Generational Gap in Fan Support Question

[FreeDawg]

For reference, I’m an millenial. That’s ages 29-44 currently for those at home. In my lifetime, I’ve never seen a more apathetic approach to MSU sports by my generational peers by a long shot. It’s defcon 10 levels of don’t give a ****. I’m putting myself in this group too.

My question is, how much of this is MSU administration dropping the ball and how much of it is season of life? The upper half millennials are getting deep in the kids, career, etc… portion of life and often don’t have the freedom they had mid to late 20s.

The last part that concerns me going forward from a donor perspective that affects millenials down from a giving standpoint in student loan debt. The 45 & up crowd (esp social security age crowd) largely did not have student debt so we’re able to give something by 30s as career/finances progressed but today you have a large portion of alumni who gives hundreds monthly in way of debt payments. Is this a concern for giving going forward or is this reaching as the 50 & up crowd makes up the bulk of giving traditionally anyway?

 

[Dawgbite]

I think becoming debt free at whatever age allows you to shift your focus financially. This allows you to spend discretionary funds on things you care about rather than chipping away at debt.

 

[MSUDC11-2.0]

It’s a valid question. I’m a fellow millennial (almost 32) with a 2 year old and I’d say there’s a decent possibility we end up having at least one more kid. We’ve got a ton of student debt to deal with still, a car note I’m working hard to pay off ASAP, and and a pretty average mortgage payment that we are only a year into . Not to mention I’m paying $160 a week for daycare right now (it would be worse if we had multiple kids, which many people do).

Point being, not much room in my budget for MSU for the foreseeable future. I went to one football and one basketball game this year. I’ll always be a fan but it’s gonna be a while before I’m even in position to even think about contributing much of anything.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

I’m gen X, and have been through wild swings of ups and downs.

For me, MSU sports is like the NFL, I might watch the playoffs, maybe the Super Bowl. I tune in if there’s hope.

The reasons for this are threefold:
1. Season of life. More important things take precedent. Why?

2. My default setting is: State Sucks. I used to be willing to put up with baseless hope in the rare payoff of some success, but that’s all used up.

3. Leadership and NIL/ transfer portal has burned up all my tears and charity. When State DOESNT suck, it’s usually because we by some miscalculation got a player or a group of players who are willing to do what it takes to be a winner IN SPITE of everything the coaches and administration do to reign that outsider mindset in.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

If we didn't suck at just about everything, everyone would support athletics. State fans ONLY support winners now except for baseball, where it's just about the party and yanking it to the stadium and attendance records. The entire fan base is starting to revolt. That's why we got calls this week to extend our ticket renewals. Guess ********! You shouldn't have 17d up the whole process and put the 17ing Bulldog Club over ****! The BC is the single greatest example of dog **** on this campus!

 

[57stratdawg]

My advice is marijuana, whiskey and gambling.

 

[ETK99]

When certain people in administration actually said "college athletics is just a headache, and I don't want to deal with it" that's all you need to know. But the economy is bad right now at a time when athletics is 100% about money and the average fan is getting priced out. I told them when they called me about my tickets that they screwed us all over by increasing the pricing AND shortening the period to pay it. It was a blatantly ignorant decision! They referred me to a survey and I also blew them up there. They want our money but they don't care about the product. They just want us to pay for it.

 

[HailStout]

Just cause

 

[thatsbaseball]

I think becoming debt free at whatever age allows you to shift your focus financially. This allows you to spend discretionary funds on things you care about rather than chipping away at debt.

One reason many boomers were able to get debt free at an earlier age is that credit (when we were young adults) was not nearly as available then and we simply couldn't get deep in debt even if we wanted to.

 

[FreeDawg]

My advice is marijuana, whiskey and gambling.

You mean therapy**

 

[FreeDawg]

One reason many boomers were able to get debt free at an earlier age is that credit (when we were young adults) was not nearly as available then and we simply couldn't get deep in debt even if we wanted to.

A lot of truth here but you could also reasonably work your way through college and pay it off as you go. That’s really only possible today at the juco level. The cost of college today is insane.

 

[retire the banner]

It’s a tough time to be a State fan. I would consider myself a glass half full fan, but there’s not much momentum currently.

It’s a combination of our own doing the last 7-8 years athletically + OM seemingly doing everything right.

I also don’t believe our fanbase prioritizes the right things. We spend too much time worrying about **** that will not make us a better, more attractive University & athletic department.

 

[GloryDawg]

I don't a crap because I don't think our AD gives a crap. I don't see him doing anything to make our men's sports better. I don't see how you can have one of the worst defenses in the country, go 2-10 and not see some changes had to be made. I am not saying firing Lebby but hell no changes to the defensive coaching staff at all. He should have force Lebby to make changes. I am a football guy. I only bought football season tickets for Fifteen years and 1993 to 2003 I was a season ticket holder. Stop when my son was born and started again when my son was older. I did not buy this season. I went to the Florida game and left at half, went to the A&M game and left at half. My son did not want to go to any other games. I hope I regret it. I hope they go out and make me eat crow, but I don't see it. When our stadium is half full of GA, Tenn and Texas fans I hope somebody eyes will get open and say we have a problem.

 

[Drebin]

You mean therapy**

medication

 

[Drebin]

I don't a crap because I don't think our AD gives a crap. I don't see him doing anything to make our men's sports better. I don't see how you can have one of the worst defenses in the country, go 2-10 and not see some changes had to be made. I am not saying firing Lebby but hell no changes to the defensive coaching staff at all. He should have force Lebby to make changes. I am a football guy. I only bought football season tickets for Fifteen years and 1993 to 2003 I was a season ticket holder. Stop when my son was born and started again when my son was older. I did not buy this season. I went to the Florida game and left at half, went to the A&M game and left at half. My son did not want to go to any other games. I hope I regret it. I hope they go out and make me eat crow, but I don't see it. When our stadium is half full of GA, Tenn and Texas fans I somebody eyes will get open and say we have a problem.

This is me....I put so much effort into supporting athletics and NIL initiatives, travel back and forth to campus for games, buy tickets, etc....and when it feels like I care more about the performance on the field than the people making seven figures to run it - it breaks my give a damn very quickly.

 

[dorndawg]

Universities at the top level have made it painstakingly clear they are going to monetize every single aspect of the fan experience. That in turn shifted alumni, students, and fans from boosters to customers. Customers expect a good value proposition and return on investment.

Do you think Mississippi State University athletics are delivering that today? I do not.

 

[L4Dawg]

One reason many boomers were able to get debt free at an earlier age is that credit (when we were young adults) was not nearly as available then and we simply couldn't get deep in debt even if we wanted to.

BINGO

 

[The Cooterpoot]

Universities at the top level have made it painstakingly clear they are going to monetize every single aspect of the fan experience. That in turn shifted alumni, students, and fans from boosters to customers. Customers expect a good value proposition and return on investment.

Do you think Mississippi State University athletics are delivering that today? I do not.

 

[NukeDogg]

I'm on the cusp of Gen X and Millenial. When I graduated I was all in on State athletics. Football season tickets, I'd go for almost every home baseball weekend, and made a handful of trips to the Hump every year. BC donations were flowing, I was early in my career and single and thought pumping $ in for BC status would serve me better later on in life. I kept it going for almost 10 years.

Got married and started a family a bit later than most folks, and with it my attendance and BC donations started drying up, and fast. Over the first six years I think I attended 3 games. Now the kids are a bit older, and we make a point to attend one fb game, one hoops game, and one baseball series (usually just Fri & Sat) each year. I can't swing more than that right now. I still watch every game on tv/streaming, but I can absolutely tell my interest is starting to wane, and I don't see my $ contributions (either BC or attendance) increasing until at least the kids graduate and get off the payroll, so another decade+ from now.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

It's time for a fan revolt until they get the message. They've made a complete shitshow of our athletics! Made it too hard for the average fan to continue to give a **** about driving up there when it's on tv and I can turn it off at halftime without having blown thousands of dollars.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

One reason many boomers were able to get debt free at an earlier age is that credit (when we were young adults) was not nearly as available then and we simply couldn't get deep in debt even if we wanted to.

I'm pretty tough on boomers but I will admit that millenials do seem to have had a bit more of a 'fun' college experience than older folks, so they took full advantage of that credit.

Of course, the boomers were their parents, so they did in fact enable it. And the beat (and blame) goes on.

 

[bolddogge]

Not so fast. I don't know about boomers, but that wasn't the case for this Gen X'er. There was plenty of debt in my young life after college. I graduated with student loan debt that about equaled the debt for the new extended cab Silverado I acquired at the same time. I followed that up with a mortgage and wife and her car loan a couple of years later. Even with that situation we went to most home football games for about 5 years (until kids arrived) but did so picking up tickets just before the game and not by purchasing season tickets. We really buckled down and was debt free just in time to cash-flow the kids through State. (I love it when a plan comes together.) I started purchasing season tickets when the kids started at State and have continued to do so since then. I've debated continuing to purchase season tickets but have continued to do so just to visit with the family and friends that I only run into on campus. With all that said I don't like the way they've handled the tickets the last couple of years. The timing is ridiculous.

 

[FreeDawg]

I think becoming debt free at whatever age allows you to shift your focus financially. This allows you to spend discretionary funds on things you care about rather than chipping away at debt.

Def good advice but not exactly my point. It’s that a large portion of grads will be paying a bill to “MSU” monthly that will cut in to a 2nd BC donation or NIL donation.

I'm pretty tough on boomers but I will admit that millenials do seem to have had a bit more of a 'fun' college experience than older folks, so they took full advantage of that credit.

Of course, the boomers were their parents, so they did in fact enable it. And the beat (and blame) goes on.

The vast majority of millennial’s parents who were college grads finished with zero debt. A lot of factors there with the cost of college, living, & coming off the back of America’s greatest generation saving every penny. I don’t have the numbers but anecdotally from my peers it’s 50/50 on millenials inheriting the same benefits their parents got.

 

[MSUDC11-2.0]

I finished college with zero debt and parents who taught me pretty good money sense, my wife was not so lucky. There are some money decisions I wish I could do over from my 20’s but for the most part we’ve just been trying to survive.

The unfortunate thing about being an adult is even when you mean well, life doesn’t cooperate sometimes. I decided I was going to be more aggressive about paying off debt and so I paid an extra $1,000 on the car last month. Within two weeks we had like $2,500 of unexpected house repairs and medical expenses pop up out of the blue.

All that to say…. Sorry but it’s hard to make room in the budget for the BDC or BI in this phase of life. And I say that as someone who is by no means wealthy but we are a six figure household income in Mississippi, which is above any median or average for most in the state.

 

[bolddogge]

It’s a tough time to be a State fan. I would consider myself a glass half full fan, but there’s not much momentum currently.

It’s a combination of our own doing the last 7-8 years athletically + OM seemingly doing everything right.

I also don’t believe our fanbase prioritizes the right things. We spend too much time worrying about **** that will not make us a better, more attractive University & athletic department.

I agree with this, but not the 7-8 years. maybe 4. We won the CWS and still had Leach in 21. The future was bright...

 

[thatsbaseball]

I'm pretty tough on boomers but I will admit that millenials do seem to have had a bit more of a 'fun' college experience than older folks, so they took full advantage of that credit.

Of course, the boomers were their parents, so they did in fact enable it. And the beat (and blame) goes on.

Best thing we ever did for our millennial daughters. Each has two degrees. They chose their field and schools and we paid for the first ones and they graduated debt free. They both later decided they wanted something different so they went back and got degrees in totally different fields . We let them totally pay for the second degrees. They worked, borrowed money (which they paid back) and sacrificed to get them. They had a lot of fun and had great experiences getting the first ones but they learned a hell of a lot more valuable lessons about life getting the second ones. They've both done well and I'm proud of them.

 

[AttalaDawg72]

I can tell you that people I went to high school and college with who grew up State fans, attended MSU during the Dak years, and moved away don’t seem to care about State sports at all anymore. I’m also getting more apathetic by the day. If I didn’t live in Starkville I would care a lot less.

 

[AttalaDawg72]

Also, it feels like our administration is trying to purposely get us left out of the future of big time college athletics while Ole Miss is doing the opposite

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Good question.

I know the athletics department keeps up with these statistics (at least they better be but considering that I think MSU has dropped the ball it wouldn’t surprise me if they don’t)

I’m over 50 and have no credit card debt so I have more discretionary spending which means I am part of what you consider to be MSU’s target audience for potential donors.

However, I’m a bit apathetic because I don’t quite trust what MSU will do when I give to them.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

We use the constant excuse of "We just don't have the revenue others have". Guess what, It's because your licensing group and marketing suck! We run everything at the school like it's 1978 still. We sat on our hands for years and continue to embrace the good ole boy buddy system to run it all instead of doing the things necessary to increase revenue and grow the university and especially athletics.

 

[L4Dawg]

Also, it feels like our administration is trying to purposely get us left out of the future of big time college athletics while Ole Miss is doing the opposite

HOGWASH. That is just stupid.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

HOGWASH. That is just stupid.

By many accounts (and not just bored folklore) MSU’s initial response has been that of nonaction.

Nonaction is such an MState thing in a place where the M stands for Mediocre.

 

[paindonthurtDCD]

I think becoming debt free at whatever age allows you to shift your focus financially. This allows you to spend discretionary funds on things you care about rather than chipping away at debt.

This is true but (off topic slightly) we need to focus on teaching children at an early age (13 ish) about debt.

Not all debt is bad but plenty of debt is bad. And its not the big bad boogie man taking advantage of people.

 

[AttalaDawg72]

HOGWASH. That is just stupid.

Emphasis on “feels like” you idiot.

 

[AttalaDawg72]

By many accounts (and not just bored folklore) MSU’s initial response has been that of nonaction.

Nonaction is such an MState thing in a place where the M stands for Mediocre.

Mediocre State University. @L4Dawg needs to spend some time clearing his head at Natchez Trace National Park.

 

[paindonthurtDCD]

If we didn't suck at just about everything, everyone would support athletics. State fans ONLY support winners now except for baseball, where it's just about the party and yanking it to the stadium and attendance records. The entire fan base is starting to revolt. That's why we got calls this week to extend our ticket renewals. Guess ********! You shouldn't have 17d up the whole process and put the 17ing Bulldog Club over ****! The BC is the single greatest example of dog **** on this campus!

please tell me what we are doing thats different from any other athletic department as it pertains to your post.

Also, you guys are some kind of butt hurt at the left field lounge and having a nice stadium.

 

[paindonthurtDCD]

One reason many boomers were able to get debt free at an earlier age is that credit (when we were young adults) was not nearly as available then and we simply couldn't get deep in debt even if we wanted to.

Yep. Then we decided anyone who wanted a loan deserved it regardless of it they could afford it or not. All in the name of equality.

 

[paindonthurtDCD]

A lot of truth here but you could also reasonably work your way through college and pay it off as you go. That’s really only possible today at the juco level. The cost of college today is insane.

Its insane b/c of the same reasons about debt. Once the government created easy access to money to go to college it drove the price up. Its simple economics.

If i give you easy access to money and say you can only spend it on xyz, then xyz is going to increase in cost 99.9% of the time.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

HOGWASH. That is just stupid.

Well that exactly how it feels, sunshine. If their aspirations are higher, they sure have buttfuccked that message to oblivion.

I hate to admit this, but for decades, I sympathetically listened to some family members who graduated USM gripe about how much they felt the admin there didn’t give twoshitts about alumni or the fan experience, other than their generous donations.

For me, that’s exactly the model MSU seems to be following for the past several years. And, it’s working, because the 20k football game crowds you’re used to seeing in Hattiesburg are now in Starkville.

 

[The Peeper]

Good question.

I know the athletics department keeps up with these statistics (at least they better be but considering that I think MSU has dropped the ball it wouldn’t surprise me if they don’t)

I’m over 50 and have no credit card debt so I have more discretionary spending which means I am part of what you consider to be MSU’s target audience for potential donors.

However, I’m a bit apathetic because I don’t quite trust what MSU will do when I give to them.

We're a lot alike except I'm in the early 60s. I have no debt except for mortgage, that I could pay off today but why pay it off when the mortgage is only 3.25% and my money is earning roughly 10% even with very conservative investments in place because of pending retirement? I'm netting 7% avg on the money I could pay off the mortgage with (OR donate to NIL, State Excellence, etc) so doesn't make sense to pay it off. That said, its not "I don't quite trust what MSU will do when I give it to them", its that I don't like what I know they will do with it which is hand it off to somebody that will be here this year and gone next year and a lot of them couldn't spell NIL without an MSU furnished tutor to help them.
I worked too hard for what I have all these years and I don't intend to help some athlete pay for their car or truck, their PlayStations, speakers, tires, and whatever else they blow it on while still getting a full ride scholarship and all the other benefits that go with it.