Oliver Luck And Building The West Virginia Brand
by Dr. Charley West on Jun 27, 2011 9:03 AM EDT
in Mountaineer Football
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PrintReports are surfacing today that West Virginia will meet James Madison at FedEx Field on September 15, 2012. This will be a "home" game for the Mountaineers, with a guarantee of above $2 million.
On its face, it seems a curious decision. The Mountaineers, who normally make around $2 million per home date at Mountaineer Field, are leaving their friendly confines for not a whole lot more in return. In fact, it's expected that James Madison (located just down I-81 in Harrisonburg, VA) will bring quite a few fans themselves, seeing as how they've negotiated up to $150,000 in attendance incentives (they're guaranteed $350,000, of which none will come from WVU's take).
But, only considering the face of any Oliver Luck decision would be foolish. If the short Luck era has taught us anything, it's that he's much more concerned with the big picture of Mountaineer athletics. West Virginia is in a minor market in a minor state, at least in the eyes of college football's deal makers. Nothing Luck or the athletic department can do can possibly change that.
What he can do is expand West Virginia's footprint. The first step of that expansion was the hiring of Dana Holgorsen. Holgorsen's brand of exciting football is not only meant to win games, but increase the appeal of Mountaineer football across the country. And once you have an exciting product, you can take that show on the road. FedEx Field, located outside Washington, DC, is a natural location because of the huge amount of WVU alumni in the area. Considering that no team truly controls the market (Maryland and Virginia Tech are the strongest claims), you have an opportunity for West Virginia to show that their appeal extends far from the borders of a state with just 1.8 million residents.
In the age of continuing conference upheaval, anything West Virginia can do to increase their appeal nationally has to be at the top of Luck's to-do list. If that means trading a true home date for a guarantee only slightly above minimum but in a pro stadium and marquee market, then so be it. As Luck is sure to be thinking, the long-term gain to the Mountaineer program is worth the short-term sacrifice.
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Look at what played at FedEx did for Boise St.
Boise St. plays out west. I know that I, for one, hadn’t watched too many Boise games before they played VT there last September. What that game did for Boise was put them in the National Conscience. While WVU vs. JMU won’t be near as a high profile matchup, it should definitely increase awareness of the program(s) in that market.
Regardless of opponent.
WVU will be on the front page of the sports section in the week leading up to the game. That creates a lot of exposure in a lucrative market and fertile recruiting ground.
The Smoking Musket: Like your team's blog, only better.
by Dr. Charley West on Jun 27, 2011 9:16 AM EDT up reply actions
Apropos of Nothing
I was at the Tech-Boise FedEx game with a Tech-fan friend of mine. It was Lane Stadium North that night and, with the added enthusiasm of the Boise insurgency, a louder crowd than Tiger Stadium was for the WVU game last September. FedEx is LOUD when full of crunk fans.
by bicklefischerkane on Jun 27, 2011 9:19 AM EDT up reply actions
Why not a JMU home game?
I have no problem with playing the game at FedEx Field, other than that the stadium is horrible.
What I’m curious about is why it’s a WVU home game. Why not make JMU host it? That’s what Indiana is doing for Penn State at FedEx, even though the expectation is that Penn State will comprise 90% of the audience.
WVU would never play JMU "away"
So JMU hosting isn’t really possible. We still get 6 home games, plus the game in reasonably located DC (it’s only 3 hours from Morgantown, y’all).
The Smoking Musket: Like your team's blog, only better.
by Dr. Charley West on Jun 27, 2011 9:35 AM EDT up reply actions
Why not?
…and if JMU wouldn’t, why not some other school?
I keep going back to the Penn State / Indiana example. Surely there has to be some school willing to take the payday of being a ‘home’ patsy at FedEx.
Put another way: instead of 7 home games (6 at mountaineer field, 1 at fedex), why not 8 (7 at mountaineer field, 1 at fedex?)
Great news
Not the JMU has been a cupcake, but taking the cupcake off the season ticket schedule probably doesn’t hurt anyone’s feeling either.
Morgantown businesses may be a little peeved.
But as I tweeted earlier today, the only thing WVU needs to worry about is WVU. It owes nothing to local businesses, or politicians, or any other school. I’m with you on this, that other than a minor blip in the season ticket package (which is partially counterbalanced by playing closer to our throngs of DC, Baltimore, and Eastern Panhandle alumni), it’s a win for WVU.
www.smokingmusket.com
by Country Roads on Jun 27, 2011 10:01 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm excited about
this and the game against Maryland in Baltimore. Being in Martinsburg, neither one is a long drive.
by ShadyMountaineer on Jun 27, 2011 9:48 AM EDT reply actions
Oh hell yeah.
I live in Richmond, VA now. This is going to be awesome. I’ll bring a crowd from the RVA area for sure.
Beat, if your going to do this then play a real team.....
As for us being on the sports page for weeks leading up to the game I have a real doubt about that one. WVU vs JMU is hardly going to be a game of national interest. Really local interest will be to JMU and the WVU fans, to everyone else it will be a curiosity. Sorry to be debbie downer, but if we are playing a patsy I would rather play them at home. Last but not least, imagine losing to them ala VT….. just thinking.
Remember all those times Luck talked about how well WVU does in the DC TV market?
Think of this as planting yet another flag in our effort to lock up DC as an extension of WV. The more presence WVU has in DC, the more we can supplant our main competitors there (Maryland and VT) and gain a stronger foothold.
www.smokingmusket.com
From seeing the demographic material we already are almost as strong as VT
I’m not sure what this game really will gain us. Luck is already going some where we already pull a strong audience.
Why not make it stronger?
Leverage your strengths first. That will be a huge bargaining chip if/when conference negotiations happen.
The Smoking Musket: Like your team's blog, only better.
by Dr. Charley West on Jun 27, 2011 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions
Casazza just tweeted...
That the payout for WVU is comparable for a home game, but in this case, WVU is off the hook for the amount WVU usually pays the opponent…so there is a net gain in that case
Tweet tweet:
Biggest gripe I’ve heard is money. WVU makes about same for home game, but WVU also pays opponent. Not so in this case. That’s significant.
[via @mikecasazza]
The Smoking Musket: Like your team's blog, only better.
by Dr. Charley West on Jun 27, 2011 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions
So instead of driving to Mo-town...
…I’ll just drive around to the other side of the beltway. Should take the same amount of time. Bada-bing.
But seriously folks, this is good for WVU football in a nearby major market. I constantly gripe that WVU never makes it into the Washington Post…VT gets covered like white on rice and they are FARTHER from DC than WVU. If VT, UVA, and JMU get coverage, then we should, too.
"Yes, madam, I am drunk. But in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly." -- Winston Churchill
Thoughts
This is a brilliant move by Luck. A few years back the WVU “brand” consisted of speed, excitement and a “video game” quality that was unprecedented in our school’s history. WVU was gaining numerous fans around the country (as evidenced by how well it performed on ESPN weekday night games vs. other weekday night games). College f-ball/b-ball fans’ allegiances have long been dictated by geographic location and alma mater. I predict this fact will continue however they won’t be as dominant of predictors due to TV exposure allowing others across the country to choose their favorite teams. I must admit that I was born in a generation where I couldn’t possibly root for anyone other than the Mountaineers, Steelers, Pens and Buccos but that was likely because they were the only teams I got to watch on TV when I was younger. Kids today have so many options and this certainly helps “nationalize” those savvy universities that take advantage of games like this. This game in itself won’t be the biggest deal, but it leads to increased market exposure (in an area that is inundated w/ WVU alumni/fans to begin with).
Other great venues would be Heinz Field (obviously not going to happen), Columbus (not going to happen) and Charlotte (and I predict this will happen in the next 5 years). These “little things/details” (and I agree that this move appears to be minimal at the current time) eventually create larger products. This clever A.D. likely has many other tricks up his sleeve.
It doesn't matter anyway
Holgorsen will only be here for a few years and then jump to a big and better team.
Tougher Schedule
If Oliver Luck wants to increase WVU’s appeal nationally play a tougher schedule. I’m tired of seeing teams like Bowling Green and now JMU as opponents. Yes every BCS conference teams needs to play a I-AA or FCS opponent, but when you play in a week Big East, you should be looking for tougher out of conference games, not games against UNLV, Bowling Green and JMU. Renew the rivalry with Va. Tech, play Kentucky or a Big 10 team. If WVU is to be relevant nationally, again, then tougher opponents must be scheduled since the Big East is not giving us that, besides TCU starting next year.
It's hard to play VT when they aren't interested, if you think we don't try to schedule those teams your nuts.
Most teams won’t play us bc they gain nothing and could lose a lot.
Disagree
I think that used to be the case but I dont think anyone views us as a loser opponent anymore. They may not respect our conference but they know we are a top 25 competitive program with two BCS bowl rings. Kudos to SEC teams like AU and LSU who aint skeeerd to play us despite their tougher conference schedule.
by WVU-Atlanta on Jun 28, 2011 7:27 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
They played LSU at LSU last year
Not sure what else you can do
by couchburner on Jun 27, 2011 11:07 PM EDT up reply actions
Since 2002, we’ve played Wisconsin, VT, Mississippi St., auburn, LSU. In addition to MD every year or Colorado. Upcoming, we have FSU and Mich St. That 2 big time out of conference games every year. Not really sure what else we can do.
by The 25314 on Jun 28, 2011 8:33 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
FYI we already played in Charlotte against ECU and LOST!!!! Everyone keeps touting this as great
And I don’t get it. We are playing a team we should murder in their own back yard, this is a yawner to anyone not some how related to either school and another reason for the talking heads to bitch, especially if it some how makes it o a national/semi-national game.
Recruiting and Alumni
The DC/Baltimore market is loaded with talent like Tavon, Vernard, Pat Lazear and the recently announced 4 star McManus. Additionally, playing in this market serves the thousands of WVU fans located here and will result in exposure, let’s hope it is positive. AD Luck is doing his job by increasing revenues, serving alumni and fans and helping his coaches with recruiting. Got Luck? Yes we do!
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