11/3 Practice Tidbits (via Horde Twitter)

[Guapo]

Well I guess if you move all the games to Gampel it will just magically turn into Chapel Hill or Bloomington.

Good strategy.

Wow what a great non-answer to my question.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

I want UConn to win and I want the ad to make money, however if all I cared about was making money and winning I'd only care about pro sports.

Look at how much more money the teams I've listed are making because they are in a p5 conference and we are not.

You can make an argument that the reason they are power schools is there is a deeper sense of connection between the alumni base and school and that creates a lager following.

UConn historically has cared very little about fostering that sort of feeling among student and almuni, though that is starting to change. Just look at our endowment vs. peer schools. In my opinion, one manifestation of that historical disregard for caring about this sort of stuff is the playing of so many sports far off campus.

Maybe. The older P5 schools are what they are.
But how do you explain the newer schools like Rutgers, Louisville?? Easy - TV and media market. Which has been beaten to death on here.

 

[whaler11]

Wow what a great non-answer to my question.

It doesn’t matter what the answer is. It’s just the way it is.

So keep working to alienate the paying customers. Lock the program up in Storrs and keep it all for yourselves.

If that happens you’ll see very quickly why it was a terrible idea all along.

 

[Guapo]

Maybe. The older P5 schools are what they are.
But how do you explain the newer schools like Rutgers, Louisville?? Easy - TV and media market. Which has been beaten to death on here.

I understand that.

And I understand the reality of what UConn is facing and they need to do what they need to do to make money.

To get back to the original reason why I was posting about this stuff is that it is deeply frustrating to me when people attack the student support, that is all.

Though I would like to point out that both Rutgers and Louisville play their sports on or very close to campus and Louisville has a relatively deep and historic following.

 

[Guapo]

It doesn’t matter what the answer is. It’s just the way it is.

So keep working to alienate the paying customers. Lock the program up in Storrs and keep it all for yourselves.

If that happens you’ll see very quickly why it was a terrible idea all along.

Lay it on me hard, in your opinion what would happen?

 

[whaler11]

Lay it on me hard, in your opinion what would happen?

It’s pretty simple:
Revenues would drop even further and the fanbase would shrink even smaller.

Tack on the fact that UConn students of today are less likely to be from here, land here after graduation and are more academically focused and it’s a recipe for destruction.

You’ll also get the extra bonus of alienating the state reps and the people they represent.
Next time they are slashing the budget it is a good reminder to ask why we are spending so much more than everyone else.

But I’m sure the good feelz of the gample truthers from being more like Michigan and Indiana will make up for it. They will
have the program all to themselves, just like they always wanted. How does the ceiling in the Field House look?

 

[Guapo]

It’s pretty simple:
Revenues would drop even further and the fanbase would shrink even smaller.

Tack on the fact that UConn students of today are less likely to be from here, land here after graduation and are more academically focused and it’s a recipe for destruction.

You’ll also get the extra bonus of alienating the state reps and the people they represent.
Next time they are slashing the budget it is a good reminder to ask why we are spending so much more than everyone else.

But I’m sure the good feelz of the gample truthers from being more like Michigan and Indiana will make up for it. They will
have the program all to themselves, just like they always wanted. How does the ceiling in the Field House look?

I get that.

Allow me a counter argument that doesn't rely on gooey feelings:

(I think we all agree that the atmosphere at Gampel is better than XL, right?)

UConn has a better home court advantage at Gampel (though, admittidetly, I don't think the record reflects that the past two years).

So, better atmosphere in which to host recruits, better home court advantage leads to more wins and better recruiting.

Winning drives fan interest.

 

[whaler11]

I get that.

Allow me a counter argument that doesn't rely on gooey feelings:

(I think we all agree that the atmosphere at Gampel is better than XL, right?)

UConn has a better home court advantage at Gampel (though, admittidetly, I don't think the record reflects that the past two years).

So, better atmosphere in which to host recruits, better home court advantage leads to more wins and better recruiting.

Winning drives fan interest.

Yes the competitive disadvantage of Hartford was stunning for decades of dominating basketball.

 

[Guapo]

Yes the competitive disadvantage in Hartford was stunning for decades of dominating basketball.

I guess we should play all our games in Hartford!

Would you like that?

 

[whaler11]

I guess we should play all our games in Hartford!

Would you like that?

No. That’s a terrible idea.

 

[champs99and04]

Do people really think that a decline in fan enthusiasm is specific to Connecticut?

It's very simple. Win games, market it, and people will show up. Generally, outside of us on this board, it's hard for people to get very excited about a Tuesday night conference game against Tulane.

How does a semi-final match-up with Cincinnati sound? I know that defending our fan base usually entails depicting the conference as unappealing, but aside from the irony that that may have had something to do with us being in that conference in the first place, it's still a bad look for the students to have so many empty seats in Hartford every game. We have a fan base where the alums don't show up at Gampel and the students don't show up in Hartford. It is what it is, but let's not pretend that our fan base is simply chomping at the bit for the teams to be good again. There is a lack of initiative and marketing savvy within the University itself, which is why people like tcf, noescalators, and storrs south seem to gain more traction on twitter than actual students (I'm assuming they're not students). For a number of reasons, student support for UConn athletics is less than it should be. The winning will come and go but the other stuff shouldn't.

So yes, in some respects I think it is unique to UConn. It's a trend across the country, yes, but I think especially pronounced at UConn.

 

[uconnell]

Soccer seems to draw the students.

 

[champs99and04]

there are seniors this year who are yet to see UConn have a nationally relevant basketball, football, or even hockey team

And UConn is one of the few schools in the nation/D1 who can claim this?????
Poor Poor seniors
What happened before the OBE at UConn? The stands were filled with students
It's the kids these days - sleep, iphones and lack of commitment/loyalty to anything - I see it in the young folks we hire - smart but lacking in business protocol and people skills

I think we can criticize student support and even the generation without being unreasonable and pretending that things like "completely unwatchable in every revenue sport, play trash heap from second rate conference that we have no affiliation with, and our school president is determined to wage war on fun" don't have something to do with it. Did I mention that the games are not on campus? UConn has been offering a second tier product at a first tier price, and it goes beyond having a couple of mediocre teams. The entire experience is professionalized which only works when you're not a punching bag.

 

[lange10]

Gets at what @Guapo was saying. Don’t blame the students. Just don’t; it’s an uneducated and lazy cop out for attendance issues.

 

[Guapo]

Gets at what @Guapo was saying. Don’t blame the students. Just don’t; it’s an uneducated and lazy cop out for attendance issues.

Yes this is exactly right.

 

[Robertelamin]

Yes this is exactly right.

Are you a student or a recent graduate?

 

[mauconnfan]

Well if you play like a middle of the pack AAC team you get treated like one.

Huskybass supported you all is good in the world of pessimism! LOL

 

[Guapo]

Are you a student or a recent graduate?

I graduated in 2013

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

How does a semi-final match-up with Cincinnati sound? I know that defending our fan base usually entails depicting the conference as unappealing, but aside from the irony that that may have had something to do with us being in that conference in the first place, it's still a bad look for the students to have so many empty seats in Hartford every game. We have a fan base where the alums don't show up at Gampel and the students don't show up in Hartford. It is what it is, but let's not pretend that our fan base is simply chomping at the bit for the teams to be good again. There is a lack of initiative and marketing savvy within the University itself, which is why people like tcf, noescalators, and storrs south seem to gain more traction on twitter than actual students (I'm assuming they're not students). For a number of reasons, student support for UConn athletics is less than it should be. The winning will come and go but the other stuff shouldn't.

So yes, in some respects I think it is unique to UConn. It's a trend across the country, yes, but I think especially pronounced at UConn.

I am a student and am chomping at the bit for games to be good again, along with several friends of mine. I am a huge fan of UConn basketball, have been my whole life. But I am less inclined to go to a UConn vs. Tulsa game if I have an exam in the next couple days. If UConn were top 25 and had a conference game against Georgetown/Villanova/Cuse/Pitt/L'ville/St. Johns/WVU, I would do everything I could to go to that game.
Many people still care about UConn basketball, but the product on the court is subpar. Perhaps attention span is declining and is a factor, or the number of fouls/pace of the game. But that applies across the country.
You cannot sit there and tell me attendance would be like this if we were in the ACC or old Big East.

 

[NielsisGood]

It doesn’t matter what the answer is. It’s just the way it is.

So keep working to alienate the paying customers. Lock the program up in Storrs and keep it all for yourselves.

If that happens you’ll see very quickly why it was a terrible idea all along.

Jesus shut up.

 

[whaler11]

Jesus shut up.

Nah.

 

[NielsisGood]

Nah.

What a whiny CU Next Tuesday.

 

[whaler11]

What a whiny CU Next Tuesday.

I’m pretty sure you are the one whining.

 

[NielsisGood]

I’m pretty sure you are the one whining.

Same deflective nonsense you've been doing the last couple pages in here. Boring.

 

[whaler11]

Same deflective nonsense you've been doing the last couple pages in here. Boring.

Yet here you are replying with nothing but name calling. Sorry to hurt your feelz for not being a gample truther.

 

[NielsisGood]

Yet here you are replying with nothing but name calling. Sorry to hurt your feelz for not being a gample truther.

You're really feeling yourself with that gample truther line huh? Not nearly as clever as you seem to think. I don't have a horse in this race either way, you just don't seem to realize how much of an idiot you look like in here with your non reasoning and incessant spam of the "gample truther" nonsense. Just take your L and walk away.

 

[whaler11]

You're really feeling yourself with that gample truther line huh? Not nearly as clever as you seem to think. I don't have a horse in this race either way, you just don't seem to realize how much of an idiot you look like in here with your non reasoning and incessant spam of the "gample truther" nonsense. Just take your L and walk away.

LOL yes you are giving out Ls. You called me a couple of names - you’ve added a tremendous amount to the conversation. We all thank you.

 

[Vuce]

I am a student and am chomping at the bit for games to be good again, along with several friends of mine. I am a huge fan of UConn basketball, have been my whole life. But I am less inclined to go to a UConn vs. Tulsa game if I have an exam in the next couple days. If UConn were top 25 and had a conference game against Georgetown/Villanova/Cuse/Pitt/L'ville/St. Johns/WVU, I would do everything I could to go to that game.
Many people still care about UConn basketball, but the product on the court is subpar. Perhaps attention span is declining and is a factor, or the number of fouls/pace of the game. But that applies across the country.
You cannot sit there and tell me attendance would be like this if we were in the ACC or old Big East.

I will just say this. You know when your exams are way ahead of time. If you can’t take two or three hours out to watch a game then that’s on you. But you are only a student once so I would make every effort to enjoy ANY game while you are there. Before you know it you will be an old fart like many of us and you will regret that you didn’t take advantage of every opportunity. I don’t know if I missed one home game as a student. Yes they were in the Big East but I went even when they played awful non conference opponents in Hartford and Gampel. Go to the games kids!

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I will just say this. You know when your exams are way ahead of time. If you can’t take two or three hours out to watch a game then that’s on you. But you are only a student once so I would make every effort to enjoy ANY game while you are there. Before you know it you will be an old fart like many of us and you will regret that you didn’t take advantage of every opportunity. I don’t know if I missed one home game as a student. Yes they were in the Big East but I went even when they played awful non conference opponents in Hartford and Gampel. Go to the games kids!

Us college students may not be a good at a lot, but procrastination is one thing we can hang our hat on.

 

[NielsisGood]

LOL yes you are giving out Ls. You called me a couple of names - you’ve added a tremendous amount to the conversation. We all thank you.

Dude you've been posting heavily for 2+ pages here and you just keep repeating yourself while adding nothing of actual substance. I didn't need to give you an L, you did it to yourself.