The Morning Commute for Wednesday, April 2nd
Welcome to the Morning Commute
Today we’re talking about free concessions.
Yes, free concessions at an FBS football game. Check out this tweet…
Coastal Carolina just announced that all concessions will be free at home football games this fall.
Fans can get four items per concession visit (hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, and fountain drinks), with no limit on the number of in-game visits.
That’s wild.pic.twitter.com/vRX1foCp4S
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) March 31, 2025
Wild, indeed.
This will be a fascinating case study to watch going forward. While Coastal is an FBS school, the Sun Belt Conference is certainly a different level than the Southeastern Conference, and by no means am I trying to suggest that Mizzou or other Power 4 schools should go this route – it would be untenable from a budget standpoint. But I do bet that Athletic Directors all over the country will be watching in 2025 to see how this plays out in Conway, SC.
Will ticket or parking prices be raised to offset some of the cost here? Will donation requirements go up as a result? Will concession wait lines flow smoothly or will it be a madhouse?
Mizzou has toyed with the concept of reduced-rate concessions in the upper deck at Memorial Stadium and with special $1 beer nights for certain basketball and baseball games. The results have been moderately successful, depending on who you ask.
There’s no way the Tigers could ever go as far as Coastal is going but if the experiment goes well, it could start a trend of making concessions cheaper to help entice better attendance.
I wish movie theaters would wake up to this concept. While ticket prices seem to have flattened out over the past few years (they’re still too expensive, if you ask me), the concessions are ridiculous. You might spend $30 on a pair of tickets for you and a guest to see the movie, and then if you both get a drink and a popcorn or candy, you’re talking another $30 easy.
It’s a reason why I haven’t been to a theater more than once in the last 5-6 years. If they made concessions cheap enough to where you felt it was a bargain, I’d go back for sure. But that’s probably wishful thinking.
Late Tuesday, news broke on social media that QB Drew Pyne was hitting the transfer portal. That naturally leads one to believe – if the news is true – that the QB battle is down to transfer Beau Pribula and rising junior Sam Horn.
Quarterback Drew Pyne has entered the transfer portal.
Pyne spent the 2024 season at Missouri after previously playing for Notre Dame and Arizona State. pic.twitter.com/Sz6DJVzffs
— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) April 1, 2025
Rock M writer Dan Keegan summed up my sentiment nicely when he said on our staff Slack channel: “Good bye and good luck, Pyne. We’ll always have the seven minutes you turned into Tom Brady against Oklahoma!”
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
We got no spring game this year, but we did manage to get some nuggets from our intrepid reporter Matthew Gustafson. Most of the things we can discern were gleaned from media availability with assistant coaches; heaven forbid the assembled press actually get a chance to lay eyes on any on-field action.
This had to be the least amount of info ever to come out of a spring camp, which is exactly what Drink was hoping for. Just what we’ll see in the fall is anyone’s best guess…
Nick Bolton and Ty’Ron Hopper both had their last season shortened/effected by injury, as did last year’s group when it lost Khalil Jacobs six games into the year. Thankfully former Mizzou linebackers coach D.J. Smith always seemed to have a guy ready to come off the bench and fill in effectively, whether that be Chad Bailey, Chuck Hicks, Triston Newson, or Nick Rodriguez.
Looking ahead to 2025, Nate is pretty excited about the group that returns, and he’s got a great rundown of all the talent in his piece, so be sure to check it out…
Despite handing previous No. 1 Oklahoma their first loss of the season back on Saturday, March 22nd, it has been a rather disappointing season for Mizzou Softball thus far considering the expectations. Though Monday night on the SEC Network, Larissa Anderson’s team picked up a much-needed road win over a ranked Ole Miss team to avoid the sweep.
The softball Tigers have had some really nice wins, including handing previously undefeated and #1-ranked Oklahoma their first loss of the season. But the consistency hasn’t been there this year and Mizzou is hanging around .500 heading into the stretch run…
After an 0-9 conference start and putting only nine runs on the board in three games against a top-tier Texas pitching staff this weekend, there was surely some pent-up frustration in the clubhouse.
It’s been tough season for Kerrick Jackson and company so far, here’s hoping a game like this can give them some momentum heading into the final stretch of the year…
While Todd Schaefer’s arrival was announced on April Fool’s, his coaching talent is no joke. He enters Columbia with 29 years of coaching experience, coming off an 8-year stint at Arkansas. After initially starting as an assistant, Schaefer was promoted to associate head coach in 2019.
Coach Harper seems to be assembling a coaching staff featuring a nice mix of youth and experience…
- Over at Rock M+, there’s lots of talk about potential transfer targets for men’s hoops. Plus a specific thread about a UNC big man, could he really be in line to come to Mizzou?…
Rock M Radio: Olympic Sports Catchup with Majority Rules
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