CBSSN is the worst

[ConnHuskBask]

those were two good crowds but season tickets peaked in like 07.

I had a bulwark of a dozen seats at the top of 206 and 207. There were only two games where people truly sat near us after 2008 - Michigan and BYU.

they sold fewer season tickets coming off a trip to the fiesta bowl. who does that?

USF and Louisville in 2007 were pretty great too.

Tough to explain the season ticket drop after the Fiesta Bowl. Randy leaving, hiring a retread like P and our idiotic ticketing policies probably contributed to it, but overll I just don't know.

 

[whaler11]

USF and Louisville in 2007 were pretty great too.

Tough to explain the season ticket drop after the Fiesta Bowl. Randy leaving, hiring a retread like P and our idiotic ticketing policies probably contributed to it, but overll I just don't know.

just a continuation of bad momentum.

 

[polycom]

People laugh, but once the school became 'better' academically , it took some of the juice out of the next generation.

You need a large group of kids who are only at school for booze and birds. Those are the mindless idiots who still love sports.

I don’t agree with this necessarily. It’s more so the school became better and then graduates got good jobs out of state. Unlike other good schools around the country where exactly can you work in CT if you aren’t an engineer or want to do finance in New York light(Stamford). There aren’t many options for jobs for recent graduates, so UConn isn’t cultivating a rabid fan base that’s where I think a lot of these issues come from.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I don’t agree with this necessarily. It’s more so the school became better and then graduates got good jobs out of state. Unlike other good schools around the country where exactly can you work in CT if you aren’t an engineer or want to do finance in New York light(Stamford). There aren’t many options for jobs for recent graduates, so UConn isn’t cultivating a rabid fan base that’s where I think a lot of these issues come from.

I know not apples to apples, but doesn't Duke have the best home court advantage in college hoops? They are a great academic school.

Cuse is a similiar school to UConn in terms of academics, and you can't convince me the Syracuse, NY job market is any better than Hartford or Fairfield? Yet they get 20k a game up there for hoop.

 

[polycom]

I know not apples to apples, but doesn't Duke have the best home court advantage in college hoops? They are a great academic school.

Cuse is a similiar school to UConn in terms of academics, and you can't convince me the Syracuse, NY job market is any better than Hartford or Fairfield? Yet they get 20k a game up there for hoop.

Cuse endowment is 1.3B UConn's endowment is $400M, they aren't similar schools when it comes to alumni and fan support.

 

[August_West]

I know not apples to apples, but doesn't Duke have the best home court advantage in college hoops? They are a great academic school.

Cuse is a similiar school to UConn in terms of academics, and you can't convince me the Syracuse, NY job market is any better than Hartford or Fairfield? Yet they get 20k a game up there for hoop.

Different demographics in Canada. They do well. We dont do well because New Englanders have inbred front runner syndrome. Always have, always will. Its in our DNA.


See: fans of Patriots, New England

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Cuse endowment is 1.3B UConn's endowment is $400M, they aren't similar schools when it comes to alumni and fan support.

The endowment at the Ivies is huge and they don't have big time fan support.

Your premise, and others in this thread, was that a better quality student is a lower quality fan, and that jobs/careers aren't readily available in the area to cultivate a bigger/better fanbase.

I don't necessarily disagree with either of those statements, but I tend to think they are more excuses and I agree with @August_West more that it's just a front runner syndrome.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

just a continuation of bad momentum.

And then realignment happened without us and we never stood a chance. I remember the first time there was a crowd announcemed under 30k was a big “woah”

 

[CL82]

The endowment at the Ivies is huge and they don't have big time fan support.

Your premise, and others in this thread, was that a better quality student is a lower quality fan, and that jobs/careers aren't readily available in the area to cultivate a bigger/better fanbase.

I don't necessarily disagree with either of those statements, but I tend to think they are more excuses and I agree with @August_West more that it's just a front runner syndrome.

I think a lot things conspired to enter into it. When we were playing at the 3500 seat Field House and had a brand new and innovative 15,000 (then, IIRC) arena it made sense to go there. But seeing a game in a pro arena in Hartford has a different feel than seeing a game on campus. We also played games at the New Haven Civic Center. When Gampel was built, they initially held the capacity to 8,500 to make sure that the new on campus venue would not compete with the Civic Center. Calhoun almost immediately bumped it to 10,000. At that point most, if not all home games should have been played at Storrs, but somehow playing in Hartford and supporting the XL became a claim of right. Add to that some truly dumb pricing policy decisions from Jeff Hathaway and the traditional fan became alienated. If we had guys sitting in the same seats and not being moved around and (some) price out of tickets, there would be more mutual loyalty.

Also Storrs and our big population center in the Serah Williams are inconveniently not sitting right on top of each other. So getting there takes time and people show up late and like to get an early head start out. Likewise Hartford is a half hour away from Storrs. College kids would be far more groomed to see games if it was just a walk across campus. And make no mistake about it today's college kids are the future super fans of the program. The games we play in Hartford sacrifice on future a bit.

If that weren't enough, Kraft's dalliance Hartford made the notion of playing football off campus seem palatable and normal. College football gets a lot of ambiance and pageantry from being on campus. Once again. A more convenient location comes at the cost of having kids get up and wander over to the stadium.

CT's economy is struggling and HDTV and every game being broadcast makes it easier to pass on the hassles of going to a game. Don't get me wrong, nothing, nothing beats being at a game, but in today's harried world with a limited discretionary budget access to games on TV makes it easier to rationalize not going.

Finally, our teams are in a down cycle. The cost and hassle of going to game is harder to justify when your are frustrated with the play. All these things combine into a stew of malaise and disinterest in our program. We need to win and rethink the way we treat the fans to build back the loyalty and energy we once had.

 

[8893]

stew of malaise

This should be the signature dish at the XL.

 

[intlzncster]

I don’t agree with this necessarily. It’s more so the school became better and then graduates got good jobs out of state. Unlike other good schools around the country where exactly can you work in CT if you aren’t an engineer or want to do finance in New York light(Stamford). There aren’t many options for jobs for recent graduates, so UConn isn’t cultivating a rabid fan base that’s where I think a lot of these issues come from.

Your not wrong about the sentiment, but when you see the difference down south at say football games and the like, it's night and day. And more than half the people at these events aren't alumni of the University.

A huge part of this is hard charging college kids (fraternity/sorority driven). School spirit is a real thing, and most schools allow or promote it. UCONN squashes it.

They don't allow almost any partying at UCONN now. No one gets energized for these things. Contrast that to things like the the absolutely madness at West Virginia or the Aggie Bonfire down at A&M. Night and day:

 

[whaler11]

The endowment at the Ivies is huge and they don't have big time fan support.

Your premise, and others in this thread, was that a better quality student is a lower quality fan, and that jobs/careers aren't readily available in the area to cultivate a bigger/better fanbase.

I don't necessarily disagree with either of those statements, but I tend to think they are more excuses and I agree with @August_West more that it's just a front runner syndrome.

this just isnt a big sports area compared to other parts of the country.

i was in raleigh last year this time and every single uber had on the local sports talk channel.

i work with scores of millenials. when we were their age all we did was talk about sports. the only thing they ever talk about is fantasy football sometimes and a little random nba. on gamedays wed get like 10 people together and just go scalp in. you are hard pressed to find a non-student under 40 at a uconn game there on their own volition. every kid under 13 in the building never looks up from the phone they are playing on.

the experience at XL and Gampel has gotten worse and more expensive. playstation 4, netflix etc - are cheaper, easier and more entertaining. a lotta kids would rather play fortnight than sit through an SMU basketball game and who can really blame them.

 

[Stainmaster]

Your not wrong about the sentiment, but when you see the difference down south at say football games and the like, it's night and day. And more than half the people at these events aren't alumni of the University.

A huge part of this is hard charging college kids (fraternity/sorority driven). School spirit is a real thing, and most schools allow or promote it. UCONN squashes it.

They don't allow almost any partying at UCONN now. No one gets energized for these things. Contrast that to things like the the absolutely madness at West Virginia or the Aggie Bonfire down at A&M. Night and day:

View attachment 39537View attachment 39537

Maybe not the best example:

1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse - Wikipedia

 

[CL82]

Hmm not sure what to make of the flames forming a Husky head...

 

[intlzncster]

Maybe not the best example:

1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse - Wikipedia

Actually, even more so. The students have moved it off campus and it's now the unsanctioned 'student bonfire'. So despite the tragedy, the party continues. That picture is from the unsanctioned event.

The locals are into it. Imagine that happening in Mansfield?

 

[polycom]

Actually, even more so. The students have moved it off campus and it's now the unsanctioned 'student bonfire'. So despite the tragedy, the party continues. That picture is from the unsanctioned event.

The locals are into it. Imagine that happening in Mansfield?

There is a massive pig roast at UConn every year but most kids don't get to go to it as it's at frat house that is significantly off campus.

 

[polycom]

Your not wrong about the sentiment, but when you see the difference down south at say football games and the like, it's night and day. And more than half the people at these events aren't alumni of the University.

A huge part of this is hard charging college kids (fraternity/sorority driven). School spirit is a real thing, and most schools allow or promote it. UCONN squashes it.

They don't allow almost any partying at UCONN now. No one gets energized for these things. Contrast that to things like the the absolutely madness at West Virginia or the Aggie Bonfire down at A&M. Night and day:

View attachment 39537View attachment 39537

Having visited my sister who is an athlete at Clemson, it feels like a different country. Really for any sport the culture is different in the south, but our fan base refuses to acknowledge that. A school like Alabama gets more out of state applicants than in-state applicants.

 

[polycom]

The endowment at the Ivies is huge and they don't have big time fan support.

Your premise, and others in this thread, was that a better quality student is a lower quality fan, and that jobs/careers aren't readily available in the area to cultivate a bigger/better fanbase.

I don't necessarily disagree with either of those statements, but I tend to think they are more excuses and I agree with @August_West more that it's just a front runner syndrome.

This was never my premise ever. Harvard v. Yale football game is a bigger draw than any UConn football game.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

this just isnt a big sports area compared to other parts of the country.

i was in raleigh last year this time and every single uber had on the local sports talk channel.

i work with scores of millenials. when we were their age all we did was talk about sports. the only thing they ever talk about is fantasy football sometimes and a little random nba. on gamedays wed get like 10 people together and just go scalp in. you are hard pressed to find a non-student under 40 at a uconn game there on their own volition. every kid under 13 in the building never looks up from the phone they are playing on.

the experience at XL and Gampel has gotten worse and more expensive. playstation 4, netflix etc - are cheaper, easier and more entertaining. a lotta kids would rather play fortnight than sit through an SMU basketball game and who can really blame them.

Fantasy sports has almost entirely taken over as the default sports talk conversation, at least in my circles. People follow their actual teams, but they live and die with fantasy leagues that they've put $100 dollars into.

In NYC nobody cares or talks about college sports except for March Madness and that's solely due to brackets. People talk NFL, Fantasy and then maybe some Yankees/Mets here, but that's about it.

You're right, it's a whole hell of a lot easier to go home, buy your own beer, sit on your own couch and watch the game or netflix, whatever.

The atmosphere was what made it worth it - especially at Gampel/XL - so I didn't mind driving up from the New London area when I was in CT, but for AAC action and having to beg someone to join? I doubt I'd be there every game.

 

[CL82]

There is a massive pig roast at UConn every year but most kids don't get to go to it as it's at frat house that is significantly off campus.

That was a part of the Spring weekend debauchery, IIRC. I have a vague memory of the pig being started too late and taking forever to cook. Around 4 or 5 PM one guy (who may have had an adult beverage or two) screams "I can't take it anymore" and runs into the fire and bites the ear off to the cheers of the crowd. They served the pig about an hour later. It was pretty good as I recall. The rest is a little hazy. (Frankly I am amazed I still have a functioning liver from even one Spring Weekend. They weren't for the faint of heart.)

 

[ConnHuskBask]

This was never my premise ever. Harvard v. Yale football game is a bigger draw than any UConn football game.

True - my mistake.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Different demographics in Canada. They do well. We dont do well because New Englanders have inbred front runner syndrome. Always have, always will. Its in our DNA.


See: fans of Patriots, New England

Well, the good thing about being a Jets fan is you never have to worry about band wagon fans or front runners joining the fan base.

 

[intlzncster]

Having gone to Clemson and chilled with my sister who is an athlete there it's a different country. Really for any sport the culture is different in the south, but our fan base refuses to acknowledge that. A school like Alabama gets more out of state applicants than in-state applicants.

Thing is man, back in the 90s and early 2000s, UCONN was still nuts in terms of partying. Game days were a blast, and I was only visiting friends there. It's easy to get into a team when you got 5,000 plus kids getting sauced for no other reason. It just carries over. These mostly weren't exactly the academic sorts. Although those people came along to be part of the excitement.

fwiw, I went to an SEC school too.

 

[intlzncster]

There is a massive pig roast at UConn every year but most kids don't get to go to it as it's at frat house that is significantly off campus.

Exactly. The school and the town surrounding it drives those kids off. Instead of promoting it. Plus, the kids aren't exactly the hard charging sort.

Is that pig roast for a sporting event like the Aggie thing? I don't know anything about it.

 

[intlzncster]

This was never my premise ever. Harvard v. Yale football game is a bigger draw than any UConn football game.

Which the universities very much promote (UCONN would have made it 'dry' and killed it). The Harvard/Yale kids really don't give a toss about the teams the rest of the time; it's academics and other assorted kinds.

My point was two fold. The university has made a concerted effort to squash the festivities and to recruit a different profile kid.

It's a dual pronged approach.