I received an email from South Alabama, and they're talking about building an on campus football stadium. I think for a university, an on campus FBS football stadium must be a key status symbol. Of course it's more convenient not to have one, as you can blame lackluster attendance on the lack thereof.
I am hardly unaffected by South Alabama and their delusions of grandeur. I live in Mobile, so when Ladd Stadium is provided for South Alabama, rent free, then I am made to bear a financial responsibility. I am enrolled at South Alabama, so when funds are diverted to the football team, I am made to pay for that as well. If they build a stadium that costs tens of millions of dollars, despite the fact I've never watched a single South Alabama football game, I will be made to pay, somehow.
The idea of giving Alabama their fifth FBS program was ridiculous from the start. It was fueled by the popularity of SEC football, coming at a time in which Alabama under Nick Saban was garnering national attention. Whether it was merely jealousy, or simply a foolhardy attempt to emulate this I am not sure, but it was irresponsible to say the least. Most athletic departments already lose money, and South Alabama wastes a lot every year. Most FBS programs lose money as well. Believe you me, no one that doesn't participate in the football program in some capacity is going to South Alabama because they have a football team.
I was merciless in my disparaging remarks about UAB football. The truth is, I think even three FBS programs in the state is pushing it, but allow me to be clear. South Alabama football is a huge waste of money, and that's even if they don't build a stadium to cater to special interests. One of my wife's teachers at South Alabama, recently pointed out that the South Alabama football was a "sacred cow", that regardless of how stupid and irresponsible it is, it simply can't be looked at for what it actually is. Even posters on this forum, while piling on UAB football would carve out some excuses for South Alabama, that frankly are not warranted.
I was born and raised in Mobile, Al. I'm a huge sports fan, I cheered for the Jags, I longed for even semi-pro sports, and at one time I even wished for a South Alabama football team. I am not ignorant of the demographics of the area, but I've also seen firsthand why Mobile went so long without a minor league baseball team for example. I worked for the BayBears their first year, I saw capacity crowds at virtually every game, I saw the enthusiasm. But, like the Mobile Mystics, I also saw it wane. When I returned after being gone several years, and attended a game, I was startled to see just how empty the stadium is. Mind you, it's a stadium just off the interstate with their own parking, the reason people are not going is because they simply don't want to. The Mobile BayBears rank dead last in the Southern League with an average attendance of 1,715.
Perhaps that's just baseball right? Well, South Alabama does have an on-campus arena, the Mitchell Center. The capacity is 10,000, it was opened in 1998, and it serves a variety of functions, the chief one being hosting South Alabama basketball games. It's even hosted an NBA game once. Surely, a 30 million dollar facility on the campus of South Alabama, for one of the two "revenue" sports is a main attraction, right? Well, in 2014 South Alabama basketball had an average attendance of 2,188. I'm not even sure where that ranks, but the 100th ranked team has an average attendance of over 5,000. Alabama has an average attendance of over 10,000.
Well, ok so Mobile might not do a great job of supporting baseball and basketball programs. But, surely Football is different right? Well... if it's the SEC, sure. The South Alabama game against Miss. State attracted 38,129 fans. The problem though, is that most of those people came to see Miss. State play. For the season, South Alabama had an average attendance of 17,445 over 6 games. This means that for games not involving an SEC team, South Alabama had an average attendance of 13,308 last year. The mandated minimum for an FBS program is 15,000. For those of you that think it will just take time for South Alabama to gain interest, in 2013 their average attendance was 15,926. If anything, interest might already be weakening.
The truth is Mobile just doesn't support those types of teams well. I suppose a big part of that is the fact that Mobile is in the heart of SEC territory, and people already have strong allegiances. However, one thing is clear. Barring some extraordinary change, a new football stadium will soon become like the Mitchell Center (but less useful). A nice showcase for something not very many people want to see. Unfortunately, with the way universities are wasting money, I suppose that won't be cause for concern, but I sure won't be happy to have paid for it.
UAB athletics lost 19 million last year. South Alabama athletics lost 16 million last year. Yet, both those programs have people close to them that feel entitled to massively expensive football stadiums? Contrast this with Alabama A&M, who ran their entire athletic department on less than ten million, total last year. That includes an FCS program, which by the way has been to as many bowl games as South Alabama and UAB combined. There's just no reason for UAB and South Alabama to be wasting this much on their athletic departments, and furthermore to have the nerve to demand to be able to waste millions more.
I am hardly unaffected by South Alabama and their delusions of grandeur. I live in Mobile, so when Ladd Stadium is provided for South Alabama, rent free, then I am made to bear a financial responsibility. I am enrolled at South Alabama, so when funds are diverted to the football team, I am made to pay for that as well. If they build a stadium that costs tens of millions of dollars, despite the fact I've never watched a single South Alabama football game, I will be made to pay, somehow.
The idea of giving Alabama their fifth FBS program was ridiculous from the start. It was fueled by the popularity of SEC football, coming at a time in which Alabama under Nick Saban was garnering national attention. Whether it was merely jealousy, or simply a foolhardy attempt to emulate this I am not sure, but it was irresponsible to say the least. Most athletic departments already lose money, and South Alabama wastes a lot every year. Most FBS programs lose money as well. Believe you me, no one that doesn't participate in the football program in some capacity is going to South Alabama because they have a football team.
I was merciless in my disparaging remarks about UAB football. The truth is, I think even three FBS programs in the state is pushing it, but allow me to be clear. South Alabama football is a huge waste of money, and that's even if they don't build a stadium to cater to special interests. One of my wife's teachers at South Alabama, recently pointed out that the South Alabama football was a "sacred cow", that regardless of how stupid and irresponsible it is, it simply can't be looked at for what it actually is. Even posters on this forum, while piling on UAB football would carve out some excuses for South Alabama, that frankly are not warranted.
I was born and raised in Mobile, Al. I'm a huge sports fan, I cheered for the Jags, I longed for even semi-pro sports, and at one time I even wished for a South Alabama football team. I am not ignorant of the demographics of the area, but I've also seen firsthand why Mobile went so long without a minor league baseball team for example. I worked for the BayBears their first year, I saw capacity crowds at virtually every game, I saw the enthusiasm. But, like the Mobile Mystics, I also saw it wane. When I returned after being gone several years, and attended a game, I was startled to see just how empty the stadium is. Mind you, it's a stadium just off the interstate with their own parking, the reason people are not going is because they simply don't want to. The Mobile BayBears rank dead last in the Southern League with an average attendance of 1,715.
Perhaps that's just baseball right? Well, South Alabama does have an on-campus arena, the Mitchell Center. The capacity is 10,000, it was opened in 1998, and it serves a variety of functions, the chief one being hosting South Alabama basketball games. It's even hosted an NBA game once. Surely, a 30 million dollar facility on the campus of South Alabama, for one of the two "revenue" sports is a main attraction, right? Well, in 2014 South Alabama basketball had an average attendance of 2,188. I'm not even sure where that ranks, but the 100th ranked team has an average attendance of over 5,000. Alabama has an average attendance of over 10,000.
Well, ok so Mobile might not do a great job of supporting baseball and basketball programs. But, surely Football is different right? Well... if it's the SEC, sure. The South Alabama game against Miss. State attracted 38,129 fans. The problem though, is that most of those people came to see Miss. State play. For the season, South Alabama had an average attendance of 17,445 over 6 games. This means that for games not involving an SEC team, South Alabama had an average attendance of 13,308 last year. The mandated minimum for an FBS program is 15,000. For those of you that think it will just take time for South Alabama to gain interest, in 2013 their average attendance was 15,926. If anything, interest might already be weakening.
The truth is Mobile just doesn't support those types of teams well. I suppose a big part of that is the fact that Mobile is in the heart of SEC territory, and people already have strong allegiances. However, one thing is clear. Barring some extraordinary change, a new football stadium will soon become like the Mitchell Center (but less useful). A nice showcase for something not very many people want to see. Unfortunately, with the way universities are wasting money, I suppose that won't be cause for concern, but I sure won't be happy to have paid for it.
UAB athletics lost 19 million last year. South Alabama athletics lost 16 million last year. Yet, both those programs have people close to them that feel entitled to massively expensive football stadiums? Contrast this with Alabama A&M, who ran their entire athletic department on less than ten million, total last year. That includes an FCS program, which by the way has been to as many bowl games as South Alabama and UAB combined. There's just no reason for UAB and South Alabama to be wasting this much on their athletic departments, and furthermore to have the nerve to demand to be able to waste millions more.
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