Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt's Monthly Comments

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Athletics Director Kirby Hocutt welcomes your comments and ideas. Your email will be read by Kirby and answered by either him or a member of the Ohio Athletics staff. Please include your name and hometown, and if you are a Bobcat let us know your class year. Thank you for your interest, your participation and your support of Bobcat Athletics.

May 10, 2006

Dear Bobcat Fans:

I hope this correspondence finds you doing well and enjoying the spring season. I am writing this column as I return from the Mid-American Conference Athletics Directors and Head Football Coaches meetings in Mobile, Alabama. This particular meeting is held in conjunction with a few other events hosted by the GMAC Bowl.

In this column, I would like to update you on the highlights of the MAC Mobile meetings, our 2006 Bobcat Family Package for football tickets, and the renovation project for the 5th floor of Peden Tower.

I would like to extend my sincere appreciation and a special thank you to the Sports Administration and Facility Management Program for their initiative and leadership in organizing the 2006 Bobcat Blitz, surrounding our Spring Football Game. Their efforts produced a festival atmosphere and resulted in over 1,700 fans and students supporting our football program. The Athletics Department looks forward to continuing a relationship with the nation's first and finest Sports Administration graduate program.

MAC AD & Football Coaches Meetings
As you may expect, we spent considerable time discussing football scheduling. The frustrations related to the late release of the MAC football schedule are shared by all institutions and the timing of the release has become an issue the Athletics Directors are committed to correcting. By the end of our meetings, we had produced a draft of scheduling parameters which will be used to develop our MAC schedule in a timely manner, resulting in a much earlier release date. In addition, the conference is committed to protecting Saturday football games in the months of September and October. This format allows us to not only safeguard the tradition of Saturday football games, but also to continue to expose and market our football programs nationally through television opportunities.

In so many ways, MAC football has never been stronger. With the announcement approving the inauguration of the International Bowl (MAC vs. Big East) in Toronto, we now have three post-season opportunities. With the addition of a fifth BCS game, the MAC has never been closer to a spot in this elite bracket. When the Bobcats win the MAC Championship and secure a Top 12 national ranking, we will be assured a spot in a BCS game! In addition, 55 MAC football games were televised last year and it appears we may surpass that number in 2006. This national visibility is a tremendous marketing tool for universities and greatly assists football recruiting.

One issue of concern that all MAC institutions share is how to increase football attendance. While there are many factors related to game attendance, I am excited about our Bobcat Family Package that will be proactively marketed beginning in the next few weeks.

Bobcat Family Package
I am very excited to announce our 2006 Bobcat Family Package, the best family entertainment value in the state of Ohio. For only $79.00, a family can purchase four 2006 Ohio Bobcat football season tickets. This package includes two adults and two youth tickets (youth are considered children between ages 3-18). If a family has more than two children, additional youth season tickets can be purchased for only $19.75 each. This is a great chance for a family to enjoy Ohio Bobcat Football - a $300 ticket value for only $79.00! Please share this opportunity with your friends, families and coworkers. It is our goal to double our season ticket base over the next three seasons. To reserve seats today, please contact our ticket office at 1-800-575-CATS (2287).

Peden 5th Floor Project
I am also pleased to tell you that contractors have been secured and we are aggressively moving forward with renovations of our football coaches' offices and recruiting area. This project completes the master plan for renovation of Peden Tower. As you know, prior to the 2005 football season, the first and second floors were renovated. The Peden Tower Renovation Project provides our football program with state-of-the-art team and position meeting rooms, a sports medicine facility, coaches' offices and a recruiting suite. I will keep you updated on the Peden Tower progress in future columns, and you can also follow the transformation of Peden's 5th floor through photo galleries that will be featured here on Ohiobobcats.com over the summer.

On behalf of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, thank you for your continued support of the Ohio Bobcats!

Go Bobcats!
Kirby