Sport & Story Daily December 18, 2023

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December 18, 2023

Good morning! Concern mounts as signs point to low fan turnout in 2024

While Sports Fans Are Turning Out in Record Numbers, 2024 Isn’t Looking So ‘Rosy’
2023 saw fan attendance at an all-time high, but an economic downturn threatens to dampen these numbers in 2024. “Teams are going to have to work significantly harder to make less money,” Tony Knopp, CEO and co-founder of TicketManager, told Front Office Sports.
^{frontofficesports.com}

Aztecs Lower Season-Ticket Prices 20 percent, Announce Date and Opponent For ’24 Opener
San Diego State has reduced season-ticket prices by 20 percent for the 2024 football season and also to the seats on Snapdragon Stadium’s east side, which was where most seats went unsold last season.

“We want to drive people to sit over there,” said Chuck Lang, SDSU associate athletic director of business administration. “We also want to find the balance between revenue and attendance. ...
^{sandiegouniontribune.com}

How Netflix Has Stepped Into the Live Sports Sector
“Why buy media rights when you can build your own assets? That seems to be the motto of Netflix when it comes to live sports,” said Nick Meacham in the linked Twitter thread.
^twitter.com

An Explosion in Sports Betting Is Driving Gambling Addiction Among College Students
”It almost feels like binge drinking or methamphetamines, where they are going on benders,” says Evan Ozmat, a Ph.D. student in psychology conducting studies at the University at Albany. “They’ll make bets and bets and bets and bets and then wonder, ‘How the hell did I get here?’”
^time.com

Scientists Say AI is Emerging As Potential Tool to Aid Athletes, Beat Drug Tests
“I’m 100 percent sure that if they’re in that business (of doping), they’re using it,’’ said Manolis Kellis, the MIT professor who is a member of the computer science and artificial intelligence lab at MIT “If I were in the doping business, I would be crazy not to use generative AI right now.’’
usatoday.com

The Problem With 43 Bowl Games? Meaning and Name Recognition
Non-CFP bowl sponsorships can be as cheap as $500,000, and they top out around $6 million or $7 million, according to industry experts and Front Office Sports. The New Year’s Six games, which have rotated as playoff semifinals, can command more than $20 million.
^{frontofficesports.com}

Shannon Sharpe is the Embodiment of a Renaissance Man
“Sharpe seemed to be the quintessential example of how the loudest guy in the room is not always the most insightful,” says Barrett Sports Media’s John Molori.

“Times have changed,” Molori goes on to say. “Since joining ESPN’s First Take in September, Sharpe has undergone a transformation and become a must-watch on the highly-rated sports debate show. Sharpe does not just contribute to the show on his Monday and Tuesday appearances, he becomes the show.”
^{barrettsportsmedia.com}

Diamond, MLB Near Deal To Keep RSNS In Place Through 2024
In what is essentially a breakthrough in the Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy case, MLB attorneys told a Houston court on Friday that both parties had begun hammering out a provisional agreement to keep their RSN rights commitments intact through the end of the 2024 season.
^sportico.com

Jerry Kill Says New Mexico Tried to Deny Aggies Access to Practice Field
"It's a great bowl game, but here's the deal: They were going to make us practice on a high school field and let Fresno practice in the indoor, and that particular day, it snowed,” New Mexico State coach Jerry Kill said. But Jeff [New Mexico Bowl executive director Jeff Siembieda] busted his butt and had to argue with their people to get us on the thing."
^espn.com

Bill Belichick's Fate Not Yet Decided, Could Hinge on How Patriots Finish 2023 Season
While the expectation is that a decision on his future will play out over the next month, sources also say it could take longer than that.

Sources say not only has owner Robert Kraft not come to a firm conclusion on what will happen next with his head-coaching situation, but the way New England finishes could go a long way in determining what's next.
^nfl.com

Washington Supreme Court Hands PAC-12 To WSU And OSU
Sportico’s Michael McCann reports: “The legal saga of the Pac-12’s dissolution gained clarity on Friday when the Washington Supreme Court ruled it will not consider motions to review a preliminary injunction that effectively gives Washington State University and Oregon State University total control of the conference.”
^sportico.com

N.D. Women's Basketball: Muffet McGraw Statue to Be Unveiled Before Purdue Game
Often outspoken and always civic-minded, Hall of Fame ex-Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw will become the first-ever female with a campus statue rooted in athletic-related contributions at the university, joining Knute Rockne and Lou Holtz, among other males.
^{ndinsider.com}

LSU Baseball Bringing in Uplift Labs to Analyze Hitting, Pitch mechanics, Basic Movement Patterns
“They intend to use it for pitching and hitting, for swing and throw analysis, but what's also really exciting is they are the first collegiate partner that we have that's also going to be using Uplift Capture to assess their players to improve their movement patterns and improve their player performance,” Uplift Labs CEO Sukemasa Kabayama said.
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

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