The SU Marketing Machine Moves On

As spring practice rolls on for the Syracuse Football team, the team made a road trip to Rochester on Saturday to practice at Sahlen's Stadium. The team practiced for two hours, then sat at tables and signed autographs for fans.

The purpose of having this "road" practice was to generate interest in the team and to reconnect with the fans in Western New York.

“I think we have lost some people from this area,” head coach Doug Marrone said after practice. “Going back to my playing days, we had a large fan base here, and we had a lot of players from the Rochester area.”

I think this "road practice" idea was a smart one. I'm glad that the school is marketing the team so well. While it's not the greatest thing to point out, college football is a business. For the schools, they have to do everything they can to push the product (that would be the team).

The school has done quite a bit to increase the exposure of the SU Football program. There's an agreement with the New Meadowlands Stadium (home of the New York Jets and Giants) to host one "home" game there every other season starting in 2019. This is in addition to the other games already scheduled to be played there (USC in 2012, Penn State in 2013, Notre Dame in 2014 & 2016). I'm curious to see if SU makes a deal with Ralph Wilson Stadium, the home stadium of the Bills, to have a similar arrangement on the year they aren't playing at the Meadowlands. If the school is serious about getting Western New York back, I think this would be an awesome idea.

As an alumnus, I think this is all exciting. I (unfortunately) remember the Greg Robinson years, and to see the program in such demand is great. This exposure can help the school increase the fan base. The bigger the fan base, the better the bowl game the team can get if/when they become bowl-eligible.

Some fans are not that excited about these new developments. The hometown fans are unhappy about the school depriving them of seeing the team play a big-time opponent at the Carrier Dome. While I see their point, I, again, must bring up the business part of college football. It wasn't too long ago that the football team was losing money every year. In fact, 2009 was the first time in many years that Syracuse University didn't lose money on football team. It's hard to turn a buck in this business. Playing these neutral site games can add money to the coffers and improve the program (facilities, equipment, travel, paycheck games, etc.).