IUFB Offseason Updates

[Pagoda 5,402]

2 minutes ago, IndyHoosier1997 said:

Astonishing the the home opener for this team still has 9,000 tickets left. 

Yea.  It's been disappointing to track.  At the end of the day, pre-Cig we had one of the smallest fanbases in CFB, and I get why, IU didn't care about football for decades.  And even with the growth in fan interest over the past year, our fanbase is still one of the smallest in the P2/P4.  I wish more folks would jump on board, but it is what it is, I can't change what people are interested in.

I don't know how many tickets will be sold closer to gameday and what the walk-up crowd might be -- may depend on promotions.  IU probably priced the cupcake games a little too high ($61 is the cheapest available for the general public).  I've seen some other schools selling cupcake games tickets for quite a bit less than we are -- $20 or less and some are just giving them away.

We've sold about 44K tickets for the opener so far and last year's opener was 44K, so I'd think if the weather is good we'll get few more thousand tickets sold.

[Pagoda 5,402]

Here is something good.  A lot more NFL folks around...

[Hovadipo 62,042]

29 minutes ago, Pagoda said:

IU probably priced the cupcake games a little too high ($61 is the cheapest available for the general public).

Yep. This is obnoxious. Add in getting rid of youth tickets (I'd understand if they got rid of them just for B1G season, to be fair) and it's pretty easy to see why sales are where they are. Pack the stadium by any means necessary for the non-cons and the conference season will take care of itself. Some of the ticket office/admin decisions have been head-scratching and really frustrating the last couple of years.

[Lebowski 3,767]

1 hour ago, Pagoda said:

Yea.  It's been disappointing to track.  At the end of the day, pre-Cig we had one of the smallest fanbases in CFB, and I get why, IU didn't care about football for decades.  And even with the growth in fan interest over the past year, our fanbase is still one of the smallest in the P2/P4.  I wish more folks would jump on board, but it is what it is, I can't change what people are interested in.

I don't know how many tickets will be sold closer to gameday and what the walk-up crowd might be -- may depend on promotions.  IU probably priced the cupcake games a little too high ($61 is the cheapest available for the general public).  I've seen some other schools selling cupcake games tickets for quite a bit less than we are -- $20 or less and some are just giving them away.

We've sold about 44K tickets for the opener so far and last year's opener was 44K, so I'd think if the weather is good we'll get few more thousand tickets sold.

Give it time. A lot of folks are skeptic about IUFB. Many think last year was a fluke and are in a holding pattern. This year should change all that. 

29 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

Yep. This is obnoxious. Add in getting rid of youth tickets (I'd understand if they got rid of them just for B1G season, to be fair) and it's pretty easy to see why sales are where they are. Pack the stadium by any means necessary for the non-cons and the conference season will take care of itself. Some of the ticket office/admin decisions have been head-scratching and really frustrating the last couple of years.

Cost of living these days might also be another equation. Folks are pinching pennies, myself included.

[Home Jersey 16,789]

During the non-conference, I expect attendance will be a little better than last year at the beginning of the season. But not much. And people will leave early as they do.

Cig will be annoyed and make some comments that get fans worried he may leave or they'll start reacting defensively. But as long as they take care of business like they should, I think the fanbase will show up big time come conference season. Hopefully if they lose a game earlier than they did last season, the excitement doesn't die down quickly. 

We're all happy as pigs in mud with Cig, rightfully so, but year 2 is very much a "prove it" (again) year for IUFB, IMO. 

[Hovadipo 62,042]

2 minutes ago, Lebowski said:

Cost of living these days might also be another equation. Folks are pinching pennies, myself included.

100%, which is why $60+ get-in price to guaranteed 30+ point wins is obnoxious. In my opinion, it doesn't come off as acting like a big time program, it comes off as ignorant. And it's not the first time. My season tickets are bought and paid for, so I'm not affected, but I wouldn't be dropping $240 before I even leave the driveway to take my family of 4 to watch us beat a G5 by 40.

[Stuhoo 90,789]

23 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

100%, which is why $60+ get-in price to guaranteed 30+ point wins is obnoxious. In my opinion, it doesn't come off as acting like a big time program, it comes off as ignorant. And it's not the first time. My season tickets are bought and paid for, so I'm not affected, but I wouldn't be dropping $240 before I even leave the driveway to take my family of 4 to watch us beat a G5 by 40.

With NIL the university is most certainly running a business. Getting rid of youth tickets and pricing crap non-conference games at a relatively high $61 face value price is a 'no guarantees' business strategy. However, if, as reported, they are selling all but 5,000 tickets at that face value price? Seems as though the business decision has been a sound one. 

The StubHub/SeatGeek prices for all of these sold out conference games are really high. These 'relatively high' but much lower/face value non-con tickets are a chance for people to see a game in person during a nice weather time of the year for far less. $245 for four tickets for ODU may seem like a lot, but for many that is a better option than $700 for four tickets for Wisconsin.

Making the minimum face value ticket high for the non-con also requires the season ticket holders to ante up if they want face value tickets to the better games. So for those lame-@$$ games like Friday night against ISU? The StubHub price is going to be cheaper than face value because those season ticket holders who paid IU full price are going to unload them for less than full price. On SeatGeek the current 'all fees included' get-in price for a pair for ODU is $26 per ticket. Some season ticket holder paid IU $61 each for those, yet the less-funded public can get in far cheaper.

I hate to sound like a Kelley School geek (I'm not one), but this business strategy seems to make good sense.

[Pagoda 5,402]

8 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

During the non-conference, I expect attendance will be a little better than last year at the beginning of the season. But not much. And people will leave early as they do.

Cig will be annoyed and make some comments that get fans worried he may leave or they'll start reacting defensively. But as long as they take care of business like they should, I think the fanbase will show up big time come conference season. Hopefully if they lose a game earlier than they did last season, the excitement doesn't die down quickly. 

We're all happy as pigs in mud with Cig, rightfully so, but year 2 is very much a "prove it" (again) year for IUFB, IMO. 

He may be a little annoyed, but we’re paying him $9M/yr and his staff like $12M+/yr (top-10).  Plus we have exceeded our NIL promises to him.  That’s a massive commitment.

He’ll get over so-so interest in the cupcake games, especially with $60 tickets.  We are still way up on ticket sales.

[Hovadipo 62,042]

2 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

With NIL the university is most certainly running a business. Getting rid of youth tickets and pricing crap non-conference games at a relatively high $61 face value price is a 'no guarantees' business strategy. However, if, as reported, they are selling all but 5,000 tickets at that face value price? Seems as though the business decision has been a sound one.

The StubHub prices for all of these sold out conference games is really high. These 'relatively high' but much lower/face value non-con tickets are a chance for people to see a game in person during a nice weather time of the year for far less. $245 for four tickets for ODU may seem like a lot, but for many that is a better option than $700 for four tickets for Wisconsin.

There's only 1 sold out game on the schedule. I can buy 4 for Wisconsin right now, from IU, for $280. And weather niceness is subjective, but I sat on the surface of the sun watching IU pound Charlotte last year on the same weekend that we play Illinois this year.

Not a business expert by any means, but I think making IUFB accessible in the non-con pays better gains long term than trying to squeeze every cent you can out of tickets. 

[IUHoosierJoe 2,175]

24 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

During the non-conference, I expect attendance will be a little better than last year at the beginning of the season. But not much. And people will leave early as they do.

Cig will be annoyed and make some comments that get fans worried he may leave or they'll start reacting defensively. But as long as they take care of business like they should, I think the fanbase will show up big time come conference season. Hopefully if they lose a game earlier than they did last season, the excitement doesn't die down quickly. 

We're all happy as pigs in mud with Cig, rightfully so, but year 2 is very much a "prove it" (again) year for IUFB, IMO. 

Cig is 130-37 (.778) as a head coach, 30-6 (.833) in FBS, and 11-2 (.846) at IU.  He doesn’t have squat to prove to anybody.  The “prove it” years are in the rear-view mirror.  I would hope our entire fan base comes to understand that before we lose him.

[Home Jersey 16,789]

The stadium atmosphere is directly correlated with ticket prices. The NBA had great environments when the tickets were generally affordable / accessible to their fanbases. Since it became prohibitively expensive and the league started catering itself more towards corporate accounts, the profits may be higher than ever but the atmosphere sucks more than ever too. It would be a shame for college sports to go the same way, but it probably will IMO and likely to end up being a bona fide semi pro league with loose affiliation to schools. 

[AH1971 3,436]

9 minutes ago, IUHoosierJoe said:

Cig is 130-37 (.778) as a head coach, 30-6 (.833) in FBS, and 11-2 (.846) at IU.  He doesn’t have squat to prove to anybody.  The “prove it” years are in the rear-view mirror.  I would hope our entire fan base comes to understand that before we lose him.

Cignetti may not have too, but IU as a football program most certainly does. Most pundits chalk last season up to a gift B10 schedule and a cake non-conference slate. They're still talking about future non-conference schedules to this day. It's been a longgggg time since IU has seen any kind of sustain success on the gridiron and that success typically only lasts a few seasons. The last time IU was in this position to start the year, and it wasn't that long ago, it was over before it started. Winning 9-10 games this year will go a long way. IU is not going to get the benefit of the doubt until they start winning at consistently at a high-level. I'm sure Cignetti understands this. 

[Home Jersey 16,789]

6 minutes ago, IUHoosierJoe said:

Cig is 130-37 (.778) as a head coach, 30-6 (.833) in FBS, and 11-2 (.846) at IU.  He doesn’t have squat to prove to anybody.  The “prove it” years are in the rear-view mirror.  I would hope our entire fan base comes to understand that before we lose him.

I'd hope so too but I doubt the majority of the fanbase is as in tune as the posters on this board. It's a prove it year for IUFB's fanbase that we're a school worthy of retaining its winning coach, that means showing up for the team as he had to ask fans to do last year. Every year is a prove it year for the coaches. Nobody outside IU and our fans think we can go back to the CFP this year. Very much need to show it wasn't a fluke IMO. 

[IUHoosierJoe 2,175]

5 minutes ago, AH1971 said:

Cignetti may not have too, but IU as a football program most certainly does. Most pundits chalk last season up to a gift B10 schedule and a cake non-conference slate. They're still talking about future non-conference schedules to this day. It's been a longgggg time since IU has seen any kind of sustain success on the gridiron and that success typically only lasts a few seasons. The last time IU was in this position to start the year, and it wasn't that long ago, it was over before it started. Winning 9-10 games this year will go a long way. IU is not going to get the benefit of the doubt until they start winning at consistently at a high-level. I'm sure Cignetti understands this. 

Cignetti expects every game to be sold out this year.  That’s what he’s said.  He expects to add on to the stadium in years to come to hold all of the fans.  That’s what he’s said.  People not buying tickets until he proves he’s not another Tom Allen might want to look at his record again and take note of what he’s said.

[Pagoda 5,402]

36 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

The stadium atmosphere is directly correlated with ticket prices. The NBA had great environments when the tickets were generally affordable / accessible to their fanbases. Since it became prohibitively expensive and the league started catering itself more towards corporate accounts, the profits may be higher than ever but the atmosphere sucks more than ever too. It would be a shame for college sports to go the same way, but it probably will IMO and likely to end up being a bona fide semi pro league with loose affiliation to schools. 

I agree high prices are atmosphere killers.  The corporate folks don’t care and honestly rich older people just aren’t as wild as younger people (see student sections).

Fortunately, I haven’t seen the tribalism that powers college sports dissipate much if at all since NIL/portal started.  Just my opinion.  We may not know the players as well, but people see their school’s name on the jersey and they still lose their minds.

As for fans getting priced out of college sports — it doesn’t seem too bad yet.  Stadiums are bigger and less luxurious, which helps.  But it will probably happen slowly over time like you said, hopefully very slowly.  I look at Baylor’s new arena, Houston’s renovated arena, and Northwestern’s new stadium… maybe some early warning signs…

The other consideration is home/bar viewing getting so good it’s hard to get fans to show up.  VR will eventually be perfected and widely adopted and those new sports bars with an IMAX-like screen are unbelievable.  That will be a sad day.

[DChoosier 9,956]

I had hoped that the excitement of last year might carry over to a sellout for the OD game as it is the opener and they are the best of the three bad teams we play. As noted there are 9,000 seats available for $61 but you can get OD tickets on Stubhub for $30.

Out of curiosity I checked out Stubhub prices for Alabama’s first gimmie game and saw many tickets for $23-25 (including fees).  Stubhub has many $18-20 tickets for the Penn State opener against Nevada!!  The demand to go to games that are designed to be crappy just isn’t very high.

[Lebowski 3,767]

12 minutes ago, DChoosier said:

I had hoped that the excitement of last year might carry over to a sellout for the OD game as it is the opener and they are the best of the three bad teams we play. As noted there are 9,000 seats available for $61 but you can get OD tickets on Stubhub for $30.

Out of curiosity I checked out Stubhub prices for Alabama’s first gimmie game and saw many tickets for $23-25 (including fees).  Stubhub has many $18-20 tickets for the Penn State opener against Nevada!!  The demand to go to games that are designed to be crappy just isn’t very high.

THIS^^^

Non-con games for the big dogs have the same issues we're talking about here in this thread. We're just new at this kind of stuff. LOL!

[DChoosier 9,956]

I am 110% on board with scheduling “sure win” non-conference games.  That being said, 2026 looks a little more interesting than this year but 2027 is absolutely putrid. You would think we could find a couple of “less crappy” crappy teams to play.

IU's non-league schedules

2025: ODU, Kennesaw St, Indiana St

2026: Howard, Colorado St, WKU

2027: Kennesaw St, Indiana St, UMass

2028: Austin Peay, Miami (Oh), E. Michigan

[TheWatShot 15,634]

2 hours ago, DChoosier said:

I am 110% on board with scheduling “sure win” non-conference games.  That being said, 2026 looks a little more interesting than this year but 2027 is absolutely putrid. You would think we could find a couple of “less crappy” crappy teams to play.

IU's non-league schedules

2025: ODU, Kennesaw St, Indiana St

2026: Howard, Colorado St, WKU

2027: Kennesaw St, Indiana St, UMass

2028: Austin Peay, Miami (Oh), E. Michigan

I wish we'd get an SEC team somewhere in there, just to show them what's up. 

 

We'd better make hay against Big Ten teams and any postseason games, because it's hard for people to take a program seriously when they're scheduling like this. 

[Hardwood83 5,125]

2 questions: Let's say IU goes 10-2, dropping games @ Oregon & PSU.....still making the playoff? Gotta think in that scenario they will be a top 4 B1G team probably including Penn State, Oregon & O$U. 

Second, would you rather IU gets into the playoff again and loses similar to last year, not a blowout, but not really competitive either. OR goes to a Bowl game and wins? 

My answers are 1) Yes, 10-2 gets them back to playoff and 2) I'd rather win a bowl game then lose immediately in the playoff.