Student Section is a Joke

[Bonehead]

Give away $5000 to a student in their seat; must be present to win. Announce with 1 minute left in 4th quarter??

 

[Guapo]

Our fanbase is full of spoiled frontrunners. Fairweather fans to the extreme. How is anyone arguing to the contrary?

Lol well I think the only real counter argument is that all fanbases are like that and that this isn’t an issue unique to UConn

 

[whaler11]

But there are enough people to fill a Double A ballpark every night? It seems like the people going to that are younger and fun! The Yard Goats market and brand very well. UConn...not so much.

1. Novelty factor is still high
2. The attendance numbers are more inflated than tires on a monster truck
3. For profit business that employes private sector employees
4. The facility is light years better
5. Less competition on stuff to do especially youth sports
6. Centrally located in and out
7. Nobody cares who wins so you just leave when you get bored.
8. Perceived as family friendly and more affordable
9. People like to be outside in nice weather

The Rent had a novelty period too. So did New Britain Stadium.

 

[Stainmaster]

Lol well I think the only real counter argument is that all fanbases are like that and that this isn’t an issue unique to UConn

To this extent? It’s wholly unique.

 

[Guapo]

To this extent? It’s wholly unique.

For football? Maybe. What’s really unique is that we’re a large flagship state school that focuses on basketball.

If you think our basketball fanbase is uniquely “bad” than, buddy, you need to get out of Tolland County more.

 

[Guapo]

1. Novelty factor is still high
2. The attendance numbers are more inflated than tires on a monster truck
3. For profit business that employes private sector employees
4. The facility is light years better
5. Less competition on stuff to do especially youth sports
6. Centrally located in and out
7. Nobody cares who wins so you just leave when you get bored.
8. Perceived as family friendly and more affordable
9. People like to be outside in nice weather

The Rent had a novelty period too. So did New Britain Stadium.

Yup, all that is fair. But there still seems to be youngish people that go! At least according to my social media feeds...

 

[Irishfan]

I only mentioned DC because I was rubbing shoulders with alumni bases from all over.

Don’t even get me started on my experiences since moving to Atlanta. Most SEC fanbases take an almost bizarre pride in not caring about basketball.

At UGA - in all seriousness - the basketball program might be lower on the totem poll than the gymnastics and baseball programs.

Most of my family attended SEC schools. You are 100% correct, it’s all football, and then everything else. ( with the possible exception of Kentucky where it is about 50/50 football and basketball). Its hard to explain the way these schools value football over every other sport, except that ND does it as well. So while it is hard to explain, it is easy to understand

 

[Stainmaster]

For football? Maybe. What’s really unique is that we’re a large flagship state school that focuses on basketball.

If you think our basketball fanbase is uniquely “bad” than, buddy, you need to get out of Tolland County more.

The basketball fanbase only exists in the first place because of miraculous postseason runs. HuskyMania and the subsequent growth of the program is tied directly to a program that competed at the most elite level of the entire sport. That is the only thing that drew people in, not history or tradition or intrinsic connection to the university.

Look at the shift in “fan” enthusiasm once the NBE move was made and you’ll understand.

 

[Northbound]

Comical.

Win games.

Students should go to the games with sacks on their heads a la Northwestern or the Saints during their respective epic bad runs.

 

[Guapo]

The basketball fanbase only exists in the first place because of miraculous postseason runs. HuskyMania and the subsequent growth of the program is tied directly to a program that competed at the most elite level of the entire sport. That is the only thing that drew people in, not history or tradition or intrinsic connection to the university.

Look at the shift in “fan” enthusiasm once the NBE move was made and you’ll understand.

Look, of course that is true but that isn’t unique to UConn in any way. Every team with a large fanbase can tie that fanbases growth to a specific event or “miraculous post season run”

 

[Exit 4]

1. Novelty factor is still high
2. The attendance numbers are more inflated than tires on a monster truck
3. For profit business that employes private sector employees
4. The facility is light years better
5. Less competition on stuff to do especially youth sports
6. Centrally located in and out
7. Nobody cares who wins so you just leave when you get bored.
8. Perceived as family friendly and more affordable
9. People like to be outside in nice weather

The Rent had a novelty period too. So did New Britain Stadium.

Just adding: Approx 65 home dates....mostly in June/July/Aug ....outdoor time! 3hr event

 

[Stainmaster]

Look, of course that is true but that isn’t unique to UConn in any way. Every team with a large fanbase can tie that fanbases growth to a specific event or “miraculous post season run”

Or those teams with large fan bases had big-time athletic departments and basketball programs from the start, rather than competing against mainly America East schools for most of the 20th century.

 

[Husky25]

Right but it still shows a level of fan commitment and engagement that they’re able to draw every night

It's only holds 6,000. If Rentschler sat 10,000 at the FBS level, it'd be packed.

Re: the Yardgoats, I'd be interested in true turnstile data. Season tickets are pretty in expensive for minor league sports and it's not a huge loss to miss a weeknight game. Also, not only do they in all likelihood base attendance on tickets distributed, they inflate official attendance by a not so insignificant value. The Whale did it too. They all do it.

 

[Guapo]

The basketball fanbase only exists in the first place because of miraculous postseason runs. HuskyMania and the subsequent growth of the program is tied directly to a program that competed at the most elite level of the entire sport. That is the only thing that drew people in, not history or tradition or intrinsic connection to the university.

Look at the shift in “fan” enthusiasm once the NBE move was made and you’ll understand.

Look, of course that is true but that isn’t unique to UConn in any way. Every team with a large fanbase can tie that fanbases growth to a specific event or “miraculous post season run”

The Tobacco Road schools were football schools until some guy decided to broadcast the 1957 national championship between UNC and WILT CHAMBERLAIN (and Kansas) on local TV in Raleigh touching off a mania for ACC basketball in the region.

 

[Guapo]

Or those teams with large fan bases had big-time athletic departments and basketball programs from the start, rather than competing against mainly America East schools for most of the 20th century.

The Tobacco Road schools were football schools until some guy decided to broadcast the 1957 national championship between UNC and WILT CHAMBERLAIN (and Kansas) on local TV in Raleigh touching off a mania for ACC basketball in the region.

How is what I described above and Dave Gavitt deciding to broadcast big time northeastern basketball 22 years later much different?

 

[Husky25]

Yup, all that is fair. But there still seems to be youngish people that go! At least according to my social media feeds...

How Youngish? If they are going during the week, young kids don't have school the next morning and their is no flack for leaving early. If they are driving age, they don't have to go with parents. Younger teens might be dropped off and picked up.

 

[Guapo]

How is what I described above and Dave Gavitt deciding to broadcast big time northeastern basketball 22 years later much different?

@Stainmaster don’t buy into ESPN’s myth making regarding the ACC.

The “historic” Duke-UNC rivalry traces its roots to the ancient year of...1961 when Larry Brown (yes! That Larry Brown, the one that is still alive and cheating in this conference till a couple years ago) fought Art Heyman. That was just 3 years before Duke played UConn in the elite eight for the first time.

College basketball history isn’t the same as college football. You can’t use the same time scale.

 

[CL82]

Just look at this coming season - the home games are pointless unless you are a junkie. If they win who cares, if they lose it’s a disaster.

Or unless you are invested in the home team. When I was at school we got up for the big games, but we got up for the small games too. We went to football at Memorial with the the expectation that the team would lose. (Although to your earlier point, we did have a keg - probably were at least 3 IIRC, ours was at the 50 yard line.) We'd also go to the soccer games, but the soccer team was good and went on to win a natty while I was there.

The difference, apparently, is that now people are going not to support the school team but to be entertained. It's more of a pro mind set. I think people here nailed it in that in the internet age there's a ton of choices all the time so people are more, uh, let's call it more discriminating. That and HDTV probably are the two biggest contributing factors. Tough to know how to change that. Winning helps but, as you point out, isn't a panacea.

 

[Guapo]

How Youngish? If they are going during the week, young kids don't have school the next morning and their is no flack for leaving early. If they are driving age, they don't have to go with parents. Younger teens might be dropped off and picked up.

Mid to late 20’s

 

[Husky25]

Mid to late 20’s

So folks with disposable income and nothing better to do for an hour or two on a Summer Afternoon/Evening.

In other words, the 9 reasons @whaler11 pointed out.

 

[Guapo]

So folks with disposable income and nothing better to do for an hour or two on a Summer Afternoon/Evening.

In other words, the 9 reasons @whaler11 pointed out.

Well yeah aside from the whole part about people in greater Hartford being too old to attend sporting events

 

[BlueMAB]

The Tobacco Road schools were football schools until some guy decided to broadcast the 1957 national championship between UNC and WILT CHAMBERLAIN (and Kansas) on local TV in Raleigh touching off a mania for ACC basketball in the region.

Jeff Jacobs was around back then? Wow.

 

[BlueMAB]

It's only holds 6,000. If Rentschler sat 10,000 at the FBS level, it'd be packed.

Re: the Yardgoats, I'd be interested in true turnstile data. Season tickets are pretty in expensive for minor league sports and it's not a huge loss to miss a weeknight game. Also, not only do they in all likelihood base attendance on tickets distributed, they inflate official attendance by a not so insignificant value. The Whale did it too. They all do it.

I was told they count heads in the building. Staff, security, police, EMT, players, coaches, grounds crew, vendors... everybody. Probably adds 500+/-(??) which, for the Rent is insignificant, but for the Yard Goats could be a roughly 8% bump in attendance figures.

 

[uconnbill]

They walked out after Illinois scored 24 straight points. How many adults were thinking "Here we go again." ?

You stay through half time to see how the Huskies come out. No games are over at halftime, period.
Most students are not football fans and go for everything else. I miss fans in the student section like Blue and White Kid who also were there through thick an thin

 

[gampelcrazies]

But what I don't get is why did the student section leave at halftime? It was a close game.

 

[businesslawyer]

Look, of course that is true but that isn’t unique to UConn in any way. Every team with a large fanbase can tie that fanbases growth to a specific event or “miraculous post season run”

I'm sorry -- it's not true. We sold out the HCC for big games in the Corny Thompson era before we were competing at a national level.

 

[Guapo]

I'm sorry -- it's not true. We sold out the HCC for big games in the Corny Thompson era before we were competing at a national level.

Right. Tell that to @Stainmaster

 

[kemba]

Thought the turn out wasn't terrible. I got in about 15-20 min before kickoff and thought wow this place is empty but the student section looks pretty good. And the mass exodus was pretty bad but that's normal for the students when things aren't looking good. Shocking how quiet they were though, absolutely dead even in the first quarter. Up until the last 2 years if they were there in any type of numbers you could count on them to be loud.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

A lot of it has to do to the fact that the journey is usually a lot more exciting than the destination.

The fanbase had been spoiled beyond belief and then we had our league swept from under our feet and left on an island by ourselves.

It really was just a completely perfect #2 storm of things to happen.

Then when you look into the other issues, i.e. two stadiums, alumni leaving the state, different type of student attending the school, it further stacks against our situation.

I think the Big East move will give hoops a shot in the arm. Football is forever relegated to second class, but a good 7,8 win UConn team I think could still hit 30k+ for a name brand school or a local rival.

 

[Guapo]

A lot of it has to do to the fact that the journey is usually a lot more exciting than the destination.

The fanbase had been spoiled beyond belief and then we had our league swept from under our feet and left on an island by ourselves.

It really was just a completely perfect #2 storm of things to happen.

Then when you look into the other issues, i.e. two stadiums, alumni leaving the state, different type of student attending the school, it further stacks against our situation.

I think the Big East move will give hoops a shot in the arm. Football is forever relegated to second class, but a good 7,8 win UConn team I think could still hit 30k+ for a name brand school or a local rival.

Which is basically where we were at during the the first Edsall regime.