Moving Spring Game Back
Why not move the spring game to the last weekend in April where we might experience better weather and a better turnout. The last two years we have had miserable weather which has led to no better than 35000 to come out for the game. With better weather I'm willing to bet we can get 60000 people.
Because that is graduation weekend. The week before is finals week. Hence it is where it is every year, and is not changing.
If you wait until the end of April, won't you also lose a lot of students who will have finished for the semester and will have left Ann Arbor?
Including the student-athletes on the football team.
If it was not, why even make it public? It is an awesome recruitment tool, a great tool to get fans and alumni excited about the season and thinking about donating to both Mott and the University. Very little about this game is actually coaching kids. They have much better ways to coach the kids if that was the primary goal.
You're absolutely right, vablue. The Spring Game is totally about the fans and not the student athletes.
Say, why don't we have the game the Saturday before all of our players take their first finals? That way the weather will be nice and more fans will be able to come! Who cares if some of our players are ineligible next year because they failed their Psych exams?
Just pointing out some realities involved with this event. Obviously the academic side has to be considered for the schedule. Although one could argue that we are talking about one event on a Saturday, but the timing of that event certainly affects when the practices preceeding this game take place.
Either way, this event is all about getting out fan support, having a great event that is good for recruiting and selling your program, and hopefully getting the players a couple of game like reps. It looks to me like they scrimmage quite often in normal practice, so there really is no additional advantage to the coaching staff by holding this event in terms of practice reps.
Is the weather really any worse than October or November afternoons. Has anyone ever heard of football weather?
the last couple of years. I little cold maybe but at least their wasn't any rain. It's still a great time rain or shine.
In order for the Spring Game to be that late, spring practices would probably need to start later, which means practicing during finals.
Sounds like there are logistics issues, but I wish it were later too.
I live in Virginia, and I was going to take my 4 and 6 year old girls on their first visit to Michigan stadium for the spring game last year.
Unfortunately, it was cold and wet so we spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa instead.
Didnt rain at all during the game but tailgating the forcast was scary
Why dont we get a playoff system ?
Why not just control the weather?
Why don't they move the spring game to different states each year so fans and alums in other states can watch it in person! Think of that as a recruiting tool! /S
Having the spring game in Ohio is a good start….
It would change the tide on the recruiting.
Umm with the way things are going do we really want to change the tide?
I thought jersey sales have changed the tide of recruiting there already.... or so i been told
I think Hoke has changed the tide on the rivalry. Hell people in Ohio are starting to believe him. Never in a million years I would have thought that. Selling Michigan jerseys is a good start.
....for the Spring Game at the end of April...
lot warmer, and the ice won't be as hard when the players fall down.
College yo.
Spring night game anyone?
I think people disagree with you.
(way too early) forecast for saturday: partly cloudy, high of 60 degrees. Sounds fine to me.
didn't know that graduation was that week It would definitely help recruiting though to get more than a quarter of your stadium filled
Way too drunk to moderate this shit. Truth be told, I'm too drunk to walk straight. In the meantime, the voters have spoken, and your idea has been rejected.
What exactly is there to be rejected? All i said that having nicer weather for the spring game would help the turnout for the game which recruits pay attention to. I didn't realize graduation was that week, but if school was still in session it would be a home run.
Again, too drunk to process information... but as a lifelong Michigander, the idea that waiting an extra week in April guarantees better weather, let alone 70%-attendance-increase better weather, is dubious ceteris paribus. Fold in graduation (and the many, many downvotes), and it seems people disapprove of your idea.
Not saying it was a terrible notion. Just saying that the thing that you are selling is not... well... selling.
Why not have the Spring game and graduation on the same day in The Big House? Graduation could be at half time. That would increase attendance for both. /s
Running backs have to weave through the entire graduating class, senior students don't get their sheep skin until they make a tackle.
Sounds like a win-win if there ever was one.
Well we had about 55K in 2009 with nice weather and 35K with bad weather so there is a correlation, but you're right that there's no evidence that the weather will be better at the end of April rather than the middle of it but on average you will have better days closer to May.
Do you remember how many fans showed up for the the 2007 spring game? Less than 5000 and that was pretty typical. If you remember 2009, then you should also remember that RR said he wanted to break the spring game attendance record. The athletic department ran a bunch of promotions designed to do just that and fans were excited to see Tate Forcier in action for the first time.
Good weather doesn't hurt, but it's by no means the main factor to correlate with attendance. Promoting a "Denard vs Devin game" would draw more fans than the planned scrimmage plus guaranteed good weather. Bringing in players from ours and Nebraska's '97 teams to play a flag football game would fill the house regardless of the weather.
You'd think a spring game after classes end would hurt the recruiting environment. Especially with the electricity that the UM students themselves bring to the sporting events
with the weather being two weeks cooler, we find out who the REAL fans are.