A lot of Top Prospects came through here just this year alone: Carlos Correa, Hunter Renfroe, Travis Jankowski, Mark Appel are just a few.
Attendance and homecoming
- Thread starter MinerInWisconsin
- Start date
A lot of Top Prospects came through here just this year alone: Carlos Correa, Hunter Renfroe, Travis Jankowski, Mark Appel are just a few.
I don't understand how your expectations for a better value equals to Utep being in a more significant conference. It's not just in Utep's power to go nudge themselves in CUSA. CUSA sees EL PASO as boring as you see basketball. I'm a family man and I always look for a better value like you. But as a sports fan I'm a realist of my expectations. While you can get $5 tickets for a Chihuahua game. You end up blowing $100 on the most overpriced food and drinks in town. Once the Chihuahuas lose their glimmer, they will also become a boring spectacle to you. If you want value go to a High School football game. But then again...you will be dissapointed because most El Paso schools "aren't competitive" in the playoffs. So I guess that could become boring too. I believe the Utep football team only lost one home game last year. Despite the horrible coaching at times, the kids played their hearts out. Attendance was awful despite their winning record. I think the Boring factor in all of this are all the lame and fair weather El Paso fans that have off the wall expectations.They get pissed at the coaching, at why we only won bye 10 points, on why we play teams that are "beneath us"...they use these excuses to justify their negativity. I was at the Arizona/ Utep BB game. It wasn't sold out. I had a friend tell me the night before that he wasn't going because we were going to get our ass kicked. He's the same person that bitches all the time that we play lame teams and that's why he refuses to go to BB and football games. I may also add that this friend also is a mess all week when his NFL team loses. People like him think that their team should never lose or suck. If CUSA basketball is garbage and you say we haven't done anything special....Do you think being in another conference we would do much better? I get the value part ....just don't get the rest of you point.
Attendance has gone up and season tickets have gone up. Most of the 3 to 5 year term season tickets are sold out. I promise you that they will not lose their glimmer because they are a first class organization.
What do you spend $100 on? You can get a hot dog, soda, and chips for $8. Concession prices aren't any better at UTEP games.
I don't think you understood the gist of my comment. I'm not comparing the value for your money. I love going to Chihuahua games as much as you do. I have a family of 4 and after they splurge in nachos, snow cones and lemonade and of course my beer, I do blow $100 in one night. That is not a complain. Just as I don't complain on buying season tickets for Utep football for the last 5 years without giving a hoot who we play that year. I do it because I love football and I make that Saturday an event. We tailgate and go there to watch football and have a good time. What I don't agree with people saying that our conference is garbage and throwing that "value" argument into the mix. You are comparing apples and oranges. Just as you are comparing watching "Big Leage" base ball players and seeing Utep vs Incarnate Word.I hope the Chihuahuas continue to do well. We need quality entertainment in this town.
I will guess 35k.
The opponents DO matter. The occasional fan will go see a game if the opponent interests them, pisses them off, or are very good. So yes, being in CUSA does affect attendance.
What I think has effected the overall attendance a lot is the tailgating/parking rules. While the new roads around the stadium have improved the flow of heavy traffic, it also eliminated a buttload of parking spaces closer to the stadium. (like along the side of the road) No where along Sun Bowl Dr can you park in the street. Now the closest parking lots are "reserved" and mostly go unused. The close Handicapped parking lot stays mostly empty even for the Texas game. Since a lot of those folks use the shuttle anyway, why not move that lot farther away?
You can't really tailgate in a UTEP lot. Can't block a spot using a tent. Have to tear down by gametime. Gustapo walking around barking out orders of what you can't do.
UTEP has taken the fun and convenience out of a college football game, thus killing attendance in the process. You can't have a crappy boring team, AND make it a hassle to go have fun, then expect good crowds.
BTW....run, run, run, punt offense IS boring and no one aside from Kugler likes to watch it.
The opponents DO matter. The occasional fan will go see a game if the opponent interests them, pisses them off, or are very good. So yes, being in CUSA does affect attendance.
What I think has effected the overall attendance a lot is the tailgating/parking rules. While the new roads around the stadium have improved the flow of heavy traffic, it also eliminated a buttload of parking spaces closer to the stadium. (like along the side of the road) No where along Sun Bowl Dr can you park in the street. Now the closest parking lots are "reserved" and mostly go unused. The close Handicapped parking lot stays mostly empty even for the Texas game. Since a lot of those folks use the shuttle anyway, why not move that lot farther away?
You can't really tailgate in a UTEP lot. Can't block a spot using a tent. Have to tear down by gametime. Gustapo walking around barking out orders of what you can't do.
UTEP has taken the fun and convenience out of a college football game, thus killing attendance in the process. You can't have a crappy boring team, AND make it a hassle to go have fun, then expect good crowds.
BTW....run, run, run, punt offense IS boring and no one aside from Kugler likes to watch it.
And how many of them went directly from San Antonio to San Diego. None. Yes, AA has many of their prospects but they aren't ready for the big leagues yet. Most of the prospects have to be developed so they play in AA. Some of them are barely out of high school or just played 1 year in college. But when they are on the verge of playing in MLB, they come to El Paso. Austin Hedges played in San Antonio, came to EL Paso then went to the Padres for pretty much the entire season. Hunter Renfroe is their top prospect, he played most of the year in San Antonio this season, and got called up to El Paso with like 15 games left in the season, and tore it up here. Next year he will more than likely be playing here and will get called up to San Diego for the majority of the season. Last season Matt Wisler and Jace Peterson started out in AA, moved up to EP. This year they were traded to Atlanta but both of them played in Atlanta for pretty much the entire season. So you are rso
28,500
Things working against attendance
1. Brutal Schedule-getting blown out the first two games and then squeaking by 2 cupcake teams.
2. Parking/Tailgating changes made mostly during the Price years.
3. Lukewarm media attention for the game.
Our core of dieheard football fans is somewhere around 20k who pretty much show up more matter what. The difficulty is getting those other 30k interested, things I think could help.
1. Open up parking and relax the tailgating policies a bit, that seems to really drive away the casual fan.
2. PROMOTIONS PROMOTIONS PROMOTIONS, like half off with price's milk jug or free caps or shirts.
3. Total social media overload, have everyone and their mom post on facebook, twitter, instagram, and snap chat about the game. USE the current players, past players (ESPECIALLY THE FAMOUS ONES), local celebrities and local media.
4. JUST WIN BABY!
Things working against attendance
1. Brutal Schedule-getting blown out the first two games and then squeaking by 2 cupcake teams.
2. Parking/Tailgating changes made mostly during the Price years.
3. Lukewarm media attention for the game.
Our core of dieheard football fans is somewhere around 20k who pretty much show up more matter what. The difficulty is getting those other 30k interested, things I think could help.
1. Open up parking and relax the tailgating policies a bit, that seems to really drive away the casual fan.
2. PROMOTIONS PROMOTIONS PROMOTIONS, like half off with price's milk jug or free caps or shirts.
3. Total social media overload, have everyone and their mom post on facebook, twitter, instagram, and snap chat about the game. USE the current players, past players (ESPECIALLY THE FAMOUS ONES), local celebrities and local media.
4. JUST WIN BABY!
I think this has been covered before, but almost every school has these types of rules.
UT Austin has these rules: http://gamedayr.com/sports/college-ncaa/tailgating-austin-texas-longhorns/
UTSA's rules look worse than UTEP'S: http://www.utsa.edu/gameday/tailgating.html
We can go on and on. And a big problem was the fact that a lot of those people tailgating weren't going into the game and some were even staying till Monday morning. If you attended UTEP in the early to mid 2000s every Monday the campus was littered with trash and the professors would say how drunks had tried to break into buildings and people were pissing everywhere. It was a mess at that time.
UT Austin has these rules: http://gamedayr.com/sports/college-ncaa/tailgating-austin-texas-longhorns/
UTSA's rules look worse than UTEP'S: http://www.utsa.edu/gameday/tailgating.html
We can go on and on. And a big problem was the fact that a lot of those people tailgating weren't going into the game and some were even staying till Monday morning. If you attended UTEP in the early to mid 2000s every Monday the campus was littered with trash and the professors would say how drunks had tried to break into buildings and people were pissing everywhere. It was a mess at that time.
Right on. Just more proof on how pathetic our athletic director and athletic dept. are. Just what you mentioned, then throw in how they turned down a MW invite to stay in this sorry ass conference with sorry ass teams that nobody cares about and we have no rivalries with. Then you have a basketball coach who's system is just as boring as watching Kugler's system. We could be watching UNM, CSU, UNLV, SDSU, Wyoming every season at the Don, just like the old days(watching our true rivals), but we are watching FIU, FAU, USM, Rice, La Tech.
Winning cures all. I dont think UTEP should lower ticket prices. Football revenue is what supports the other programs at UTEP. I blame this year on horrible scheduling, marketing wise we had the worst schedule in the country. I also think like many schools we should sale prime tailgating spots. The parking lots i would keep free but I would sale campus spots and let people tailgate anywhere other than centenial plaza. Use the revenue from the sales to pay clean up crews.
You made my point. Big prospects get a cup of coffee in triple A. Hedges for example played about 14 games in El Paso. You will get to see some big prospects for a short time. Night in night out you mostly see journeyman and utility players. Alot of clubs promote stars out of double A I know the twins and astros both called guys up directly from double a this year.
There will still always be at least 1 top prospect in the lineup. It might not be the same name but there will always be at least 1 and you will see the other teams top prospects too. The competition is at a very high level. Much more so than watching crappy CUSA teams play for the price of a good seat at a baseball game.
Good points. But once again our Athletic Department sucks ass. NMSU's new AD at least tried to get the Georgia State game sold out with a strong marketing campaign and businesses purchasing tickets. What does Bob Dull do??????? I sure he is thinking UTEP is too good to do what NMSU's AD did. Our Athletic Department needs fresh blood. Stull is just a dead end athletic director.
At the end of the day the best thing this team can do is win and build a culture of success. For a majority of people in this city the football program is an embarrassment given their lack of competitiveness for the last 50 plus years. You can't blame people for not having any pride in a football team that 1) gets blown out on national TV and 2) plays a mundane style of football. The first half of the Incarnate Word game was bad, you could hear the groans in the stadium as The Miners were running the ball on 3rd downs in the first half. But as the offense was opening up and throwing the ball downfield people were turning, just like in the NMSU game. They need to keep winning and they need to do it in an exciting way to get people interested in this team.
You just proved my point. You splurge. You stated before the concession prices for the Chihuahuas are high. They actually aren't. You just buy more food and drinks than you should buy.
While winning usually cures most things,it doesn't always. I was tailgating every game for more than 20 years. We knew we were going to lose most of the time, but we were there. Back then, no one gave a crap if we stayed out or went in. Our group would be a party of more than 50 people. While at the "event" we had, folks that didn't have tickets would join us going to the game by buying tickets at the gate. Sure, some stayed out, partied, watched our stuff, or whatnot, the majority went in. When Stull implemented the new rules, he also lost the chance for walk up fans and also drove away some current ones with the arrogant attitude. We are NOT Texas. Our rules should be more fan friendly to increase participation. Not limit it.
BTW some idiot fans will always exist. Drunks will be drunks. EVERY school deals with it regardless of what school it is. These rules have hurt utep more than helped.
You can't blame the school for limiting how long the drunks are on the campus. Especially when some of those weeks it was getting out of hand with the garbage, the drinking, and not to mention the fights that were breaking out. Remember that massive brawl that broke out in like 2006/2007? People would leave behind so much garbage there were times where it wasn't completely cleaned up till Tuesday or Wednesday. And when people were trying to get into the offices of the buildings on campus and pissing the halls you can't blame the school for clamping down. Maybe your group of people were there to have fun and they cleaned up after themselves but the sad truth is most didn't. They're bringing almost the same amount of fans and they're not paying for all the cleanup, and the extra security. Plus you're not having to park further away because people were taking up parking near campus and not going to the game. I would love to be able to tailgate from 8:00 AM till past midnight like the old days but it's never going to happen anymore. Just accept it.
How can you blame this year on horrible scheduling???? Even before the year began I am sure you were expecting UTEP to be 2-2 heading into the UTSA game. UTSA has played #22 Arizona, #25 Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and Colorado State. That is a brutal schedule. We got to play NMSU(barely beat them) and IW(barely beat them).
Last season we were winning and never came close to filing up the Sun Bowl. We averaged 28 k last season and played in a half empty Sun Bowl every home game and we had a winning season. Winning does not cure everything.
UTEP has problems. Still, it isn't a UTEP Athletics versus El Paso Chihuahuas issue. UTEP is doing a lot of things wrong. The Chihuahuas are doing a lot of things right. None of us actually know what kind of town El Paso is other than we like a winner and turn out in droves when a team is doing well. UTEP has to schedule, fund, and promote everything on its own. Yes, I am aware the conference schedule is set by CUSA. The Chihuahuas don't have to pay their players as the Padres take care of that. They don't have to set a non conference schedule. They just have to promote the games and they do a very good job at that. It is apples and oranges.
Where were those "droves" of people last season when UTEP did well in football??? 28k per game is a very low number and I don't even think we averaged that low when Price was producing losing seasons.
Didn't you say you're giving up your football and basketball seats? And now you're calling out people who don't go to games?
Last year we were coming off eight straight losing season we had lost the casual fan. What killed attendance last year was two bad showings back to back on national tv. Last year homecoming was against an fcs school transistioning to d1. This year there were high expectations and we laid two giants eggs on national tv. We followed that up with a terrible showing against one the worst schools in the country. The casual fan wasnt going to buy a ticket to the UIW game after the first three games. If it had been the first game we could have got 28-30 k.
Winning does cure all we had seasons averaging over 40 k under both Nord and Price. If we win we will average 40 k.
UTEP has been getting slaughtered on national TV against these major schools we play for decades and we are use to it. You make it seem like the fans are use to beating teams like Arkansas , Kansas State every year in our non conference schedule and its a big let down when they lose and it jacks up attendance the rest of the season. When Price and Nord were getting 40k, we played in a better conference with better teams., better competition. CUSA teams suck and nobody wants to waste money watching this crappy conference. We would always make fun of NMSU for crappy attendance cause they played in the Sun Belt, and now we are slowly sinking down to a Sun Belt level conference and attendance is reflecting that. Attendance for basketball and football will continue to drop as long as we play in CUSA. People don't care about UTSA, La Tech, Marshal, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, etc...
I didn't use the word splurge, Mextex915 did. And you're right, I do not have kids. And if I did, not every kid would get their own snow cone, nachos, and lemonade. There is a thing called sharing.
I agree 100 percent with this, especially with all the strict rules the university as in place. It's no longer fun to go to the games.
I agree. I walked around campus before the game on Saturday. It seemed like a ghost town.
UTEP wants to sell beer in-stadium instead of fans drinking it cheaply outside the stadium.
I've tried that hotdog combo for $8..I believe that's what it cost. Not to filling. Try to say no to a kid that wants nachos served in a dog bowl or a pinaple with Mexican candy in it. Not easy.
Just support our local teams dammit! Who the hell cares what conference we are aligned with or if they sell cheap food or not. If we were in the PAC 10 people would still bitch and moan. If they gave away food it wouldn't be up to people's standards. Go UTEP!!!
On the social media front, UTEP Athletics does an abysmal job.
God bless the UTEP employee who had to explain social media to Stull.
#FireStull
We should have never let Mack Rhoades leave!
God bless the UTEP employee who had to explain social media to Stull.
#FireStull
We should have never let Mack Rhoades leave!
A jumbo hot dog and chips isn't filling? I'm stuffed after eating that. You can't get that combo for $8 at a UTEP game.
Saying no to a kid is easy if your kids aren't spoiled. My parents said no to me a lot and I never cried, I was just happy when they said yes.
Similar threads
