Perception matters and Jarmond understands

This week is a big deal, but it beyond football, it is an opportunity for BC to shine. The one person who seems to really understand that is Martin Jarmond.

While an AD hires and fires coaches, the reality of the job is that the AD's impact on the field of play is very limited. However, the experience of the fans, media and players outside of the game is all under the Athletic Department's control. Jarmond never provided specifics about what he was going to change at BC, but slowly through big and little things, he is showing he is committed to improvements (alcohol sales, raising money for facilities, better food service, social media interactions, numerous road trips, etc). GameDay will be a culmination of all he's done in his short tenure.

GameDay coming to BC is mostly about football and timing, but it is also due to the work of the Athletic Department to court ESPN and sell a story. But this is also a TV show and Jarmond knows that. He got Herbie to send a message to BC fans about showing up for the show Saturday morning.

JUST IN: Special message from @KirkHerbstreit on the location of the set for @CollegeGameDay Saturday at BC!

Also check out the release for IMPORTANT details regarding parking and everyone's favorite topic, tailgating!https://t.co/qSmLaCebt7#WeAreBC pic.twitter.com/3qgZiUPET8

— BC Football (@BCFootball) November 6, 2018

He also leveraged the moment to extend tailgating hours in the hopes of driving people to their sits at kickoff. Alumni needs to be full when the lights come on at 8 pm. ESPN/ABC want the game to feel big and a packed house does that.

🗣 We heard you...4 hrs... pic.twitter.com/4rpelgIvPd

— Martin Jarmond (@MartinJarmond) November 7, 2018

Even if the game doesn't live up to the hype, Jarmond needs the BC fans and the BC experience to shine through. It will keep two importantconstituenciess (media and donors) happy.  Being loud, active and on time will increase the chances of BC hosting again and ESPN coming away happy.

Are Hospitality Venues the answer to BC's gameday problems?

To his credit, Brad Bates introduced a new concept for Boston College home football games. This fall, BC will have three Hospitality Venues where fans can eat, drink and watch other games prior to our kickoff. It is like the Plex pregame only in more spaces and with a bigger emphasis on food and drinks. The price will be vary by location and range from $150 to $180 for the season. This is a nice effort, but is it enough?

The good news about all of this is Bates championing new ideas and new approaches. These venues might not catch on, but at least he is trying something. I also like the varied locations. Having options in different parts of campus enables more people to attend and spreads the pregame crowds out a bit. They currently tend to congregate on the tradition areas on Lower Campus (Mods, Shea, Garages,etc). I also think the pricing is fair. $30 a head (plus drinks) is close to what you would pay for a share of a parking spot and food at a full tailgate.

But the challenge with the idea and my fear as to whether or not it will catch on is demand. Currently a large portion of our season ticket holders want better tailgating and have tailgating options. Because this is a season pass concept, this is competing with those tailgating experiences. I am not on campus much for gamedays but I've never gotten the sense that the Plex pregame was so popular that it needed three similar set ups. The other aspect that might pose a challenge is the season pass concept. This sort of venue seems ideal for the casual fan or once a year fan who doesn't have a regular tailgate. I imagine they can adjust and offer one-time passes if that demand arises.

I don't know if this idea will catch on but I applaud the approach and effort. BC needs to try something new and Bates approach seems to be one of listening and adjusting. With this approach, we will eventually fix gamedays.

NC State kickoff times and other links

TOB's latest return to the Heights will be a 3:30 kickoff with regional coverage on ABC. TV coverage from here on out is not looking great. Central Michigan has a 1 pm start meaning ESPN360 at best. North Carolina, Maryland and UVA are all toss ups. I expect at least one to be a Raycom game and one to sneak onto ESPN U, but there is a real chance that all could be 360 based on their respective records.

For those who missed the Herzy story on ESPN, here are some of the clips.








EDSBS compared Bobby Bowden situation at FSU to an old man driving his car into a crowd. Is it wrong that I laughed?

Here are some of the better signs from GameDay. I like the idea behind Spaz as Mario, but isn't he supposed to be Luigi?

HD finally moved BC up in her power rankings.

They're here

Thanks to James for the pic.

Fowler's preview and other links

In this video (sorry no direct link) Chris Fowler previews the GameDay schedule and the trip to Chestnut Hill.

The Herald and the Globe both featured McMichael today (Globe, Herald).

Women's soccer lost to UNC after some questionable calls against the Eagles.

The real story behind ESPN's GameDay selection

The Big Lead tweeted this earlier today:

ESPN Gameday taking a ton of heat already for going to FSU-BC game. enhances East Coast bias, for sure. would rather c them at LSU/Okl/Cal

I agree that BC hosting Florida State is surprising decision. There have been plenty of better BC games that were ignored by GameDay over the years and there are multiple games that deserve the spotlight more than two unranked ACC teams in early October. Yet talking to two different ESPN folks, I got the story on how GameDay at BC came to be.

1. Problems with the other candidates. This is the main reason. There isn't a can't miss game this weekend. The closest thing to a can't miss is Oklahoma-Miami. However, Miami's loss to VT and their move to LandShark aka Dolphins Stadium hurt their chance. GameDay feared hosting the show in front of an empty parking lot. The SEC matchups were appealing but the thought in Bristol was that they've already done SEC games and will do more in the coming weeks. Washington-Notre Dame was considered until the Huskies lost to Stanford. USC-Cal was also considered but Cal's loss and USC's recent (and likely future) GameDay involvement made it a no go this week.

2. The Mark Herzlich story. ESPN is putting together a feature on Herzy. His story is compelling and his early prognosis is very good. If he returns to play next season, ESPN is out in front of what could be a huge general news story.

3. The economy. It is easier and cheaper for ESPN to pull off the show from Boston (their backyard) than it would be from California or even somewhere in SEC country.

4. It has nothing to do with ESPNBoston.com. Some conspiracy theorists are floating the idea that GameDay is part of ESPN's corporate synergy to promote ESPNBoston.com. I am sure ESPNBoston will be mentioned once or twice during the broadcast, but one ESPNer said to me "ESPN.com boston has little or nothing to do with it [The selection]."

Gameday!!!

ESPN's traveling road show is coming to Chestnut Hill. A surprising choice given Florida State's record and some of the other games on the slate, but let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. Get there early and makes some noise! This is a shot in the arm for team and the program. Ever to excel!

Could BC host Gameday October 18?

The comments in the bowl post brought up Gameday coming to BC for the Virginia Tech game. I wouldn't say BC is the favorite, but there is a chance. Take a look at the contenders:

Vanderbilt at Georgia
Pros: Assuming wins this weekend, the game will feature two ranked SEC teams.
Cons: Both schools have hosted Gameday already this season.


Kansas at Oklahoma
Pros: Might be the best game of the day.
Cons: Would they want Oklahoma involved in Gameday two weeks in a row? What happens if Oklahoma loses this weekend?


Mizzou at Texas
Pros: Two of the best QBs in the country. Daniels is the Heisman front runner.
Cons: Similar to Oklahoma, would they want Texas involved in Gameday two weeks in a row? What happens if Texas loses this weekend?


Cal at Arizona
Pros: Fresh location for the show. Rising Arizona program.
Cons: Neither team is ranked. What happens if Arizona loses this weekend?

Pitt at Navy
Pros: Gameday loves unique locations. Both are good stories.
Cons: Doesn't have national interest.

Ohio State at Michigan State
Pros: ABC is scheduled to broadcast the game. Could help decide the Big Ten
Cons: Ohio State fatigue. What happens if MSU loses to Northwestern this weekend?

Virginia Tech at Boston College
Pros: ACC location as opposed to another SEC. BC last hosted four years ago and has only hosted once.
Cons: BC may not be ranked by the game. National perception is that the ACC is down.

My guess is they will go to one of the Big XII sites. It will be a slight repeat of this week, but one of those will be the biggest game. I also think the Cal-Arizona game also sounds appealing. Clearly there are no locks. Maybe BC and the ACC should get on the horn to Bristol now and start the hard sell.

ESPN-emies

BC fans had hoped that Gameday would be coming to Boston. They're going back to Oregon instead. I don't have a problem with that. Oregon-Arizon State is the better game. I do have a problem with two of ESPN's main college football analysts -- Mark May and Kirk Herbstreit. Both take a dismissive attitude towards BC and our national hopes. Unfortunately, since the polls and the biggest award in the sport are decided by voters, these two actually have influence. This is a problem. As Gunslingers presciently explained two years ago the national sports media creates storylines ahead of time and then does everything in their power to stick to it so that they look that much smarter. When something unexpected happens, they don't know what to do. Let's say BC drops one game before the season ends. Is there any chance we will be in the National Championship mix? No way. Because we have heard endlessly how great this one-loss LSU team is. It gets worse. Watch this weekend -- Herbie and May will both have the winner of Arizona St-Oregon ahead of BC in their polls. And if Oregon wins, look for all the pundits to move Dixon ahead of Ryan on Heisman ballots.

There is only one way to counter this -- keep winning. Jags philosophy is perfect. Just focus on Florida State. As SMQ lays out, if BC wins its remaining games it will be very difficult to deny us a shot. The computers love us. It's the pollster who are the problem.

But none of this will be an issue in Saturday's game. Just beat Florida State!