BYU fan questions institution's commitment to big time--but what about them?

[Fido]

I was reading an interesting discussion on another message board about some of the schools who are big time like in the SEC or Notre Dame and where the money for the program comes from. One comment often heard is "the church has money, they should dump a bunch of it into the football program so they can be successful". But these big time football schools don't do it that way. They have a big time commitment from fans and boosters.

An example provided was Auburn. This is the description of how you buy tickets:

You must first contribute the Athletic fund then for that donation which is steep you get the privilege of buying two season books[season tickets for one seat].

At Auburn your donation for the books depends on the area where you are seated. End Zones and Upper Deck from the 20's to the goal line all start with an $800 donation followed by two season books which at Auburn will run you ~ $550 per book with the mandatory $20 bucks delivery fee per ticket included in the price I just gave you. For sideline seats from the 20 to the goal line or for seats in the upper deck from the 20's to the 50 think $1200 in donations and then the $550 per book. For seats from the 20's to 50's at field level you are looking at $2000 plus the ticket. For the orange theater seats underneath the overhang of the upper deck it's a half scholarship to full scholarship and the luxury boxes are $100,000 per unit and up depending upon amenities and the number of seats in the suites.

Alabama, L.S.U., Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Texas A&M are all very similar.

If you do quick math, that means an end zone seat will run you somewhere around $1,900 for 2 season tickets--with the limit on how many seats that gets you. At BYU you can buy as many tickets as are available in your desired section, and get a pair of cheapest end zone season tickets for $240 without a Cougar Club donation (though this increases selection priority).

And fans often complain about how much their tickets cost for the results on the field--debating whether or not to give their seats up until the product on the field improves. Let's face it. Fans around here are not "big time" like SEC or ND fans just like the program is not "big time" like those schools. If it was, I imagine it would be out of many of our price range for a pair of tickets let alone bringing the 8 kids for an afternoon game.

It would be awesome to see this great home schedule do well. Michigan State in September, Utah State on Conference weekend, Missouri and Houston in October, Halloween free to spend with family, then a San Diego State revenge game in November followed by a "bring the whole family since tickets will be available cheap" event in North Alabama just before Thanksgiving.

[Sammich]

This is a bad argument, because 1. There's no guarantee that extra money is going to go to a bigger/better coach. With all the political crap surrounding Sitake's hire and rehire and the restrictions on the coach being a temple-recommend-holder, chances seem pretty good that extra money is either going to pad the pockets of someone undeserving of more or just be wasted on dumb stuff like fireworks or practice facilities that BYU won't let the athletes use. And 2. how much money do the fans need to shell out in order to get someone who can tip the needle for our significant recruiting disadvantages? I am guessing it's a lot, and I'm guessing you're going to have a hard time finding fans willing to put that type of money in even if it did make a difference.
I'd buy the argument that BYU could get better coaches with more money in most situations, but given all the other garbage surrounding the hiring of coaches and the stuff they're actually able to do with the hand BYU deals them, I'm not sure extra money is going to be enough by itself.

[Sammich]

And just to clarify, I realize that these same issues exist even if the money comes from the church instead. So my argument is less whether to put it on the fans' shoulders or not, and more skepticism that money is the major issue we're facing. It's mostly due to inept management and competing priorities between us and the Board of Trustees.

[frdbtr]

I've said it before and I will say it again. BYU can't even recruit the same type of guys that led us to the NC in 84 or a 14-1 record in 96. Most of those guys wouldn't qualify because of the honor code, or more importantly, academics. We have lost so many recruits to other schools because of our academic requirements that it isn't even funny. I am not a fan of Sitake's coaching but BYU is going to have a hard time competing at the level they want until they relax some of the academic standards and put them back to where they were before the 2004 scandals. More money into the program will help but not as much as changing some of the requirements we have academically.

[CougarCrazy]

BYU doesn’t want big money donors who want to give money with a say on where it’s spent. I thought they also close coaches circle to new donations when they don’t want any more?

BYU either doesn’t want to win, or is extremely arrogant and thinks they can win without the effort, work, and money other programs use. They keep hiring coaches looking for on the job training.

Seems uncommitted and small time to me.

[Gunk]

Auburn can charge that much because there is demand for their product. They put out a good, winning product.

BYU could do the same as Auburn if...if they put out a product like Auburn. They don't. We lose too much.

Fans complain about the cost of tickets because the cost doesn't match the "value" of the product. It isn't just a game. It's an experience and it's a season-long experience. It's being part of something amazing; a season long journey as your alma matter makes a run for a conference and national championship. The pride of your alma mater!

BYU offers a fraction of the journey and a poor in-game experience. No one wants to pay high dollars to watch their alma mater struggle to beat DII teams. If you're going to offer that as the experience, you better not be charging me top dollar.

It's the same phenomenon with movies these days. People go to the movie theaters to see huge blockbusters not dramas. The experience of seeing the movie on a big screen with theater sound adds to it and justifies the cost. Watching a drama or romantic comedy in the movie theater isn't worth the extra coin, so people wait till it's out on rental. It's why trilogies and multi-film sagas are doing better than single, stand alone films. It's a journey and people will pay top dollar to experience and be part of the journey.

BYU doesn't even know where it is going. What's the point? What are we playing for other than to play? Conference championship? Nope. National championship? Nope. There is very little on the table, and there is low demand for that type of experience. Holmoe has it all wrong. He's offering a romantic comedy but under the guise of the Avengers.

Auburn can charge what they want and get it because they offer an elite experience and deliver on it. BYU doesn't.

[snoscythe]

Baylor just raised ~$765 million last year by soliciting donations in a concerted direct mail and media campaign and by selling naming rights to various facilities and projects.

Two things BYU athletics will never do.

[Gunk]

Baylor just raised ~$765 million last year by soliciting donations in a concerted direct mail and media campaign and by selling naming rights to various facilities and projects.

Two things BYU athletics will never do.

And Baylor fans happily paid three quarters of a billion dollars. Why? Because they believe in their school.

[a1247]

BYU either doesn’t want to win, or is extremely arrogant and thinks they can win without the effort, work, and money other programs use.

This and the academic standards are imo the main issues. This belief and refusal to change leads me to believe it really is 100% no longer about winning. If your not in it to win then shut the program down. God doesn't care about football and a losing football team isn't going to draw anyone's attention to any religion.

[byufan4ever]

I've said it before and I will say it again. BYU can't even recruit the same type of guys that led us to the NC in 84 or a 14-1 record in 96. Most of those guys wouldn't qualify because of the honor code, or more importantly, academics. We have lost so many recruits to other schools because of our academic requirements that it isn't even funny. I am not a fan of Sitake's coaching but BYU is going to have a hard time competing at the level they want until they relax some of the academic standards and put them back to where they were before the 2004 scandals. More money into the program will help but not as much as changing some of the requirements we have academically.

I agree 100% with this.