Supporting mid-major athletics is a lot like supporting public television and radio. There are some who do more than their share, some who understand the "honor system" nature of it and make their annual contributions, and some who live and die on free tickets and moving up into more expensive seats that are empty. I've got a real beef with the latter group.

I'm not sure why, in games that take place in the winter break, where there are literally half the lower seats available, why this is such a big deal. I get it for conference games, or games when there are 8,000 plus in the house. But when there are 4k in the building, and people move down 10 rows into the top rows of the lower bowl, who really cares?

Don't get me wrong, I see the point of view, but there are a few good reasons to allow people to move into closer seats on games such as the Cleveland State game this past Saturday. They've been mentioned earlier in the thread.

An interesting sidebar to this discussion is coaches salaries. They keep going up, but attendance is trending down. It seems to me that if it weren't for the student athletic subsidy here and I'm guessing at most places, that would not be the case.

Bingo. It's just like so called "financial aid." If it weren't so readily available, college costs would be a fraction of what they are today. That's why the thought of free college tuition that at least one of the candidates for president was supporting, was a very bad idea.

Agree with you SBH on the freeloaders.

Alan and Giacomo, you're right the whole thing makes no economic sense, both what students are charged for tuition and the salaries given to coaches (it really gets crazy when you look at top notch private schools.) If I were Governor Kasich (and his predecessor Governor Strickland) I would have to wonder how people like Urban Meyer make 10x their salary.

My guess is MAC revenue for sports has not gone up exponentially in the last 10 years. However, coaches salaries sure have. I made the observation on another thread that during my early teaching days sometime in the early 1990s a coaching colleague of mine was offered a MAC football assistant coach position, but was talked out of it by an actual MAC coach. The MAC coach didn't think the high school coach could support a family on the money that MAC school was offering. Somebody corrected me on that thread and said just 10 years ago a high school teacher and coach was making more than most MAC assistants. How times have changed. I think the other thread is still going on the football side of the board concerning PJ Fleck about to make over $1,000,000.

I hope I am wrong and MAC attendance in every sport rises exponentially. However, this economic model with the rise in coach's salaries is unsustainable.

I agree that the landscape is changing. I think live sports is about the only reason we keep cable in our house, so to that end, I see your point. It makes the MAC TV deal look pretty good right now.

You can't understand fans who look at a schedule and don't buy tickets because they do not like the schedule? Really? They see they won't be entertained and choose not to participate. Easy. Subscribing to the Artist Series at BSU's Emens Auditorium is easy if the upcoming shows are good. This year I am only going to see Stomp and take my youngest to the Led Zeppelin Tribute band since those are the only 2 shows that interest me...Why would I subscribe if I do not like the line up? TO altruistically support theater in Muncie? Much similarity between hoops and an artist series.

As for "my Kid used to play"? Who is that? Mrs Tillman, Mr and Mrs Cooper or the Kelloggs? Trents? Barons? Walthers?"Are those folks showing up in droves sucking finances out of the program? Do you think they should or WOULD pay to come back down to Athens or are they freeloaders for accepting a ticket someone leaves for them? YOu do not think those parents having goodwill and good things to say about the program when someone from their home area asks them about their son's experience is of value? You don't think Mr Cooper, Mr Walther or Clark talking to athletes at AAU tourneys or giving their opinion when staff asks him about a prospect is of value to the program? You don't think parents of athletes wearing gear to AAU and high school games and tourneys and looking at athletes helps the program?.... You contend we should MAKE them pay their fair share? They have no skin in the game anymore.

I know you can't be talking about me as I was a season ticket holder with my Glouster native wife from 2012-15 after my son graduated till he returned to staff. I talk to coaches/athletes and parents all the time when asked about OHIO at the multitude of games. practices and tourneys I attend (wearing OHIO gear of course)and of course,that is of very little value to the program in your scorekeeping. I know it pisses you off that the NCAA provides tix to families of players and staff. Perhaps you think the coaches wives, kids and family should pay as well? FREELOADERS you call them? In many cases when former families are around folks offer them a seat by them that they are not using...and enjoy catching up ....for shame those damn season tix holders devaluing the unused seat they purchased while talking to a friend. YOur point is noted...we are intruders and you will treat us as such. We add nothing (well, the occassional Periscope) and only take away. NEwsflash! how many Former families do you see in the COnvo? Wonder why?

I have enjoyed being here. Good thing there hell of a lot more FRIENDLY Bobcats here than there are those like you who lament and call good folks FREELOADERS As soon as my kid is gone...I will amke you happy and spend more time with coaching friends of mine as I did before he was born, while he was growing up and then after his stay at OHIO while he was in Europe. In his years overseas I found it just as easy to go to Indy, champaign, chicago, Bloomington, Madison, Ann Arbor, Dayton or anyplace my friends offer to see a game. Life is short, I have grown up in hoops and I will enjoy the game in many venues with other parents of D1 athletes and never worry about what very valuable booster has a hard on because I am on the list of an athlete I have coached or treated, a coach I have helped or just because of being nice to someone .

I TRULY hope most folks here and throughout Bobcat nation see the value in keeping alums, families, former coaches and families feeling good about Athens. It is a small, miniscule thing to offer folks a bit of hospitality who are wanting to get back to an OHIO game and keep the good feelings fresh. If folks who are outside BA that have been around the program for the 4 years while their kid played or their husband coached would read your point of view.....eeesh. Suffice to say...it only takes one person to alienate a whole bunch of folks...

I, for one, see the value of having MORE, not less, of Alums & coaches and their families around. Welcoming former players and their families is just a first, basic step in my opinion. It creates a sense of the Bobcats family, and Ohio basketball tradition, in my opinion. I perceive that Saul feels that way as well based on his comments after the Bryant game and Alumni day about Coach O'Shea and the players who were here that day.

Frankly, I just wish more was made of a day like that day by Ohio Athletics. Some of those guys that were there that day gave a lot of us many great times and memories. If more people were aware that a day was being made of that, I think we would have seen more people in the stands.

The way it was 25 years ago ESPN was promoting the urban basketball game with Temple and Cincinnati on all the time. They played in made for TV basketball conferences and the NCAA tournament expansion to 64 was favorable to the non-bluebloods. Xavier was an ESPN made program. In the last 10 years the coverage that still exists has tilted to bluebloods. Ohio could make the tourney every year and win a ton of games and it still wouldn't become a transcendent national program in this landscape. Think Northern Iowa. Hard core college basketball fans know Northern Iowa but to others its just another small school.

Uncle Wes, is the revenue you speak of coming from the last MAC TV deal with ESPN? It sounds like you are pretty well informed on the topic, but I am trying to understand. It seems to me attendance hasn't gone up, it might actually have gone down in the last couple of years. Also, we will never get another TV deal like that again. Just trying to understand it, because in the long run I am not sure it is going to be sustainable.

Uncle Wes, thanks for laying out the info. I don't think I implied that our alma mater is a runaway train with expenses, but I do think some schools and some non-Power 5 conferences are going to be at a crossroads. I am not sure how many of them have the students fees that we do. Perhaps some are relying on generous alumni. I honestly don't know, but I am looking at attendance figures and they aren't rising as a whole for many schools and non-Power 5 conferences. I am specifically thinking of the whole UAB fiasco, it sounds like they are throwing in millions when they claimed they were losing millions to begin with, that situation doesn't seem to make sense.

Thanks for the info Recovering Journalist. Talk about some illuminating financial figures. We rely on a $18,000,000 fee to keep in the black and we are one of the lower figures in the MAC. I assume Ohio State (which basically breaks even) has more competitive sports than Texas A&M. Otherwise, I don't see how Texas A&M makes $80,000,000+ with no subsidy?