Well, that number was then. I don't know if it is the same now. But, they put the Duke game on when they also broadcast gymnastics and baseball the same night. That raises more questions then I can answer as it is not in line with what I was told and believe. I have already reached out asking for a one on one conversation regarding the issues I would like to discuss. Will see if I get a response.
Agreed with almost all of that. And there are plenty of "fans" who object to spending much of anything on "minor" sports. Fixing the broadcast facility and bringing it up to par with the rest of the league requires a relatively small amount of funding compared to what is spent elsewhere. And it benefits every fan of every sport except football, baseball, gymnastics and basketball. As for spending a billion to renovate the Swamp, as is apparently intended, all you need to do is put a winning team on the field and 90,000 will show up every week, renovation or not.
The bang for the buck argument is a reasonable debate. But I don't know how the priorities have been established. And rather than a bandaid expenditure maybe they want to save for a more lasting and impactful upgrade. As for Ben Hill.....renovation isn't really an option at this point. There are real structural issues and they can't kick the can down the road much longer. So once that project starts they might as well do it right. People haven't stopped complaining that the O dome redo was not adequate
That's not the way they look at it. How will it benefit the program(s)? There are a ton of ways they could do things to benefit fans that are relatively cost neutral, BUT they don't do them because they don't have a sufficient return on the investment. I'm not saying that's right, just saying that's how it is. I think the above point about filled capacity is a good one. It's harder than it should be to get a decent seat to a softball game unless you know somebody. Everybody knows this. That's not the issue, in my opinion, it's mostly about upgrades that you can charge more money for (did you guys see that ridiculous survey for season ticket holders? yikes). They are gradually taking away free parking options, and it's a real shame, but that's all for another thread. Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
I never said anything about limitless funds. But putting a softball game on SEC+ is a relatively minimal expense in the scheme of the things. 2 commentators and 2-3 camermen is all you need. For years I've read that Florida only had the resources to televise 2 home games at a time. And yet last Friday we had gymnastics, baseball and softball at home and all 3 were televised. They can do it if they want to - they just choose not to televise softball when other SEC schools, with lesser budgets, put ALL home softball games on TV. And the fact that there are some empty seats is another issue they could address because basically every game is sold out. But when season ticket holders don't show up, there has not been a way provided to put people in those seats ans it makes it look like attendance is low. There is plenty of support for Gator softball - much more tha several other so-called minor sports. Criticize me and others if you will, but I will continue to voice my opinion and support for putting ALL Gator home games on TV in some fashion. Other SEC schools do it and there's absolutely no reason Florida can't do it as well.
You're simply wrong, man. Gator Football and Men's Basketball are the only 2 sports that show a net profit year after year at Florida. All the other sports run at a deficit, with Women's Basketball basketball being the biggest loser. It's not about that, though. Gator softball is virtually sold out for every game and a lot of times ticket-holders decide not to go to the games and there's no provision for getting butts in those empty seats. Do you think that every other SEC team has more boosters putting money into their softball program than UF? Absolutely not. Why is it that every other SEC team has virtually ALL of their home nonconference games on TV, primarily on SEC+, while Florida does not? The answer is that those in power at UF CHOOSE not to do it. If they put a dollar figure out there that they needed to do so, I KNOW there are several softball NIL supporters who would write a check in a heartbeat. For years I read and heard that Florida could not televise 3 Gator home games at the same time and softball was low man on the totem pole. And yet last Friday night home gymnastics, baseball and softball were all put on TV, which shows they can do it if they want. They simply choose not to do it most of the time, while the rest of the SEC does it almost ALL of the time. No excuses, no rationalizations. They do what they want and softball fans are getting screwed - plain and simple.
UF is screwing you, lol. No sense of entitlement there. All these fans who are getting screwed can’t figure out how to fill a stadium that holds less than 3k people on a regular basis. Where are all these fans? You feel like you’re owed something. For what? Because you watch games on your tv? What am I wrong about? UF doesn’t want to spend the money. Yes, that is a choice. I never said it wasn’t a choice. I never said they don’t have any money. I don’t know or care how every other school funds their broadcasts. I simply know that UF has given you their reason for why these games aren’t aired. If you ask them for a dollar amount and cut them the check, I have a hard time believing you won’t get the games aired. Rick is saying that number was in the 10mill range a few years ago. Better cash in those savings bonds. I think this will happen naturally at some point anyway. It’s a few games a year that you don’t get now. You used to get zero games, or maybe a few games in total. Now you get almost all of them, but it isn’t enough. You’re skipping even more games than you have to now because you won’t spring for an espn+ sub. How important is this, really? You’re not even taking full advantage of what they’ve already made available to you.
I don't get the antagonism, man. I just explained that home games are virtually sold out and when people choose not to go, those seats are empty. You can't buy a ticket and sit in a seat that is already paid for. That is another issue that could be fixed. You seem to have pre-ordained biases that cloud your ability to comprehend what me and others are trying to say. Florida softball fans are among the most passionate and loyal in all of college softball and our administration has made a choice to put the softball program at the bottom of their priotiry list when it comes to putting games on TV. Women's basketball, lacrosse and soccer are running at a bigger deficit than softball and yet are on TV at a higher percentage than softball. These softball players and coaches deserve better. They have built a program that for the last 20 years has been among the very best in the country and they are televised less than any other softball program in the SEC. That is wrong and it has nothing to do with money. It has everything to do with the priorities of the decision-makers. You can agree with them if you want. I believe they are wrong and it's a shame for those softball players, their families, friends and fans. I have made my opinions known to the Athletics department, as have others, and we're hopeful of some changes in the right direction sooner rather than later.
If the UF athletic department spent money based on successful programs the softball team would be playing in a retractable/domed stadium and the football team would be playing at PK Yonge Field.
To do what you want costs money....and those funds would come at the expense of something else and make another fan complain. Can you reasonably debate it's a good use of funds? Sure. But the tone here is that it's an easy and simple action...which it clearly isn't. Again, it's all about allocation of resources. You have your opinions, and many on this board agree. I get it. But there are plenty that would use those resources elsewhere. We have people yelling for beach volleyball. Hoops boards hottest topic for a while was moving camera pits to highlight the student section, I'm a tennis guy and frustrated there is no video on our indoor courts, my football tics are in section 13 and the bathroom adjacent flooded 4 times last season, video boards at Ben Hill are horribly dated and inadequate. So while I am sympathetic to your issue I can argue for more pressing needs
Understand what you're saying and I have no idea where the $10 million figure to carry a few more softball games came from, but I find that really hard to believe. The entire annual expense budget for Gator softball is way less than that. I'm trying to get a better explanation from someone who is in a position to know and if I get more specific information will report back to the board.
Honestly, have them present that to the Athletics Department and see what the response is. If it's just money, then you can at least have an answer and go from there. If it's more than money, this type of presentation would let you know as well. Do you think this is a thing that bothers them? Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
Why doesn`t someone start a thread called " The great TV time broadcast debate" and leave this one to talk about players ,coaches and playing the game .
I'm guessing this is within the OP's idea of "How about a thread where we can have an ongoing discussion as the season unfolds?" Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
Bottom line....The Florida softball team has been the most successful softball program in the SEC and some fans rightfully so are questioning why there aren't as many Gator games televised as the rest of the SEC. Too-bad-too sad. Unfortunately it is what it is. Let's move on to Arizona and kick ass.
The $10 million is what Alicia Longworth told me it would cost to bring our broadcast facility up to par with the rest of the league after she inspected the facilities at a couple other SEC schools. While that should be done, obviously we could do more than we do since we broadcast the Duke game while also broadcasting gymnastics and baseball the same night. I am trying to find out how that was done given what Alicia told me. I have reached out and asked for a phone call. Will see if it happens.
Oh OK. That's a complete revamp of the broadcasting facilities that costs that much. That makes sense. I knew that putting our home non-conference games on SEC+ would be a fairly simple and inexpensive thing to do. They've just decided not to. Thanks. I'm moving over to the thread discussing the team's 5 games in Arizona. First game at 12:30. Go Gators!
