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scott715OK, so I ran some numbers to see how TH is doing with getting BYU to the fan base through football schedules. To help evaluate objectively, I looked at state-by-state statistics:
BYU alumni statistics from http://yfacts.byu.edu/Article?id=290" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and
LDS membership statistics from
I did not account for proximity of states to Provo, from where it would be easier to get to a BYU home game.
The conclusion is the following BYU football schedule formula, showing the number of road games BYU should schedule every 5 years for each region.
Overall, TH has done very well in reaching the fan base, as shown below. The biggest improvement would be to get another game scheduled in Texas (or Oklahoma or Kansas) and a game or two in each of Colorado, Washington/Oregon, and the Mid-Atlantic region (FWIW, Penn St. and Syracuse meet that mark....).
Here are the details, if you're interested:
California - 19.4% of road games: BYU should schedule a California road game EVERY year.
-[SJSU and Poinsettia Bowl in '12, Fight Hunger Bowl in '13, Cal in '14, UCLA and SJSU in '15, Poinsettia Bowl in '16, Fresno St. in '17] CHECK!
Texas/Big 12 territory (mostly Texas) and Arizona/Nevada - 12.9%: BYU should have a road game in Texas/Big 12 AND Arizona/Nevada regions in 4 of 5 years.
-Texas/Big 12: [TCU and Texas and Armed Forces Bowl in '11, Houston in '13, Texas '14, Nebraska in '15(stretch) - need another game in TX, OK, or KS in '16 or '17] ALMOST...
-Arizona/Nevada: [Nevada in '13, UNLV in '15, Arizona in '16 - plenty more from '18 on] CHECK!
Idaho, Northwest, South, and Mid-Atlantic -each 9.7%; BYU should schedule a game in EACH of these regions in 3 out of 5 years
-Idaho: [Boise St. in '14, '16, '18, etc.] CLOSE ENOUGH!
-South: [Ole Miss in '11, Georgia Tech in '12, UCF in '14, MTSU in '14, Miami Beach Bowl in '14, S. Miss in '15?, ECU in '17] CHECK!
-Mid-Atlantic: [Virginia in '13, WVU in Maryland and Cincinnati in '16 - need another (Penn St. and/or Syracuse would do it!!)] OK
-Northwest: [UW in '08, Oregon St. in '12, WSU in '19] OK, not quite; need more PAC 12 NW games.
Great Lakes and Northwest - 6.5%: BYU should schedule a game in these areas 2 out of 5 years
-Great Lakes: [Notre Dame in '12 and '13, Wisconsin in '13, Michigan in '15] CHECK!
-Other West (Colorado, Hawaii, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming): [Hawaii in '11 and '17] OK, but need a game in CO too.
New England - 3.2%; BYU should schedule a road game in New England 1 out of 5 years.
[UConn in '14] CHECK!
It's also interesting to note that, for the most part, BYU alumni and LDS membership statistics are in the same ballpark. However, here are some notable comparisons:
South
LDS membership - 8.5%; BYU alumni - 4%
Texas/Big 12 territory
LDS membership - 8%; BYU alumni - 5.7%
Big Ten territory (Great Lakes)
LDS membership - 4.4%; BYU alumni -3.5%
Mid-Atlantic
LDS membership - 5%; BYU alumni - 4%
Mountain States
LDS membership - 51%; BYU alumni - 63%