The most disappointing stat from yesterday was...attendance.

[Animal02]

I did a rather exhaustive study of attendance some time ago and it bears revisting. The major drivers of attendance are 1) state vs. private school, b) urban vs. suburban campus, c) density of alumni within 5/10 miles of the school. All of these factors are not in Tech's favor, but Tech is not unique here either. Still, Tech holds up well compared to peers. If you look at the "big picture", most schools are more interested in the TV money than filling seats at a stadium that needs constant maintenance. This trend will not stop.

Overall, Tech fills out for "big" games ... Notre Dame, Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, etc. For those who mentioned it earlier about "ever" seeing a fun time at BDS ... I loved it in 80-83 when we played Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and UGA ... I think we had the toughest SEC schedule of anyone and we weren't in the SEC. And no, we weren't competing for a nattie. We were barely hanging on. But as far as watching big time college ball, it was a blast.

We're not a football factory and if I were TStan, I'd get back to playing our traditional rivals. No one wants to watch Alcorn State, Nicholls State, Pearl River, or Charlotte. Hot or cold, rain or shine ... attendance will never be as good as playing the best opponents you can.

My two cents.

Once again...it doesn't pay to schedule home and home series. There is more money paying to have a cupcake and having the extra home game.....even if there are 10k empty seats.

 

[Vespidae]

Once again...it doesn't pay to schedule home and home series. There is more money paying to have a cupcake and having the extra home game.....even if there are 10k empty seats.

Respectfully, you miss the point.

It isn't about money. Do the math ... it isn't that much. It's about creating an exciting environment for Tech football, both now and in the future. A third of the state of Georgia produces kids that go to UGA, Auburn or Alabama. Those kids want to play each other in college ... and they do. Except for Tech. We play .... Alcorn State. And make a few bucks ... We win the battle and lose the war.

 

[GT_05]

Respectfully, you miss the point.

It isn't about money. Do the math ... it isn't that much. It's about creating an exciting environment for Tech football, both now and in the future. A third of the state of Georgia produces kids that go to UGA, Auburn or Alabama. Those kids want to play each other in college ... and they do. Except for Tech. We play .... Alcorn State. And make a few bucks ... We win the battle and lose the war.

But most big schools play small schools for tune up games. Georgia played Austin Peay last week, Auburn is playing Alabama State this week, and Alabama is playing Arkansas State this week.


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[jeffgt14]

Respectfully, you miss the point.

It isn't about money. Do the math ... it isn't that much. It's about creating an exciting environment for Tech football, both now and in the future. A third of the state of Georgia produces kids that go to UGA, Auburn or Alabama. Those kids want to play each other in college ... and they do. Except for Tech. We play .... Alcorn State. And make a few bucks ... We win the battle and lose the war.

We also play Clemson, UNC, and UGA who fill out their roster with Georgia kids too.

 

[RamblinCharger]

I love Tech, but even if I lived in Atlanta (I'm 3 hours away in Huntsville) I'm not available every single Saturday. I'm 26 and unless I make plans well in advance to attend I'm most likely not spending half of my day to watch us play Alcorn state at Noon, just too much going on in life to take up the main hours of my Saturday. I think having this game on a Thursday night would help get the younger crowd there, or play it at 6:30pm Saturday to help with the heat.

I'm traveling to the USF game because we planned a small vacation around it, and I was planning to go to Louisville for the same reason until some family stuff came up. I'll make a home game in November like I do every year, but that will be it for me this year.

Most of my friends are Bama or Auburn grads and they don't make every game either. Most pick 1-3 good games and plan it out pretty far in advance. Unless you get droves of people that live in the area that are GT fans you aren't going to see my age group make more than 1-3 games a year for the most part (I realize there are exceptions to this). I think attendance could improve if you started giving tons (5-10 thousand) of these tickets away to church groups and groups like boys and girls club to grow the Tech fan base with kids, especially games like this against FCS opponents.

 

[jeffgt14]

I love Tech, but even if I lived in Atlanta (I'm 3 hours away in Huntsville) I'm not available every single Saturday. I'm 26 and unless I make plans well in advance to attend I'm most likely not spending half of my day to watch us play Alcorn state at Noon, just too much going on in life to take up the main hours of my Saturday. I think having this game on a Thursday night would help get the younger crowd there, or play it at 6:30pm Saturday to help with the heat.

I'm traveling to the USF game because we planned a small vacation around it, and I was planning to go to Louisville for the same reason until some family stuff came up. I'll make a home game in November like I do every year, but that will be it for me this year.

Most of my friends are Bama or Auburn grads and they don't make every game either. Most pick 1-3 good games and plan it out pretty far in advance. Unless you get droves of people that live in the area that are GT fans you aren't going to see my age group make more than 1-3 games a year for the most part (I realize there are exceptions to this). I think attendance could improve if you started giving tons (5-10 thousand) of these tickets away to church groups and groups like boys and girls club to grow the Tech fan base with kids, especially games like this against FCS opponents.

Yeah I'm about 3 hours away too in Nashville. Going to a game requires finding someone to watch the kids which isn't something that can be done without planning weeks in advance when you most likely don't know the kickoff time.

 

[Vespidae]

But most big schools play small schools for tune up games. Georgia played Austin Peay last week, Auburn is playing Alabama State this week, and Alabama is playing Arkansas State this week.


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We're all victims of our own experience. When I was attended Tech, our opening game was Alabama. And the stadium was packed. When it was at Legion Field, I-20 was full of fans headed to the game. I suppose it's all in what you want. I'm not a fan of using the whole summer with the mantra, "Beat Alcorn State Braves". But that's just me.

 

[Vespidae]

We also play Clemson, UNC, and UGA who fill out their roster with Georgia kids too.

Yep. But it's 100 miles to Auburn and 400 to Raleigh. The reality is more of those kids will play each other in this area versus UNC. And more fans will support a drive to Auburn, or even Neyland, than driving to Raleigh.

 

[Animal02]

Respectfully, you miss the point.

It isn't about money. Do the math ... it isn't that much. It's about creating an exciting environment for Tech football, both now and in the future. A third of the state of Georgia produces kids that go to UGA, Auburn or Alabama. Those kids want to play each other in college ... and they do. Except for Tech. We play .... Alcorn State. And make a few bucks ... We win the battle and lose the war.

It is always about the money

 

[MountainBuzzMan]

I did a rather exhaustive study of attendance some time ago and it bears revisting. The major drivers of attendance are 1) state vs. private school, b) urban vs. suburban campus, c) density of alumni within 5/10 miles of the school. All of these factors are not in Tech's favor, but Tech is not unique here either. Still, Tech holds up well compared to peers. If you look at the "big picture", most schools are more interested in the TV money than filling seats at a stadium that needs constant maintenance. This trend will not stop.

Overall, Tech fills out for "big" games ... Notre Dame, Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, etc. For those who mentioned it earlier about "ever" seeing a fun time at BDS ... I loved it in 80-83 when we played Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and UGA ... I think we had the toughest SEC schedule of anyone and we weren't in the SEC. And no, we weren't competing for a nattie. We were barely hanging on. But as far as watching big time college ball, it was a blast.

We're not a football factory and if I were TStan, I'd get back to playing our traditional rivals. No one wants to watch Alcorn State, Nicholls State, Pearl River, or Charlotte. Hot or cold, rain or shine ... attendance will never be as good as playing the best opponents you can.

My two cents.

I still dont know why people keep saying this. NONE of them want to play us. It is NEVER going to happen, other than the occasional bowl game or first game of the season. If you were TStan, you would not be able to play the SEC rivals either.

 

[Vespidae]

I still dont know why people keep saying this. NONE of them want to play us. It is NEVER going to happen, other than the occasional bowl game or first game of the season. If you were TStan, you would not be able to play the SEC rivals either.

I don't know the answer. All I know is ... the Number One city for Alabama alumni outside the state of Alabama is ... Atlanta. The Number One city for Auburn alumni outside of the state of Alabama is ... Atlanta. The Number One city for Tennessee alumni outside of the state of Tennessee is ... Atlanta. The Chick-fil-A Kick-off Classic was looked forward to by UT fans for a year. Too bad we can't get that magic going every year.

 

[iceeater1969]

I don't know the answer. All I know is ... the Number One city for Alabama alumni outside the state of Alabama is ... Atlanta. The Number One city for Auburn alumni outside of the state of Alabama is ... Atlanta. The Number One city for Tennessee alumni outside of the state of Tennessee is ... Atlanta. The Chick-fil-A Kick-off Classic was looked forward to by UT fans for a year. Too bad we can't get that magic going every year.

Outside of Atl I wonder what is the number one city for gt? Could be Houston - Kind of an unfair comparison - Atl and Houston are gigantic.


That said the real problem is there are not nearly enough gt alumni that love football.
Uga runs Georgia

Perhaps gtaa should start FAN CLUBS IN MAJOR CITIES and not go thru the AA. Sure AA would be welcome but Gtaa needs fans.

 

[Vespidae]

Outside of Atl I wonder what is the number one city for gt? Could be Houston - Kind of an unfair comparison - Atl and Houston are gigantic.

It's an interesting question.

I recall Dodd saying once that GT was an Atlanta school and that it had almost no following to speak of in the state. So, he really emphasized recruiting in the metro area. I recall lots of GT alumni in East TN (like I was) because of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

 

[Animal02]

I don't know the answer. All I know is ... the Number One city for Alabama alumni outside the state of Alabama is ... Atlanta. The Number One city for Auburn alumni outside of the state of Alabama is ... Atlanta. The Number One city for Tennessee alumni outside of the state of Tennessee is ... Atlanta. The Chick-fil-A Kick-off Classic was looked forward to by UT fans for a year. Too bad we can't get that magic going every year.

So you want to schedule game to make it convenient for the opponents fans?

 

[Doddfan]

GT must create fans out of local folks who have no obvious reason to root for Tech. One long term plan would be to market to every local youth football (and sports) program in the area. Offer deeply discounted tickets and concessions to coaches and parents who bring kids wearing their jerseys and cheer uniforms. Load up the upper deck with kids. The return would be delayed, but some of these kids would grow up to be Tech fans.

I've been saying this for 20 years, and truly believe that we would be seeing returns if something like this was in place.

 

[Vespidae]

So you want to schedule game to make it convenient for the opponents fans?

No. We should continue to schedule nobodies and complain about the low attendance.

 

[Vespidae]

GT must create fans out of local folks who have no obvious reason to root for Tech. One long term plan would be to market to every local youth football (and sports) program in the area. Offer deeply discounted tickets and concessions to coaches and parents who bring kids wearing their jerseys and cheer uniforms. Load up the upper deck with kids. The return would be delayed, but some of these kids would grow up to be Tech fans.

I've been saying this for 20 years, and truly believe that we would be seeing returns if something like this was in place.

We used to do this. But then again, we used to do a lot of things.

 

[joehamiltonfan14]

I do wish we could find a way to play auburn

 

[gtwcf]

Outside of Atl I wonder what is the number one city for gt? Could be Houston - Kind of an unfair comparison - Atl and Houston are gigantic.

I think the DC metro area is one of the biggest outside ATL. Lots of tech jobs up there.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

It's an interesting question.

I recall Dodd saying once that GT was an Atlanta school and that it had almost no following to speak of in the state. So, he really emphasized recruiting in the metro area. I recall lots of GT alumni in East TN (like I was) because of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

ORNL was my first job out of Tech