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Post by kperk1959 on Dec 29, 2017 22:43:32 GMT -6
I worry we won't do enough to promote our athletics around the region to build a larger fan and revenue base. We need to start soon on building some excitement about our move.
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Post by brandon on Dec 29, 2017 23:01:52 GMT -6
I agree
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Post by brandon on Dec 30, 2017 23:02:14 GMT -6
I believe a strong showing in the transition years will get attention of fans in the region (Birmingham to Southern Tennessee).
Don't have to win 10 games, but above .500 in year 1 with no blowouts will be a huge success.
My idea of success is
A close win at Southern Utah, not getting embarrassed in Fargo, should beat Campbell, Incarnate Word, A&M, and Jackson State. Don't know the rest of the schedule other than West Florida and that will be a tough out but I say we should beat them after the FCS schedule we play. Honestly, (IF...we stay healthy) I only see 1 game we will be huge underdogs in and that's NDSU.
That should spark fan interest big time.
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Post by unafied on Dec 31, 2017 7:50:43 GMT -6
I’m visiting Florence for the weekend and noticed a billboard on 565 in Huntsville that says “Sweet Home NORTH Alabama”, and mentions Florence is 67 miles away. That’s neat to see, though I suppose that’s promoting the University as a whole more so than athletics. Maybe a few more billboards around Huntsville, some sports-related, would be a good start.
Perhaps a bit outside the box, but should/could UNA treat Huntsville as Alabama did Birmingham up until the last 15 years or so? For a long time the biggest football games were at Legion Field to take advantage of Birmingham’s much bigger population. There’s a bit of a similarity there with the Shoals and Huntsville. Now, I can’t say I really want football games to be played there. Milton Frank Stadium is the only venue I can think of right off hand, and it’s pretty dilapidated from what I understand. But what about basketball at the VBC, which actually Bama did just last week? Baseball at Joe Davis (or maybe the new minor league stadium I’ve heard will be built in Madison)? Certainly it wouldn’t be unrealistic to make a game or two happen per year. I’m sure Huntsville has our largest alumni base outside of the Shoals. There have to be folks there who would appreciate a short drive to a game.
We could definitely use some better marketing, one way or the other. Like mentioned in the thread about future opponents - why keep our upcoming schedules such a secret? How does that benefit anyone?
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Post by unafied on Dec 31, 2017 8:16:29 GMT -6
And just to clarify about Huntsville... I realize we’ve played UAH there in multiple sports over the years. I’m talking about scheduling games that are promoted as UNA home games, or at least neutral site. Take basketball for example. If we played a Tennessee or Georgia there, that would be a huge game for the city. And yeah, we might be outnumbered fan-wise at first, depending on who the opponent is. But keep doing it year after year and the fans will come (though you could argue we need to improve SOME as a team, but that’s a different discussion).
There are no doubt some Huntsville residents that think of UAH as small-time. A&M, being in the SWAC, is sort of a different story. I don’t recall them ever really scheduling big-name opponents for games there (other than us next year). We can be Huntsville’s true D1 school if we aren’t afraid to promote ourselves as such. There are probably folks in the Shoals that would reject that strategy over some silly inferiority complex in regards to Huntsville, but that’s the exact attitude that we don’t need right now.
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Post by brandon on Dec 31, 2017 10:05:31 GMT -6
And just to clarify about Huntsville... I realize we’ve played UAH there in multiple sports over the years. I’m talking about scheduling games that are promoted as UNA home games, or at least neutral site. Take basketball for example. If we played a Tennessee or Georgia there, that would be a huge game for the city. And yeah, we might be outnumbered fan-wise at first, depending on who the opponent is. But keep doing it year after year and the fans will come (though you could argue we need to improve SOME as a team, but that’s a different discussion). There are no doubt some Huntsville residents that think of UAH as small-time. A&M, being in the SWAC, is sort of a different story. I don’t recall them ever really scheduling big-name opponents for games there (other than us next year). We can be Huntsville’s true D1 school if we aren’t afraid to promote ourselves as such. There are probably folks in the Shoals that would reject that strategy over some silly inferiority complex in regards to Huntsville, but that’s the exact attitude that we don’t need right now. I agree, we are North Alabama now, (and with all do respect to the Alumni who Graduated under the Florence State banner) we are no longer Florence State. I have said for years I would like a neutral sight rivalry game, Like Texas-OU. I always thought that it would be cool to play Chattanooga in Huntsville yearly for the Tennessee Valley bowl. It is basically half way for both cities. We also have alumni in Chattanooga, Nashville and Birmingham. (Larger numbers that is) I have always thought UNA could make some kind of agreement with the City of Huntsville to refurbish Joe Davis Stadium into a Football stadium just for a game or two like Alabama did at Legion Field. Just for the record, I think UNA and Chattanooga would be a great rivalry, eventually. |
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Post by catscratchfever4 on Jan 1, 2018 21:50:16 GMT -6
I’m visiting Florence for the weekend and noticed a billboard on 565 in Huntsville that says “Sweet Home NORTH Alabama”, and mentions Florence is 67 miles away. That’s neat to see, though I suppose that’s promoting the University as a whole more so than athletics. Maybe a few more billboards around Huntsville, some sports-related, would be a good start. Perhaps a bit outside the box, but should/could UNA treat Huntsville as Alabama did Birmingham up until the last 15 years or so? For a long time the biggest football games were at Legion Field to take advantage of Birmingham’s much bigger population. There’s a bit of a similarity there with the Shoals and Huntsville. Now, I can’t say I really want football games to be played there. Milton Frank Stadium is the only venue I can think of right off hand, and it’s pretty dilapidated from what I understand. But what about basketball at the VBC, which actually Bama did just last week? Baseball at Joe Davis (or maybe the new minor league stadium I’ve heard will be built in Madison)? Certainly it wouldn’t be unrealistic to make a game or two happen per year. I’m sure Huntsville has our largest alumni base outside of the Shoals. There have to be folks there who would appreciate a short drive to a game. We could definitely use some better marketing, one way or the other. Like mentioned in the thread about future opponents - why keep our upcoming schedules such a secret? How does that benefit anyone? I was thinking the same thing a few days ago. Should definitely be done in basketball. We could draw as big a crowd in a high school gym in a fertile recruiting area as playing at home. Football has been played at Joe Davis so that shouldn't be a problem. Would be good to get another game at Legion Field or Hoover since we're in limbo for a few years. |
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Post by 1949lions on Jan 2, 2018 18:53:53 GMT -6
Maybe play Alabama State at Legion Field? I like where y'all are going with this.
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Post by kperk1959 on Jan 2, 2018 23:17:05 GMT -6
Maybe play Alabama State at Legion Field? I like where y'all are going with this. Or at Alabama State. A LOT of talent in Monty. |
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Post by SomeJsuFan on Jan 16, 2018 10:51:29 GMT -6
I’m visiting Florence for the weekend and noticed a billboard on 565 in Huntsville that says “Sweet Home NORTH Alabama”, and mentions Florence is 67 miles away. That’s neat to see, though I suppose that’s promoting the University as a whole more so than athletics. Maybe a few more billboards around Huntsville, some sports-related, would be a good start. Perhaps a bit outside the box, but should/could UNA treat Huntsville as Alabama did Birmingham up until the last 15 years or so? For a long time the biggest football games were at Legion Field to take advantage of Birmingham’s much bigger population. There’s a bit of a similarity there with the Shoals and Huntsville. Now, I can’t say I really want football games to be played there. Milton Frank Stadium is the only venue I can think of right off hand, and it’s pretty dilapidated from what I understand. But what about basketball at the VBC, which actually Bama did just last week? Baseball at Joe Davis (or maybe the new minor league stadium I’ve heard will be built in Madison)? Certainly it wouldn’t be unrealistic to make a game or two happen per year. I’m sure Huntsville has our largest alumni base outside of the Shoals. There have to be folks there who would appreciate a short drive to a game. We could definitely use some better marketing, one way or the other. Like mentioned in the thread about future opponents - why keep our upcoming schedules such a secret? How does that benefit anyone? Madison resident and JSU grad here. Yep, that billboard irks me every time I drive by there. :-) |
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Post by unafied on Jan 16, 2018 11:16:33 GMT -6
I’m visiting Florence for the weekend and noticed a billboard on 565 in Huntsville that says “Sweet Home NORTH Alabama”, and mentions Florence is 67 miles away. That’s neat to see, though I suppose that’s promoting the University as a whole more so than athletics. Maybe a few more billboards around Huntsville, some sports-related, would be a good start. Perhaps a bit outside the box, but should/could UNA treat Huntsville as Alabama did Birmingham up until the last 15 years or so? For a long time the biggest football games were at Legion Field to take advantage of Birmingham’s much bigger population. There’s a bit of a similarity there with the Shoals and Huntsville. Now, I can’t say I really want football games to be played there. Milton Frank Stadium is the only venue I can think of right off hand, and it’s pretty dilapidated from what I understand. But what about basketball at the VBC, which actually Bama did just last week? Baseball at Joe Davis (or maybe the new minor league stadium I’ve heard will be built in Madison)? Certainly it wouldn’t be unrealistic to make a game or two happen per year. I’m sure Huntsville has our largest alumni base outside of the Shoals. There have to be folks there who would appreciate a short drive to a game. We could definitely use some better marketing, one way or the other. Like mentioned in the thread about future opponents - why keep our upcoming schedules such a secret? How does that benefit anyone? Madison resident and JSU grad here. Yep, that billboard irks me every time I drive by there. :-) Haha. I do hope we can build our rivalry back up at some point, to the level where it’s played at least almost every year. It’ll be good for the schools and good for the fans. I hope the JSU administration feels the same way. I’m pretty sure ours does. I’ve lived in Chattanooga for a decade and have pulled for the Mocs when I can. I kinda worry about you guys getting too cozy with them. Though it has given me an outlet for my Gamecock hate! You’ve roughed up the poor Mocs pretty good, though. |
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Post by SomeJsuFan on Jan 16, 2018 11:52:48 GMT -6
A long-term home and home series would be FANTASTIC for me. It would be like travelling to a home game at either venue.
IIRC, our AD is a TUNA grad, so I'm sure he's got something in the works.
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Post by UNAPride on Jan 16, 2018 16:32:03 GMT -6
A long-term home and home series would be FANTASTIC for me. It would be like travelling to a home game at either venue. IIRC, our AD is a TUNA grad, so I'm sure he's got something in the works. Welcome to the forum, "evil" Gamecock! Haha. Glad you found us. I comment on the JSU forums from time-to-time. |
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Post by catscratchfever4 on Jan 19, 2018 20:01:27 GMT -6
And just to clarify about Huntsville... I realize we’ve played UAH there in multiple sports over the years. I’m talking about scheduling games that are promoted as UNA home games, or at least neutral site. Take basketball for example. If we played a Tennessee or Georgia there, that would be a huge game for the city. And yeah, we might be outnumbered fan-wise at first, depending on who the opponent is. But keep doing it year after year and the fans will come (though you could argue we need to improve SOME as a team, but that’s a different discussion). There are no doubt some Huntsville residents that think of UAH as small-time. A&M, being in the SWAC, is sort of a different story. I don’t recall them ever really scheduling big-name opponents for games there (other than us next year). We can be Huntsville’s true D1 school if we aren’t afraid to promote ourselves as such. There are probably folks in the Shoals that would reject that strategy over some silly inferiority complex in regards to Huntsville, but that’s the exact attitude that we don’t need right now. They haven't been announcing the schedule until April because it takes longer to put together a schedule in D2. With UNA being in transition, there's a good chance the schedule isn't finished yet. |
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