Made some adjustments.....as I peruse other boards, here is the perception people outside of Iowa State are saying about us. Not saying this is right, but it is what I hear and what we are up against.
Kansas to Big 10?
- Thread starter Naddafinga
- Start date
They were broke and their athletic departments were about to go under. Both schools were pumping in around $30 million a year to keep them afloat. So they jumped for the money, not the love the Big 10.
I usually tell people Iowa State and they say "thats the Hawkeyes right?" Of course that's anecdotal.
I have no idea if that is what many other fan bases are saying about us, but I have seen people post comments like it. I would ask this person one question "if they have so few of fans, then how are they setting records in attendence and up so high in theirs and other conference home attendence per other teams?
People that say crap like this generally have an agenda, and the one the EIU fanbase is pushing hard right now is what this person is saying. Its a silly idea, easily disproven, all you have to do it look at our attendence.
I have also noticed that EIU fans are down playing our success last season, it was a Covid year and without that no way ISU is playing in a major bowl. But its funny how it being a Covid year is never used to explain the success they had in men's and woman's basketball last year or held against those team.
You’re talking to casual fans who probably think Tennessee is a great football program.
If ISU was averaging 30-35k fans a game in FB and 6k in BB, then I would say ISU is a MWC kind of team. However, ISU is way bigger and better than that. ISU absolutely belongs in a major conference regardless of market size. ISU checks all the boxes and then some.
Ah I see we have moved on from Rutgers and now are claiming Oregon was the only reason ISU/ORE had 6.68 million people watch the Fiesta Bowl to keep moving the goal posts.
Welp let's take a look at some of Oregon's regular season games last year:
ORE/CAL - 1.01 million
ORE/ORST (rivalry game) - 2.8 million
ORE/UCLA - 1.08 million
ORE/WSU - 2.73 million
ORE/STAN - 1.66 million
Now ISU:
ISU/TEX - 3.57 million
ISU/KSU - 1.98 million
ISU/OKST - 2.81 million
ISU/TTU - 1.38 million
ISU/OU - 3.71 million
ISU/WVU - 1.22 million
ISU/KU - 247k (trying to be fair and not just pick all the good ones, so chose the dreadful KU game but for reference, this is how bad KU games draw: KU/OU was only 681k)
Long story short is those Oregon numbers compared to the ISU numbers look pretty similar and most are in favor of ISU, especially when you consider most of ISU's are against flyover, rural and isolated schools nobody currently wants. Whereas the massive LA market and the huge Oregon brand got that ORE/UCLA game a whopping 1.08 million viewers. Oregon's game with WSU (even worse shape than ISU for brand, location, fan base, etc.) was super popular at 2.73 million. Hmmmm...why? Because these rural areas all they have is the college football team to watch and entertain themselves.
Welp let's take a look at some of Oregon's regular season games last year:
ORE/CAL - 1.01 million
ORE/ORST (rivalry game) - 2.8 million
ORE/UCLA - 1.08 million
ORE/WSU - 2.73 million
ORE/STAN - 1.66 million
Now ISU:
ISU/TEX - 3.57 million
ISU/KSU - 1.98 million
ISU/OKST - 2.81 million
ISU/TTU - 1.38 million
ISU/OU - 3.71 million
ISU/WVU - 1.22 million
ISU/KU - 247k (trying to be fair and not just pick all the good ones, so chose the dreadful KU game but for reference, this is how bad KU games draw: KU/OU was only 681k)
Long story short is those Oregon numbers compared to the ISU numbers look pretty similar and most are in favor of ISU, especially when you consider most of ISU's are against flyover, rural and isolated schools nobody currently wants. Whereas the massive LA market and the huge Oregon brand got that ORE/UCLA game a whopping 1.08 million viewers. Oregon's game with WSU (even worse shape than ISU for brand, location, fan base, etc.) was super popular at 2.73 million. Hmmmm...why? Because these rural areas all they have is the college football team to watch and entertain themselves.
Last edited:
Playing Auburn who was top 10 and is a bigger program probably helped that no?
Cyclonepride
Thought Police
I talk to people all the time who are wearing team apparel and have no clue how the team is even doing because they don't even watch the games. These people are not the reason that college sports draws huge revenue. It's the people who simply cannot miss a game, who eat and breath college sports, and will hate relatives forever for scheduling a wedding on a football Saturday. Those people know who all the teams are, and they are the target market.
Yes, the average EIU fan is going to take every shot they can. That’s who they are. In fact, it’s an attitude I see with a lot of Big Ten fans.No question the average ISU fan is above that.
Most people I meet around the country are really not into college sports at all. But, if I mention ISU, they usually recognize our team as the ‘Cyclones’. That’s changed over the last 20 years. Plus, they typically like ISU and want good things for us (maybe it’s an underdog thing).
Agree with this... it's not the market size... it's the passionate fans IN the market.
Whenever I go on vacation or a different part of the country, I get compliments all the time about ISU when I am wearing the gear. ISU is gaining ground everywhere these days. Not saying they are a juggernaut, but they are bigger than the talking heads perceive.
It was Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl with almost 17 million viewers. Oregon is the most viewed team on the West coast. I was a little surprised to find they consistently have higher ratings than USC.
Except two seconds of research would disprove that "perception"
Here's a link to the fan message boards. It's brutal.
College Football Forums Guide - Find popular message boards for all 131 FBS (D1A) teams
Links to the most popular forums for all 131 Football Bowl Subdivision (D1A) teams.
www.footballforumsguide.com
I listened to a video from Ohio St. Inside Scoop by Tom Orr, and he had a Big 10 "insider" on. I have no idea his credentials but he said in the Kansas pitch to the B1G, they are selling that their market spills in to Denver also. It said Western Kansas is covered by cable companies out of Denver, bringing the B1G into the Denver market also.
Not saying its valid but just passing it along.
Not saying its valid but just passing it along.
Ah I guess the Auburn-Oregon game from a couple years back did terrific numbers too. But again, you're talking about Wisconsin which is actually a bigger "brand" than Oregon is.
But yeah tbh no one really cares about USC. No one really cares about college sports as a whole in California.
