Arkansas paper goes to bat for ASU's game in KC

[stebo]

This article really bags on ULM and gives props to ULM... Nice publicity for ASU... Thanks to ArkStFan on the Belt Board for this tidbit...

ASU, UA do things different at home games

Thursday, Jul 21, 2005

By Harry King

LITTLE ROCK - As the home team in Little Rock against Arkansas, Louisiana-Monroe must follow a two-word directive: Show up.

ULM does nothing else, except put money and attendance in the bank.

For Arkansas State University's home game in Kansas City against Missouri, there is a three-page event checklist and the folks in Jonesboro are responsible for such little things as hiring a caterer for the pressbox and picking out the menu. Much of the work is via phone calls and e-mails, invaluable links when the home team is an eight-hour drive from the venue.

Beginning in 2004 and every even year through 2012, ULM is under contract to play Arkansas in Little Rock, although there will never be anything at War Memorial Stadium to indicate the Indians are the home team. The $500,000 guarantee is a budget booster and, even more importantly, the 50,000-plus fans help them meet Division I-A standards that require five home games with I-A opponents and an average of 15,000 per home game.

In Kansas City, the ASU script logo will be painted at midfield, Arkansas State will be in the end zones and the Chiefs' logo will be covered with the ASU logo inside the stadium. The Indians will be on the home sideline, dress in the home locker room and ASU students will get in free.

Nationwide, the ASU game in Kansas City might be a first - a true home game for a team doing the most traveling. Mostly, schools have done it the Monroe way. In fact, ULM talked with Alabama about a home game in Birmingham and at least one of the Mississippi schools about a similar venture in Jackson.

ASU vs. Missouri in Kansas City came about partly because Dean Lee was in the Big 12 at Oklahoma State University before he became athletic director at ASU in 2002. When he arrived in Jonesboro, he inherited contracts with Missouri and Oklahoma. Ironically, Joe Castiglione signed both - in 1995 as athletic director in Columbia and in 1997 as A.D. in Norman. Lee felt obligated to Mizzou and worked out a swap with OU. Houston wanted out of a game with LSU last year so the Cougars played Oklahoma and ASU filled in at Baton Rouge.

Lee and Missouri A.D. Mike Alden are friends and when Lee said the Indians could not play two games in Columbia and still meet the home-game requirements, Alden asked if he had ever thought about playing in Kansas City. Such a game would help ASU and allow Mizzou to test the K.C. market.

Originally, former ASU athletic director Barry Dowd had sold the Indians far below market value, accepting a total guarantee of $400,000 for the two Missouri games. ULM and others get $500,000 for one game and sometimes more.

Lee renegotiated, taking $300,000 for the 2004 game in Columbia and guaranteeing Missouri $150,000 for the game in Kansas City. Despite the guarantee and expenses of $200,000-$250,000, including rental of Arrowhead Stadium, ASU will make about $500,000 from the Sept. 3 game if attendance is around 35,000. In case of a box-office bonanza, there is some built-in revenue sharing with Missouri.

Already, ASU has sold about 12,000 tickets.

ESPN made some overtures about moving the game to Monday night, but Lee thought Saturday would be better for the fans.

The Chiefs have been most cordial, Lee said, and ASU will use locals to run the clock and work the chains. The Chiefs even offered their stat crew, but the computer format is different for NFL stats and NCAA stats so Missouri students will handle that chore.

Lee says the college football atmosphere is superb at Arrowhead and he should know since he was on board for the first college game in the stadium. He was in Stillwater in 1998 when a Nebraska trucking firm wanted to sponsor the Cowboys vs. the Cornhuskers and the contest was moved to Kansas City. With its $2.2 million payday, OSU built a softball stadium.

-----

Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media Group's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.

[NT80]

Ask Troy if they would rather have played their home game with Mizzou in KC. I think not. And ask any Troy business. That will be a game forever remembered to Troy fans and the City of Troy, worth much more than any $500,000 payday for an "away" game forgotten in a couple years. Ask ULL fans about their game hosting A$M a few years back, with record attendance; would they have preferred it in Houston? NO way.

Edited July 22, 2005 by NT80

[Arkstfan]

Ask Troy if they would rather have played their home game with Mizzou in KC.  I think not.  And ask any Troy business.  That will be a game forever remembered to Troy fans and the City of Troy, worth much more than any $500,000 payday for an "away" game forgotten in a couple years.  Ask ULL fans about their game hosting A$M a few years back, with record attendance; would they have preferred it in Houston?  NO way.

This says it all.

ASU vs. Missouri in Kansas City came about partly because Dean Lee was in the Big 12 at Oklahoma State University before he became athletic director at ASU in 2002. When he arrived in Jonesboro, he inherited contracts with Missouri and Oklahoma. Ironically, Joe Castiglione signed both - in 1995 as athletic director in Columbia and in 1997 as A.D. in Norman. Lee felt obligated to Mizzou and worked out a swap with OU. Houston wanted out of a game with LSU last year so the Cougars played Oklahoma and ASU filled in at Baton Rouge.

Lee and Missouri A.D. Mike Alden are friends and when Lee said the Indians could not play two games in Columbia and still meet the home-game requirements, Alden asked if he had ever thought about playing in Kansas City. Such a game would help ASU and allow Mizzou to test the K.C. market.

Originally, former ASU athletic director Barry Dowd had sold the Indians far below market value, accepting a total guarantee of $400,000 for the two Missouri games.

The businesses in Jonesboro didn't lose a game to KC. ASU was contracted to be in Columbia twice. This deal makes it once in Columbia, once in KC.

[GrayEagle]

I don't have a problem with the ASU 'home' game in K.C. but I do have a problem with the ULM-Arkansas game in Little Rock.

ArkSt is taking the risk by doing all of the things that a home team does but at a neutral site. They make the guarantees, sell the tickets, etc. ULM has no such liability and they are playing at a site already developed by the University of Arkansas. All they have to do is show up and they reap the financial and attendance rewards that the Razorbacks had built every other year.

I realize that we are fighting a hopeless case against the auto-bid conferences/teams and drastic measures must sometimes be taken to compete. But, my hat's off not to those who have it given to them but to those who earn it.

[NT80]

The businesses in Jonesboro didn't lose a game to KC. ASU was contracted to be in Columbia twice. This deal makes it once in Columbia, once in KC.

Thanks, that is better than "selling" a home game. I hate that the BCS sharks want a minimum 6 home games plus any semi-home games they can manipulate (Ark/ULM) and call an away game. And hasn't the 15K minimum attendance-average criteria been abolished?

Edited July 22, 2005 by NT80

[eulesseagle]

SOUNDS LIKE A WIN-WIN SITUATION FOR ASU.

1. It is a home game that counts toward D-1 Games

2. $500,000 to play.

not a bad deal.

[Arkstfan]

15k hasn't been eliminated, its been modified. Instead of every year its once every two years and instead of actual attendance its actual OR paid attendance.

I tip my hat to ULM. If you are going to have to go on the road to get a fat check to keep your budget afloat (and we all seem to) then why not get the bonus of insuring that attendance is taken care of? Under the current NCAA rules Arkansas can only count one game in Little Rock anyway and they always play two so why not let your opponent get credit for it?

Now if ULM uses that to only play four games in Monroe (especially with 12 games in place) then they should be ashamed unless they provide the fans with a regional true neutral site game.

ASU's administration has vowed that the only time we will ever leave Jonesboro with only four home games will be when we are in Little Rock. That might happen in 2006 when we will host three conference home games and Army in Jonesboro and will play Oklahoma State in Little Rock. That accounts for 9 of 12 games and we know one game will be at SMU. It's probably safe to assume we'll play at least one money game as well. So what we do with the remaining will determine whether Jonesboro gets four games or five.