Scheduling News?

[Niner National]

I have no dog in this fight, but even I'm pretty excited to see this matchup. I will likely drive up to Boone to watch the game. The atmosphere should be great. Hopefully it is a fall game so I can also take in the fall colors while there.

[Saint3333]

So much bitterness.

Bitterness over what? Think you might be misinterpreting something here.

Seems like a lot of whining, when you compare the EIGHT home and home series App has signed since joining the FBS I'm not sure there should be much, if any, criticism.

The staff up there has done a tremendous job scheduling.

[EastHallApp]

So much bitterness.

Bitterness over what? Think you might be misinterpreting something here.

Seems like a lot of whining, when you compare the EIGHT home and home series App has signed since joining the FBS I'm not sure there should be much, if any, criticism.

The staff up there has done a tremendous job scheduling.

As a reminder, here's my original response:

"Great news. We had some scheduling head-scratchers for a while there, but now it seems App is adding the teams that make a ton of sense."

That's not "bitterness" or "whining," that's a compliment. And given your own view that Akron and Wyoming "weren't exciting" (I agree, though I would argue both are better than UMass), it seems we're on the same page on 7/8 of those series.

My point, if it wasn't clear, was that App's scheduling has been looking much better after what I would consider a somewhat slow start.

[Saint3333]

Akron and Wyoming weren't "head scratchers".

Every G5 programs signs deals like that. If only 25% of our OOC home and homes are like those with zero FCS games that is A+ scheduling.

We are going to have to fill our schedule with those types of games, either that or play one FCS opponent each year.

I prefer the all FBS schedules.

[EastHallApp]

Akron and Wyoming weren't "head scratchers".

Every G5 programs signs deals like that. If only 25% of our OOC home and homes are like those with zero FCS games that is A+ scheduling.

We are going to have to fill our schedule with those types of games, either that or play one FCS opponent each year.

I prefer the all FBS schedules.

I disagree on avoiding FCS entirely - we're allowed to count one per year toward bowl eligibility, so I'd rather play someone like Howard who's basically a sure win than a low-level FBS like UMass that does little for you as a win and is at least somewhat more of a threat to beat you. But that's a minor point - I'm not going to complain about all-FBS in principle.

Wyoming isn't awful, but the fact that it bumped back the return visit from Southern Miss is a negative IMO.

Otherwise, let's agree to disagree before we hijack the thread any further. None of those series are news. Marshall is, and I think we agree that it's very good news.

[bigdaddyg]

I graduated from App in '86 so I was there for two Marshall home games. One of my biggest recollections was that they really travelled well, even then. They seemed to just about fill the old lower section that existed way back then. If I am not mistaken we one of those wins in the early 80's was over a very good team. It had to be big because at least one of the goal posts was torn down and the club teams who played on Sunday had to go the other end of the field to do all of the kicks. Execellent games added. I agree with one of the earlier guys with his last checked box- be alive! Who knows what our stadium will look like in 5 or 6 years. Hopefully fully enclosed seating about 40,000. God help the town if that happens. Can't make Boone any bigger, LOL.

[mikeyosef]

Is that you Gibbs? I remember the thundering Turd, I mean Herd coming to the Rock in the 80's. Man it was a GREAT rivalry and I think it's going to be a well attended game here and there...I know I plan to attend. Love that area in West Virginia too. Can't wait!

[moehler]

well, if they want to expand the stadium before Marshall comes to town, they need to get started on the fund raising right now, so they can start building in 2 or 3 years. Unfortunately, the impression Im getting is no plans are on the table right now, so I wouldn't get my hopes up anything will get done before that game.

[bigdaddyg]

well, if they want to expand the stadium before Marshall comes to town, they need to get started on the fund raising right now, so they can start building in 2 or 3 years. Unfortunately, the impression Im getting is no plans are on the table right now, so I wouldn't get my hopes up anything will get done before that game.

How many people do those temporary bleachers on the field house endzone hold? Seems like we could add a bunch of those for games and it is a very cheap fix. If we can seat another 2,000 on temp bleachers that is a plus.

[EastHallApp]

well, if they want to expand the stadium before Marshall comes to town, they need to get started on the fund raising right now, so they can start building in 2 or 3 years. Unfortunately, the impression Im getting is no plans are on the table right now, so I wouldn't get my hopes up anything will get done before that game.

How many people do those temporary bleachers on the field house endzone hold? Seems like we could add a bunch of those for games and it is a very cheap fix. If we can seat another 2,000 on temp bleachers that is a plus.

Agreed, plus, better to have some people not be able to get a ticket for one game a year than have a few thousand empty seats for the other five.

[bigdaddyg]

well, if they want to expand the stadium before Marshall comes to town, they need to get started on the fund raising right now, so they can start building in 2 or 3 years. Unfortunately, the impression Im getting is no plans are on the table right now, so I wouldn't get my hopes up anything will get done before that game.

How many people do those temporary bleachers on the field house endzone hold? Seems like we could add a bunch of those for games and it is a very cheap fix. If we can seat another 2,000 on temp bleachers that is a plus.

Agreed, plus, better to have some people not be able to get a ticket for one game a year than have a few thousand empty seats for the other five.

As much as I would love to see the Rock expanded to about 40K it would look awfully empty on the poorly scheduled home weekends that are almost sure to happen each year.

[Saint3333]

Add 4,000 seats in the north endzone connecting to two sides, with club seats and a legit Yosef Club room on top of them and move the hill onto the track area. That would be enough for our needs.

[T-Dog]

We're 6 years out from the first game. A large of the players who'll play in those games are currently in middle school wondering at boobs and why they're wetting the bed.

It's impossible to say what shape either program will be by then.

[appsfan]

So, if all things remain equal, we'll host The Thundering Turd and The Stink in 2021. Forget "Rivalry Saturday" this will be "Rivalry Season."

I refer to the team from WV as the Blundering Turds, but Thundering Turd is close enough...

[Gonzo]

We're 6 years out from the first game. A large of the players who'll play in those games are currently in middle school wondering at boobs and why they're wetting the bed.

Sounds like college life to me!

[ASUMountaineer]

So, if all things remain equal, we'll host The Thundering Turd and The Stink in 2021. Forget "Rivalry Saturday" this will be "Rivalry Season."

I refer to the team from WV as the Blundering Turds, but Thundering Turd is close enough...

I like alliteration, it makes things easier.

[moehler]

attendance at collage football games are in a downward turn across the board, even the biggest schools are having trouble filling their stadiums, that trend isn't going to change soon, I think smaller crowds will become the norm. As far as App, next round of expansions, if it ever happens, should be between 30-32 thousand with 35 thousand being the absolute maximum.

[EastHallApp]

attendance at collage football games are in a downward turn across the board, even the biggest schools are having trouble filling their stadiums, that trend isn't going to change soon, I think smaller crowds will become the norm. As far as App, next round of expansions, if it ever happens, should be between 30-32 thousand with 35 thousand being the absolute maximum.

It's going to be especially tough for App to fill a bigger stadium because there's no large local population base to draw from. Boise State, for example, not only has nearly twice the enrollment of App, but it's in a city with a population of over 200,000 (over 600,000 in the metro area). I'm sure they draw plenty of not only alums, but just locals who are attracted to a winner.

If App is going to build seating for 10-15K more fans, they better figure out where those fans are going to come from.

[mikeyosef]

If App is going to build seating for 10-15K more fans, they better figure out where those fans are going to come from.

Aside from winning big games, marketing, lot's of clever marketing. I'm not sure how involved the school of business is in helping with athletic marketing efforts but it would seem to me to be a no brainer to put that problem to them as a business case and get them solving it. It is such a great place to spend a day regardless of how good the games are. There are plenty of people who aren't alums who have figured this out. I have a number of friend who didn't go to App but have season tickets because they love the experience. Market the hell out of that for God's sake!

[JTApps1]

We need to get to 30,000 sooner rather than later. That expansion should also be done in a way that we could expand to 35,000 or 40,000 down the road. We may not ever need to have 40,000 seats, but we don't want to limit ourselves or force ourselves to tear something down if the need should ever come up.

Adding 5,000 permanent seats in the north end zone, and expanding the east side by a few thousand should get us to 30,000 pretty easily and inexpensively. As Saint said in another post we could also move to bank closer to the field (we would also decrease the slope some) for overflow.