Bleeding Green

The "marketing problem" -- what do we do?

In a long high-tech career I've had lots of involvement  with marketing types.  I've learned that nearly everyone with real-life experience and preparation...or even without it...has strong opinions about smart marketing.  Based on what I've seen in the business world, I believe smart and intensive marketing is the key place where UM has whipped our tails for the past 40+ years, and it then trickles into recruiting and in-season successes and failures. 

We can also see how ESPN, for example, has become a non-paid (or let's assume we can trust that it's non-paid for now) marketing channel for the SEC and Big 12 in football, and the ACC and Big East in hoops.  Their current ESPN "College Football" program has currently come close to promoting that there is no life beyond the SEC, and maybe the Big 12.  And, the Florida cheer-leading for months now is completely over the top.

Getting back to the state of Michigan, UM to me represents a far less appealing place and attitude than MSU.  But, it has, nonetheless, given MSU a consistent marketing whipping since the discipline began to get increasingly sophisticated in the late '60s.  I could speculate on the reasons out of my own experience and past life in Michigan.  But, I'm more curious why Spartan-nation participants here and in other forums seem to ignore the problem.  It's particularly baffling to me with tens of thousands of business degrees delivered by MSU to the state's residents, and with the humongous body of knowledge that represents. So, I'm curious what keeps the issue in passive mode.  

Will Mark Hollis, who is making improvements, get this thing turned around?  If you have a strong marketing background or just strong opinions about how this issue seems to continue, can you jump in here?  Let's get this puppy solved at least in the Great Lakes region where we can recruit well.  What do you think? 

Nichol or Cousins?

Well, Spartan football fans, we've got about four months to debate the quarterback situation for next Fall.  After one, tremendous Spring football game where both quarterbacks passed for 357 yards each, we now have the opportunity to discuss how to divide the playing time between the two.

Uniforms

Now that we are entering the dead zone of Spartan sports activities (sorry, baseball, softball and golf fans) let's talk about something a little less controversial--team uniforms.

What's up with football recruiting?

ESPN pointed out last fall that commitments were coming earlier and earlier in football, with increasing early (January) enrollments for signees.  Maybe we Spartans got spoiled with those early recruiting commitments and the queue toward MSU in

Michigan

and

Ohio

.  And, we’ve had Coach Izzo’s early successes in hoops too with and juniors choosing to be Spartans. 

 

However, this year I don’t see the early football commitments that I remember MSU, OSU, UM and eventually PSU, experienced last year. This year Rivals shows lots of names considering MSU…more than last year I’m pretty sure…but typically with just gobs of other schools.  Nationally, it seems H.S. Class of 2010 recruits are commonly entertaining 15-20 teams.  Personally, I’d feel like I was herding cats.

 

For us I guess it’s good news that only a very small number in our rich recruiting neighborhood have glanced at MSU and then gone elsewhere.  But,

Warren

’s Austin White surprised me with a commitment to

Iowa

.  Yes, it’s a sufficient program, and I’m generally Hawkeye-neutral or even supportive as Big Ten rivals go.  But, I’m not sure what the draw would be compared to MSU, or other offers he had for that matter.  He looks like a great kid, but

Iowa

is not going to have another Shonn Greene to carry them again anytime soon.  Devin Gardner was in UM’s pipeline for a long time, so no surprise there.  Anyway, here are the 2010 commitments according to Rivals:

 

MSU – 1

Illinois

- 2

Indiana

– 0

Iowa

- 2

Mich.

– 8 (still loads up early via the their greased marketing machine)

Minnesota

- 4

Northwestern - 0

Ohio

State

– 4 (an early-load team for many years now; lots of

Ohio

kids now waiting for offers)

Penn

State

- 2 (typically slower than OSU, but plenty effective by signing day)

Purdue - 0

Wisconsin

– 1

 

Elsewhere, just a few of the big ESPN marketing-machine names look like they may be winding down by July this year:

 

Alabama

– 8

Florida

– 10

FSU - 3

Georgia

- 3

LSU – 7

Oklahoma

– 7

Texas

– 21 (the huge exception; virtually a finished class already)

USC – 3 (a very slow start for USC)

 

Generally, it just seems like commits are slower in general compared to last year at this time for MSU, and probably regionally or even nationally.  I curious when you think things should start to heat up this year on those levels?   And, specifically, when should we see MSU commitments start to roll in? 

Big Ten in 2010

Well, it's been a week since MSU's outstanding season ended in Detroit.  I think we can now turn and look forward to what the Big Ten might look like next season.  The following are my predictions for next year based on who will be available for each team right now.  You are invited to disagree and voice your opinions, but no matter what, the Big Ten looks loaded for next year.

Looking forward...

What a kick it is to see that MSU could be at the top of next year’s hoops rankings. (A Sports Illustrated columnist and Dick Vitale have us in the top five.) And, I see lots of reason for excitement:

2009-2010 Seniors: Raymar Morgan will be back and, of course, skill will not be his challenge. This year he improved his on-court persona and the attitude he projects. His tendency to look and act whiny last year definitely backed off in the past few months. He also seems to be getting a handle now on how to passionately attack what he can influence on the court, and how to blow off the rest. Hope so. The other seniors-to-be are still an early work in progress, of course.

Juniors: Lucas, Summers, and Allen should make up a heck of a core class as juniors. Yes, Chris Allen has struggled with inconsistency, but he has streaks of 3’s that keep me believing he’s still working through the kind of malaise Suton had as a sophomore. When he’s clicking he can do a lot of damage in a hurry. From the perspective of the competition, this trio is going to be a nightmare to contain in ‘09-‘10. Herzog? He knows he’s got to get all over the weights or get banged out the door in the Big Ten.

Sophomores: I like Roe, Luscious, and Green enormously. They were solid contributors this year on a team with such deep talent. If they improve as much as their immediate predecessors did this year as sophomores then, “Wow!”  Austin Thornton is a personal favorite for having gone to high school in Cedar Springs, where I attended middle school.  He’s killer at the free-throw line and has a nice stoke when open, but needs to learn to deal with the speed of the game on both offense and defense.

Freshman: I’m also looking forward to our seeing our two new centers and what inside strength they’ll represent by the Big Ten season. Dion Sims has intrigued me for a long time for both football and basketball. I get the impression this is one fantastic athlete who will leave his mark in a big way at MSU. He may be the kind of intimidating presence our last grid-iron-and-hoops guy Matt Trannon was…cool guy to plug into a line-up to be sure.

Finally, something tells me we may have gotten the better deal with Jamil Wilson headed to Oregon, which sounds like he picked a school where there would be little internal competition (or program stability) and an opportunity to star for a couple of years, and he can then jump to the NBA. Why Oregon, if for basketball and not the scenery? His decision suggests he was not what we need at MSU in the big picture…been there, endured that with flashes in the pan who then depart quickly.

Anyway, there’s just a whole lot to look forward to in our “just wait till next year” moment. What’s it kick up in your minds?

Another Step for the Program

One night does not a season make, especially when there was so much about this 2008-09 season that was positive.

So let's get the "bad" out of the way first. Michigan State played its D- or F game yesterday. North Carolina played its A- or B+ game (although it was their A game in the first half). We all knew that if the Tar Hells played near flawlessly, the Spartans probably couldn't have won.

Ouch!

Well, that's not what Spartan Nation was hoping for. North Carolina was awesome. MSU didn't take care of the ball. And the March to Motown ended one game short.

As disappointing as the game was, I can't help but be proud of the tournament run.

Your thoughts?

Show your true colors

Hey, Spartan fans!

Post your favorite fan and celebration shots so the Spartan team can feel the love. We're hoping to publish many of the fan-submitted photos in a Lansing State Journal tribute to the Spartans after they win the 2009 National Championship. Go Green!

Here's the link:

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPublicPhotoGallery&plckGalleryID=f2d37b29-6c1d-49ec-a174-af7ca136891f

Ticket Warning!

I hate to post a negative blog during the time of so much jubilation,  however, I would be remiss if I did not warn Spartan fans of the ticket problems in Detroit.

While waiting to resolve a ticket problem at the outside ticket window at Ford Field, I observed many fans who were coming to the window when their tickets would not scan inside.  It seems there are MANY counterfeit tickets for sale on the street.  I saw them and they are incredibly accurate and cannot be differentiated from the real tickets.  Four fans actually came up to the window with the same ticket:  Section 105, Row 10 (which does not exist in that section) and Seat 14.  I would strongly suggest not buying on the street unless you can convince the seller to come with you as you have your ticket scanned at the entrance.

Secondly, there are professional pick-pockets and thieves snatching tickets from patrons when they are not looking.  The crowds were so thick that it made this very easy for the pros.  While at the ticket window, I again observed a few people trying to obtain new tickets after theirs were stolen.  New tickets can be obtained if you first file a police report at the sub-station on Adams St. and bring a copy of the report to the ticket window.  You must be the actual purchaser of the ticket, as Ford Field will check your purchase with the MSU ticket people.

If you plan on going to Ford Field Sunday or Monday and search for tickets, please be very careful!  Many honest people were burned today.  Please don't let it happen to you.  The on-line sites, like E-bay, Stub Hub and Razor are more reliable, and some offer guarantees.