Playing WF Is A Possibility Again

[moehler]

what alot of fans, including this fan from Marshall doesn't get, is that you don't have book BCS schools to fill your stadiums. Regional games are just as important, but schools are hesitant to play mid major regional schools, they believe that to justify their program they must play the large BCS schools.

[Maddog1956]

If our attendance sucked like yours does, I believe I would consider scheduling a game which would bring in fans from the opposing team. Your attendance was down another 4% last year. Maybe we could generate a little excitement for you, since that seems to be in short supply up there, as well:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/7286 ... he-country

Looking at their attendance numbers I think he's right, it wouldn't benefit them much to play APP State...their students still wouldn't come to watch them get beat.

I think they should start scheduling local high school/middle school teams first. Then their student could actually watch them in a game they have a chance to win and the high schoolers parents would help fill up their seats. They also might try to make it like a birthday party type event and throw in pony rides and clowns, etc.

[luvyosef]

Marshall is afraid of App. Plain and simple. GO APP!

[ArsenalDeac]

I'll weigh in since I've had the opportunity to have this discussion with Ron Wellman a couple of times during my four years at Wake. I grew up an Appalachian fan, cheering against the Deacs in Groves, but ended up choosing them over App for school.

During my time at Wake I worked in the athletic department and often got to travel with the football team. I ended up sharing a row with Wellman on the way to Tallahassee this past year and flat out asked him about renewing the series. He said something along the lines of "well we played them pretty much every year for about ten years and we wanted to schedule other teams." I then asked him if there were any plans to renew the rivalry and he told me that the schedule was locked up for some time.

Now this may have been AD speak but it wasn't very encouraging to hear. Personally I'd love to see maybe a 2 for 1 or maybe just a back to back in Winston-Salem in the next 5 or so years. After App establishes itself as a power in the Sun Belt I would have no qualms with a home and home relationship like ECU has with NCSU, although I'd hope we wouldn't have to go through the General Assembly to make it happen.

Many Wake fans and students I know would love to see this game played, though I came away from my years at Wake thinking that this isn't something the Wellman and Don Flows of the world are interested in pursuing. Maybe once Wellman is gone we can get the rivalry going again but until that happens we're stuck playing schools like Presby and Elon.

[ASUMountaineer]

I'll weigh in since I've had the opportunity to have this discussion with Ron Wellman a couple of times during my four years at Wake. I grew up an Appalachian fan, cheering against the Deacs in Groves, but ended up choosing them over App for school.

During my time at Wake I worked in the athletic department and often got to travel with the football team. I ended up sharing a row with Wellman on the way to Tallahassee this past year and flat out asked him about renewing the series. He said something along the lines of "well we played them pretty much every year for about ten years and we wanted to schedule other teams." I then asked him if there were any plans to renew the rivalry and he told me that the schedule was locked up for some time.

Now this may have been AD speak but it wasn't very encouraging to hear. Personally I'd love to see maybe a 2 for 1 or maybe just a back to back in Winston-Salem in the next 5 or so years. After App establishes itself as a power in the Sun Belt I would have no qualms with a home and home relationship like ECU has with NCSU, although I'd hope we wouldn't have to go through the General Assembly to make it happen.

Many Wake fans and students I know would love to see this game played, though I came away from my years at Wake thinking that this isn't something the Wellman and Don Flows of the world are interested in pursuing. Maybe once Wellman is gone we can get the rivalry going again but until that happens we're stuck playing schools like Presby and Elon.

I don't think you'll have to worry about that with Wake being a private school.

[moehler]

I understand why Wake dropped us the first time, their plan was to play big BCS schools from other conferences, which would excite the fans, which would lead to better players coming to Wake etc. Problem is, it just hasn't worked, their recruiting class is ranked last in the ACC, attendance is down, interest is down, and it looks like its going to stay that way for the forseeable future. So why would you not sign on playing an opponent that would almost guarantee a sellout, and huge interest, by both fans and the media? I don't get it, its just one game a year, and the positives far outweigh the negatives.

[appgrunt71]

This seems to be the theme with App State, whether it be with Wake Forest or East Carolina. But I don't think we have to worry about. I think that App State is on the right track and will continue to get stronger, in terms of opportunities to play bigger schools and gaining popularity. At some point in time the other schools in NC will come around, but at that time on our terms.

[ArsenalDeac]

I don't think you'll have to worry about that with Wake being a private school.

That was a bit tongue in cheek. The feeling in the fanbase is that it'll take an act of congress for Wellman to change his ways.

[ArsenalDeac]

I don't think you'll have to worry about that with Wake being a private school.

That was a bit tongue in cheek. The feeling in the fanbase is that it'll take an act of congress for Wellman to change his ways.

[ArsenalDeac]

I understand why Wake dropped us the first time, their plan was to play big BCS schools from other conferences, which would excite the fans, which would lead to better players coming to Wake etc. Problem is, it just hasn't worked, their recruiting class is ranked last in the ACC, attendance is down, interest is down, and it looks like its going to stay that way for the foreseeable future. So why would you not sign on playing an opponent that would almost guarantee a sellout, and huge interest, by both fans and the media? I don't get it, its just one game a year, and the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Wake doesn't need to sell out. Belonging to a league with equitable TV revenue distribution is huge when you consider the small number of teams WFU fields. If selling tickets meant anything at all we would have fired the Bball coach after the first year but it doesn't. As of last year WFU pulled in the 3rd highest revenue of all the ACC schools, behind UVA and VT, that is with basketball revenue taking a drop from around 13 to 8 million since the start of the Bzdelik era.

Plus you've got to consider the way the department is run, and from first hand experience I can tell you its done on a shoe string budget by a skeleton staff. Wake employees FAR FEWER people in its athletic department than other programs in the ACC. I would think this is a holdover from the days before giant piles of money were being plopped on the doorstep of BCS schools by ESPN, when Wake needed to be run on a shoestring because they just couldn't compete with the donor bases of rival schools.

Add to that that the makeup of the Deacon Club donor pool is not dependent on mass amounts of smaller (sub 2K per year), but rather by the Moricle Society, a club where you too can become a member!!! (for a small yearly fee of only $55,000). I know this is a crude way to frame it, but the 99%ers donations don't mean that much because there simply aren't enough "regular" Wake fans to dictate to the brass in the front office what the masses want.

So there you have it, low # of employees keeping costs down, highly concentrated donor base of people who likely hated watching WFU lose regularly to the school up the road, and an athletic department that could play in an empty stadium and still make money.

For the fans and the region, holy hell yes play the game. For the money, they don't need it. That's why I agree with appgrunt71; while I'd love to play next year if we could it'll take a little while for ASU to establish itself in the top tier before the Tobacco Road schools come to them wanting to play.

[HerdFan12]

[This App fan couldn't care less. Go back to your Turd board or wherever you came from.

Ive been nothing but respectful of you since I got here. Made rational posts. Thanks for being rude.

This is the problem with football these days. People want to schedule based off the "benefits" in recruiting and such instead of looking for good games that fans care about. I still believe the schools will play at some point.

This is how business works. College athletics has been a big business since the early 90s and started with the Big 8, Pac8 and Big 10 in the early to mid 80s. Im sorry but most Marshall fans would rather see Ohio (longest standing rival), Miami OH, or even Akron than Appy State. Truthfully I haven't missed any school in the SoCon since we left, including Appy or GA Southern.

what alot of fans, including this fan from Marshall doesn't get, is that you don't have book BCS schools to fill your stadiums. Regional games are just as important, but schools are hesitant to play mid major regional schools, they believe that to justify their program they must play the large BCS schools.

In the past few years Marshall has been scheduling MAC teams and mid to low BCS teams. We have scheduled games with Ohio (6 game series that will be extended, Ohio is the longest standing rival on both sides), Akron, Kent State and just got through with a Bowling Green series. We have Louisville and Purdue headed to Huntington.

Marshall is afraid of App. Plain and simple. GO APP!

Get real. I guess I should remind you of the last time Appy visited Huntington.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu5ZIsaKrHA

Appy State 17
Marshall 50

And we now have higher level recruits on campus. The last 3 years Marshall has had the #3 and #1 (twice in a row) Non AQ recruiting class in the nation.

[AppinVA]

I don't blame you. You're wise to want to avoid us.

[RankinApp]

And we now have higher level recruits on campus. The last 3 years Marshall has had the #3 and #1 (twice in a row) Non AQ recruiting class in the nation.

I guess we'll have to see if they can right the sinking ship that is Marshall football.

2010 - 5-7 - 27,406/38,019
2011 - 7-6 - 25,874/38,019
2012 - 5-7 - 24,896/38,019

[firemoose]

HerdFan12: I suggest if you truly are respectful, as you say, then drop the APPY and call us App or App State. I think more people might return a better level of respect if you do.

[Gonzo]

Ive been nothing but respectful of you since I got here.

Appy

Appy

Appy

I guess I should remind you of the last time Appy visited Huntington.

Appy

Please take your "respectful" commentary, shove it, leave the forum and tell you AD to stop being a little bitch and let App get a chance to continue dominating the series.

[ASU-FTW]

[This App fan couldn't care less. Go back to your Turd board or wherever you came from.

Ive been nothing but respectful of you since I got here. Made rational posts. Thanks for being rude.

You've been nothing but condescending. Now quit playing the victim card here and GTFO. You're just like the University of North Carolina at Charlotte fans that come on here and try to be "respectful". Nobody here gives a sh!t about your opinion or your school. STFU and crawl back to your hole.

[Gonzo]

I would just like to say what an honor it is to have a representative of THE Marshal University here gracing the board with his presence. Now if only little ol' App State could average close to as many fans as the Herd on fall Saturdays and have almost as many NFL draft picks every year. Maybe THEN we'll be big time!

All Hail the great and powerful Marshal!

[Appsolutely]

I notice you didn't address your pitiful attendance or the dead-ass atmosphere at your games. And you are suggesting that future games should be determined by the score of a game played 9 years ago? I guess that will leave you with a fairly limited schedule, since you've been taking multiple ass-whuppings the past several years, and those teams, using your logic, have nothing to gain by playing your sorry asses.

Your arrogance is laughable...just another blundering turd, I guess...

[App74]

I understand why Wake dropped us the first time, their plan was to play big BCS schools from other conferences, which would excite the fans, which would lead to better players coming to Wake etc. Problem is, it just hasn't worked, their recruiting class is ranked last in the ACC, attendance is down, interest is down, and it looks like its going to stay that way for the foreseeable future. So why would you not sign on playing an opponent that would almost guarantee a sellout, and huge interest, by both fans and the media? I don't get it, its just one game a year, and the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Wake doesn't need to sell out. Belonging to a league with equitable TV revenue distribution is huge when you consider the small number of teams WFU fields. If selling tickets meant anything at all we would have fired the Bball coach after the first year but it doesn't. As of last year WFU pulled in the 3rd highest revenue of all the ACC schools, behind UVA and VT, that is with basketball revenue taking a drop from around 13 to 8 million since the start of the Bzdelik era.

Plus you've got to consider the way the department is run, and from first hand experience I can tell you its done on a shoe string budget by a skeleton staff. Wake employees FAR FEWER people in its athletic department than other programs in the ACC. I would think this is a holdover from the days before giant piles of money were being plopped on the doorstep of BCS schools by ESPN, when Wake needed to be run on a shoestring because they just couldn't compete with the donor bases of rival schools.

Add to that that the makeup of the Deacon Club donor pool is not dependent on mass amounts of smaller (sub 2K per year), but rather by the Moricle Society, a club where you too can become a member!!! (for a small yearly fee of only $55,000). I know this is a crude way to frame it, but the 99%ers donations don't mean that much because there simply aren't enough "regular" Wake fans to dictate to the brass in the front office what the masses want.

So there you have it, low # of employees keeping costs down, highly concentrated donor base of people who likely hated watching WFU lose regularly to the school up the road, and an athletic department that could play in an empty stadium and still make money.

For the fans and the region, holy hell yes play the game. For the money, they don't need it. That's why I agree with appgrunt71; while I'd love to play next year if we could it'll take a little while for ASU to establish itself in the top tier before the Tobacco Road schools come to them wanting to play.

Arsensal is 100% correct. It's hard for us to understand a program that does not care about a sellout but that's the case at WF. Imagine running a business and not caring if customers buy your product; the check's in the mail.

There will come a time, however, when the "55K Club" will (if not already) tire of sitting in their ivory tower looking down upon thousands of empty seats in the 3rd and 4th quarters of games versus the Blue Hose, the Phoenix and the Bulldogs. The value of their lofty position will decline and they will begin to reconsider their investment.

As for me, I will continue to lobby my WF friends and business contacts to email, call or write Wellman to express their desire to schedule App.

In the meantime, good luck to WF with the Blue Hose . I hope you win 65-0. I suspect you will have more fans in the tailgate area after halftime than fans watching the game. I wish I could be there but I'll be in a sold out stadium in Montana.

[ASUMountaineer]

This is how business works. College athletics has been a big business since the early 90s and started with the Big 8, Pac8 and Big 10 in the early to mid 80s. Im sorry but most Marshall fans would rather see Ohio (longest standing rival), Miami OH, or even Akron than Appy State. Truthfully I haven't missed any school in the SoCon since we left, including Appy or GA Southern.

Yet, you're posting here. Isn't it ironic, don't you think? There's a reason I don't post on opposing teams' boards--because I don't care and I don't feel like wasting my time.

BTW, for me the feeling is mutual. When I think of Marshall, I just chuckle. Y'all beat us badly when Byron Leftwich, AKA "The Big 'L'" AKA "It don't mean a thing unless you come with the Bling Bling" was playing QB (he was a hell of a college QB) and y'all had 22 more scholarship athletes...so, congrats?

Thanks for the laugh, that was an excellent post.