Season-ticket sales down for Virginia football
For nine years, it was never really a decision for Jeremy Rinaca.
The 28-year-old, who lives within walking distance of Scott Stadium, saved money throughout the year to secure season tickets for Virginia’s home football slate.
Following a 5-7 campaign that included four straight losses in November last year, Rinaca debated what to do moving forward. A struggling economy only added fuel to the fire.
He was not alone.
Decisions made to turn the offense over to new offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon and his spread style, putting Vic Hall on offense and a promising secondary solidified Rinaca’s eventual decision.
“I thought about not getting season tickets this year, but with the excitement around the program, I thought they might be tough to get,” said Rinaca, who sits in section 119 at Scott. “There is a new offense, quarterback Jameel Sewell is back, Vic Hall is on offense — a place that he should have been the past three years — and there is definite excitement there. The secondary on defense out to be sick — they could be the best in the conference.
“It is definitely one of the more exciting years recently under [coach] Al Groh.”
Not everyone followed in Rinaca’s footsteps.
As of Friday, Virginia officials said current season-ticket sales for the upcoming slate are at 30,140, a drop of 14.6 percent from the same date in 2008.
“What we’re finding with our 2009 season ticket sale is not unique compared to many schools around the country,” said Virginia athletics director Craig Littlepage. “That’s why we’re trying to be creative in these difficult economic times by offering ticket packages that provide fans the opportunity to see Virginia football.”
On Monday, the creative measures will go into action.
A pair of mini-ticket packages, including a deal designed for families, and single-game tickets will go on sale.
One package, coined the “rivalry package,” shows the struggles to sell season tickets. Purchasing the plan guarantees fans the chance to see the Virginia Tech contest without buying a full season-ticket package, a rarity in years past.
“That is rather telling,” Rinaca said. “You always had to get season tickets to see the Hokies and it always seemed like a ton of those were sold to Hokie fans.”
The “rivalry package,” which is being sold for $108, also includes admission to the William & Mary game on Sept. 5 and the TCU game on Sept. 12.
The family package, a creative measure employed last year during basketball season, features four tickets to the season’s first three games, four hot dogs and four small sodas for $280.
Single-game tickets for Virginia’s home games against William & Mary ($23), TCU ($35) and Indiana ($35) will be available Monday at the ticket office or by calling 1-800-542-8821. Tickets for all five road games are also available.
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Reader Reactions
It has all spiraled out of control, the ticket prices, the TV revenues, the size of the scoreboard, the constant advertising at the games, the VAF, the number of coaches, the giant salaries, the substandard academic records, the mania for victories. We still listen on the radio for dear old uva’s sake, but we only go to games now when people have extra tickets. waaay too expensive.
I think Littlepage has more integrity than anyone a university could have! The reputation of UVa couldn’t be in better hands.
John Casteen, not Craig Littlepage, gave Groh the present long-term contract he has now.
If Groh were to get fired, who would take his place? Maybe Mike London of Richmond. I guess a lot of coaches would apply for the job. It pays well!
To the so-called UVA fan that ‘bleeds Orange and Blue’:
Examine Coach Beamer’s record at VA Tech, please.
In 1987, his first year, his team went 2-9; thereafter:
1988 3-8
1989 6-4-1
1990 6-5
1991 5-6
1992 2-8-1
That is a six year run, to start, of 24 wins, 40 losses, and 2 ties.
I don’t have any press clippings, or statements from his supporters or detractors at the end of the 1992 season, but I am reasonably sure they were not as glowing as they are now.
I do know, from the horse’s own mouth, that he was a single game away from being fired. As it turns out, VT beat Virginia, and Beamer has gone on to have some success at Tech.
Now, Groh’s first six seasons produced 42 wins, 33 losses, including 3 wins and 1 loss in bowl appearances.
He has been crucified by the same “fans” that ran former AD Jim Copeland out of town. This is an ugly group, IMHO, that UVA would do better without. They don’t belong here, and who needs their kind of “support”? UVA is a better institution than that.
I don’t epect fanatics to be realistic—I, too, want UVA to win, every game. Saying, however, that they must win the ACC, go 10-2, win a major bowl—or, drop down to a lower level of competition—is just plain idiotic.
Timeout—has anyone ever comapred VT’s record under Beamer, pre-ACC and post, as to their schedule? Not exactly chockful of powerhouse teams. Not too many non-conference roda games either. I suppose it would be great if UVA padded its schedule year in year out with patsies—not that every game ought to be against USC or Michigan or Texas or Penn State or Auburn (just to name a few).
Now, we all know that Coach Beamer, or any other fave, has never blown a big game—“given it away”—and we all know that the head coach alone determines these outcomes (eyeroll)—right.
Maybe as an alum of three pretty good academic institutions—Cornell, The University of Illinois, and UVA—I have a warped perspective on the role of College Atheletics. Hmmm… isn’t Ron Zook the head football coach at Illinois, in his fifth season, having gone 18-30 in his first 4 (with a loss in the Rose Bowl)?—time for Illinois to join UVA in dropping out of BCS football.
A ticket, btw, is paid admission to an event—in this case, entertainment. It is not, and never has been, an “investment”. If I own season tickets for the Chicago Bears, it is not an investment. One might legitimately question my priorities in life, given what else I could do with that money… (Arguably, Packers’ season ticket holders are tied to some form of ownership.) If you don’t like the team, can’t handle yourself, don’t buy a ticket. Let someone else go.
Contributions to VSAF, that is an investment, but it is an investment in student athletes—not just athletes, and not just future HoF players—with an emphasis on student. For many students, this is the only way they can afford to go to a UVA, or compete for a spot in the student body. The contributor puts up some $, the student considerable sweat equity. Me, I don’t contribute enough to be rewarded with ticket preferences—I have other priorities, like three of my own in grad school, and medical mission work overseas, and local community outreach—but though it is small, I am darn proud that my investments at all three of my alma maters, hwoever small, help produce some pretty decent future all-stars in all walks of life.
When we obsess over National Championships, Conference Championships, gaudy W-L records, I would argue, we miss the point. I assure you that both Littlepage, and Groh, take their jobs seriously, and know fully what their jobs are about.
If you want to complain, target someone incompetent. But first, take a long, good look in the mirror.
BTW, enjoy the house. Good luck with the economy (hopegfully that helped with the house being affordable, and keeping interest rates low). And, congrats on having the job, or other means, to qualify.
Not everyone shares those circumstances. be thankful. Smile.
Well allow me to respond to some of these comments. The reason VA Tech is excited about their head coach is because he wins, has 10 win seasons & last year won the Orange Bowl, OH YEAH and lest I forget in 1999 played for the national title. They have 4 ACC Football titles. This is Coach Groh’s 9th year and he has nothing. When you ask did I lose faith in him, The Gator Bowl 2 years ago when UVA was absolutely killing Texas Tech & then what happens last part of the 4th quarter UVA gives the game away. Last year was the clincher killing VA Tech and give that game away. i would be ashamed to make people pay that much for tickets and then do nothing. As for the coaching changes he was forced to do that. If the AD hadn’t come down on him nothing would have changed. As far as Craig Littlepage goes he needs to go as well. He is the genius that hired our nobdoy basketball coach. EVERYBODY in the basketball community said after Leitao was fired UVA needed to hire a name. I wanted Isiah Thomas somebody with a pedigree, but did this happen no, and it never will.
I didn’t reup my tickets for 3 reasons 1. the economy
2. I’m going to be buying a house
3. Coach Groh
I always looked at my tickets as an investment & the last 3-4 years I was getting no return on my investment. No ACC titles, only had 1 New Years day bowls, no top 5 finishes, nothing. Until all the football/basketball fans rise up and put their feet down nothing is going to change. Blacksburg is a football town & is slowing becoming a basketball town. Right now all UVA is good in are the Olympic & non revenue sports. The money is made from football& basketball not lacrosse.
Face it UVA fans VA tech is the class of the conference in football. Groh needs to be fired and there needs to be a change from the AD on down & until this happens UVA will never be nothing more than a middle of the road football & basketball team that has flashes of greatness every now & then.
I am die hard Orange & Blue through & through but i’m fed up with 7-8 win seasons & maybe a 9 win season every now & then. If what we have now is what Cavalier nation wants keep Groh down there for 25 years & maybe one day he will win. I want a program like VA Tech has, like Florida has or like UNC is going to have in football. Playing every year for the ACC title, 10-11 win seasons. If this is the best UVA can do they need to go a mid major conference so they can compete in football.
This will happen this year also if Groh has at least an 8 win season, 95% of the UVA fans will be satisfied and be willing to look the other way & he will get to come back next year. Not this fan, I want my team to be successful every year, I want my coach to have the fire in his belly to never settle, until we have that down at UVA it will be nothing but more of the same.
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Charlottesville, VA
7-16-09
Some very good comments here
both positive and negative
concerning Littlepage, the
athletic department,
Groh, and UVa football’s direction!
Other feelings I have are:
1.Virginia has never been found
guilty of an NCAA violation under
Al Groh, either by him or by any player in his program.
2.Groh has been here for 8 years and
has lost at least 5 games every year
except one year, and that year he
lost 4 games.
3.Groh took over a team that was 6-6, and has had 3 losing seasons in his 8 years.
Welsh took over a team that was 1-10, and a program that had had
had 25 losing seasons in 28 years: Welsh only had 3 losing seasons in his 19 years.
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The bottom line is the failed plan of Mr. Little Page, et.al. to extort money from the fan base to mirror the policies of the big college football factories in the country where the demand exceeds the supply. Any bozo would know that this is not the case here and probably never will be - thank goodness. This University has more to it than being an annual top 10 football program as was indicated by the 60,000+ fans attending the games in 2007 (vs. less taht 50,000 in 2008). If you want to fill the stadium again with UVA fans rather than VATech fans, reseat the fans with their 2007 seats. Don’t beg us to buy phony packages so the Tech fans don’t take over the stadium in November!
And blaming the coach is rediculous. He deserves more administrative support than this! He runs a clean program and should be applauded.
Football season tickets sales reflect the following, in order of importance:
1) disagreement with / anger over ticket seating policy; right or wrong, fans are letting folks know that they are unhappy.
2) a ‘soft’ fan base; let’s face it, UVA fans pale in comparison to almost any other major conference school; I think it is partly that many fans are prima donnas, many are whiners, and in general the number of fanatics is much smaller than schools of comparable stature.
3) anti-Groh sentiment; frankly, I don’t get this one. Consider how rabid Tech fans are about their coach, then realize that he was one game away from being canned earlier in his tenure; Groh has never had similar fan support, despite giving his all. Despite some players doing themselves in, by and large no more so than the student body at-large. A number of Groh’s players have done incredibly well post-college, and that counts for me a heck of a lot more than what they accomplish as 18 or 19 year-olds. He has lost a number of assistant coached to other schools, yet reassembles the team year in year out. Team depth always seems to be a problem. Anyway, Coach Welsh rightfully is honored for rescuing a miserable program, but he was hardly more succesful, and Welsh was a tyrant, contemptuous of his players and coaches, and incapable of managing his players off the field.
4) ‘cheap’; ironically, there are three types of UVA fans—those with money, who don’t know crap about sports, and for them the game is about being seen, and having a good tailgate experience—those for whom the $$$ are a serious ‘investment’, who root for winners but shy from teams that fall short (repeatedly), and are typically thin-skinned—and those who are most loyal, for whom going to college is a dream for their kids, and to whom players and coaches are heros, who’d sit on the hill on the rain, win or lose.
The incessant dumping on Groh is both tiresome and loathsome.
Ditto the attacks on Littlepage.
In both cases, you have among the best in the business. You don’t have to take my word for it; these gentlemen could work almost anywhere else, and they have the respect of their peers.
Suffice it to say, if you knew half the crap that really goes on in college sports, you’d value what we have at UVA. As for the business decisions, there have been some tough ones; whether they have been adequately presented or explained is debatable, however, the need to maximize revenues is not.
I did not donate my measly $2000 this year since it was not money well spent. I still purchased my season tickets but will sit on the hill instead of my junk seats. I will tailgate at the bars on The Corner.
If the wildcat (Hoo-cat) offense does not produce points and wins, Groh will be announced wiener of the year and still pocket his over-priced salary. Is Littlepage man enough to fire him or is Craig the next to go. I really liked the coaching changes but I really don’t want another lame excuse of it will take time. Hit the ground running or run out of town!
I am excited about the possibilities with the new offense but Groh loves to not win.
Cannot disagree with any of the comments so far. Concerning the planned football “family package” offer, BEWARE! We partook for the Xavier basketball game last season. Four seats, four dogs, four sodas, and four nosebleeds in the rafters. Was JPJ packed, forcing the lousy seating? Hardly. The lower level was sparsely populated, but no seasons tickets equals bring the binocs. We felt totally unwelcome but did get a laugh when they brought out the pyrotechnics as though the program were somehow big time. Please! The game was so lame that we escaped at halftime. Baseball, although a wonderful team and program, isn’t much better as season ticket seats (under the roof) remain practically empty for an entire rainy game while the few loyal attendees get soaked. How about allowing fans to move to empty season ticket seats after halftime in basketball and after fourth inning in baseball? Might earn the athletic department some sorely needed kudos. We are recent retirees and UVa alum, love UVa, love the ‘Hoos, have a few coins to spend, so make the process more “loyal fan” friendly. The realization that big money talks (have you donated enough lately?) when it comes to good seating/parking is distasteful and disappointing to us. These unwise policies are now obviously backfiring. GO HOOS and whoever is responsible for these ticket policies, please go.
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