Introducing Mitten Football's 'Offseason Program'

Mitten Football is getting into offseason mode, but that means anything but going away for the next six months. 

With the season a month behind us and the transfer portal mostly mum, it’s time to do what the various programs across the Mitten and country are doing and take on an offseason program. 

And Mitten Football’s Offseason Program won’t involve the weight room, but it does call for getting bigger and better, and working at a different pace through the next six or so months. 

Here are the broad strokes. 

A lighter publishing schedule

In six months and one day of existence, Mitten Football published more than 200 unique stories, from features to game coverage to drumbeat news coverage of the Michigan MAC teams and keeping tabs on the transfer portal. That’s effectively more than a story a day, all produced by one person. 

It’s a lot to manage but works by virtue of the onslaught of “things going on amidst an ongoing football season.” That’s different now. There’s no shortage of subjects or topics to write about, but maybe not things of the pressing, newsy nature that requires publishing stories every day. (Though such things will surely occur.)

This is all to say: Mitten Football plans to publish 2-3 things a week through the duration of the offseason into fall camp. Some weeks may end up with more stories, but as a one-man operation, taking time and thought to deliver quality, thorough reporting is the better part of valor.

It’s not set in stone, but the current plan is for a reported original story and one news roundup each week, at a minimum. 

Growing subscriber rolls

Part of the reason Mitten Football will step back the pacing is the natural response to the offseason, with no active competitions to cover. But letting off the throttle on coverage offers the time and space to do something critical to make Mitten Football sustainable: Get people signed up and paying for this product. 

The first six months, Season 1, as we might call it, were integral to establishing some basic brand identity and a presence, which now needs to start being parlayed into increased subscribers. 

To reach the most baseline levels of sustainability, Mitten Football needs around 500 paying subscribers, a figure it is currently well short of, but one that is thoroughly attainable through some shoe leather and personal determination. 

The ultimate goal with Mitten Football is to create a sustainable and durable journalistic outlet covering college football in Michigan, one that can ideally grow into a local institution. This is a critical step in laying that foundation.

And, to not miss an opportunity, consider subscribing now.  

Honing coverage areas

It’s not much of a secret that Michigan and Michigan State get plenty of coverage, while Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan do not. This presented an opportunity for Mitten Football, to make inroads providing more coverage on these three programs generally starved for it. And so far, the response has been good. 

And while coverage of Michigan and Michigan State has been worthwhile and good, the offseason is a chance to hone in the best balance going forward. 

When there is no shortage of outlets to provide the day-to-day news on the Wolverines and Spartans, it strikes Mitten Football that the best use of time in covering those programs is to pull off features, bigger picture analysis and longer-term reporting projects that often get overlooked when doing nose-to-the-grindstone beat reporting. 

Basically, the return on investment to try and outfox the Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Lansing State Journal and others on those beats is not worth it — especially when considering the opportunity cost of not staying on the ball with the Chippewas, Eagles and Broncos. 

Mitten Football still plans to cover the Spartans and Wolverines with features and otherwise, as applicable — but it’s less of a priority than continuing to build out coverage of the Michigan MAC programs. 

Other bits and bobs

Along with spending more time with the sales hat on, the offseason offers an opportunity to get after countless other projects from tweaking and enhancing the website presentation, to adding a podcast, to X, Y and Z other things. 

There will be some tinkering, refining and exploration of new ideas, all in service of moving Mitten Football through the next six months and into a better, stronger spot to bring independent, insightful and worthwhile coverage of football in Michigan come kickoff this fall — and for years to come. 

Excited to keep building, and let’s dig in. 

Thanks!
- Andrew Graham