NCAA Wrestling Finals vs Camellia Bowl

[Pinnum 846]

There has been a lot of talk about there being too many bowl games in college football with attendance down (though ratings haven't taken a hit). Currently there are 39 bowl games and four college all-star bowls, in addition to the FCS and D2 playoffs which are televised.

 

I was curious to see how the TV ratings for wrestling compared to the bowl games.

 

The Camellia Bowl was played on a Saturday night and featured South Alabama against Bowling Green on ESPN. The game was considered the lowest tier game by many analyst and it drew the lowest viewership with 1.1 Million watching. The NCAA Wrestling Championship Finals also aired on a Saturday night on ESPN and they had 630,000 tuned in for the 2014 finals. Attendance at both events was about the same with 20,256 attending the game in Montgomery, Alabama.

 

The only college football game, I noticed, on ESPN with similar ratings to the 2014 Wrestling Championship Finals (session), was the Alabama A&M vs North Carolina A&M game on a Sunday with 699,000.

 

I am really curious to see where this year's championship ratings stand. The team race, most people believe, is wide open which would make it seem like there should be more people interested in watching if the team race draws. I don't get the feeling that wrestling has as many casual followers this year as they did during the last two years.

Edited January 7, 2015 by Pinnum

[skikayaker 93]

Excellent post, thanx!

[Jaroslav Hasek 2,067]

looks like the Camellia Bowl is a bigger cash cow for the NCAA than the wrestling championship tournament. 

 

eyeballs on the screen >>>>>>>> butts in the seats. 

 

its 2014, if wrestling wants to grow as a sport it needs to start recognizing what millennium it is. 

Edited January 7, 2015 by Jaroslav Hasek

[HokieHWT 593]

 

 

its 2014, if wrestling wants to grow as a sport it needs to start recognizing what millennium it is. 

 

I think they are starting to, when was the last time you could watch Midlands, every match, for free? Oh that's right, never....

[Jaroslav Hasek 2,067]

 

I think they are starting to, when was the last time you could watch Midlands, every match, for free? Oh that's right, never....

 

agreed! Midlands coverage between Trackwrestling and btn2go was phenomenal! 

[AKHUNTER 316]

I think Wade Schalles' blog is TRYING to address the issue of bringing wrestling into the present millennium. If any you haven't been reading it I recommend it highly.

[teach 175]

I think having consistent coverage of the NCAA tournament will help.  Many people now know they can watch wrestling, for many years they could not, so they are not use to it.  I have even heard of parties for the finals!

[Angry_Fish 313]

I don't belive a tight team race will have the same impact as the star power we recently had -- especially when they were at the same weight.

 

Nothing is on the horizon that will rival the Dake vs Taylor final two years ago -- not only two huge stars but one of them going for his 4th title.

 

Then last year we had Ruth and Taylor as a huge draw.  Taylor had no competition at his weight, but he still was a draw.  Ruth is always a draw amd he had a legit competitor in his final too.

 

I don't see this year's guys drawing like these other guys did.

 

Stieber going for 4 titles draws some interest, but not like Dake did.  Deiringer is the next best guy.  I thought Snyder might be the most compelling story at nationals this year, but after Burak, I'm not so sure.  

 

There are great wrstlers this year (Cox, Tsirtsis, Delgado, etc), but none have star power we had the last coupel years. 

[CollegeWrestling4444 7]

Schalles makes great points but some of its a little out there.

 

It's almost to much info and he needs to partner up with some of the people out there he doesn't care for.

 

Also, I believe some of his reasoning for why programs were dropped are off base.

 

But he does speak some truth.

[denger 363]

"Stieber going for 4 titles draws some interest, but not like Dake did.  Deiringer is the next best guy.  I thought Snyder might be the most compelling story at nationals this year, but after Burak, I'm not so sure. "

 

Snyder beating himself against Burak is kinda silly, but won't define his career. The top guys at this weight all make Cox more interesting. 

BoJo has a lot to prove, which could make Deiringer more interesting.

 

A match like Pico vs. Metcalf could expand our market a little bit if it was a mid-session exhibition.

Pulling successful MMA guys back to wrestle an exhibition might help.

I think a premier women's bout would be worth a try in a similar arrangement. 

[ccrider55 18]

looks like the Camellia Bowl is a bigger cash cow for the NCAA than the wrestling championship tournament. 

 

eyeballs on the screen >>>>>>>> butts in the seats. 

 

its 2014, if wrestling wants to grow as a sport it needs to start recognizing what millennium it is.

 

NCAA championships crush each and every D1 Bowl as a revenue source. NCAA income from those bowls, combined? Zip, zero, nada.

[Jaroslav Hasek 2,067]

NCAA championships crush each and every D1 Bowl as a revenue source. NCAA income from those bowls, combined? Zip, zero, nada.

sure, the money from the bowls goes right to the schools and doesn't go to the NCAA. but even if the revenue went to the NCAA first, it just gets distributed to the schools eventually anyway. 

 

so as far as the schools that constitute the NCAA are concerned, its six and one half dozen. 

 

here's a nice article to show just how insignificant wrestling is when compared to the business of college football. 

 

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2015-01-06/the-insane-price-of-espns-college-football-ratings-triumph

 

i dont post that to be negative about wrestling but i do think it helps to have perspective and to be honest about how valuable the NCAA wrestling tournament is in the grand scheme of things, if we are going to discuss the future of the sport and what, if any, changes should be made to the NCAA D1 schedule.

[teach 175]

I think a lot of people who read this board are big wrestling fans that know most of the present and past wrestlers.  They know the big match ups and the past greats that would be fun to see wrestle each other.  But if you want to have a big fan base, we are not the people to draw.  As I was coaching at the HS level I still followed college closely, but I would say 90% or better of the HS coaches new very little about college wrestling and nothing about who was good.  The parents in the stands knew even less and the casual HS/MS/youth fan barely knows it is real.  BUT, if these same people know that every 3rd week in March, the college national tournament will be on, they will tune in to see our nations best wrestlers.  It has to be consistent, on TV, and promoted.

 

Really how many people watching those bowl games know the good match ups, between a great D tackle and an AA guard?  Most want to just watch good football.

[KTG119 820]

what other sporting events were on other channels that beat the bowl in ratings?

what other sporting events were on that beat the NCAA finals in ratings? 

[Pinnum 846]

what other sporting events were on other channels that beat the bowl in ratings?

NFL Kickoff (CBS) 7.59M

Ohio State at Notre Dame basketball (ESPN2) 1.32M

I want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (ABC) 2.9M

Bones-Rerun (FOX) 2.06M

The Sound of Music (NBC) 1.7M

 

 

what other sporting events were on that beat the NCAA finals in ratings?

-Dateline Murder Mystery (NBC) 5.3M

-Sam & Cat (Nickelodeon) 2.4M

-Too Cute! (Animal Planet) 704K

 

I don't know sports ratings; I don't see the games on that day individually reported. I only know these other shows because I posted them a while back to give a few examples of other program ratings during the same block as NCAA Wrestling and NCAA Basketball. http://board.themat.com/index.php?/topic/6282-ncaa-tournament-team-race-doesnt-attract-fans

Edited January 8, 2015 by Pinnum