17K

[ragtimejoe1]

Why were they packing it in during that stretch? Was Roach whining to the media about no fan support? Was Brandenburg crying about fans not appreciating the hard work his guys put in?

They won...that is the sauce. 17k showed up to watch the BSU game this year and if you listen to Ragtime you would have thought we had some history of showing up in these games instead of crapping the bed. I would have loved to see a packed stadium for that one but I don't blame fans for saying .. "I've seen this before...why put myself through the turmoil."

No doubt a winning team goes a long way to butts-in-seats, but there's more to it than that. Wyoming was doing more with fewer people back then. Now we have more people, more alumni, more hotel rooms, more local attractions, but we didn't even sell out a Conference Championship in Laramie.

TV access has a lot to do with it. Back in Roach and Brandenburg's days a televised game was pretty much a rarity. Combine that with a somewhat competitive, but not stellar program(s), and an Athletic Department that seems to go out of there way to give people a reason NOT to attend games, and you've got a very challenging environment for increasing attendance. It's something I warned certain people about way back in the Joe Glen days. Wyoming also isn't an outlier in attendance trends. It's countrywide. The first thing that UW as an institution can do is to get a better customer-based philosophy vis a vis its fans. Wins and losses they can't control, but their attitude toward the fans they 100% can, regardless of W's and L's. They have got to quit giving people a reason to just watch on TV. They have got to be more creative and forward-thinking about how to get folks out of the watch parties in Denver and into Laramie.

Don't disagree with this at all and hopefully the fans take some responsibility down the road as well. By responsibility I mean give those efforts (if they ever happen) a chance and show back up.

Exactly what I'm getting at with systemic issues. Pin it all on Bohl and fire him. I care not. The next guy will also fail. We need to answer the question Glenn asked "why can't you win at WYO?". It isn't just coaching.

 

[307bball]

Exactly what I'm getting at with systemic issues. Pin it all on Bohl and fire him. I care not. The next guy will also fail. We need to answer the question Glenn asked "why can't you win at WYO?". It isn't just coaching.

Well .... Despite disagreements.... You and I ended up in the same place. Ha!

 

[LanderPoke]

This is simple. Laramie is a small crappy town. Someone was crying about using per capita attendance can’t see that if Laramie was 100k people, we’d have much better attendance. Is there a single peer in this country that has fewer people within 100 miles of the university? I’d wager most fcs schools have more people in the general vicinity

Imagine if the university were located anywhere else. Yeesh

 

[307bball]

And the only way to win is with more talent, right? Not better coaching, only talent.

This guy.... :roll:

Ah yes... Hello to you flyfish... Here to practice more straw man argumentation?

 

[307bball]

This is simple. Laramie is a small crappy town. Someone was crying about using per capita attendance can’t see that if Laramie was 100k people, we’d have much better attendance. Is there a single peer in this country that has fewer people within 100 miles of the university? I’d wager most fcs schools have more people in the general vicinity

Imagine if the university were located anywhere else. Yeesh

Laramie is really great, to me... Every place will have people who love it and people who don't. As somebody who was born and raised in Wyoming, I love the wide open spaces and lack of crowds. But as I get older, and my kids head out on their own, I also see lack of opportunity and lack of services. It's tough out there. I won't shame anybody for not liking Wyoming.

 

[Wyovanian]

No doubt a winning team goes a long way to butts-in-seats, but there's more to it than that. Wyoming was doing more with fewer people back then. Now we have more people, more alumni, more hotel rooms, more local attractions, but we didn't even sell out a Conference Championship in Laramie.

TV access has a lot to do with it. Back in Roach and Brandenburg's days a televised game was pretty much a rarity. Combine that with a somewhat competitive, but not stellar program(s), and an Athletic Department that seems to go out of there way to give people a reason NOT to attend games, and you've got a very challenging environment for increasing attendance. It's something I warned certain people about way back in the Joe Glen days. Wyoming also isn't an outlier in attendance trends. It's countrywide. The first thing that UW as an institution can do is to get a better customer-based philosophy vis a vis its fans. Wins and losses they can't control, but their attitude toward the fans they 100% can, regardless of W's and L's. They have got to quit giving people a reason to just watch on TV. They have got to be more creative and forward-thinking about how to get folks out of the watch parties in Denver and into Laramie.

Don't disagree with this at all and hopefully the fans take some responsibility down the road as well. By responsibility I mean give those efforts (if they ever happen) a chance and show back up.

Exactly what I'm getting at with systemic issues. Pin it all on Bohl and fire him. I care not. The next guy will also fail. We need to answer the question Glenn asked "why can't you win at WYO?". It isn't just coaching.

This where we see things differently. History says otherwise. You CAN win at Wyo. We need to get back to quality and experience. The FCS Championship head coach road hasn't really worked (and not just at UW, witness UNLV), the effective P5 coordinator road was a miss. What works is high-level experience and/ or a decades-long relationship with UW Football.

It's time to buckle up and double down on a winning FBS head coach who wants to double (or more) their salary. UNLV just upped their game with a $1.75M base to a former P5 coach with a decent record. Not sure he's the best they could've gotten, but at least he's been there and done that.

 

[flyfishwyo]

And the only way to win is with more talent, right? Not better coaching, only talent.

This guy.... :roll:

Ah yes... Hello to you flyfish... Here to practice more straw man argumentation?

Nope. Just had a long day at the office and decided to "poke the bear."

 

[307bball]

This where we see things differently. History says otherwise. You CAN win at Wyo. We need to get back to quality and experience. The FCS Championship head coach road hasn't really worked (and not just at UW, witness UNLV), the effective P5 coordinator road was a miss. What works is high-level experience and/ or a decades-long relationship with UW Football.

It's time to buckle up and double down on a winning FBS head coach who wants to double (or more) their salary. UNLV just upped their game with a $1.75M base to a former P5 coach with a decent record. Not sure he's the best they could've gotten, but at least he's been there and done that.

Your right... It is a historical fact that once upon a time Wyoming was very good for multiple years in a row. I am pretty sure that the variables that led to that historical success are very far in our rear view mirror. I would say at this point... The odds of us putting together a five year stretch like we did from '86 through '90 where we win 41 games in five years are pretty much the same as everybody else in the MWC outside of BSU and SDSU.... Success from the pre-realignment and pre-BCS era is less and less relevant with each passing year.

What you are describing is kind of the last hope right? I sort of agree with you that if we ponied up and got a top guy.... That would be the most likely way back to football relevance. I'm pretty pessimistic that is going to ever happen though.... And I agree with ragtime that it is more than the coach that is keeping Wyoming from the football success that we all want to see.

 

[PokesArePeopleToo]

Laramie? Small town atmosphere with nice people and almost no crime, great school system, clean streets, an historic and charming downtown. Crappy? Come on now. Besides all of that I really believe that the lack of a statewide connection from the football program and basketball program has to do with a lot of things and some have mentioned them before I got on board here. The influence of television has changed things greatly there can be no doubt. Linder's comments were pretty shortsighted and not well thought out. You can criticize people for not buying a great product in their midst but when you harp on people for a less than good product, on a weeknight, with an 8PM start time, I mean that's just not smart. I think many of the issues we talk about here are the fault of the sports administration and the lack of vision they have. As a long time Cowboys fan and supporter who goes a way back it is easy for me to recognize that there is an almost bunker mentality over at Old Main. They appear to be resistant to change, you do things their way only, and only insiders or people who are considered in the club have any voice or sway. They are also extremely sensitive to criticism and want no push back from anyone. When I read Linder's comments, as stupid as they were, I immediately thought to myself that the powers that be couldn't be happy with what he said because that is just not their way. I happen to live in Laramie and I go to about 8-9 games every year at the AA and just about all football games. With the way this season started off for the basketball game there was no way I was heading out to that game and never even thought about it twice. They could have given me tickets to the game and I still wouldn't have gone. I think the only way to rev up the kind of excitement for both programs that many of us knew and were fortunate to be a part of at one time is to increase outreach throughout the state, being much more fan friendly, and winning games over an extended amount of time. 5 years after going to a championship football game on a cold December night that didn't sell out, here we are at another crossroads hoping that things will improve. One step forward and two steps back followed by a repeat in the process all the time is no way to excite a fan base and see the kinds of consistent energy from people that the sports department desires.

 

[ragtimejoe1]

Anyone remember the Sternerg report? Perhaps that needs revisited.

 

[ragtimejoe1]

:rofl: and you guys are bashing transfers.

Damn.