Michael Bird on Michigan and the Economy

Submitted by skurnie on

 

So this Michael Bird article for SBNation on Michigan, Dave Brandon and the Economy is definately worth a read. I think the ending, especially, is strong.

The good news is that college football is too damn good for even the people running it to screw up. Michigan will someday be back, because Brandon's marketing gimmicks cannot destroy the winged helmet, the Big House, and "The Victors."

College football will survive the bean counters who give us Alabama-Florida Atlantic instead of Alabama-Notre Dame because those spreadsheet-focused managers cannot destroy the day that never comes. The players who play the game and the coaches who coach it will keep on giving us the Hail Mary and the pop pass, no matter how much the people running the sport try to cheapen it.

Muttley

October 10th, 2014 at 11:31 AM ^

Canham understood that ultimately his success was based upon Bo Schembechler's revival of the program.  Sure, in Schembechler's early days, Canham used a number of gimmicks to get butts in the seats.  But these gimmicks were run when ticket prices were reasonable.  It was the Football that filled the stadium in the mid 70s.

Brandon inheirited a waiting list for season tickets. So he saw an opportunity to increase revenue and he took it.  At the same time, he added a number of gimmicks to increase the "wow" experience.  Well, Dave, it turns out that Canham was right.  It is still all about the Football.

Your gimmicks had little effect while the hope for a revived Football program still supported ticket prices up to an effective cost of $125 for the typical ticket.  But now that the Football is crashing, you see that the only effect of your gimmicks is to piss people off.

skurnie

October 10th, 2014 at 11:51 AM ^

Love that comment...it's right on.

Unfortunately my search for 1970 Michigan ticket stubs returns no actual ticket prices. My guess is they were printed on the part of the ticket that was torn off when going through the gate.

However, I did find 1970 Rose Bowl tickets that were face value $8 (Adjusted for inflation, about $49).

That said, I'm guessing the Michigan home games in the early 70's were less than $8/per game.

I also checked this with the 1997 season, because 1997. I went to the Ohio game that year with my Dad and the face value of our tickets (about the 30 yard line, Michigan sideline) was $32 (Adjust for inflation, about $47). 

I'd love to see a study of Michigan ticket prices adjusted for inflation over the years, both during Canham and Brandon.

Edit: Inflation Calculator I used is here

Muttley

October 10th, 2014 at 2:10 PM ^

Here's a link to an article that gives inflation-adjusted ticket prices over the years. The article doesn't provide the inputs (nominal ticket prices and inflation adjustment factors), so caveat emptor.

http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2013/06/a-brief-history-of-michigan-football-ticket-prices

Here’s the price of a regular admission (not student) University of Michigan football ticket over time. (All figures are in 2012 dollars, rounded to the nearest dollar. I couldn’t find 1970 and 1980 so I substituted the nearest available year).

 

1900: $27

1910: $48

1920: $29

1930: $41

1940: $45

1950: $34

1960: $35

1969: $38

1981: $30

1990: $35

2000: $47

 

Versus a cited $129 effective price (ticket price + PSL) in 2012 dollars for a 15 yard line seat in either the 2012 or 2013 season. (I can't tell which, but it doesn't matter.) The cost of running the football program no longer has anything to do with ticket prices.

Another article on the profitability of the football program

http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2014/03/wolverine_football_carries_uni.html#incart_m-rpt-2


But exactly how much revenue do the roughly 100 students and 20 coaches and staff in the program bring in?

 

$82 million.

Football accounted for at least 57 percent of athletic department revenues in 2012-13, which totaled $144 million, according to Michigan budget documents provided to the Board of Regents.

The storied program and its larger-than-life venue are what solidifies Michigan's place among the most profitable enterprises in college sports. Football cost about $23 million to operate in 2012-13, meaning it fed more than $58 million into Michigan's other 30 varsity teams.

 

 

True Blue Grit

October 10th, 2014 at 2:26 PM ^

our old ticket stubs, I found one my wife's freshman year ticket stubs from 1977 (Duke game 9-19-77) that still had the stub attached for some reason.  It said $8.00.  We probably paid less than that as students, but I can't remember.   I think the Duke game was the only one I missed due to being massively hung over from an epic night before. 

Interesting too that game programs in 1980 cost $1 (vs. $5 today). 

bluebyyou

October 10th, 2014 at 2:11 PM ^

Good article which paints a picture of Brandon and Hoke that we have come to know, and it is strikingly similar with both men.  Neither has the skills to do what they were hired to do.  After five (?) years of on the job performance for Brandon and almost four years for Hoke, neither man has exhibited the skills necessary to perform their respective tasks.  Failure should not be rewarded; both men need to be replaced.  The Hoke hire, in some places, would be enough in and of itself to make a case for replacing Brandon. But, there is so much more. Brandon's ability to completely turn off much of the fan base and, of course the students, was accomplished by an emabarrasment of individual mistakes for the sake of squeezing every dollar from the fan base speaks for itself.  Can Brandon change?  Not in my mind.

Show up at the game or not, demonstrate at Schlissel's home, former players supporting the team and a whole lot of other etcs. only  cloud the issue of on the job performance. To me it is very clear that Hoke needs to be gone at the end of this year, and Brandon along with him.

soniktoothe

October 10th, 2014 at 2:19 PM ^

Reminds me of the rapidly expanding Urgent Care that I have worked for since 2007. In the beginning when there 8 clinics it was employee and patient oriented. The theory was if we gave good care quickly, then we would always make money.

Now after expanding(most recently into MI) to 160+ clinics, the focus is cost on a month to month basis and scores on surveys. We consistently run short on supplies and often can't give care because they want to see a better bottom line on a monthly basis.

Not a commentary on football, obviously. But, chasing the short term for immediate financial gains while damaging the product in the long term is a common denominator of any enterprise that is looking to cash-in.

Wolfman

October 10th, 2014 at 3:56 PM ^

for explaining in a manner that even one with an educaton level no higher than a bright 7th grader could understand. Nicely done.

The most glaring deficiency to me though is his failure to adhere to the lessons Bo taught all M fans in his fine book, Tradition, as told to Dan Ewald who did a wonderful job in writing Bo's thoughts.

Of particular importance to one specific subject is the role Bo felt the Marching Band played since its inception. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of reading this fine book, Bo tells of the relationship he had with the Band's director and when he felt the team was not focusing to his liking on that particular week's opponent how often he would ask the Director to have the band come to the fence separating the two practice areas and play The Victors and how this would seem to inspire his team and how their practice immediately following would suddenly become spirited and completely refocused.

Brandon's attitude toward the band, of great surprise to me, treats it more like an expense rather than realizing its importance and the symbiotic relationship each group has on the other. This is but one example but speaks significantly toward his decision to handle it like he would a Domino's promotion instead of embracing it as an integral role in establishing the traditions, each which play a significant role as it pertains to the subject matter of the book and how they all come together to set Michigan apart from all other programs.

He is not, immho, acting wisely by acting like a hip-hop mogul where his actions might produce the results such a person would be seeking, instead of taking that which is already on hand and prior to making any changes to the tradition associated with our brand, discussing need for change with the head of that department and if change is, indeed, warranted allow said leader to determine to what degree it should be changed while maintaining the very essence of what makes its existence such a vital role in the tradition associated with Michigan football and its uniqueness.

He should never, ever completely disregard these very important and separate entities that when grouped together complete the entirety that is our unmatched tradition, and that being, of course, the finest combination of academic and athletic excellence in the entire country.

When we are able to reestablish ourselves as such, only then will we enjoy what Bo liked to refer to as "The Privilege of Michigan."

Unsalted

October 10th, 2014 at 4:34 PM ^

Exellent point about Bo embracing all things Michigan to foster the tradition.

I don't have any ticket stubs (wish I kept them now) but I seem to remember student tickets were $7 in 1975, my freshman year, regular tickets being $28. You could also sell your student ticket to anyone, you did not need an ID to get in the stadium. This is how I got tickets for my parents when they came to visit.

Bo should appear to Brandon in a dream and give him a speech that ends....

"The Band, the Band, the Band!"

Mike420GoBlue

October 10th, 2014 at 7:11 PM ^

I worked with several M students that would sell their tickets and I enjoyed being in the section, even though I was never a student. When my ten year old daughter was born, I set up a saving acct and put 15% of my pay (direct deposit) and swore to her, and my entire family that she will go to The University Of Michigan. Not only for that experience but the places I've been, and people I've met from Michigan, that is who I want her to be.



HAIL!

soniktoothe

October 10th, 2014 at 6:39 PM ^

There is something to Michigan that is greater than the sum of its parts. I am not an alum and I haven't lived in Michigan since 1993. I took for granted the greatness of the football team. Since then my interest has grown into obsession because it isn't there for me to take for granted anymore. Brandon doesn't get Michigan and never will. He needs to find the next next company to saddle himself to as he rides it into oblivion and piles of money. I will have to check out that book along with a few others. I missed quite a bit.

Wolfman

October 10th, 2014 at 7:28 PM ^

That is the actual percentage of ticket price increase over the past four years.  Now imagine what this has cost non-student season ticket holders.

Wolfman

October 10th, 2014 at 8:03 PM ^

That is the actual percentage increase of the price of a ticket in the past four years alone. Now imagine what that does to the non-student season ticket holder with what can be described as good to great seats.

Roughly 8-9 years ago it cost me $54.00 for two aisle seats in Section 2, Row 38, seats 13 and 14. This was still not a bad price, imo, when the home slate featured a ND, OSU, with an MSU or PSU thrown in and a good ooc opponent prior to conference play. Without looking at map of stadium, they are basically on the 42 yard line, right next to the tunnel.

Then two things happened almost simultaneously, Michigan became the last Big 10 (at that time) school to enact the franchise fee. Those same two tickets that allowed me and a guest to watch the game for 600 for a 6 home game slate and 700 for a 7 game slate suddenly jumped to $2,000.00, a price I would have gladly paid had the economy remained stable and banks had remained regulated.

Without going into detail, the franchise fee was huge, coupled with a personal financial crisis that would have required financial negligence on my part to ride through that very difficult time.

I belonged to the rivals site at that time and instead of placing them for sale under tickets, I put them on the main board to ensure they would go to a fan that cared as much as I did, and they were gone to a nice, young couple from OH w/in ten minutes.

I was still working at that time and heavily invested in two ventures. Most of those setting beside me at the games were well into retirement or closely to so I imagine this had become part of their budget, but I think I can safely state not many of them saw the franchise fee coming. And they certainly didn't see a Brandon coming. I have no idea what those two tickets cost in 2014 due to the difference in student tickets and those sold to the public at large.

It hurt like hell to lose those two. They were great for entertaining prospective investors or an enjoyable date but mostly for fulfilling my childhood dream of enjoying great in stadium seats while watching my beloved wolverines. That was the part that really hurt the most.

I just can't imagine, given that 100% figure mentioned earlier how much thought was given by Brandon before making all these huge ticket prices, matched only by his seeming indifference and disregard for "Joe Citizen" while he was signing his name to the required documentation.

When a multi-millionaire begins seeing 110,000+ fans in the same financial light as himself, meaning that he believes fans will pay the same amount he would pay, something is seriously wrong. When he sees a fan that earns anywhere between 35 and 85K per year, many of whom are retired and simply don't have the disposable income to enjoy what should be their right after a lifetime of loyalty to one school, then it goes from wrong to total disregard for the same people that were responsible for wearing a Block M cap virtually anywhere in the U.S. and having the locals immediately think University of Michigan as they walked by one another. That, in itself, cannot be captured with the word impressive. It transcends that by oh so much.

And then to have an A.D. who, although one who didn't play except for 2 downs in the final 45 seconds of a game, but has rings on three fingers signifying Three Conference Crowns to understand all of the above and still make such egregious and uncaring decisions that would only satisfy one person, himself, and a large number of profiting companies and be all right with that would cause a surgeon or attorney to be sued for malpractice and come out on the losing end.

This man is a cancer on the program and must be removed because the effects of the disease are malignant the moment he makes them. Just sneak off into that good night sir and we'll try to make do without you.

MonkeyMan

October 11th, 2014 at 12:06 AM ^

My heart is in the same place as the posters who have commented thus far about this article- I wish that college football and UM were left alone from all the aggressive marketing strategies and some respect for tradition were allowed.

Unfortunately my mind tells me Brandon and his type will win out in the end and that UM will turn into nothing more than a product similar to bath and body oil. 

While many here know the traditions and value the traditions, many more do not and will never care- and many of these people will spend more money than the traditionalists.

UM is a brand and will be auctioned off bit by bit to other businesses. The fans will accept this for the most part as just about every aspect of US life today has been commericalized beyond recognition. 

Also, UM football will mainly be the province of the middle and upper classes- the lower income and working classes will be priced out of the stadium and into cable TV and paying higher rates for Big Ten TV- eventually many will be priced out altogether.

Its a state run university but the AD is becomming more corporate every day- and how can it not be with millions spent on coaches? People can't have it both ways.

 

M-Dog

October 11th, 2014 at 12:18 AM ^

A very Brandon quote from another article, written in March, that was linked to this one:

"Brandon, however, notes that even in times of drought, fans have continued to flock to Michigan Stadium, which on fall Saturdays "becomes one of the largest cities in Michigan," and he thinks they always will."
 
His attitude was that the B1G House could absorb whatever price increases he piled on it. How's that working out for 'ya, Dave?