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Ohio Football Topic
Topic: Surprise Pair of Free EMU Tickets
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Bucho
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Posted: 10/25/2012 4:05 PM
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My wife just called and said we got a letter from the ticketing department giving us a free pair of tickets to the EMU game to give to friends or family.  We already have a family package, so these were clearly meant to give to someone else to fill the stadium for next week's game.  I'm sure that we will have no problem giving them away - at the very minimum, we always find Hocking students who want our set when we can't go.  Anyone else get them? 
bobcat72
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Posted: 10/25/2012 4:19 PM
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Got mine too. From the sound of the letter, they were sent as a "thank you" for all season ticket holders. Very nice touch along with the personalized letter.

Great idea to try to fill the seats for a game that we wouldn't normally have much of a crowd. Top 25 or otherwise, a 6:00 kick on a Thursday will never be well attended!
RSBobcat
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Posted: 10/25/2012 9:16 PM
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also got the freebies. 6:00 - ?! I did not even realize - that time makes no sense at all. Someone give me any reason why there is any logic to that - TV or otherwise?
anorris
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Posted: 10/25/2012 11:52 PM
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RSBobcat wrote:expand_more
also got the freebies. 6:00 - ?! I did not even realize - that time makes no sense at all. Someone give me any reason why there is any logic to that - TV or otherwise?
TV -- ESPNU has a doubleheader that night with both games in the eastern time zone, so we start at 6 and Middle Tennessee @ Western Kentucky at 9:15 to try to make both semi-reasonable.
catfan28
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Posted: 10/25/2012 11:55 PM
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anorris wrote:expand_more
TV -- ESPNU has a doubleheader that night with both games in the eastern time zone, so we start at 6 and Middle Tennessee @ Western Kentucky at 9:15 to try to make both semi-reasonable.


Jeesh...well, at least we got the better end of that deal. Kick-off at 9:15?? Are you kidding?

TV is great, but you have to draw the line somewhere. Especially when it's just the "U" - not exactly in homes everywhere.
UpSan Bobcat
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Posted: 10/26/2012 12:09 AM
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catfan28 wrote:expand_more
TV -- ESPNU has a doubleheader that night with both games in the eastern time zone, so we start at 6 and Middle Tennessee @ Western Kentucky at 9:15 to try to make both semi-reasonable.


Jeesh...well, at least we got the better end of that deal. Kick-off at 9:15?? Are you kidding?

TV is great, but you have to draw the line somewhere. Especially when it's just the "U" - not exactly in homes everywhere.


Actually ESPNU is in about 73 million American households now, which is only about 25 million less than have ESPN. so about 75 percent of people with ESPN have ESPNU also.
anorris
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Posted: 10/26/2012 12:38 AM
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UpSan Bobcat wrote:expand_more
TV -- ESPNU has a doubleheader that night with both games in the eastern time zone, so we start at 6 and Middle Tennessee @ Western Kentucky at 9:15 to try to make both semi-reasonable.


Jeesh...well, at least we got the better end of that deal. Kick-off at 9:15?? Are you kidding?

TV is great, but you have to draw the line somewhere. Especially when it's just the "U" - not exactly in homes everywhere.


Actually ESPNU is in about 73 million American households now, which is only about 25 million less than have ESPN. so about 75 percent of people with ESPN have ESPNU also.
It's true! Swapping it with Classic on a lot of systems as contracts came up did a lot to help that number.  The ratings for an average game on the U vs. 1 or 2 is quite a bit lower though.  Not sure if that's commentary on the programming, or the fact that E1 and 2 typically are side-by-side in a well-trafficked part of the cable lineup, while U often is off on its own.
JSF
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Posted: 10/26/2012 1:15 AM
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catfan28 wrote:expand_more
TV -- ESPNU has a doubleheader that night with both games in the eastern time zone, so we start at 6 and Middle Tennessee @ Western Kentucky at 9:15 to try to make both semi-reasonable.


Jeesh...well, at least we got the better end of that deal. Kick-off at 9:15?? Are you kidding?


Central Time, though, so it's 8:15 local time. Not too bad.
anorris
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Posted: 10/26/2012 1:20 AM
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JSF wrote:expand_more
TV -- ESPNU has a doubleheader that night with both games in the eastern time zone, so we start at 6 and Middle Tennessee @ Western Kentucky at 9:15 to try to make both semi-reasonable.


Jeesh...well, at least we got the better end of that deal. Kick-off at 9:15?? Are you kidding?


Central Time, though, so it's 8:15 local time. Not too bad.
My bad - didn't realize Bowling Green was Central time.
Bobcatbob
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Posted: 10/26/2012 11:42 AM
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Back to the tickets, though.

Will the AD be able to count these seats in the attendance number?  Besides gratitude, my first thought was that, while it might put a few more butts in the seats, it could certainly boost the # of tickets "sold".
Bucho
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Posted: 10/26/2012 3:39 PM
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Bobcatbob wrote:expand_more
Back to the tickets, though.

Will the AD be able to count these seats in the attendance number?  Besides gratitude, my first thought was that, while it might put a few more butts in the seats, it could certainly boost the # of tickets "sold".


Good question.  It depends on whether or not Ohio wants them to count as "sold."  I believe that for a ticket to count as "sold," the NCAA requires that the ticket must have been purchased for at least 1/3 of face value.  Universities can do an accounting trick of "buying" tickets off of themselves and give them away for free - this is how EMU, Akron and Kent have been able to survive the D1A mandated average attendance of 15K a game every other year - but here, Ohio does not need to do that.  With the record breaking attendance already this year, they don't have to worry about mandatory attendance averages.  

PS: I'm not sure it matters, but the face value printed on the tickets is "$0.00"
Last Edited: 10/26/2012 3:43:43 PM by Bucho
anorris
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Posted: 10/26/2012 5:32 PM
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Bucho is, I believe, spot on with his details on counting paid tickets as attendance. However, that's only half the story -- the school gets to choose whether to use tickets sold or actual butts in seats, I believe. Not sure what we are using this year.
Bucho
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Posted: 10/26/2012 7:49 PM
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anorris wrote:expand_more
Bucho is, I believe, spot on with his details on counting paid tickets as attendance. However, that's only half the story -- the school gets to choose whether to use tickets sold or actual butts in seats, I believe. Not sure what we are using this year.


Regardless of whatever method is used, this has to be a record breaking year for the school.  The cover letter for the free EMU tickets suggested that there is now a waiting list for family season packages.  Amazing.
anorris
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Posted: 10/27/2012 1:43 AM
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Absolutely.  I was merely wondering, because the numbers have seemed fairly reasonable, and as such may actually be gate attendance, in which case the freebies would count if they draw extra folks along.

EMU in particular is hilarious with this.  Because you only have to meet the attendance requirement every other year, the resulting numbers are pretty hysterical:

2012 (through 4 games): 5,189 (Meaning they'd have to get 34,623 each for their last two contests to meet the minimum.  Did this bylaw get removed?)
2011: 4,267
2010: 15,885
2009: 5,016 (It would be even lower if not for ~15k against Army.  They announced 1,535 against Ball State.)
2008: 16,714
2007: 6,810
2006: 15,434

What a majestic view of the crowd of 25,860 from October 30, 2010:

Last Edited: 10/27/2012 1:50:17 AM by anorris
RSBobcat
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Posted: 10/27/2012 1:53 AM
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Well - looks like they at least have a track team there - or is that reddish circle around the field an exit route??????





Bucho
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Posted: 10/27/2012 8:32 AM
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The mandatory attendance requirement is still there this year.  After the season, they will do the above mentioned accounting trick to retroactively inflate the attendance.  Here's an article that describes how Kent does it:

http://kentwired.com/90ksu-reached-with-help-of-department-money/
anorris
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Posted: 10/27/2012 11:56 AM
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Bucho wrote:expand_more
The mandatory attendance requirement is still there this year.  After the season, they will do the above mentioned accounting trick to retroactively inflate the attendance.  Here's an article that describes how Kent does it:

http://kentwired.com/90ksu-reached-with-help-of-department-money/

Didn't realize that happened retroactively.  Good stuff.
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