Ticket Mania 1

Thursday, Sep 2, 2010
Pittsburgh at Utah
Section Redzone N 28 Row 44
$45.00 per ticket

Towson at Indiana
Section Lower Sideline 3 Row 25
$4.00 per ticket

Saturday, Sep 4, 2010
Sam Houston State at Baylor
Section Sideline Q Row 33
$2.94 per ticket

Coastal Carolina at West Virginia Football
Lower Level Green Zone 134 Row 34
$43.00 per ticket

Purdue at Notre Dame
Section Upper Level Corner 106 Row 22
$90.00 per ticket

Washington at BYU
Section Upper End Zone 123 Row 32
$40.00 per ticket

Sacramento State at Stanford
Section Upper Corner 207 Row H
$6.00 per ticket

San Jose State at Alabama
Section NN 4 Row 27
$56.00 per ticket

Connecticut at Michigan
Section End Zone 11R Row 75
$55.00 per ticket

Sunday Sep 5, 2010
Tulsa at East Carolina
Section Upper Sideline 219 Row K
$30.00 per ticket

Monday, Sep 6, 2010
Boise State vs. Virginia Tech
Section Upper 437 Row 23
$35.00 per ticket

Big Ten Conference Game of the Week

Conference game of the week--mark your calendars now.
Rules: Every team must make the list at least once
Guideline: The most important game is not always the most interesting



Saturday, September 5
Illinois vs. Missouri (St. Louis)
Nuetral site game, strong OOC match up and refreshing diversion form the cupcake dominated slate of games.


Saturday, September 12
Air Force at Minnesota
New stadium trumps the more important games:Iowa at Iowa State, Notre Dame at Michigan, USC at Ohio State, Syracuse at Penn State, Purdue at Oregon, or Fresno State at Wisconsin

Saturday, September 19
Arizona at Iowa
One of the few Big/Pac 10 match ups.

Saturday, September 26
Notre Dame at Purdue
The Boilermakers always play tough before the Irish prevail.

Saturday, October 3
Michigan at Michigan State
The Spartans last had consecutive wins against the Wolverines in 1965, 1966, 1967.

Saturday, October 10
Purdue at Minnesota
Scrambling for a Insight or Motor City appearance.

Saturday, October 17
Delaware State at Michigan
Not Delaware, Delaware State from the MEAC. This way be the worst match up up the year.

Saturday, October 24
Minnesota at Ohio State
Can the Gophers make a move in the conference.

Saturday, October 31
New Mexico State at Ohio State
Almost like a practice.How many zeros on that check?

Saturday, November 7
Ohio State at Penn State
Who will be smelling roses will be on the line.

Saturday, November 14
Indiana at Penn State
Hangover for the Lions?

Saturday, November 21
Wisconsin at Northwestern
The Badger are playing a conference on rivalry weekend

Saturday, November 28
Illinois at Cincinnati
Winner by default

Saturday, December 5
Wisconsin at Hawaii
Much better than than staying in Madison in December.

Connected to the Dollars

James Burke is know for his late 1970's show called Connections in which he shows how unrelated events come together for something entirely new. Think about the multitude of different technologies that went into the first automobiles--just the marriage of refining oil into gasoline and metal casting for the modern internal combustion engine is a miracle.



Our story will start in fall of 1966 with the debut of both Star Trek showing how advance technology would change the world and Joe Paterno who would show how a guy from Brooklyn could change college football. James T. Kirk when facing a dilemma would consult either the very local Mr. Spook or the mechanical female voice of the computer. Captain Kirk would then ignore good sound advice, doing something rash, make out with a green (1960’s) space babe, and come out smelling like a rose. Coach Paterno has also been know to act rashly with a variety of smells as a result. Just this week Joe was quoted as saying, "I've tried to talk to the Big Ten people about, 'Let's get a 12th team -- Syracuse, Rutgers, Pitt -- we could have a little bit of a playoff.'" http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4118848



Spike TV started in 1983 as The Nashville Network, morphing into The National Network before becoming testosterone focused channel it is today. Other organizations evolve overtime in an attempt to stay relevant; the March of Dime now devoted to preventing birth defect began life with the task of curing polio repurposing itself to stay alive. The Big Ten and the Big Ten Network will need to keep evolving in the constantly changing environment of college sports.



This blog recognized early the potential power of the Big Ten Network and the change that this could bring to the college football landscape. While Joe was looking at the practical idea of a championship game, the more profitable plan would be to add the right team to the Big Ten to boost the dollars beyond what the SEC is currently raking in. Paterno looked to his past a rashly suggested three east coast teams two of which could add the populace New York City metro TV market to the BTN footprint (and the associated dollars). Mr. Spock would look at the numbers and look to push BTN national in one fell swoop by taking another run at adding Notre Dame to the Big Ten.



South Bend, the home to Studebaker (the late car maker) and Notre Dame is the final piece to our puzzle. Those that say, “Notre Dame will never join a conference.” might be the same that said, “GM will never file for bankruptcy.” With the NBC contract running out in 2015 and the range into at which schedules are made BTN might want to be looking that far into the future and make a rash Kirk like move. In one move BTN could transform itself and the college football landscape.

Watch your Wallet

With the Big Ten Network now cutting big checks to memeber institutions look for others to beat a path to this free money.

Want to hear a blood curdling scream? Want until at Gator or Dawg fans has to pay for the ACC Channel.

The BTN had its first profitable quarter, which ended at the conclusion of the last year, and has plans to expand in a variety of areas with more Internet streaming of sports such as women's basketball and baseball.

That means more money for the Big Ten, which already received a $70 million -- and growing -- rights fee from Fox, partial owners of the Big Ten Network, and has a profit-sharing arrangement with the schools in the conference.

Tickets Galore Week #1

And some say there is nothing on TV.

Week #1 of Tickets Galore 2008, where BCF looks at the StubHub.com prices for select games. Listed is the lowest price for tickets with the requirement that there be at least two at that price. Also auctions will not be listed although they do give the best

Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn Football Tickets
Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 6:00 PM at Jordan Hare Stadium in Auburn, AL
Upper Deck Sideline sec. 59 $23.00 each
Corner endzone. Expected a higher price

Fresno State at Rutgers Football Tickets
Monday, September 1, 2008 at 4:30 PM at Rutgers Stadium - NJ in Piscataway, NJ
Upper Deck Sideline 218 $45.00 each
What would be the price have been five years ago?

Utah at Michigan Football Tickets
Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 1:00 PM at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, MI
End Zone 8 82 2 $43.00 each
ESPN will be all over this one but the Wolverine faithful?

USC at Virginia Football Tickets
Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 3:30 PM at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, VA
Upper Corner 527 $55.00 each
Plenty of good seats for the UVA Richmond game the following Saturdaystarting at $1.99

Wake Forest at Baylor Football Tickets
Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 7:00 PM at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, TX
Sideline sec. H $20.00 each
Look like pretty good seats to one of the more interesting opening weekend games

Northern Illinois at Minnesota Football Tickets
Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 6:00 PM at Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN
Upper End Zone 219 $6.99 each

Northern Iowa at BYU Football Tickets
Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 4:00 PM at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, UT
Sec 127 $14.00 each
And two weeks later seats in section 128 will cost you $58.00

Stephen F Austin at TCU Football Tickets
Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 6:00 PM at Amon G Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, TX
Lower Sideline sec. A $24.00 each
Firm price for a non-BCS school v. a 1AA school.

Virginia Tech vs East Carolina Football Tickets
Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Upper End Zone 527 21 2 $32.23 each
Note this game is being played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC

Tennessee at UCLA Football Tickets
Monday, September 1, 2008 at 5:00 PM at Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA
Bruin Reserved 13 $25.00 each
Seats in row 77; may be the rim of the bowl.

Georgia Southern at Georgia Football Tickets
Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 1:00 PM at Sanford Stadium in Athens, GA
Upper Level Sideline 326 $109.00 each
The new Uga is frothing at the mouth for the season to start.

Youngstown State at Ohio State Football Tickets
Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 1:00 PM at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH
End Zone 14 $149.99 each
Why yes the game will be on BTN.

Coastal Carolina at Penn State Football Tickets
Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 1:00 PM at Beaver Stadium in University Park, PA
Upper Level End Zone NHU $35.00 each
If it is a nice day, why not take in the game.

San Diego State at Notre Dame Football Tickets
Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 3:30 PM at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, IN
Upper Level Corner 133 $100.00 each
See ND on the way the being 1/3 the team they were last year. SDU is a D1 school but may not be much better than YSU

Appalachian State at LSU Football Tickets
Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 5:00 PM at Tiger Stadium - Baton Rouge in Baton Rouge, LA
West Upper 619 $85.00 each
Lighting never strike the same place twice.

Kentucky at Louisville Football Tickets
Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 3:30 PM at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, KY
Upper End Zone 219 $123.75 each
For two teams of which little is expected much is asked for a ticket.

Learn From Others

The new money for college football and college sports will be the biggest factor in shaping the future. As this blog says right up front, “Follow the money”. Right now with the Big Ten already with their own network and the SEC looking into the possibility of taking the plunge wring more out of your total portfolio looks like the major driving force for the future. That said, there are several factors that need to be looked at before assuming that having your own network is the new gold mine.

FCC tackles NFL Network on new rules—the fate of the money making sports channel may be decided in a Washington DC office where the channels and the carriers are lock horns on where you get placed on the dial. Anyone wanting to step into this business needs the think long and hard about the fact that the powerful uber-sports brand called the National Football League has not found the going easy in getting themselves on the basic/extended tier and are grouped with the Fox Soccer channel in the sports tier ghetto. The NFL has invested heavily here by holding back games that would only be seen on the NFL Channel (and the problem caused with the Patriots v. Giants game late in 2007) but even the lure of the occasional regular season game has not delivered the gold. How the FCC handles this question will have a significant bearing on the future these new sports channels.

Often, you can get yourself into trouble by getting into a business that is not your core competency. The Big Ten knows little about broadcasting or cable yet are up to there eyeballs in trying to sell their channel. Both the Big Ten and NFL have such confidence in the strength of their brands that they cannot fathom the reasons for lack of quick success. Fox News, started slowly and cheaply, only looking for big bucks (about $1 per subscriber according to the Wall Street Journal) after they had established a an audience.

While the SEC considers an entry into the cable content business they should carefully consider two points:

1. Are we in the college sports business or a media company?
2. Is our brand more powerful than the NFL?

If they are honest the only conclusion should be to make a deal with CBS to keep their exclusive network position with CBS College Sports as the overflow for the lesser football games and use the SEC olympic sports as the major filler for this channel. The SEC gets a check while CBS can push distribution of their channel. CBS College Sports becomes an ad hoc SEC channel. CBS is a media company with expertise in distributing content while the SEC can put their energy into creating content.

Big Ten 2008 Game of the Week

Game of the week rules: looking for the most intriguing (not always the most important) game, home conference games only, every team must appear at least once.



Saturday, August 30
Utah at Michigan
Is Michigan ready to play under the new coach? Will the smell of blood be too much of a distraction to the Utes?
Syracuse at Northwestern
6-6 can get you to a bowl game. Both these times need this game to see the post season.

Saturday, September 6
FIU at Iowa
How much have the off season problems hurt the Hawkeyes? If FIU wins can this be their claim to fame?

Saturday, September 13
Ohio State at USC
This needs no explanation. The only question what does the loser do?

Iowa State at Iowa
Classic rivalry game and while Buckeyes v. Trojans may be the main course do not overlook the appetizer.

Saturday, September 20
Notre Dame at Michigan State
Mark Dantonio’s chance to impress the alumni at home.

Saturday, September 27
Illinois at Penn State
The Illini go on the road to visit Joe Pa. An early season game that is critical for success of Zook and a possible BSC bid for the second straight year.

Saturday, October 4
Ohio State at Wisconsin
Big Ten preseason #2 has preseason #1. Will OSU being looking at a path to the MNC game or being looking for Roses.

Saturday, October 11
Iowa at Indiana
The Hoosiers are not looking for Roses but a bowl game will require a win here.

Saturday, October 18
Purdue at Northwestern
The BTN game of the week! Will anyone outside the devout fans for each of these teams do more than read the score at the bottom of the screen? Will the viewer remember the score three minutes later?

Saturday, October 25
Illinois at Wisconsin
Michigan State at Michigan

Saturday, November 1
Central Michigan at Indiana
The MAC has had teams that flirted with establishing themselves as true contenders but these the status was short lived. Indiana is not top BCS team by any measure a MAC school needs to take it where they can get it.

Saturday, November 8
Western Michigan vs. Illinois (in Detroit)
The Broncos are not the Chippewa’s but the over/under on the attendance is an interesting bet for the neutral site game.

Saturday, November 15
Ohio State at Illinois
Upset special. The only question is who will be the favorite.

Saturday, November 22
Michigan at Ohio State
Can the Wolverines make this game interesting?
Cal Poly at Wisconsin
Cupcakes in November?

BTN Schedule: Set the DVR to Stun

In May what will the BTN be bring the the lucky few that will be charged a dime and for in the Big Ten 'FOOT PRINT' states see what you traded a trip to Golen Arch's dollar menu to enjoy?

Please click on the title of this post in order to be taken to the current BTN schedule so you can plan you life around these fine offerings.



Thursday, May 08, 2008

1:00AM ET Big Ten Tonight (HD)
A.M. = Morning (not night)

1:30AM ET Big Ten Tonight: All Access (HD)
The bloopers that were taken out of the 1:00AM ET Big Ten Tonight

2:00AM ET Big Ten Tonight: Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Recap

2:30AM ET Big Ten Tonight: Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Recap
If you do not know now do you really care?

3:00AM ET The Big Ten's Greatest Games - Football: 2007 Motor City Bowl: Purdue vs. Central Michigan (HD)
For those that find CSPAN too entertaining.

6:00AM ET Big Ten Men's Tennis '08: Big Ten Championships (HD)

8:00AM ET Big Ten Tonight (HD)
Last night?

8:30AM ET Big Ten Tonight: All Access (HD)

9:00AM ET Big Ten Tonight (HD)
Repeating is good. Repeating is good. Repeating is good. Repeating is good. Repeating is good. Repeating is good. Repeating is good. Repeating is good. Repeating is good. Repeating is good. Repeating is good. Repeating is good.

9:30AM ET Big Ten Tonight: All Access (HD)

10:00AM ET Big Ten Men's Tennis '08: Big Ten Championships (HD)

12:00PM ET The Big Ten's Greatest Games - Football: 2007 - Michigan at Michigan State (HD)
Yes, Greatest

2:00PM ET The Big Ten's Greatest Games - Football: 2007 - Purdue at Indiana (HD)
Yes, Greatest...too

4:00PM ET Northwestern Campus Programming: News at Northwestern 3

5:00PM ET Ohio State Campus Programming: iMix - University Mixed Media 3

5:30PM ET Purdue Campus Programming: Purdue Pride 2 (HD)

6:00PM ET Big Ten Tonight: Top Ten Men's Basketball Games of the Year
In 30 minutes or less

6:30PM ET Big Ten Tonight: Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Recap

7:00PM ET Big Ten Short Stories: Best of Short Stories
Tonight: Green Eggs and Ham

7:30PM ET Big Ten Tonight: All Access (HD)

8:00PM ET Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field: Illinois Twilight (HD)
Live or Memorex?

10:00PM ET Big Ten Tonight: All Access (HD)

10:30PM ET Big Ten Tonight (HD)
And tomorrow morning.

11:00PM ET Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field: Illinois Twilight (HD)
Memorex!

Come on Comcast how can you deny your viewers quality content like this?

Sorry McDonald's the dollar is looking weak.

Plinko

...the launching of the much-ballyhooed Big Ten Network proved disastrous.While the launch has been less than the triumph that Jim Delany would have wanted the plodding BTN might yet find its way into you house and extract money from your wallet.. BTN is like the guy from Monty Python and the Holy Grail that wasn't dead yet and any cheering at the death of this cash grab is best done when it is six feet under.

Apparently BTN and Comcast are still talking trying to find a way they can both profit handsomely from selling you a few 2nd or 3rd rate football games, meaningless regular season basketball and content on par with ESPN2 billards coverage.

"So when Silverman says the BTN has addressed Comcast's concerns, you can be sure it has dropped considerably from its initial asking price of $1.10 per subscriber." Not that Comcast really opjects to adding $1.10 to the cable bill, they just want a cut of the loot.

Ending...too cynical...too close to the truth. Looking for that happy place.

Great Question for BTN from Patrick Henry's Ghost

Where does the UW get off, he asks, entering into agreements that deny these Wisconsin citizens access to sporting events featuring their own tax-supported university?

Great opinion piece that falls short of suggesting that the citizen of Wisconsin should consider reducing support to UM by the amount of income from the BTN deal.

"Give me free broadcasts of the game or give me my money back."

Give them a reason to buy

Rarely can you find a position enjoyed by the likes of Under Armour or Apple (iPod) where people see value in your product well beyond the actual value. Under Armour (UA) has a shirt made in China using the same material that anyone else can use and sell it for a premium price. Just guessing here but the shirt costs about $1 to produce and ship to the retailer were UA sells is the retailer for $15 for a $30 retail. Nice business if you can get away with it. Apple is reportedly making $18 per month on iPhone user because they have the "IT" factor that allows them to demand a premium margin.

Both found willing partners to help them in promoting and profiting themselves in the process. The average sporting goods retail welcomes the addition of a line that promises both wide margins and fast turns. AT&T was looking for a way to increase the utilization of their network and drive down the average cost with the added benefit of driving huge awareness of their other products with little or no additional costs.

So, what does this have to do with college football? Both of these show smarts businesses working with the distribution channel to deliver their product with value (real or perceived) to the consumer. In Note to N.F.L.: High Prices Cut Demand Joe Nocera discusses the struggles that the NFL has had with its cable channel and not cashing in the way they had expected. The NFL Network and Big Ten Network overestimated the value of their brand and failed to realize that they had to work with the channel members to reach the consumer. Proctor & Gamble while it has tremendous brands like Tide or Bounty cannot go into Wal Mart and dictate the terms for the delivery of a new product.

There's an old story of a salesman sitting in front of a grocery chains buyer and insisting that his new item carry a particular retail price. The buyer grabs a pen, searches the fact sheet for the delivered unit price and crosses out the number writing in a figure rough half of that given. The proposal is then flung back at the bewildered salesman with the buyer saying assertively, "Here's your new selling price."

"Uh,...No!", the salesman responses with indignation.

Gruffly the buyer snorts, "You don't tell me and I won't tell you what to charge."

The lesson of the story is that you cannot dectate terms to other parties that you deal with without expecting some push back. Both the Big Ten and NFL clearly overvalued the product they are offering banking on the tremendous power that their respective brands have. This strength made them both blind to the weakness of the product (lack of quality content) being offered and resulting lack of value that could justify a premium price. Further, they did not consider the cable operators in the process by adding value for them.

Ticket Roulette Week #4

Georgia at Alabama Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL $188
Saban is paying off?

Illinois State at Missouri Faurot Field (Memorial Stadium) in Columbia, MO $35
Cheapest ticket of remaining games

Marshall at Cincinnati Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, OH $13
Still no love in the Queen City.

Memphis at Central Florida Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando, FL
No tickets for sale.

William and Mary at Virginia Tech Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, VA $75
Expensive for a 1AA game.

Purdue at Minnesota Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN $24
Only on the BTN?

Colorado State at Houston Robertson Stadium in Houston, TX $44
Only two tickets for sale in sec. 112 which is not on the map provided.

New Mexico State at Auburn Jordan Hare Stadium in Auburn, AL $14
DEFLATION?

Washington at UCLA Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA $5
And Gold sec. 18 row 32 Up to 4 at $56.00 which look to be pretty good seats.

Quick Notes

Much has been written about the downside of the opening season cupcake/bodybag game but as Eunice Kim of the Statesman Journal points out happy fans and better track may be one og the benefits. The question this raises is, “How was the traffic in Ann Arbor after the Appy State game?”

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The drought is over for the Duke Blue Devils as they defeated Northwestern 20 to 14 in this highly ignored game. Although the BCF requested that this be the prime time game of the week this game went largely unnoticed. Only those with BTN got to see this game.

Sep. 15 Duke v. Northwestern University
The bottom of the ACC v. near bottom of the Big 10? Come on ESPN throw us a bone and broadcast this one; look for that angle to create a real soap opera with this game.

Coming Up On BTN

Two notes:
1. Women's Sports are given there due!

2. See the UM loss with your breakfast.

Friday, September 07, 2007
12:00AM - 1:00AM ET Big Ten Tonight
1:00AM - 4:00AM ET Big Ten Football '07: Youngstown State at Ohio State
1:00AM - 1:30AM ET Big Ten Extra Points

1:00AM - 2:30AM ET Big Ten Women's Show

2:00AM - 3:00AM ET Coachs' Q & A
3:00AM - 4:00AM ET Big Ten Tonight

4:00AM - 7:00AM ET Big Ten Football '07: Appalachian State at Michigan

6:00AM - 7:00AM ET Big Ten Tonight
7:00AM - 8:00AM ET Big Ten Tonight
8:00AM - 9:00AM ET Big Ten Tonight
9:00AM - 10:00AM ET Big Ten Tonight

10:00AM - 11:00AM ET Big Ten Women's Show

10:00AM - 11:00AM ET Big Ten Extra Points
11:00AM - 12:00AM ET Coachs' Q & A
12:00AM - 12:30AM ET Mark Dantonio: One on One '07
12:00AM - 1:00PM ET Purdue: Joe Tiller Show '07
4:00PM - 5:00PM ET Coachs' Q & A
5:00PM - 5:30PM ET Mark Dantonio: One on One '07
5:00PM - 6:00PM ET Purdue: Joe Tiller Show '07
6:00PM - 8:00PM ET The Big Ten's Greatest Games: 1999 - Minnesota at Penn
8:00PM - 10:00PM ET Friday Night Tailgate
10:00PM - 11:00PM ET Big Ten Tonight
11:00PM - 1:00AM ET Friday Night Tailgate

Better than the Home Shopping channel.

Karma or Arrogance

Back in May Michigan AD discussed playing the early season cupcake/bodybag game and came across as slightly arrogant like the spoiled rich guy at the country club. Now we have reached the part of our movie where the young up and comer (nerdy but lovable) swamps his boat in the big yatch race and gets the girl. The only problem is in real life Appy State becomes the footnote and while Michigan is embarrassed for awhile they are still in the elite club that looks down there noses at those others.

Voices In My Head from May 2007

You know that voice that Hollywood would use for that rich spoiled man discussing how things are going at the yacht club and how wonderful those dinner parties are that Muffy throws after the polo game are (a clinched jaw helps). Use that voice while reading:

Martin repeated his scheduling philosophy, stating that Michigan will not sign a two-for-one contract -- offering a game at a small stadium -- under his watch.

"It's very difficult to leave the largest stadium in the country to go play in a 30 or 40,000-seat stadium," he said. ( U-M athletic director Bill Martin)

Perhaps the Wolverines would like the more intimate feel of the small of venue and connect with the fan.

One needs to question Mike O'Brien about accepting a mere $500,000 for their trip to The Big and Arrogant House as SEC teams are willing to pay much more for a win.

One more quote, "Yet Martin said he could envision facing a smaller school at a professional stadium, such as the Meadowlands just outside New York City." Is this a message or just a fleeting idea. Would a MAC team make the trip to Gotham for the chance to play the might UM? Would Michigan football sell in the Big Apple?

Hit and Run Comments:
Has anyone bought the movie rights yet?

UM paid $400,000 next time they might be willing to pay more for the bag to contain a dead body.

Appalachian State cannot be part of the Top 25 but it would raise an interesting question should Michigan run the table in the Big Ten.

Conspiracy theory: This was just one big promotional stunt for the great game that will only be seen on the Big Ten Network.

Caddyshack Quotes

Attendence Week #1

Top 5
Idaho @ 1 USC
Attendance: 90,917

2 LSU @ Mississippi State
Attendance: 50,112

Western Michgan @ 3 West Virginia
Attendance: 60,563

Arkansas State @ 4 Texas
Attendance: 84,440

Appalichin State @ 5 Michgan
Attendance: 109,218
More in attendence or watching on BTN?

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Others of interest

Connecticut @ Duke
Attendance: 17,251
So no one was there to see #13

Virginia (0-1) @ Wyoming
Attendance: 31,620

Wake Forest (0-1) @ Boston College
Attendance: 42,292

Miami (OH) @ Ball State
Attendance: 15,488

Navy @ Temple
Attendance: 30,368
Two words--Shore leave

14 UCLA @ Stanford
Attendance: 38,860

Eastern Michigan @ Pittsburgh
Attendance: 36,183

Army @ Akron
Attendance: 17,865

Washington @ Syracuse
Attendance: 40,329
39,000 hearts breaking

Richmond @ Vanderbilt
Attendance: 32,215

Missouri @ Illinois (St. Louis)
Attendance: 62,352
Success of the neutral site games

Louisiana-Lafayette @ South Carolina
Attendance: 78,234


Mystery Stadium

Help, Help I'm Being Represented

“I am from the government and I am here to help.” Some of the most frightening words in the English language and Dave Crooks State Representative District 63 is the man to fear. He has written a letter to Susan Macey at Indiana Utility Consumer Counselor looking for mediation of the current Big Ten Network v. cable company (Comcast) impasse.

The letter as a Word document can be downloaded but here is the content.

As the Chairman of the House Commerce, Energy and Utilities Committee, I have been watching with great interest the public debate that is taking place between the Big Ten Network and Comcast regarding the manner the network is carried. Comcast appears to be the major cable provider in the Hoosier state that could set the trend for others. It is my understanding cable companies throughout the state such as Charter and Insight, who serve areas like mine, are awaiting the result of the current negotiations to decide whether to carry the network or not. The purpose of this letter is not to side with one entity or the other in this negotiation process but to ask for your assistance in jump starting what seems to be an impasse on an issue that is important to Indiana.

As you are aware, I was a strong opponent of the Telecommunications Reform Act of 2006. My opposition was based on my belief that consumers, especially consumers in rural districts like mine, would be left with little in the form of safeguards when competition in the telecommunications industry is slow to regulate itself. Proponents of the Act touted it as a mechanism that would result in more access to all things in the communications and cable industries. The impasse between the Big Ten Network and Comcast is causing exactly the opposite, and the result will be unhappy consumers.

Again, I do not have a position as what the price should be for the network or how the cable companies in Indiana choose to distribute it. I do, however, feel strongly that my constituents want to see Indiana University and Purdue University sports. I am also aware of your background as a mediator/arbitrator and I believe your current position and your background make you the perfect state official to prevent Indiana consumers from having to miss their favorite college sports team by getting the appropriate parties to the table for discussion.

Please let me know what I can do to help and let me know as soon as possible what you can do to encourage a solution that will protect Indiana consumers.

Sincerely,

Dave Crooks

From Indystar.com

He said he got a call back from Macey Wednesday.

"She said she had no statutory authority to be involved in this," Crooks said.

So we are safe for now saved by an offical not in a hurry to expand on their authority.

College Business News

For all those CAA -- Colonial Athletic Association fans Comcast will have your football needs covered with CN8, Comcast Sports Net and on demand tape replays. Those with Comcast can watch a college game on those nights ESPN does not have a game on.

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"We can negotiate almost anything," Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said in a meeting with The Capital Times on Thursday. "The only thing we can't negotiate is (placement). This network will not be on a (digital) sports tier. Our goal is to bring our network to as many fans as possible."

How about price? Hey Charter offer BTN 25 cents per subscriber for the next ten years as the price for being on basic cable.

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NFL Network Expanding Beyond Pro Football to College, Preps
”The NFL Network can be seen in 44 million of the 97 million U.S. households with cable, according to Nielsen Media Research. It is available on basic cable, the industry’s lowest- cost package, in 35 million of the 44 million households, according to a league spokesman.”
Does this take into account Comcast’s recent move to put Channel NFL as part of the premium package? And does this new programming mean they will show fewer NFL Cheerleader profiles?

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Mark your calendars! For Mars Hills College football.
Mars Hill College football game to be nationally televised

There are nice photographs of the football stadium construction.

Learn more about this college here.

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Sun Belt football keeps getting hotter
Conference still making strides against others
Maybe the Sunbelt Conference should be given more credit than merely just as cupcake games for BCS schools. Remembering to be respectful of the youth of these programs in D1 arena they have only one way to go which is up. Watch out Conference USA!

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Speaking of life at the bottom: Escaping college football's basement easier said than done. Mr. Forde missed the opportunity to discuss how BSU beat the odds.

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He was told that he would have to forfeit the season tickets that he had held for almost 30 years unless he donated $2,000 per year to the Flynn Fund in addition to the price for the season tickets.

Interestingly, Notre Dame is ended their series with Boston College and beginning a long series with Syracuse which make you wonder if they Athletic Department can command such a payment after 2008.

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Quick Hits

According to www.Indystar.com--Purdue football ticket sales surgeand, really going out on a limb here, ticket sales will slump next year ()except for that November 1st game against Michigan. Why does it take a column to point out the obvious? See Ticket Futures--Purdue

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Benson: WAC has surpassed MWC amounts to, "We're #7 and we try harder." Both the Mountain West Conferences and Western Athletic Conferences play entertaining football so trying to pick your favorite is difficult. Okay, mostly the problem is that most fans aren't quite sure what teams are in which.
Sort out the conferences, it's like Jumble in the newspaper
Boise State, Brigham Young, Fresno State, New Mexico, Hawaii, Utah, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, TCU, Nevada, New Mexico State, Wyoming, San Jose State, Colorado State, Utah State, San Diego State, Air Force, UNLV
No shame (for you) in opening up another window to look up the answer. The shame is that these two conferences lack any real identity.

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No more Colt 45 for Mr. Slive of the SEC. Dennis Dodd print this quote from last weeks meeting, "When I talk to our coaches I try to use a metaphor. The SEC is like a big aircraft carrier, it was the preeminent aircraft carrier, then other aircraft carriers were manufactured that had funny names like the ACC and the Big 12. There was a lot of competition." BS-damus has taken note and likes the Naval reference and the oddity of the quote.

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Just the opposite of the Purdue situation the University of Pittsburgh's home schedule lacks both elements needed to sell tickets: a successful team and opponents that will sell tickets. With the likes of Eastern Michigan, Grambling, Connecticut, Navy (moved to Wednesday), Cincinnati, Syracuse and South Florida the tickets are now at buy one cheap $120 for all seven games and get a second for $10. While this shows some weakness it also shows that someone at Pitt realized that it cost next to nothing to for the second ticket so $10 is better than zero. While Mr. Smizik's Pitt football-ticket sales in bad shape, mocks the strategy he appears not to understand business.

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Uncomfortable might be the best description of the recent situation for Tom O’Brien the new head football coach for N.C. State. The recent article at Forbes.com tried to paint it as the problem of being picked last for the first time in his coach career (Temple and Rutgers really enjoyed the nice fruit baskets) but that is not what most of use would be made uncomfortable by. The elephant in the room at the ACC recent media day meeting was the slap in the face given to Boston College by Mr. O’Brien’s departure. The lateral move sent a message to BC, “I can be more success elsewhere (because the athletic department here is not committed to being successful.)”

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The Cotton Bowl was at all of the recent media days for the BCS conferences trying to sell themselves are relevant and ready to go if there is a new BCS game. See Faded Beauties.

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News Flash: U-M, Notre Dame to play through 2031--film at 11. Will the Michigan home games be on BTN?

Wag the Pigskin

In the movie Wag the Dog the White House hires a movie director to cook up a fake war to distract the electorate from a presidential sex scandal. Staying away from any direct references to the Clinton presidency, this tactic of distracting people from the real problem is as old as mankind. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany may not have the problem of a sex scandal but starting off the year with his embarrassing rant about the SEC and now the possibility that the BTN is going to fall short of expectations now is the perfectly suspious time to distract the Big Ten and college football public by talking vaguely about expansion.

What is the purpose of bring up the subject in a public forum? Does Mr. Delany need to let the rest of the college football world that his office might be calling? NO! Does Mr. Delany need the media to communicate this to the AD’s within the Big Ten? NO! Has muffled the questions about the success of the BTN? YES!

Given that Mr. Delany is still under the delusion that his ATM called the BTN will be success, the objective here is to look for the most TV sets not a championship game (ask the SEC, Big 12, and ACC about how that has been a positive for their teams) and that leads anyone with even basic understand of U.S. demographics to the New York City metro area and the 7,366,950 television sets. The Big Apple is not an easy market to crack, ask the NFL Channel or even the YES. Given the competition from no less that nine pro teams in the market a Mid-West college football game might be a difficult sell. And the sledding won’t be much easier elsewhere as the Big Ten is a strong regional brand but not an overwhelming force on the national stage.

Mr. Delany might want to take an old piece of advice, “The quieter you are, the smarter you sound.”

Keeping up with the war of words on the BTN, Comcast,Big Ten continue cold war Had a great quote from Mr. Siverman,"… I never anticipated having the larger deals done in July. But I did expect to be having some productive conversations on how to make it work as opposed to cable operators staking out such a drastic tier-or-nothing stance." Which means take our very reasonable idea of basic cable or nothing.

Mr. Silverman see the advice above for Mr. Delany.