to entertain our fans, so we have a new partner that sponsors a dance contest, so it’s about trying to be smart like that. Our fans have told us front and center they don’t want sponsors, though.”
December 12th, 2014 at 2:50 PM ^
Sounds like Hunter Lochmann maybe needs to move on to a new job
December 12th, 2014 at 3:03 PM ^
or just quit drinking and go to bed.
December 14th, 2014 at 8:21 AM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 2:50 PM ^
Of all the yogurts, it had to be Chobani?
December 12th, 2014 at 2:53 PM ^
Who CAN'T EVEN PROPERLY DISPOSE OF THEIR WHEY!
December 12th, 2014 at 2:51 PM ^
I hope this guy doesn't get to speak on behalf of the University again.
December 12th, 2014 at 2:51 PM ^
Seems like another Hackett smokescreen to me
December 12th, 2014 at 2:51 PM ^
I think you could have culled that down even further to, "....We're trying to entertain our fans, so we have a new partner that sponsors a dance contest, so it's about trying to be smart like that."
December 12th, 2014 at 2:54 PM ^
If he's talking about that embarrassing "dance contest" they have on the benches at Yost between periods... Good lord. It's so amazingly tacky.
December 12th, 2014 at 2:58 PM ^
They do it at Crisler as well.
The powerplays on the radio are sponsored by Toyota (really, Toyota?) and every time they bring up the schedule it's presented by Meijer.
December 12th, 2014 at 3:10 PM ^
Take your pick:
"We put a big Kraft noodle outside the gates on gameday - we heard people like to climb on sponsored noodles at football games - so it's about trying to be smart like that."
"We did a knockout promotion with Coke and tickets to the Minnesota game that grabbed us a lot of attention, a lot, so it's trying to be smart like that."
"We charged $5 for water because everyone gets really thirsty at games, and hey, it's water, so it's about trying to be smart like that."
"Chobani seemed like the perfect marketing partner for us. When you think of Greek Yogurt, Michigan football is the first thing that comes to mind, so it's trying to be smart like that."
December 12th, 2014 at 2:51 PM ^
Posted below already.
December 12th, 2014 at 2:53 PM ^
The one below is about paying athletes. If it were about the full interview, this would be a repeat, but it's not.
December 12th, 2014 at 2:51 PM ^
It's just more Brandon-type condescension.
We're trying to entertain our fansYou know why we show up on Saturdays? To see Michigan play some damn good football. And rather than ensuring that the quality of said football is "damn good," you think you can make up the "entertainment" value by putting giant noodles out front. They think we're all dumbasses who gaze in awe at shiny things instead of focused fans who generally know what we like and don't like about the Michigan football experience.
December 12th, 2014 at 2:52 PM ^
Bingo. As if Alabama needs a dance contest to entertain their fans...
December 13th, 2014 at 8:15 AM ^
If the team was 12-0 or even 10-2 in the regular season and won more than they lost against the rivals then people wouldn't care. Most stadiums play Rawk music and have advertising. I don't hate money enough to complain myself. Every dollar that a yogurt gives to put their name on something is one less dollar that I as a fan need to pay.
December 12th, 2014 at 3:29 PM ^
Who do you think brought this asshat in!!!!!! This is one of Brandon's monkeys that he dragged in from Madison Square Garden. This guy knows and cares nothing about anything except bringing in the dollars.
Hopefully with Brandon gone he's wise enough to move back to the NBA or, frankly, anywhere that isn't here. Of the many Brandon hires I'd like to see disassociated with Michigan, this guy is number one with a bullet.
December 13th, 2014 at 11:58 AM ^
but brandon was a nice humble dude who really cared about michigan football. i mean he even insisted on reviewing game tape with coaches / players, attending meetings, participating in recruiting, etc. not to mention DB was a dominant um player in his own right, how could he possibly not impart all that wisdom and expertise??
December 12th, 2014 at 2:51 PM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 2:57 PM ^
george likes his chicken spicey
December 12th, 2014 at 2:52 PM ^
I think we forgot to drive a stake through a heart or something.
December 12th, 2014 at 3:04 PM ^
For some reason, Lochman's picture makes me think of this clip:or maybe even this one:
December 12th, 2014 at 2:52 PM ^
Following Michigan Football on Facebook has turned into just another venue for their "corporate partners." I'd like content on Michigan Football, not poorly-disguised ads for Chobani, Cadillac, Kraft, etc. I refuse to believe these sponsors bring in money that in any way appreciably contributes to the bottom line of Michigan Athletics.
As Bill Martin said, which Hunter Lochmann doesn't seem to understand, is that it's not about grabbing all the dollars just because you can. It's about knowing when you don't need to, in exchange for fan goodwill. If you can imagine your ideal gameday without "two beautiful cars with winged helmets on them," you probably don't need it.
Which brings me to a final point: How (and why) is Hunter Lochmann still employed by the Michigan Athletic Department after Dave Brandon was sent packing?
December 12th, 2014 at 2:54 PM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 2:53 PM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 3:02 PM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 3:02 PM ^
Yes, it should be "We." I'll always remember it from my grade school social studies teacher reminding us it's, "We the People" not "Us the People" on the Preamble.
December 13th, 2014 at 9:07 AM ^
I think the problem is any reference to Notre Dame.
December 12th, 2014 at 3:00 PM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 2:54 PM ^
that should have been shown the door along with him
December 12th, 2014 at 2:54 PM ^
"ad creep" into the stadium. They do a little at a time to see what they can get away with. If the uproar isn't very large, they try something a little more. I have to believe that Lochman and his ad people would love the revenue from a shit ton of ads in the stadium. With Brandon gone now though, it will be interesting to see the direction of advertising for revenue in and around all the athletic facilities.
December 12th, 2014 at 2:58 PM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 2:54 PM ^
And go to bed.
December 12th, 2014 at 2:58 PM ^
December 13th, 2014 at 10:06 AM ^
The Ed Sullivan show would be pretty damn good. Ed always had the best entertainers, music, etc. on his rrealllly big showwww. The crap presented by DB and Lochmann? NO!
December 12th, 2014 at 2:59 PM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 2:59 PM ^
Lochmann is trying to market himself for another job. Wouldn't be surprised that the only reason why Lochmann's name hasn't been removed from www.mgoblue.com is some employment contract.
Perhaps we can trade Lochmann (and his noodle statue) to the SF 49ers for Harbaugh.
December 12th, 2014 at 2:59 PM ^
He sounds like the perfect pitch-man for WWE since that's how they operate.
"Don't you dare tell us that you enjoy Dean Ambrose, we're going to make you like John Cena"
December 12th, 2014 at 3:03 PM ^
The best part is, the developmental, NXT put on the best wrestling show I've seen in years last night.
Ambrose is my guy, but damn the future looks bright with Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Kenta and Prince Devitt. That whole roster blows the "main roster" away IMO.
Triple H books NXT, and he'll eventually get control of the main WWE product so things will be good again once the old man goes away.
/ you're the only person in this thread that knows what I'm talking about
BTW: Raw in Detroit on Monday? You going?
December 12th, 2014 at 3:25 PM ^
The WWE folks probably look at their balance sheet and see all the Cena t-shirts little kids are buying and make their decisions based in part on that. If they catered exclusively to the "smarks" they would make a lot less money. The most serious wrestling fans loved ECW, but ECW still went out of business. When you are trying to please more people, you have to do things some of them won't like.
Way more people watch The Big Bang Theory than watch Game of Thrones. Just because the latter show is a lot better doesn't mean the former should be in a hurry to change what they are doing.
December 12th, 2014 at 3:04 PM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 3:07 PM ^
I'm against in-stadium advertising as much as the next guy, but you've got to find it at least a little ironic that many of the same people that are OUTRAGED, I SAY about any advertisting on hallowed grounds are the same ones saying DO WHATEVER IT TAKES!! to get Harbaugh. Something's gotta give somewhere.
Now, maybe we can cut corners other places and still limit advertising while paying enough for top quality coaches in our sports. But sometimes I think people miss the reality that the department has to bring in revenue to deliver what the fans want (i.e., winning). The last administration brought it revenue and still didn't deliver wins, but that doesn't change the reality that coaches, facilities, non-revenue sports, etc, all cost the department money.
December 12th, 2014 at 3:10 PM ^
The department has been operating at a massive surplus for years. It's not like keeping ads out of the big house is threatening to send the AD into the red.
December 12th, 2014 at 3:15 PM ^
Is the surplus massive? I don't know. And I do know that we were in the red before Bill Martin fixed things up. If you can point to where the dollars are being wasted, outside of administrator salaries, I'd be happy to hear it.
I don't know what the magic number is, or how much advertising is necessary to sustain reasonable success. But I do know that I like winning football games more than I dislike Chobani ads, and so this is near the bottom of the list of things I have to gripe about.
December 12th, 2014 at 3:31 PM ^
You don't need ads at all. If Hackett said, "All UM fans need to donate until we reach X dollars so we can afford Harbaugh," they would be flooded with cash. We are happy to pay for the things we love. Just ask nicely and we pony up the dough all the time. You don't need to bilk Stephen Ross out of millions and then try to squeeze a few more pennies out of any available ad space, especially when doing so makes us all feel a little less generous.
December 12th, 2014 at 3:15 PM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 3:18 PM ^
I agree, but isn't more money to spend on athletics a good thing for the department? If the money is being wasted, that's one thing. But if it's going toward, say, better academic support for women's lacrosse players, I'm happy to look at ads (within reasonable limits) to finance that.
I agree about administrator salaries--I know no idea how much of the budget they comprise, but I have to imagine it's not a huge part.
December 12th, 2014 at 3:20 PM ^
isn't more money to spend on athletics a good thing for the department?Not at the cost of making Michigan stadium a corporate sperm receptacle.
But if it's going toward, say, better academic support for women's lacrosse playersHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I think you're being a bit naive...and should probably look into the actual numbers in play.
December 12th, 2014 at 3:22 PM ^
Point me to the actual numbers--I'm happy to learn.