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Post by yoteforever on Sept 17, 2023 11:58:06 GMT -6
Last year those three teams combined were 10-23.
They played 2 of those games in Fargo plus a “neutral site” game in Minneapolis. When you build your program to where they’re at you have the luxury of playing more than usual amount of home games against lesser opponents. Many FBS teams don’t want to play them for obvious reasons. Secondly when you sell out your stadium every game you can pay opponents to come which is different than us having to go play a Power 5 team for the money.
We need to literally change the culture at USD and create a place that is extremely hostile to opponents. If you have never been to a game in the FargoDome please go. If there was a college class on how to build a program the right way, and I was a professor, the first class I’d have would be a field trip to Fargo on football Saturday. Be in the tailgate lot by 9 or so, then GO IN to watch the game. The remainder of the semester we would then have class on how to achieve that status.
It can be done.
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Post by fightsd on Sept 17, 2023 13:19:56 GMT -6
Last year those three teams combined were 10-23. They played 2 of those games in Fargo plus a “neutral site” game in Minneapolis. When you build your program to where they’re at you have the luxury of playing more than usual amount of home games against lesser opponents. Many FBS teams don’t want to play them for obvious reasons. Secondly when you sell out your stadium every game you can pay opponents to come which is different than us having to go play a Power 5 team for the money. We need to literally change the culture at USD and create a place that is extremely hostile to opponents. If you have never been to a game in the FargoDome please go. If there was a college class on how to build a program the right way, and I was a professor, the first class I’d have would be a field trip to Fargo on football Saturday. Be in the tailgate lot by 9 or so, then GO IN to watch the game. The remainder of the semester we would then have class on how to achieve that status. It can be done. Become a championship caliber team and the dome will fill up. It can't be done the other way around, unfortunately.
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Lamar
Sept 17, 2023 13:34:19 GMT -6
Post by yoteforever on Sept 17, 2023 13:34:19 GMT -6
Last year those three teams combined were 10-23. They played 2 of those games in Fargo plus a “neutral site” game in Minneapolis. When you build your program to where they’re at you have the luxury of playing more than usual amount of home games against lesser opponents. Many FBS teams don’t want to play them for obvious reasons. Secondly when you sell out your stadium every game you can pay opponents to come which is different than us having to go play a Power 5 team for the money. We need to literally change the culture at USD and create a place that is extremely hostile to opponents. If you have never been to a game in the FargoDome please go. If there was a college class on how to build a program the right way, and I was a professor, the first class I’d have would be a field trip to Fargo on football Saturday. Be in the tailgate lot by 9 or so, then GO IN to watch the game. The remainder of the semester we would then have class on how to achieve that status. It can be done. Become a championship caliber team and the dome will fill up. It can't be done the other way around, unfortunately. I respectfully disagree.
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yote18
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Sept 17, 2023 14:50:47 GMT -6
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Post by yote18 on Sept 17, 2023 14:50:47 GMT -6
If you want fans in the seats you gotta win. But after 10 years of mostly losing it’s gonna take some frequent signature wins to start getting interest going again. Look at the rabbits they’re starting to sell out DJD but it took 2 trips to the championship game and a win in one of them to finally get to the potential every game sellout.
As for paying a team to come to verm it won’t happen. The Dome seats 9k, compared with 17k-19k at the XDSU’s, and will never generate enough to pay a team to come unless an alum donates a ton of money or we start shifting funds from other programs to the football program.
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Lamar
Sept 17, 2023 16:24:58 GMT -6
Post by yoteforever on Sept 17, 2023 16:24:58 GMT -6
I agree 18. And fightsd is truthfully valid in what he said as well. The problem with that is you will only build the program on fair weather fans. It’s easy to cheer for someone when they get wins.
And if we’re willing to accept that then that’s all we will ever have. Last weekend the Coyote Brotherhood had their annual reunion. Former players from the 60’s till 2022 descended upon Vermillion. There was a ton of energy and nearly everyone said how much fun it was to go to the tailgate and support this team. Many pledged to buying season tickets for the future.
My point is you don’t have to be a former player or alum to get used to coming to home games and making a day of it. Bringing friends, grilling out, having a beverage and taking in the day. In other words the fans create the atmosphere in partnership with the players and coaches. Maybe pregame concerts or other ideas that makes it “cool” and fun to be part of it. Then go inside and create a ruckus atmosphere.
I’m guessing most posters won’t know this but the Dome was built in a very large part from businessmen and professionals from Sioux City and northwest Iowa. That market has been grossly ignored by our staff. The Argus stinks and their coverage of Coyote sports is worse than that. The Sioux City Journal has done a good job of coveting the Coyotes and the TV market is I think better than Sioux Falls. USD is by far the closest D-1 program for them. A fair number athletes sign letters of intent in all sports from this area. The Coyotes should be the first choice for many if these kids. Business school, education, medical, law, etc. Great programs.
A week or so ago, the most qualified poster we have, obc, correctly stated our success will hinge on our staffs ability to sign good athletes that are self motivated. And I agree. But if our administration would just focus on building lasting relationships with fans and potential fans, butts would would fill the dome and giving would go up as well. You don’t need to be 9-2 every year to create a winning culture. Granted you can’t be 3-8, but if we consistently play competitively in every game we play, and we market it correctly, you can permanently change the culture. It will take years, but you have to start somewhere. Every journey begins with a first step.
We need to create the most absolute fan friendly atmosphere we can. That means renting out tailgate spots to fans not politicians. That means reaching out to them and asking what they want that would make their experience awesome. And acting on those suggestions. If the fans see movement to accommodate them then it’s reasonable to expect increased involvement.
I’m no rocket scientist but I do understand winning and championship teams will fill seats. But in my opinion they will be fleeting. I’d rather have 7000 fans I can count on day in and day out along with 2000 students and band members that have a great college experience. Fill the Dome and make it as tough to play there as anywhere.
Lastly I think of the chicken / egg comparison. What comes first? If recruits see a filled and loud Dome they will come. The truth of the matter is we can’t sustain our athletic department with the level of tickets we currently sell and the giving ( or actually lack of giving ) to the howling Pack. Something has to change. It takes dollars to run a first class program. If we averaged 7000 fans per game, increased donations to the Howling Pack, and increased ticket sales for men’s and women’s basketball I think you’d be amazed at how we could accelerate the things we could do.
I don’t want Coyote athletics to be mediocre at best. I want rings, titles, and banners. Vermillion and USD are hidden gems. There really is a high ceiling. I believe that and I have to believe there’s many others out there that think this way.
Sorry for the rant. I just believe in this school so much I want it to change. Not arguing with anyone’s prior posts, just believe the culture can be changed.
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dbyote
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Lamar
Sept 17, 2023 16:53:33 GMT -6
Post by dbyote on Sept 17, 2023 16:53:33 GMT -6
It will take the right coach to make that happen. Craig and Dawn proved that on the basketball side. I don't think that person is there right now in football. That's just my observation from a far. In my eyes, we have chosen mediocrity as a ceiling.
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bobo
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Sept 17, 2023 17:55:10 GMT -6
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Post by bobo on Sept 17, 2023 17:55:10 GMT -6
Last year those three teams combined were 10-23. They played 2 of those games in Fargo plus a “neutral site” game in Minneapolis. When you build your program to where they’re at you have the luxury of playing more than usual amount of home games against lesser opponents. Many FBS teams don’t want to play them for obvious reasons. Secondly when you sell out your stadium every game you can pay opponents to come which is different than us having to go play a Power 5 team for the money. We need to literally change the culture at USD and create a place that is extremely hostile to opponents. If you have never been to a game in the FargoDome please go. If there was a college class on how to build a program the right way, and I was a professor, the first class I’d have would be a field trip to Fargo on football Saturday. Be in the tailgate lot by 9 or so, then GO IN to watch the game. The remainder of the semester we would then have class on how to achieve that status. It can be done. Become a championship caliber team and the dome will fill up. It can't be done the other way around, unfortunately. The chicken or the egg. Unfortunately, no team other than the champions each year would then pull crowds at games. Support isn’t wavering based on championships, you get up to that level because you are supported through the whole journey, not just at the top of the mountain.
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Post by fightsd on Sept 17, 2023 18:50:12 GMT -6
Become a championship caliber team and the dome will fill up. It can't be done the other way around, unfortunately. The chicken or the egg. Unfortunately, no team other than the champions each year would then pull crowds at games. Support isn’t wavering based on championships, you get up to that level because you are supported through the whole journey, not just at the top of the mountain. You don't have to be at the top of the mountain, but more often than not in recent memory the Yotes have barely made it to base camp. I really had a hard time finding something that fit with the climbing analogy lol. But you know what I mean. I want more than anything to still be interested in Coyote Football when we get into November. I agree with the other posters here, yoteforever, Bobo, etc. It really is a chicken or the egg thing I guess. I tend to lean more on the side of "money can't fix everything" but I agree there's a lot more the general public could do in terms of giving. There needs to be a new excitement about the program and I'm just not convinced we are heading in that direction, unfortunately. That can certainly change quickly, but given recent years I'm being extremely cautious in terms of optimism and outlook. Beating Western Illinois or knocking off state once in a while doesn't cut it. We need to win marquee matchups with some regularity to generate regional interest. We need to beat the bison, state, UND, UNI, etc. Teams that people know and respect. Nobody will be standing around the water cooler tomorrow morning saying, "man the Yotes beat Lamar this weekend. That's a big win. Who do they play next week?" I want us to be relevant in the media markets around us, and we just plain have not had the success that our competition has to facilitate that kind of interest.
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obc
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Post by obc on Sept 17, 2023 19:43:40 GMT -6
The Lamar game was a big step forward for USD. Had the defense been able to stop Lamar from possessing the ball for so long in the first half, or if that INT had not been fumbled, I suspect the game would have been over at half. Ultimately I believe it was a great game from the coaches' standpoint. There was some adversity, the players had to go into half and rally. They answered the challenge and won the game by a comfortable margin. The effort is there IMO. Our defense is playing well. Our OC is discovering the strengths and weaknesses he is dealing with in his unit. He is a very good coach and I expect him to keep the offense improving throughout the year.
NDSU is a very tough test. USD will have to do to NDSU what Lamar did to USD in the first half to win the game. Control the ball. Score TDs in the red zone and not settle for FGs. No devastating turnovers giving NDSU a short field. Do all that and it could be close at the end.
In regards to the discussion on getting people to the games. The next AD needs to be charismatic and determined with the zeal of a missionary to be excellent and demand excellence in everything his or her athletic department touches. We also need to find USD's version of Dana Dykehouse. Ideally a local business leader that isn't scared to be partisan and openly support USD. I am not sure most people not at SDSU understand that man's impact on that school's success and engagement with the business community. Hats off to him. USD can do the same. But there needs to be a leader that when you meet them, exudes confidence and gives everyone they meet the belief that this place is on track to excellence.
The amount of people that show up to games that feel an obligation to attend the games isn't near enough to fill our arenas. Besides the former players and hard core fans - casual fans will only show up if they know they will have a good time attending and will have the opportunity to associate with something greater than themselves. The game day production could be improved drastically. Is that really our University's best effort?! No way! Find out - really find out what people would find fun- don't just send a survey once a year. Listen to your customers and then deliver. Winning is an important piece, but not the only piece. Be respectable and give the fan base hope they can win, and then deliver the most fun you can around the game. The program needs a jump start and if it does, it can create a momentum like I think most people can't imagine. If you haven't read Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point - I highly recommend it. What will our program's tipping point to turn this into what we know it can be?
It is going to take a truly generational leader to step forward and attract the business community and the available fan base. Will the right person hear the call and step forward? We will see. I believe!
Go Yotes!
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bobo
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Lamar
Sept 18, 2023 5:56:12 GMT -6
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Post by bobo on Sept 18, 2023 5:56:12 GMT -6
Extremely well said!
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Post by coffeedrinker11 on Sept 18, 2023 6:14:37 GMT -6
Looking through week 3 of the season:
MVFC record is 20 - 15 Overall
MVFC vs FBS 1 - 10
MVFC vs FCS other conferences 17 - 4
MVFC vs Division 2 1 - 0
One conference game played 1 - 1 which makes a total of 35 games played
Not really relevant to the discussion on the Lamar game but does give a good starting point when looking at the strength of the MVFC. Our season gets significantly tougher on the 30th for the remaining 8 games.
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Post by GoYotes on Sept 19, 2023 19:51:44 GMT -6
This is well done. Sounds like it will be a weekly feature.
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fanatic
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Lamar
Sept 19, 2023 21:43:24 GMT -6
Post by fanatic on Sept 19, 2023 21:43:24 GMT -6
Why do we let the opposing fans sit wherever they want to in the dome? Set a section in the corner for opposing fans and stick to it especially when state comes. It just sucks when state fans sit on the 40 yd line row 1 and 2 and 3. Total bull. shit
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Lamar
Sept 20, 2023 6:47:29 GMT -6
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Post by 90yote on Sept 20, 2023 6:47:29 GMT -6
Why do we let the opposing fans sit wherever they want to in the dome? Set a section in the corner for opposing fans and stick to it especially when state comes. It just sucks when state fans sit on the 40 yd line row 1 and 2 and 3. Total bull. shit There is a section in the NE corner for opposing fans. That will be full on 10/28. Other SDSU fans will be sitting in other seats that were either unsold or sold or given to them by USD fans. There will be a lot of blue in that Dome, I'm afraid.
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fanatic
Sophomore Member
Posts: 101
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Lamar
Sept 20, 2023 20:39:04 GMT -6
Post by fanatic on Sept 20, 2023 20:39:04 GMT -6
Why do we let the opposing fans sit wherever they want to in the dome? Set a section in the corner for opposing fans and stick to it especially when state comes. It just sucks when state fans sit on the 40 yd line row 1 and 2 and 3. Total bull. shit There is a section in the NE corner for opposing fans. That will be full on 10/28. Other SDSU fans will be sitting in other seats that were either unsold or sold or given to them by USD fans. There will be a lot of blue in that Dome, I'm afraid.
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