Reading the board over the past 36 hours I have realized this loss has made a HUGE impact on many coogs who are just as disappointed and angry as I am. We have every right to be, because we invest our valuable time and money into the program and therefore have certain expectations. We all knew this was a pivotal coaching hire for the program to continue the momentum that was built over the past couple years, and most were not happy about the decision but we had no control over it.
With that being said - the program needs all loyal coogs now more than ever because we’ve built a great game day atmosphere and if that suffers because of a continual drop off in attendance than all of us who don’t show up bear as much responsibility as the coaching staff for hurting the program’s momentum. The students have done their part, the admin has done theirs with facility upgrades, but will the alumni and fan base do theirs?? The % of our core fan base that continues to show up outnumbers the ones who have already jumped ship, but for those that have jumped ship or are considering it, let me remind you what fan support does for the program:
• Helps recruiting – who likes to play in a half empty stadium?
• Free Marketing – full stadiums get us on TV – and I’m not talking about CBS sports. The big
networks respected our product at the start of this season even with lying Tom gone – I wonder why
even though most experts predicted us to go 7-5 or 8-4??
• Future Conference affiliation – Yes TV ratings matter, but if we struggle the first couple years in a
tougher conference, how will half empty stadiums with non competitive games that don’t even get
televised help a potential new conference?
• Team performance – how can we expect the young men on our team to fight through adversity if we
don’t??
Alright, I’m off my soap box and feel better. Go Coogs!