gatortalk: RE: [gatortalk] RE: [gatornews] Orlando Sentinel - Some Gators fans turn in season tickets

Hit the nail on the head.

From: gatortalk@googlegroups.com [mailto:gatortalk@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Stephen Manuel
Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2013 7:29 PM
To: gatortalk@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [gatortalk] RE: [gatornews] Orlando Sentinel - Some Gators fans turn in season tickets

I can only speak for the Jacksonville Gator Club.

When I was on the Board of the Jax Gator Club in the mid-80s we had to raise some significant money…the UAA required us to pay for the Cheerleader accommodations if we wanted them Thursday night for the pep rally, we also had to pay to feed the band if we wanted them on Friday night or Saturday for a pre-game event.

We had regular meetings every week during the season and once a month in the offseason.

We had 400-500 people for a normal meeting during the season and 1200-1500 for the Gathering which was at the end of July every year on a Saturday a week or two before fall practice started.

We never had an issue getting the head coach or Billy Donovan, or Assistant coaches whenever we needed them.

The first thing that happened was Spurrier quit coming to our golf tournament the Monday after the Gathering, that killed a lot of our fundraising.

Then during Urban Meyer, he quit going to every meeting and the number of Gatherings was significantly reduced.

The final straw was when UF took over the Gator Clubs, previously each individual club collected dues, ran their meetings, etc…When UF took over they said anyone who paid alumni dues was a member and they would remit back to the individual clubs a certain amount….they would do all the mailings, collect all the money, etc…they also said they would set the dates for the Gatherings and who would be the speakers, basically the club would have no say so about when/where the meeting was going to be.

This devastated the Jacksonville Club, one year UF set the Gathering on a Friday night in May at 5pm, they sent Steve Addazio as the speaker….we had maybe 250-300 people and that’s a generous estimate. It’s has not gotten any better since, the Gatherings are in May and the attendance is 20% of what it once was…

Now the Jacksonville Gator Club only meets during the Season and only on home game weekends…

The Jacksonville Gator Gathering was all about the blue collar everyday fan, who would pay $25-30 to eat bbq chicken, get a picture with the head coach, get something signed, get their kids pictured with the coach, etc…..

Now all of that is gone, the Jacksonville Gator Club still exists but is a fraction of what it once was…they have no say so about the Gathering or any Fla/Ga pregame activites,etc..

You combine the demise of the Gator Clubs and Gatherings with what’s happening with the prices for attending games, you can then understand by the diehard blue collar fan is not going as often to games, they have been kicked to the curb IMO….

Stephen Manuel

From: gatortalk@googlegroups.com [mailto:gatortalk@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sandy Alonso
Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2013 2:35 PM
To: gatortalk@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [gatortalk] RE: [gatornews] Orlando Sentinel - Some Gators fans turn in season tickets

Hi Stephen,

I followed along (and agreed) with everything you said except the gutting of Gator Clubs and Gatherings. Can you explain that some? Not sure I'm aware of that.

Sandy

On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 2:08 PM, Stephen Manuel <srmanuel@bellsouth.net> wrote:

IMO, when Urban Meyer was there and UF was the King of College Football and the economy was terrific, UF got fat, stupid and greedy…

The thinking being let’s kick to curb the average fan who has enjoyed their seats for years at relatively low prices, then we can resell them to newly minted BULLGATORS at incredibly high prices….for a couple of years this plan worked.

The Urban Meyer departed, Tim Tebow graduated and the team and economy tanked….those average blue collar fans figured out that HDTV, cold beer near at hand along with a clean and uncrowded bathroom were not a bad way to go… plus they were saving a ton of money….

You combine the ticket price policy with UF gutting the Gator Clubs and Gator Gatherings around the state and you can understand why the blue collar fan would feel they are not appreciate anymore.

Stephen Manuel

From: gatortalk@googlegroups.com [mailto:gatortalk@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of John Vega
Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2013 11:53 AM
To: gatortalk@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [gatortalk] RE: [gatornews] Orlando Sentinel - Some Gators fans turn in season tickets

On Apr 11, 2013, at 10:48 AM, Randy Lyons wrote:

Gator football spokesman Steve McClain said the final numbers aren't in, but ticket sales overall are slightly ahead of last year's pace as of the Tuesday deadline. He said the jump in booster fees is largely the result of tuition increases, which have driven the cost of athletic scholarships up by $3 million since 2008, and other costs.

I would love to understand whether the grant that the UAA gives to the University every year is on top of tuition reimbursement or inclusive.

The last time I looked at the amount, it was almost exactly what tuition, room and board would cost for the number of scholarship athletes in the UAA.

If the UAA truly gives money back to the school, that is great.

It does seem strange - given the UAA profits disclosed last year and the insane bumps in TV revenue since 2008 - that the UAA would need to double booster fees in order to cover tuition fees.

I suspect that the tuition claim is merely a smoke screen and the real though process is "Let's use the TV money to give ourselves bonuses and pretend that the fans have to pay for a tuition increase that the University would probably waive anyway. And - when we pay the tuition - let's have a press conference and claim it is a gift!"

-Zeb

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Thursday, April 11, 2013

RE: [gatortalk] RE: [gatornews] Orlando Sentinel - Some Gators fans turn in season tickets

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