New wrestling facility put on hold - Jamie Pollard statement
- Thread starter jcordova8
- Start date
Agree. Take whatever private donations we had lined up for the wrestling facility and send that straight to the collective. Going to get way more bang for your buck.
Improved facilities as a recruiting tool is a Stone Age idea.
Well I guess it depends on what happens with the NCAA, but don’t we currently only sponsor the minimum amount of sports to remain D1?
They do have a great annuity in the Big10/CFP monies.
But the Iowa Athletic Department has already borrowed to remodel Kinnick. Plus with potential of having to pay athletes and damages, it's probably smart for all but top 10 revenue schools to pause facility projects.
- Mar 27, 2006
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They already do. The Big10/SEC draws big viewership already, and more are coming with the additions of high profile teams: Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Oregon, etc. The fans are already built in. That's what makes the venture much less risky.
Startup leagues like the XFL and USFL have to build a following. The Big 2 bring theirs with them. How many Alabama fans are going to say "Well, I like Alabama football, but now that they're in this super league with all of the best college teams in the country, I'm not going to watch."?
Very very few, if any. Those eyeballs aren't going anywhere.
And you attract new viewers by marketing the hell out of the league as the best and brightest version of college sports on the biggest stage. Will you grab every fan of one of the left behind schools? Nope, but you will definitely attract some. Maybe it's similar to a lot of UNI fans, where you support your alma mater, but also cheer for a power conference school. And don't underestimate the gambling crowd. That draws viewers to games that they normally wouldn't follow if they weren't wagering on it.
LOL. Why then does just about every other school do it? They all have the equivalent of Sukup and Johnny’s. And still sell those places out.
I agree with you on this but there are two other things that could stop the P2 consolidation train:
1) As JP pointed out yesterday, the threat that the lower tier SEC and B10 FB programs will eventually get kicked out of their respective conferences by ESPN/Fox due to their lack of TV eyeballs.
2) Fox has already destroyed the ORSt and Wazzu AD programs and next in line is ESPN destroying a number of ACC schools when ESPN declines the ACC TV extension option in 2027. Both ESPN and Fox will then manipulate new homes for those ACC schools they want to fund with premium payouts. The political and financial fallout from that carnage should be enough for the Feds to intervene and end the stranglehold that ESPN and Fox have on the sport. Frankly, the latest CFP extension fiasco (with ESPN maintaining control of CFP TV rights at below market value with unequal revenue sharing) and the destruction already incurred by ORSt and Wazzu should be enough to trigger that Fed intervention. But I suspect that will wait until ACC destruction. And that is why the Syracuse President is Co-Chair of the proposed 70-80 school Super League that would end that destruction but that concept will not occur without Fed intervention.
They do sell them out? Iowa made what, a mill in profit on alcohol sales? I assume the reason to sell has more to do with attendance than financial gain.
Either way it’s not enough to even be a talking point financially.
I don't really think that's how it works for college sports though. People don't follow college sports to see the best teams/athletes out of a pure love of the game. At least not the main revenue sports - those who avidly follow Track or Gymnastics may follow them for that reason. People follow these sports because they are a fan of a team and they have a tie to that team. I definitely don't just watch random teams in random leagues just because they're on, or some ESPN talking head (who I don't watch or listen to) has told me they are the best team to watch. Most fans don't regularly listen to sports radio or tune into ESPN sports talk shows. The NFL already has vastly more fans and TV viewers than college football. If we want to talk about "the best" both in terms of talent and brand, it's the NFL. If people concentrate to the best, that's where they will concentrate.
Most people are not going to watch the P2 unless they already had an interest in watching the P2. That's not going to be nobody - but if the P2 happens and takes the top ~30% of college football brands, I suspect you're looking at that league getting ~40% fewer viewers than the current FBS. That 40% will stay with the non-P2 FBS schools or will just stop watching college football altogether.
Something else I think we should be thinking about - right now we're seeing this as "top brands get rich at the expense of small brands." I think if you look 10-15 years down the road in the next TV contracts I think you start to see even the biggest brands getting smaller TV deals. Not only do we have (what I see as likely) decrease in the total number of college football fans/viewers, but you also have clear signs that the major TV networks who pay the most can't afford to pay this much anymore. I think that trend is only going to increase - especially if Disney spins off ESPN. Where will the money come from? Streamers might have money to match or beat today's deals but why would they overpay in 10 years when ESPN is broke?
I was just illustrating the point that the P2 is already a national product, covering virtually all of the most valuable CFB territory.
Regarding your second paragraph, I'd wager a guess that the top 30ish% of teams bring well over half of the viewers with them. If I can get 60% of the money while only paying for 30% of the product, that's a huge win financially.
Additionally, I think there are a ton of fans who will watch games they don't have a personal tie to just because they love college football. There's tradition, pageantry, and spectacle that NFL can never replicate. Sure, the game is a much higher level of football on the field, but the whole product is almost too sterile for my personal taste and there's a sizable group that feels the same way, especially in the South. For example, I love tuning into a night game at LSU or a white out game at Penn State. The 3rd Saturday in October is becoming appointment television again. Hell, even games like the Egg Bowl, Apple Cup, and Bedlam (RIP) are things I (and a bunch of other unaffiliated fans) seek out. Most of those rivalry games aren't going anywhere.
As to the point you make in your last paragraph, I fully agree that the money will begin drying up as live television viewership continues to decline. I think that's why everyone is interested in capitalizing as much as possible right now with little-to-no regard for the future.
The minimum number of men's sports to be D1 is six. ISU has 6. UNI has the same 6 as ISU. Alabama has the third largest athletic budget in the country. They offer 8 men's sports. If this continues you will see more schools like ISU offering close to the bare minimum.
They both offer 7:
Football
Basketball
Wrestling
Indoor Track
Outdoor Track
Cross Country
Golf
Still room to cut one...
You guys are acting like this will be a NCAA requirement in the future. Maybe but I wouldn’t count on it.
Indoor/Outdoor track is considered one sport. The majority of track athletes compete in both. It's just in indoor track races are run at different distances and certain field events don't work indoors.
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Indoor and Outdoor track are separate sports simply so that low majors can count the same sport twice.
Not that it matters. All non-revenues are dead in the next 10 years.
Football, MBB, WBB, VB, SB, BB are the only survivors with an outside shot at wrestling making it.
Because he could never admit being wrong. He’s done so much for Iowa State, but by golly, what a bill to die on. Sure it’s not a ton of $$ relatively speaking, but maybe it pays for your wrestling program??
Only sell Ames Lager in the stadium
The practice facility race is probably over. Before NIL, nice facilities was how you paid the athletes. Once the athletes get cash, they won’t worry about the facilities as much.
