The Payoff Pitch

This picture is totally unrealted to the subject.


While college sports are rarely money makers they are attention getters and a recent study has partly confirmed the mythical "Flutie Effect". As any marketer will tell you brand awareness is important to selling your product.


Article--Schools score big when sports teams win

Plenty of Room in the Back

St. Petersburg in December? Click here to learn more!

Talk to both people that have been to a Devil Ray's game and you hear that the green velvet turf looks as bad in person as on television (see Red Sox or Yankee fan for their opinion). Now to the same venue will come the TBD Bowl from St. Petersburg, Florida. This game will pit a team from the Big East against a member of C-USA and is the creation of the fine folks at Disney Sports, "... ESPN. The network’s other bowls: Las Vegas, Hawaii, Armed Forces, Papajohns.com and New Mexico." Or the WeHaveAHoleInOurCalendar.com Bowl and this will pull enough ratings to justify the expense. On the positive side it is in the east (better for Big East and 1/3 of CUSA fans) and is in a warm weather city. December 21 is a Sunday so this game should be the counter programming to the NBC NFL game.

An interesting quote form the article about prior Tampa are bowls, "... the defunct Cigar Bowl, held in Tampa from 1947 to 1954." How does Blunt Bowl sound?

Ticket Roulette 2008 Preview #1

College Football writers spend much of the early spring looking for stories and in some cases need to get creative. Spring Preview 2008 The 20 Big Questions By Pete Fiutak http://cfn.scout.com/2/732508.html is a case in point where he asks questions to fill the void one of which was the top 40 non-conference games. Based on that list here are the cheapest tickets for each of the games according to StubHub (with one exception).


10. Kansas at South Florida, Sept. 13
Section:Lower Level Sideline 133 Row:M Price: $95.00 each
High prices and high expectations in Tampa. These aren't the usual endzone specials just the lowest price being offered at this date.

9. Tennessee at UCLA, Sept. 6
Section: Bruin Reserved 22 Row:17 Price:$55.00 each
Knoxville to LA is a long trip. By comparison Fresno State tickets are $44 while USC tickets are $158.

8. Florida at Florida State, Nov. 29
Section: Sideline 2 7Row: 53 Price:$244.99 each
Cashing in on the rivalry game. There are two seats in the student section selling for $299.00.

7. Georgia Tech at Georgia, Nov. 29
Section:
Upper Level Sideline 611Row:49 Price: $250.00 each
Not the most expensive game on the schedule...Bama tickets will run you $365.

6. Miami at Florida, Sept. 6
Section: Upper Level Row: TBD Price:$299.00 each
Confirmed corner endzone seats are $350.

5. Alabama vs. Clemson (in Atlanta), Aug. 30
Section:Upper End Zone 309 Row:25 Price: $190.00 each
A suite at the game will run you $29,413.00.

4. Georgia at Arizona State, Sept. 20
Section: Upper End Zone 222 Row: 11 Price: $87.00 each
A bargain for Dawgs fans. Airfair to Arizonia with the tickets could be less than going to a home game in Athens. As for ASU ticket holders, time to cash in.

3. Auburn at West Virginia, Oct. 13
Section:Lower Level Family Fun Zone 134 Row: 43 Price: $182.00 each
Does Thursday Night hurt the ticket price.

2. Illinois vs. Missouri (in St. Louis), Aug. 30
Four tickets on eBay for $399.00 No listing on StubHub

1. Ohio State at USC, Sept. 13
Section:End Zone 16 Row: 89 Price: $314.99 each
We have a winner. The money agrees with Mr. Fiutak.

Pitch Left

Last November Mother Jones ran a typical article critical of college football taking the expected view of the negatives: Title IX, money diverted from education, and corruption of the academic mission of the college. The is little new here but it is a good read for the average college football fan not only to know what opponents are saying but as the picture that does not flatter you--think Oprah sans lighting and make up.

A couple of factual issues: (these really jumped out)

Columbia plays in the Ivy League with no athletic scholarships and is very different from the typical D1 school.

Army and Navy do not play football in the Patriot League.

As for the title: The Quagmire of College Football,trying not to get political, the term quagmire harkens back to the lefts view of Vietnam and, while college football is a double edged sword, this label is not appropriate.