Editorial Blasts Promoters of HBCU Classics

[TexasTerror]

I read a thread on TSPN where people were complaining about the operations, but now this editorial has been posted on the Internet.

How many other games associated with FCS football have outside promoters besides the HBCU games? I know LSSE is involved in the Battle of the Piney Woods...


I have curbed my urge many times over the years to call out black college football event producers. However, the litany of issues I dealt with at this year’s State Fair Classic compelled me to put some light on the biggest problem contributing to the decline in attendance at black college football games; incompetent and uncaring management of these events by people who treat the fans and the media like second-class citizens. Event producers think they only have to please school administrators and corporate sponsors. It’s time to stop the madness. The fans and media are what make a Classic a success, not fake big shots.

My Urban Sports News colleague, Henry Bailey, put it best when I discussed the 2011 Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic issues. He said, “These games are run by people with small minds trying to do big things.” I couldn’t put it any better, but here are the problems and my recommendations on fixing the event:

http://www.tspnsports.com/2011/10/05/state-fair-classic-people-with-small-minds-trying-to-do-big-things.htm

[PantherRob82]

How, that guy is on a witch hunt. Interesting read. Having been a promoter and having been on sidelines, I can relate to his complaints.

[DFW HOYA]

Great read. Too often, promoters tend to run events as if they're running a barnstorming team.

Did the game take note of Al Lipscomb, the former city councilman for whom the event was named, and who died this summer? Probably not.

[TexasTerror]

Related thread on TSPN...

http://www.tspnsports.com/forums/showthread.php?101529-GSU-amp-PVU-folks...let-s-talk-about-quot-the-circus-quot-State-Fair-Classic

[Lehigh Football Nation]

This piece reads as more of a particular criticism of the folks running the State Fair Classic rather than a general critiques of all promoters of Classics. It might be legitimate for all Classics, but I'd have no way of knowing. For example, is "abuse of sideline passes", one of the many, many pieces of buckshot thrown up in the air, an endemic problem at all Classics or just the State Fair Classic? I'd bet you can't generalize.

[813Jag]

This editorial echoes the complaints people have had about the State Fair Classic. I don't know the innerworkings of the games, but the Atlanta Football Classic, Florida Classic, and Bayou Classic seem to be run differently.

[dgtw]

The Magic City Classic does well every year, seems to draw bigger crowds than it once did. Although it always drew a good crowd, it now is at or near a sell out every year.

[kdinva]

Sounds like this guy needs to attend 3 or 4 NFL games, and see how the sidelines are maintained & policed, how the press box contains all the right set-ups for the media, including internet access, plus decent food. I bet NFL beat writers and regular photographers don't have to park in the next County and walk with all their gear.


I read a thread on TSPN where people were complaining about the operations, but now this editorial has been posted on the Internet.

How many other games associated with FCS football have outside promoters besides the HBCU games? I know LSSE is involved in the Battle of the Piney Woods...



http://www.tspnsports.com/2011/10/05/state-fair-classic-people-with-small-minds-trying-to-do-big-things.htm

[TexasTerror]

This editorial echoes the complaints people have had about the State Fair Classic. I don't know the innerworkings of the games, but the Atlanta Football Classic, Florida Classic, and Bayou Classic seem to be run differently.

Seems the long-running Classic games for the most part are free of many of the issues in the Editorial. Outside of the State Fair Classic, I seem to recall people not too thrilled with some of the other Classic games that do not have as much longevity or would pop up and pull out before games were played. What was that one in California or Nevada that cancelled on the teams a few months before the season a few years back?

[bluehenbillk]

Sorry, I just woke up from a decade-long sleep, did the SWAC or the MEAC become relevant while I was gone?

[Sly Fox]

Sounds like this guy needs to attend 3 or 4 NFL games, and see how the sidelines are maintained & policed, how the press box contains all the right set-ups for the media, including internet access, plus decent food. I bet NFL beat writers and regular photographers don't have to park in the next County and walk with all their gear.

Actually, I have had many a trek of close to a mile carrying gear when covering Cowboys games in my past life. Then again, the Cowboys are notorious for treating the media poorly.

LSSE seems to run things extremely efficiently in Houston. Then again, the Texans organization may not be able to get tot he playoffs but they run an extremely tight ship.

[dgtw]

So he didn't like the free food he got and he had to walk too far to get to work. And he has a quota for press conference emcees. Did he wear a suit to the prerss conference?

I'd rather hear from fans, coaches and players about how they felt about the game.

[eaglesrthe1]

Nah, I quit reading when he said he was offended by a white guy being the MC.

[WileECoyote06]

Nah, I quit reading when he said he was offended by a white guy being the MC.

I think that's fair. I wouldn't have even noticed if I were at the press conference.

[alvinkayak6]

Nah, I quit reading when he said he was offended by a white guy being the MC.

I agree....it's a problem by the wording. You shouldn't be OFFENDED by someone's skin color. I suppose it's fair to be confused about certain things or find something unusual. But you shouldn't be taking it personal. The wording if said by a white person would probably be construed as racism or at least bigotry.

I think all the writer's points are valid about the games being unprofessional, but the way it was written makes him seem a bit like a spoiled brat. Just stick to the facts, and people will come to the same conclusions.

[alvinkayak6]

Sorry, I just woke up from a decade-long sleep, did the SWAC or the MEAC become relevant while I was gone?

No, it has always been relevant. The SWAC consistently has the highest attendance record in the FCS. Not to mention the bands are considered among the nation's best.xcoffeex

[HIU 93]

Sorry, I just woke up from a decade-long sleep, did the SWAC or the MEAC become relevant while I was gone?

Obviously they are relevant to you, because you took time to post here.

[alvinkayak6]

A better question is if the FCS itself is relevant? I bet the majority of football fans out there wouldn't even answer a correct multiple choice about who was in the FCS championship game. The national media is too busy promoting its 5 bcs games.

[HIU 93]

I think Prarie View and Grambling should be looking for a bigger and better venue with a better promotional staff. If the game is a financial success for the city, they have a bargaining chip. I know and appreciate the value and strength of HBCUs, and it really bothers me when HBCUs allow themselves to be taken advantage of by shady business people. GSU and PVAMU reall need to go to the bargaining table and negotiate from a position of power.

[HIU 93]

A better question is if the FCS itself is relevant? I bet the majority of football fans out there wouldn't even answer a correct multiple choice about who was in the FCS championship game. The national media is too busy promoting its 5 bcs games.

It is relevant. It's relevant at Grambling, which produced Dvision I's winningest coach. It's relevant at FAMU, which wn the first NCAA Division I-AA National championship. It's relevant at Georgia Southern, which has 6 Division I National Championships. It's relevant in the NFL, where LEGENDS like Deacon Jones, Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Doug Williams, Chuck Bednarik, Howie Long, and Darrell Greene all played at schools that compete in FCS. Most importantly, it matters in the hearts and minds of us alumni of those schools. Just because it is not as popular amongst the masses as FBS does not mean it does not matter.

[WileECoyote06]

I think Prarie View and Grambling should be looking for a bigger and better venue with a better promotional staff. If the game is a financial success for the city, they have a bargaining chip. I know and appreciate the value and strength of HBCUs, and it really bothers me when HBCUs allow themselves to be taken advantage of by shady business people. GSU and PVAMU reall need to go to the bargaining table and negotiate from a position of power.

It's held at the Cotton Bowl and is a part of the State Fair activities for Texas. It's one bookend for the fair; while the other bookend is the Red River Shootout featuring Oklahoma and Texas.

[HIU 93]

It's held at the Cotton Bowl and is a part of the State Fair activities for Texas. It's one bookend for the fair; while the other bookend is the Red River Shootout featuring Oklahoma and Texas.

I know where it is held and why it is held on the day that it is held. That doesn't cahnge the fact that you don't continue to let people take advantage of you, unless you like being taken advantage of.

[TexasTerror]

The SWAC consistently has the highest attendance record in the FCS. Not to mention the bands are considered among the nation's best.xcoffeex

* when considering neutral site games as part of the official attendance and not when strictly comparing on-campus attendance

I think Classics play a vital role in HBCU football - particularly for financial reasons - but the attendance at on-campus games continues to head south, particularly in the SWAC. Why is that? Is their too much emphasis on the Classics, particularly with many of their non-football related events to bolster it?

[BlueHenSinfonian]

* when considering neutral site games as part of the official attendance and not when strictly comparing on-campus attendance

I think Classics play a vital role in HBCU football - particularly for financial reasons - but the attendance at on-campus games continues to head south, particularly in the SWAC. Why is that? Is their too much emphasis on the Classics, particularly with many of their non-football related events to bolster it?


I admire the success the HBCUs have with the classics. I do agree that those games deserve a big old asterisk next to them in official attendance figures, but I wonder why non-HBCUs can't set up some games like that. UMass, Delaware, Liberty, JMU, and other FCS school have strong fanbases, plenty of living and regional alumni, great bands, and regularly put out competitive teams. Why not get a promoter, rent out the Ravens' M&T Bank Stadium and have the yearly Chesapeake Classic between UD and JMU? Make it a big party, get people coming out to the game that might not necessarily care about either program but come for the spectacle. If nothing else it would net some money for both teams, but it also has the chance to bring in some new fans who like what they see.

SHSU and SFA seem to have some success with their Battle of Piney Woods, and UMass/UNH brought a good crowd to their game at Gillette last year. Why do the classics have to be only a HBCU thing?

[HIU 93]

I admire the success the HBCUs have with the classics. I do agree that those games deserve a big old asterisk next to them in official attendance figures, but I wonder why non-HBCUs can't set up some games like that. UMass, Delaware, Liberty, JMU, and other FCS school have strong fanbases, plenty of living and regional alumni, great bands, and regularly put out competitive teams. Why not get a promoter, rent out the Ravens' M&T Bank Stadium and have the yearly Chesapeake Classic between UD and JMU? Make it a big party, get people coming out to the game that might not necessarily care about either program but come for the spectacle. If nothing else it would net some money for both teams, but it also has the chance to bring in some new fans who like what they see.

SHSU and SFA seem to have some success with their Battle of Piney Woods, and UMass/UNH brought a good crowd to their game at Gillette last year. Why do the classics have to be only a HBCU thing?

The most successful classics draw two crowds- people who care about college football and their alma maters (the minority of the attendees) and people who come to party (the majority of attendees). The most successful classics feature traditional rivalries, and are in the deep south (Florida, Magic City, Bayou, Turkey Day, etc.). At most non-HBCU sporting events, fans attend to see the game. That's it. No one cares about the after parties, celebrities don't attend (unless they have a particular rooting interest), there aren't multiple parties at every club and restaraunt in town for the entire weekend, etc. In other words- HBCU Classics are about the social atmosphere and non-HBCU games are about the game. A perfect example of this is actually in College Basketball. In 2008 the CIAA Basketball Tournament (Div. II, HBCU conference) took place in Bobcat Arena in Charlotte, NC. Two weeks later, the ACC Basketball tournament (ACC- premier college bball league) was hosted in the same place. The Charlotte convention and visitor's bureau reported that the CIAA tournament accounted for almost DOUBLE the amount of revenue to the city than the ACC. Why? Simple. Black people from all over the world travel to the CIAA to PARTY- whether they are alums, or even went to college at all. The ACC tournament is all about the games. After the games are over, most of the attendees may go get something to eat, but other than that, they don't spend a lot of time in the city. They aren't parties scheduled everywhere, and the socialization aspect is not the same. If there are twenty thousand people in the arena at an ACC tournament game, they are in the stands watching the game. If the same number are in the arena at a CIAA Tournament game, they are in the corridors and hallways having a reunion and planning for the evenings parties. Basically, we just go to the games for different reasons.

[dgtw]

My wife once worked at a women's clothing store in an all black neighborhood not far from Legion Field. (We are both white). She said Magic City Classic week was their biggest sales week of the year.