Gothmog

Just a ridiculous sour grapes comment. We have been through this before, but in terms of popularity and participation, FCS football is comparable to DI hockey.

It's pretty hard for a team to "rest on its laurels" as it hangs its fourth consecutive championship banner. At any rate, it's obviously not a "rough time" for NDSU, as your post stated, regardless of the outcome of this game. When the game is over, NDSU will still be the 4 time defending national champ, and UND will still have had more losing seasons in the five (now six) years than NDSU has had in the last fifty.

Yeah, it's been rough for NDSU, it's hard work polishing all those trophies.

Could have done what? They have been increasing ticket prices the last few years.

IMO, you're missing the point. It makes no sense to attribute NDSU's 2015 ticket price increase to UND's presence on the schedule, if NDSU could have generated the same ticket revenue without UND on the schedule. It's as simple as that.

No, I wouldn't exactly say they don't know what they're doing. What I would say is that the reason NDSU for which is ostensibly raising ticket prices is irrelevant. What really matters is the underlying conditions that allow them to raise those prices. Again, it makes no difference to the season ticket holder whether you increase the nominal face value of the UND and UNI games, prorate the same increase to all tickets, or adopt any other pricing scheme that results in the same price for the whole season ticket package. As I've said before, IMO, NDSU could easily have generated the same, or perhaps even more, total ticket revenue without UND on the schedule. That's, of course, just my opinion, but I would say that the facts do tend to support that opinion. For instance, all single game ticket sold out in minutes on Saturday. It's not much of a stretch to say that they would have sold out for an extra 5 bucks a piece.

quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.

When all other tickets are underpriced, and 80-90% of all tickets are sold as part of a single-price season ticket package, or distributed to students at no additional cost, it makes no sense to attribute NDSU's increase in ticket revenue to the presence of UND and UNI on the schedule. It's just not true that it was those games that allowed NDSU to increase its ticket revenue from either single-game, or season ticket sales. If you're asking the question -- did NDSU's football-related donations increase as a result of scheduling UND? I suspect not, but I honestly don't know BTW - Yes, there are mandatory Team Maker's membership requirements for most season tickets.

Actually, the correct calculation would be 2,000 X ($60-$35), or $50,000 additional revenue from the UND game, or $75,000 if you assume that NDSU will sell 3,000 single game tickets for the game. But then, that ignores the money they're losing on the underpriced, non-premium games. Truthfully, NDSU does better as a result of the $125,000 low-ball guarantee fee paid to UND, than it does on the premium on UND ticket sales.

Do you really doubt that NDSU could, for instance, have raised ticket prices by 5 dollars for all games, rather than a total of $30 for the UNI and UND games and still have sold out? For so-called "dynamic pricing" schemes to make much sense for a given team, that team must a) sell a significant number of tickets outside of an all-or-nothing single price season ticket package, and b) already be at or near the maximum ticket price that market would bear for all games on the schedule. I would say that neither of those conditions apply to NDSU. In this case, I do agree with you. NDSUs ticket pricing policy makes no sense.

OK, there is, or will be, a lot of hype about the game. Some of that may be wishful thinking on the part of people with a vested interest in making this a big game. But we'll see come game day. Clearly, there is no shortage of Bison fans who are pumped up about seeing UND on the schedule. In any case, my post was about the prevalent fallacy that, because of "dynamic pricing," ticket sales for this game will be some sort of gold mine for NDSU. That's just not true, NDSU could have easily generated the same total ticket revenue without UND on the schedule.

Oh, I'm pretty sure that NDSU could have sold out all football season tickets at the same total price with, or without, UND on the schedule. Bison tickets are underpriced, and have been underpriced for the last few years. I'm not as sure that they could have sold out any other single game ticket at $60, but I suspect that the UNI game, at least, would have sold out at that price. The bottom line is that the current high demand for NDSU football tickets has a lot more to do with NDSU's record over the last 4 years than what teams happen to be visiting the FargoDome this year.

I don't agree. IMO, if UND comes into the game thinking that what they need to do is play conservative, run the ball, and control the clock, they'll get rolled. Their best chance is to come in with an aggressive attitude in the hope of getting some breaks and opening up a lead, and then possibly running the ball to protect that lead.

Time of possession (which is what "controlling the clock" means) is a very overrated statistic.

Actually, it is.

Go ahead play a conservative game. If you do, you'll just be playing to lose by less. You've got to take some chances to win this game, on offense and defense. To say that you're going win this game by controlling the clock is ridiculous. It won't work.

Jackweed comment? No, it's absolutely true. You're not going to win this game by just keeping NDSU off the field. At some point you're going to have to score points and, when NDSU is on the field, play defense. If UND comes out with that sort of a conservative, keep the ball away from them, game plan, NDSU will eat you alive.

Really, that's all they have to do? I'm thinking that they'll have to play some defense and score a few points too. In any case, you're talking about controlling the clock against a team that is as good at controlling the clock as anyone. If that's the best shot you've got to beat NDSU, you don't have much of a shot.

You can't really disagree with the idea that UND should at least try to pound the ball against NDSU. But that's easier said than done, and just having a bigger O-Line doesn't really mean much of anything.

This UND team would have had the same "huge" weight mismatch against any of NDSU's national championship teams. Do you really think that necessarily means that UND could have, or would have, run the ball effectively against those teams?

Sounds like you need to catch up on your history. The idea that German weapons of the era were far superior is just nonsense. Some German weapons were superior. But, on balance, the allies were much better equipped.

I disagree with UND-FB-FAN's statement that it won't be an ass-kicking. I suspect that UND will have to lose by half the game time point spread for the game not to be considered an ass-kicking.

That's not NDSU's wording. Again, if you have a problem with the law take it up with your congressperson.

Most people would disagree about the ass kicking. But. that's why they play the game.

If you have a problem with the three "prong" Title IX compliance test, I suggest you take it up with your congressperson. As things are, there is no issue. If NDSU is already fully accommodating the athletic interests and abilities of its female students, it could only get to substantial proportionality by either adding an unwanted women's sport, or by eliminating an existing men's sport. Neither of those alternatives really advances the cause of equal athletic opportunity for female students.