MT to play at Michigan in 2019
- Thread starter AustinLewis
- Start date
Let's look at your Boise example (If, by similar schedule as MT, you mean 3 games against P5 opponents):
2017 - 2 P5 opponent (Wash State, Virginia)
2016 - 2 P5 opponents (Wash State, Oregon St)
2015 - 2 P5 opponents (Wash, Virginia)
2014 - 1 P5 opponent (Ole Miss)
2013 - 1 P5 opponent (Wash)
2012 - 1 P5 opponent (Mich St)
2011 - 1 P5 opponent (Georgia)
Again, they are not in SEC country and they are the only show in that whole entire wilderness state. Their fans would show up to watch them play southwest nowhere state 2am on a Tuesday. It's not an apples to apples situation.
They have donors and great relationships with businesses there too. They had the money to setup their situation. They're not a commuter school either. BTW, you can count BYU as a P5 IMO because it's a pretty top level program with great attendance and that game is always nationally televised.
They have donors and great relationships with businesses there too. They had the money to setup their situation. They're not a commuter school either. BTW, you can count BYU as a P5 IMO because it's a pretty top level program with great attendance and that game is always nationally televised.
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A few things in response :
1) 50 years ago, Boise was a junior college and they've only been FBS 3-4 years longer than MT.
2) They built their fan base through sustained success and, most importantly, bowl wins. Fans and businesses attach their loyalties to value and success. Their fans show up and watch on a Tuesday at 2am because of the relationship the university has built with the fan base and the sustained success.
3) They are located in a county with a population of just over 400,000 (by comparison : Rutherford County is just over 300,000)
Right and how many SEC schools are near them? How many other FBS programs are near them? What's the closest FBS team to them besides Idaho? Yeah, they were once a little school but before them there was nothing. The population of that entire state is 1.5 million. The population of Metro Nashville alone is 1.8. Again, they are UT there.
You are right about them winning but there are no other pro teams or anything in their state that is close to them to compete with. They capitalized on the momentum and their AD was able to connect with the community.
No other G5 and few other teams in all of college football has has had 20 winning seasons in a row. Comparing us to them in any way is silly.
We have a different challenge than Boise had to face. We're in the middle of $EC country and in a conference that, even though it's concerned about a footprint, isn't big enough to leave one. To most fans, G5 might as well be the new 1-AA and I don't see that changing. As for me, I don't worry much about who we're playing because I'm there to see the team in blue (or whatever color we decide to wear that day.) The upcoming schedules may be a step up, but if we're that worried about mid to lower lever P5 schools, maybe we should drop back down and get a rivalry going with Chattanooga.
Different challenge, yes. MT is in the middle of SEC country, but surrounded by talent. Boise is in the middle of mountains with little football talent in the area (comparatively)
Boise State has a huge advantage in that it's the university in the capital city of the state. Meanwhile, that state's traditional flagship is tucked away in the north in Moscow, Idaho.
Agreed. Boise is an Awesome city to visit. Campus is walking distance to good restaurants, breweries, the state zoo, a river through town....just a very cool spot. Decents hotels in walking distance to campus. There is a reason the NCAA hosts opening round regional basketball tourneys there.
I do wonder if we are supposedly a FBS school why we shouldn't be able to handle a schedule with 3 or 4 P5 teams? I mean B10 schools play 10 P5 games a year. I'm not for challenging the all 4 playoff semifinalists every year, but to say we can only play 1 game a year out against 65 teams in our division seems silly.
If a school is in a division and immediately says they have no business playing more than 1 game a year against half the division, then that school should not be in that division.
If a school is in a division and immediately says they have no business playing more than 1 game a year against half the division, then that school should not be in that division.
The Big 10 schools recruit on a Big 10 level.
Plus, the argument is not what MT FB can handle, but what kind of schedule will grow the fan base and lead to program growth
I think our window has closed...The winds are just too strong. No one saw the cutureal changes in students and how that impacts fandom and future support. Nobody saw the revenue decreases when we joined CUSA, couple that with full cost of tuition and our ability to fund what we have is in doubt.
All we ever had to do was win MT grads and we haven't done it.
We have to now play 3-4 P5 just to try to balance the budget. I will always be True-Blue and I will show up but dang, I feel like we swung and missed.
All we ever had to do was win MT grads and we haven't done it.
We have to now play 3-4 P5 just to try to balance the budget. I will always be True-Blue and I will show up but dang, I feel like we swung and missed.
MT swung and missed because the university is reactive, not proactive. There's no vision.
This 100%. Lack of vision.
A former AD at my other school once told the then basketball coach that as long as the team made the NIT every few years, it was good enough....at an SEC school, that's been to the Final Four. No vision, no expectations.
This has nothing to do with scheduling but....
I wonder what our adminstration's vision is for our football team? What was their goal of moving to FBS? What are their yearly expectations? What are the long term goals? What was the plan to grow and maintain a fanbase? I believe most of us would be disappointed with the answers or lack of answers from MT adminstration.
I don't feel that this AD/University has the will to be anything more than above average.
And it's trickled down into the football program. It's clearly evident in the results of every single good but coulda/woulda/shoulda been season.
Look at the bowl games - it's not that we lose. It's that there's a glaring lack of effort. It's that clear, IMHO. It's sickening and taints the entire offseason - an offseason where you could blitz the fan base with good vibes.
Being great sells. You can even be bad, and spin that into excitement and hope for the future. What you can't do is tread water. It's like watching the same movie over and over again. Sure, it might have been good the first time, but do you still get up for the 11th viewing?
I'm sure i'll get some buzz up when August rolls around and camp starts.
But right now, I've got no passion for MT football. I used to eat up everything, even in the spring. I spend nearly the entire day on the internet for work, and used to spend a lot of time here on gomiddle. Now, I check in maybe once or twice a week.
And if this is the way I feel, and I consider myself a die-hard (even though I don't get to as many games), what chance do we have with the casual fan?
And as for playing all these P5 schools - when you're 1-3 at the end of September, you might as well not even bother with the rest of the season when it comes to gaining fans - they've moved on.
And it's trickled down into the football program. It's clearly evident in the results of every single good but coulda/woulda/shoulda been season.
Look at the bowl games - it's not that we lose. It's that there's a glaring lack of effort. It's that clear, IMHO. It's sickening and taints the entire offseason - an offseason where you could blitz the fan base with good vibes.
Being great sells. You can even be bad, and spin that into excitement and hope for the future. What you can't do is tread water. It's like watching the same movie over and over again. Sure, it might have been good the first time, but do you still get up for the 11th viewing?
I'm sure i'll get some buzz up when August rolls around and camp starts.
But right now, I've got no passion for MT football. I used to eat up everything, even in the spring. I spend nearly the entire day on the internet for work, and used to spend a lot of time here on gomiddle. Now, I check in maybe once or twice a week.
And if this is the way I feel, and I consider myself a die-hard (even though I don't get to as many games), what chance do we have with the casual fan?
And as for playing all these P5 schools - when you're 1-3 at the end of September, you might as well not even bother with the rest of the season when it comes to gaining fans - they've moved on.
