OT: Rant: Couldn't the Committee assign top 16 playing dates now?

[TheFarmFan]

Ok, I realize there are probably a bunch of good reasons why the committee can't just announce their top 16 now and settle on which dates each of those teams will be hosting games, but man, it sure would be nice if they could, because at this point all of the remaining leagues involve no teams with a credible chance of a Top 16 rank, so nothing is going to change who gets to host between now and next Monday.

However, the difference between booking 2 weeks out and booking 4-5 days out in terms of hotel availability, plane ticket prices, and ability to get time off work is huge. And whether your team is likely to play Friday-Sunday or Saturday-Monday really changes what your logistics might look like if you want to make yourself available for those games. (And even if you live locally, quite frankly, it'd be nice to know in advance to plan one's life - some people work weekend shifts, need babysitters, have responsibilities to other family members, etc.).

I like said - I know there are good reasons not to do this (and I'm sure some of y'all will explain to me exactly why I'm in the wrong), but if they want to enhance fan attendance, they should find a way to give fans more time in advance to make plans to attend!

Rant over. Carry on with your day.

 

[oldude]

Ok, I realize there are probably a bunch of good reasons why the committee can't just announce their top 16 now and settle on which dates each of those teams will be hosting games, but man, it sure would be nice if they could, because at this point all of the remaining leagues involve no teams with a credible chance of a Top 16 rank, so nothing is going to change who gets to host between now and next Monday.

However, the difference between booking 2 weeks out and booking 4-5 days out in terms of hotel availability, plane ticket prices, and ability to get time off work is huge. And whether your team is likely to play Friday-Sunday or Saturday-Monday really changes what your logistics might look like if you want to make yourself available for those games. (And even if you live locally, quite frankly, it'd be nice to know in advance to plan one's life - some people work weekend shifts, need babysitters, have responsibilities to other family members, etc.).

I like said - I know there are good reasons not to do this (and I'm sure some of y'all will explain to me exactly why I'm in the wrong), but if they want to enhance fan attendance, they should find a way to give fans more time in advance to make plans to attend!

Rant over. Carry on with your day.

Sorry, but you’re talking to a bunch of UConn fans here. We purchased our tickets and booked our travel to Albany last October.

In all seriousness, you do make a valid point. The Cardinal could legitimately be assigned to any one of the 4 regions by the Selection Committee, and Palo Alto is not within driving distance of any one of them, unless you consider making the 11 hour drive to Portland.

I feel your pain.

 

[ochoopsfan]

I agree 100%.
Unless this info is out somewhere that I am not aware of.

 

[meyers7]

Actually, considering how much the NCAA tries to put teams where they can get the most attendance, it would be in their best interest to release that info as early as possible.

However, on the other hand it would not be very fair to the fans of the other 48 teams.

However, on the 3rd hand, most of the 16 team fans know they will be hosting and can make arrangements. At least for the 1 round. But yea it would be nice to know where they "might" go for the next round.

 

[TheFarmFan]

However, on the other hand it would not be very fair to the fans of the other 48 teams.

I mean, is it fair that the top 16 teams get to host solely because it helps fan attendance? No. But they've conceded giving top 16 teams an edge because it helps turnout. This would too - I actually think waiting so long to announce it simply undermines the stated goal of the top 16 teams getting to host their first two rounds: enhanced ticket sales and fan attendance.

However, on the 3rd hand, most of the 16 team fans know they will be hosting and can make arrangements. At least for the 1 round. But yea it would be nice to know where they "might" go for the next round.

Even the first two rounds are not yet concrete, as they could be either Friday-Sunday or Saturday-Monday, and they could be as early as Friday at noon or as late as Monday at 8 p.m. In my case, I can only attend the weekend game (either the round one Saturday game or *hopefully* round two game Sunday), so I basically need to plan on being available the entire weekend because I don't yet know which day, and which time, the game will be held. That's a really wide window to keep open and for alums who aren't local, we still need to make travel arrangements even to catch one of the two games at home. And in theory, there's no reason why they couldn't set the game days and times for the top 16 teams, even if they don't yet announce which brackets/regions they're in, or who their opponents will be.

And yeah, it gets even worse in terms of attending regional finals, because the difference between getting to Portland and getting to Greensboro is extremely significant.

 

[meyers7]

Even the first two rounds are not yet concrete, as they could be either Friday-Sunday or Saturday-Monday, and they could be as early as Friday at noon or as late as Monday at 8 p.m. In my case, I can only attend the weekend game (either the round one Saturday game or *hopefully* round two game Sunday), so I basically need to plan on being available the entire weekend because I don't yet know which day, and which time, the game will be held. That's a really wide window to keep open and for alums who aren't local, we still need to make travel arrangements even to catch one of the two games at home. And in theory, there's no reason why they couldn't set the game days and times for the top 16 teams, even if they don't yet announce which brackets/regions they're in, or who their opponents will be.

And yeah, it gets even worse in terms of attending regional finals, because the difference between getting to Portland and getting to Greensboro is extremely significant.

Good points. I wasn't thinking of that.

 

[Bama fan]

Ok, I realize there are probably a bunch of good reasons why the committee can't just announce their top 16 now and settle on which dates each of those teams will be hosting games, but man, it sure would be nice if they could, because at this point all of the remaining leagues involve no teams with a credible chance of a Top 16 rank, so nothing is going to change who gets to host between now and next Monday.

However, the difference between booking 2 weeks out and booking 4-5 days out in terms of hotel availability, plane ticket prices, and ability to get time off work is huge. And whether your team is likely to play Friday-Sunday or Saturday-Monday really changes what your logistics might look like if you want to make yourself available for those games. (And even if you live locally, quite frankly, it'd be nice to know in advance to plan one's life - some people work weekend shifts, need babysitters, have responsibilities to other family members, etc.).

I like said - I know there are good reasons not to do this (and I'm sure some of y'all will explain to me exactly why I'm in the wrong), but if they want to enhance fan attendance, they should find a way to give fans more time in advance to make plans to attend!

Rant over. Carry on with your day.

 

[LoTrader]

Thanks for the Queen video--had not seen this one before. What a great band!

 

[river rat]

I went online to the conn ticket site to see when round 1 and 2 would be.. they do not know yet... but they are selling tickets.. so I went to buy 4, and they will not let you pick where, nor tell you what is available... So I called... got placed on hold and after 5 minutes they hang up on you.. so of course that happened. I called again today and spoke to two women, the second was in the ticket office. I have tickets to the mens region in hartford on thur/sat, so I was hoping they would schedule different days for the women. They did not know if the NCAA would consider that the venues were close and may have people wanting to go to both.

I asked if the lower bowl was filled at gamble, she did not know because those with "points" get first dibs , so on 2 leaps of faith,(1. schedule away from Mens NCAA, and 2 some good seats left) I bought the tickets.

 

[Monte]

They should get help from Ticketmaster?????????

 

[ctkaiser]

They should get help from Ticketmaster?????????

Let's not even go there. The idea that Ticketmaster is good at what they do is a joke. I guess you didn't see the thread about Albany regional tickets. Some of us had to call to get tickets sent. Now I have 2 sets of tickets and had to call today to see which set I should use. Just because Ticketmaster has been doing this for 50 years doesn't mean they're good at doing any part of it except applying their fees. Uconn has to defer to those with season tickets who will be emailed tickets on 3/19. Once that happens you should be able to buy tickets and pick a seat location.

 

[Monte]

Let's not even go there. The idea that Ticketmaster is good at what they do is a joke. I guess you didn't see the thread about Albany regional tickets. Some of us had to call to get tickets sent. Now I have 2 sets of tickets and had to call today to see which set I should use. Just because Ticketmaster has been doing this for 50 years doesn't mean they're good at doing any part of it except applying their fees. Uconn has to defer to those with season tickets who will be emailed tickets on 3/19. Once that happens you should be able to buy tickets and pick a seat location.

Just kidding; I just got mine; contacted them 7 times.

 

[river rat]

I bought tickets for first and second round today... the ticket people did not know if the games were fri/sun or sat/mon... the emailed confirmation said Saturday - Monday... I hope the games start early as I have tickets to the mens 2nd round which are at 6pm(says stubhub), NCAA still says TBA.
You cannot pick where your seats are in Gampel

 

[HuskyBandDad]

Can you say "ESPN".

 

[river rat]

Yes, uconn is selling tickets, no date promised, no time, no seats picked yet, until they hear back from season ticket people

 

[Vowelguy]

Ok, I realize there are probably a bunch of good reasons why the committee can't just announce their top 16 now and settle on which dates each of those teams will be hosting games,

1) They don't always know the top 16 until later in the week.
2) The dates and times are not set until the whole bracket is filled out. Need to evaluate matchups, time zones, travel.

 

[CompSci87]

Was your order placed directly from the school? I haven't seen anything yet from Stanford about when tickets will be available to buy. Thanks!

Stanford is selling round 1-2 tickets to season ticket holders now. I ordered mine a few days ago. They go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, according to the email I received. Dates are March 23 and 25 according to the email.

 

[willingtonfan]

I mean, is it fair that the top 16 teams get to host solely because it helps fan attendance? No. But they've conceded giving top 16 teams an edge because it helps turnout. This would too - I actually think waiting so long to announce it simply undermines the stated goal of the top 16 teams getting to host their first two rounds: enhanced ticket sales and fan attendance.



Even the first two rounds are not yet concrete, as they could be either Friday-Sunday or Saturday-Monday, and they could be as early as Friday at noon or as late as Monday at 8 p.m. In my case, I can only attend the weekend game (either the round one Saturday game or *hopefully* round two game Sunday), so I basically need to plan on being available the entire weekend because I don't yet know which day, and which time, the game will be held. That's a really wide window to keep open and for alums who aren't local, we still need to make travel arrangements even to catch one of the two games at home. And in theory, there's no reason why they couldn't set the game days and times for the top 16 teams, even if they don't yet announce which brackets/regions they're in, or who their opponents will be.

And yeah, it gets even worse in terms of attending regional finals, because the difference between getting to Portland and getting to Greensboro is extremely significant.

Actually there is a reason.

The schedule of the subregion (1st & 2nd rounds) is dictated by which region you are in, so that everyone has roughly equal rest between games. So until it is known whether top four seeded team x is playing a Friday/Sunday regional or a Saturday/Monday regional there can be no announcement about the schedule of the subregion they are hosting because it will track that schedule.

I hope this explanation is helpful.

 

[Vowelguy]

Actually there is a reason.

The schedule of the subregion (1st & 2nd rounds) is dictated by which region you are in, so that everyone has roughly equal rest between games.

This is not true.

Look only at last year's bracket.
Albany: 3 Sat/Mon, 1 Fri/Sun
KC: 3 Sat/Mon, 1 Fri/Sun
Lexi: 3 Fri/Sun, 1 Sat/Mon
Spok: 3 Fri/Sun, 1 Sat/Mon

Ditto 2017.