Poor fan showing at Gampel

[UCOnions]

The fans at the games are reactive and not proactive. We've never had crazy student sections like Kansas and Duke. Probably never will. The whole argument about there being a disparity with the type of students who are more into studying and what not, I mean come on. Duke students are louder and more into the game and they are even nerdier..... That is a lame excuse.

The main problem is that there isn't a group of students who are organizing and directing the student section. They are more worried about dressing up like bananas, instead of leading the chants and the noise when we are on defense...

 

[Eastwood]

Haven't read every post in this thread, but can NIL money be used to pay fans to attend? The coaches are paid well, the players are now well paid, why not the fans. Between annual donations, cost of tickets and parking one begins to question the expense of attending these games. The $7.50 pretzel at Gampel left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[Kenny11]

A lot of good points in this thread. But Ed Cooley should worry about his own program.

 

[Exit 4]

I think the attendance speaks to the weakness in the central CT economy. The economy is not picking up enough wins of its own up there.

 

[Hoophound]

I think the attendance speaks to the weakness in the central CT economy. The economy is not picking up enough wins of its own up there.

Its an issue everywhere. Wait until the stock market crashes. Its coming. The financial disaster I expect to see unfold in the near future is going to put a real dent in NIL and donations.

 

[Exit 4]

Its an issue everywhere. Wait until the stock market crashes. Its coming. The financial disaster I expect to see unfold in the near future is going to put a real dent in NIL and donations.

I don't know about a stock market crash - but I do agree there is the potential for meaningful NIL fatigue in the years ahead and certainly in a flat economy.

 

[KemGiffeyJr]

I dont think either venue is a great home court advantage anymore. The tickets have gotten so high after the back to back that’s it’s priced out a lot of die hards. I go to about a 3rd of the games I used to for the pretty much the same money

 

[Deepster]

Every year we go through the same conversation. From now on, I'm just going to copy/paste the UConn Fan Commandments.

1. We will never play all our games at XL/Peoples.
2. We will never play all our games at Gampel.
3. We will never, ever, ever change it to where the students sit along the sidelines moving the donors back.
4. We know. You're the only one in your section that stands and cheers all game long, getting told by old people to sit down.
5. We know. The students were better when you were there. It's not even close.
6. We know. You never leave early. And everyone should stay to the end regardless if they're going to sit 45 minutes in a parking garage followed by an hour ride home on a weeknight.

 

[CL82]

That would be a disaster, then all the seating you see on TV would be empty.

Disagree. I think it would result in all the empty seats being filled, Because the university could move them at whatever price point was necessary to fill them.

 

[Inyatkin]

Things are not going well for UConn basketball (relatively, anyway) so this discussion has gone from the University of Connecticut itself stinks, to the state of Connecticut is bad, and onto the entire Northeast is a problem.

As always, scary to think what happens when actual losses arrive

 

[Huskie837]

Hurley should have asked Ed why only 3,000 people are in the stands at Georgetown games

Thank you!

 

[Blades]

So now Dan Hurley expects games to be sold out ((10,244) and fans to actual be in the seats, LOL ! Fact, that student section at the practice facility end did look empty when I looked over right B4 the game. But I was surprised it filled in about 10-15 minutes into the game when I looked back ... I guess the students forgot their mittens for the walk over from the dorms 😉

 

[gampelcrazies]

Are there any fans on here or that you know of that got priced out and didn't buy season tickets? I personally don't think the empty seats and bad crowds at both venues are 100% because of this. In fact I don't think most of the empty seats are owned by season ticket holders/donors

 

[Huskie837]

Last night we was the first time I parked at Towers, which was clutch.

Since my Airbnb was north of campus in Tolland, it was a rare spot on campus that is past every traffic light on 195 and has a nice, well-lit cut-through between the various places of worship. It's a bit of a walk, but I don't mind it and I'd much rather spend 10-15 minutes walking back to my car than sit in garage or stop light traffic.

Yeah, I got a "secret" spot as well. Little bit of a walk but getting those steps in!

 

[Palatine]

Long week end, Valentine's Day, whatever. It doesn't really mean anything.

 

[Trudy Gay]

It really is a question of prioritization. If game day experience and the look of a game on television is important then change the pricing structure and put students along the sidelines. But what they actually are looking to maximize is revenue. So corporate Season ticket holders money is the priority, regardless of whether people show up or not.

I've long advocated for a school run sell back program where STHs can pledge back their tickets to the school for resale at a cost of 50% of whatever the school ultimately realizes. That way, the cost of season tickets is mitigated, the school gets to sell the same seats twice, game day experience gets maximized with more butts in the seat, and the UConn brand gets enhanced because television show shows a sold out arena.

Some people have suggested that having a "official reseller" in StubHub, or whomever they use is an adequate substitute for this. I would disagree. That relies on the Season ticket holders to be willing to invest the time to list and sell the tickets, and allows them to set the market price. Having the school do this allows the school to set a price point to fill the arena, and, offer the tickets first to students, if that's a priority. Literally,

Well yes they already have the former and it’s clearly not working. Season ticket holders can log into their account and click “sell tickets” I believe it’s through seatgeek but not sure, all they have to do is click the button and either set a price or use dynamic pricing and seatgeek does the rest.

 

[Hoophound]

Things are not going well for UConn basketball (relatively, anyway) so this discussion has gone from the University of Connecticut itself stinks, to the state of Connecticut is bad, and onto the entire Northeast is a problem.

As always, scary to think what happens when actual losses arrive

The lack of marquee games is a problem right now. The conference having a down year definitely hurts. Our fans aren’t gonna show up and go crazy about beating a .500 team. That’s a lost cause in the Northeast. If we had a stronger schedule at home, we’d be full.

I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. The crowd looked and sounded fine on TV and I see empty seats at tons of high major games these days. This isn’t UK or KU. Our fans are surrounded by big time sports. I’m a huge fan and I still chose other things over UConn games from time to time when I lived there. There is an awful lot going on in the Northeast, especially if you like hockey, the NFL or the NBA. Don’t even get me started on all the concerts that come through the region.

When you have all those options, it’s tough to sell a game against Georgetown or Butler, especially at $100-$500 per ticket. Honestly, if I told my family we were gonna get pizza and go to the UConn game and it was going to cost me $1000 or more for the 5 of us, they’d tell me they’d rather go snowboarding or go the mall with their $200. Even kids can see the pricing is absurd.

 

[HooperScooper]

The lack of marquee games is a problem right now. The conference having a down year definitely hurts. Our fans aren’t gonna show up and go crazy about beating a .500 team. That’s a lost cause in the Northeast. If we had a stronger schedule at home, we’d be full.

I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. The crowd looked and sounded fine on TV and I see empty seats at tons of high major games these days. This isn’t UK or KU. Our fans are surrounded by big time sports. I’m a huge fan and I still chose other things over UConn games from time to time when I lived there. There is an awful lot going on in the Northeast, especially if you like hockey, the NFL or the NBA. Don’t even get me started on all the concerts that come through the region.

When you have all those options, it’s tough to sell a game against Georgetown or Butler, especially at $100-$500 per ticket. Honestly, if I told my family we were gonna get pizza and go to the UConn game and it was going to cost me $1000 or more for the 5 of us, they’d tell me they’d rather go snowboarding or go the mall with their $200. Even kids can see the pricing is absurd.

Wasn't Hurley's complaint just about the student section this past Saturday? Were there other empty seats? I guess someone needs to ask the students who had those tickets and didn't go to the game why they didn't go. We used to love Saturday night games. Drink before the game. Go to the game. And then go out after the game. Perfect Saturday night on campus.

 

[Edward Sargent]

Ed should worry about his own house. He can't even fill a high school gym.

 

[Nicklo28]

I do think the price of tickets to UConn games has a direct effect on the atmosphere.

 

[Stew Crew]

Wasn't this mostly just about the student section this past Saturday? I guess someone needs to ask the students who had those tickets and didn't go to the game why they didn't go. We used to love Saturday night games. Drink before the game. Go to the game. And then go out after the game. Perfect Saturday night on campus.

Yes it was. Most of the arena was full. Not a lot of empty seats, at least from what I could see. I sit on the north side so I don't have good visibility to upper level bleachers.. The west end student section was mostly empty at tip off. It filled in a little but was still at least half empty for the game.

 

[Edward Sargent]

This is a pretty fair point. I mentioned in a thread a few weeks ago that I can't remember being less enthusiastic to watch our league games in recent memory. Every game is a slog. It's just not attractive basketball. I blame the Big East really, it forces ugly basketball. We had good crowds at some non-conference games.

At least its not the AAC or maybe it is?

 

[Vancat]

Hard to keep excited & engaged when it's
AWESOME
UGH!
AWESOME
UGH!
TIMEOUT
UGH!
AWESOME
REPLAY
UGH!
YEAH!
WTF?
That gets exhausting.

 

[6in25]

Hard to keep excited & engaged when it's
AWESOME
UGH!
AWESOME
UGH!
TIMEOUT
UGH!
AWESOME
REPLAY
UGH!
YEAH!
WTF?
That gets exhausting.

It's 2 hours of your life...I believe in you.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

This is a pretty fair point. I mentioned in a thread a few weeks ago that I can't remember being less enthusiastic to watch our league games in recent memory. Every game is a slog. It's just not attractive basketball. I blame the Big East really, it forces ugly basketball. We had good crowds at some non-conference games.

Although there's truth to this, our BE opponents sure don't seem to have issues pushing pace for fast breaks, pulling off pick & rolls for alley-oop dunks, drive-and-dishing for open jams, and having rebounded putback jams...

All told, we get this stuff consistently thrown at us at least 4-5x/game from otherwise inferior opponents.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Wasn't Hurley's complaint just about the student section this past Saturday? Were there other empty seats? I guess someone needs to ask the students who had those tickets and didn't go to the game why they didn't go. We used to love Saturday night games. Drink before the game. Go to the game. And then go out after the game. Perfect Saturday night on campus.

It was.

And as I wrote in my rant, the empty seats + the lack of a pulse from the students sitting in the overflow section was outright pathetic and it's my clearest complaint about the crowd in the game.

 

[uconnric]

I think the attendance speaks to the weakness in the central CT economy. The economy is not picking up enough wins of its own up there.

Now you're veering way off course. And it was a decent crowd considering the time, location (It's a great campus but not a convenient location), date of the game and a so-so opponent.

 

[CL82]

Well yes they already have the former and it’s clearly not working. Season ticket holders can log into their account and click “sell tickets” I believe it’s through seatgeek but not sure, all they have to do is click the button and either set a price or use dynamic pricing and seatgeek does

The thing that makes that less effective, in my view, is not keeping the school in the loop.

 

[BlueandOG]

I'm a little disappointed in Hurley for backing up Cooley's troll comments about our Fanbase....Hurley fell for the trolling. UConn fanbase is fine, G'Town sucks and is irrelevant like most of the BE teams unfortunately. Hard to get batshit crazy playing these mostly garbage BE teams.

I totally agree with this. Cooley knew his comment would rattle Hurley. We are having an AMAZING season! Don't let this nonsense be a distraction. Win regardless of who is in the stands.

 

[IndyLives]

More reason for UConn to get out of the Big East yesterday (besides the economic realities of NIL, media $$, transfer portal).

The old BE had real rivalry & the fans fed off of that. Seriously, who besides maybe a good St. Johns or Villanova team today will generate any heat among the fans? Answer: None. And, they expect fans to pay $100-$150 for an average seat?!?

BTW, same thing is happening to the women's team as well. The last few games, Gampell has been half-empty for them.