Public Policy Polling Poll shows UH as the 3rd most favorite school in Texas

Cougar Football
21

Great response!

“Tech has an on-campus stadium and the students show-up as there’s less to do in the Lubbock area (this is not a slam, it’s just true).”

I agree so I don’t take that as a “slam”. (Not that I would anyway. We can disagree and debate without taking offense.) Lubbock is a college town and that’s a real advantage to attracting local alumni and fans to games. Overall, I’m not sure there is a clear winner in the “big city” vs “college town” competition because they each bring good and bad issues.

I still think it’s a part-time vs full-time student support problem, which obviously will change over the years with UH building so many dorm rooms on campus. And frankly, my view may be jaded by the poor shape UH was in when the SWC dissolved, as you mentioned. That said, in good years and bad, Tech still manages to fill its stadium with distance fans even when playing crappy FCS teams like Central Arkansas, UTEP, Texas State, etc. So not only do we have to travel hours and pay for tickets, but we also have to stay at least one night in Lubbock (assuming it’s a night game) before returning home, which is a blast but also expensive during game weekends. I guess I’m disappointed that despite UH’s local fan base and recent badassness (yes, I insist that’s a real word), UH fans haven’t done anything to dispel the belief of Big 12 fans (especially former SWC alumni) that UH fan support is still very weak. Does that make sense?

And I agree with all the points made in your third paragraph. Especially about Khator. She’s a badass.

22

And UH finally joined Tech as a Phi Beta Kappa university. :wink:

23

As I mentioned in my post above, we may be biased by our 1990 memories of UH. Perhaps we can fix that. I’ll be at the TT vs UH game next year and will spend time on campus. I invite you Coogs to do the same at TT the following season.

24

Don’t underestimate the effect of having nothing to play for. Navy had an independent schedule for years, filled with Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, etc., but still only averages 35,000 fans, because they haven’t had access to the national championship. We draw better for p5 teams, but what is the point if we can’t go to a championship game for our trouble?

Heck, pro sports leagues created and expanded playoffs in order to keep fans interested for longer, because even NFL fans stop watching when they have no chance at the Super Bowl.

We could’ve been independent and playing all p5 teams, or played only losing teams, and the effect would’ve been similar for the last 20 years, because we haven’t been allowed to play for a championship, and had no hope even before the first coin toss of the season. Why should anybody get invested in that? The fact that 35k do each week is testament to having a base of support.

Thing is, I’m disappointed that it takes tens of millions of dollars to run an amateur sport for a season. If anyone has their priorities screwed up, it’s p5 schools and their fans and sponsors. A lot would be better if they would all compete on FCS budgets and see who is actually good at football, rather than who is good at scamming millions of people and the players out of a ton of money.

25

VonEhrics: I guess I’m disappointed that despite UH’s local fan base and recent badassness (yes, I insist that’s a real word), UH fans haven’t done anything to dispel the belief of Big 12 fans (especially former SWC alumni) that UH fan support is still very weak. Does that make sense?

Coog2088: 2 things that are impressive to me.

  1. Bringing 30K fans to Atlanta.
  2. 10K more season tickets than last year.

In Houston, and most big cities, to get the entertainment dollar you need to win. Otherwise the casual fans will spend their money on the 100’s of other options.

Students showed strong support from the beginning this past year. So the future is bright.

26

Makes complete sense and there’s not really much to say to alleviate that. All we can say is that things are different now with the on-campus stadium, with the campus, with facilities, etc. Getting into a P5 is the final step that should push fan interest to the needed levels (getting more coverage in Texas newspapers*, getting discussed like a school that matters when discussing college football, etc) to where we can start building that generational gap so that more fans come to the games. It’s a risk, sure, but if expansion has to happen, it’s a better risk than any of the other options available (save for BYU if you can look past their issues).

  • on a note, the news thing is huge. I live in San Antonio and the Coogs may get a 1 inch byline in the Texas college scores section in the Express News. This includes last year when we were undefeated and ranked at one point. Big 12 teams (including Kansas, KSU, Iowa State) all got half to quarter page articles. UT, Tech, Baylor, TCU - Front page or half page articles inside. A&M also gets similar coverage here. Even in the Chronicle, we’re fighting for space in the local newspaper that often has Big 12 teams/Aggies on the front page. Same goes for the local news coverage - San Antonio news will show mostly UT/A&M highlights, but will also show Baylor, Tech, & TCU highlights if they;re involved in a big game. Coogs - nothing; we don’t exist in San Antonio right now. Being G5 is a stigma that’s hard to overcome.
27

Touché. The coverage of UH in DFW is negligible as well and that’s a high hurdle to overcome. The campout line for the OU game is definitely a good sign.

28

Why are you lighting this fire again? Just curious. I can tell you this with all sincerity. You are treated a whole lot better here than I was on a Tech board. And I only made the mistake of very, and I do mean very, gently correcting a mistaken statement about UH. It got ugly fast and within 24 Hours I was barred from posting. I could read but could not respond to the virilent comments about UH. Screw that. I won’t go back and my life is still complete.

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29

Von, would Tech have attendance in the 50k+ or even 40lk if it had to play in the conferences we had to be in the past 20 years?

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30

That’s impossible to stay, but during the final years of the SWC, when we were in the same conference, Tech and Baylor had MUCH better fan support than UH and that is why Texas politicians lined up to add us to the Big 12. Out of the almost 60,000 fans who attend every Tech football game, >35,000 of them travel 5 to 8 hours to attend football games including games against spare FCS teams like Central Arizona, SFA, TXST, UND, etc. So the fact Tech fills Jones Stadium against good and bad teams suggests “yes”, Tech would be even better than ECU as a G5 team.

EDIT: I’m traveling to Lubbock next week with a fraternity brother and one of our best friends who graduated from SFA. Can’t wait!

31

Don’t lump Baylor in with that. I went to a game in Waco against Oklahoma a few years back. RG3’s second or third year there, same with Briles. Floyd Casey was maybe 2/3 full, after tarps, half that was OU fans, and Baylor was totally noncompetitive. They get one year when Texas starts to suck, and suddenly they have a Heisman quarterback, (not even the best numbers by a Briles recruit that season) and now they’re a legendary traditional blue chip power team? The best football thing Baylor ever did was suck less than everyone else in 1994, and that was enough to merit inclusion, apparently. We’re tired of what the big 12 defines as logic or valuable members, it’s just unfortunate that we’re stuck in the neighborhood. 90 miles east and we wouldn’t be another Texas team. Some parts of the country that’s four states away.

32

Every Big 12 fan points to Houston’s attendance in “the final years of the SWC” like that somehow means something today.

Back then, we were on probation.
Today, we aren’t

Back then, we played at a sterile Astrodome with no tailgating.
Today we play on campus and have great tailgating.

Back then, the Astrodome was WAY too big for our needs and the extra supply killed season ticket sales.
Today, we are setting season ticket records.

Back then, we had far fewer students living on campus.

Back then, the city of Houston was half its current size.

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But if you really want to talk about old attendance . . .

The Big 12 was formed in Feb 1994. In the five football seasons prior to that, excluding games against Texas, Arkansas and A&M:

Tech averaged 35,486 per game. They had five crowds in excess of 40K

Under the same assumptions, Baylor averaged 32,049 in those five years. They had one crowd in excess of 40K.

I excluded Texas, Arkansas and A&M so as to get a better apples to apples comparison to TCU’s last five years before its Big 12 bid, and what Houston is doing today.

TCU averaged 34,603 its last five years before the Big 12 invited the Frogs. That includes seven crowds more than 40K.

This year marks Houston’s 3rd year in the new stadium. We already have three crowds in excess of 40K, and by the end of this season our three-year average attendance will be 33-35K with at least a couple more 40K crowds.

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