UCONN Home Game Atmosphere

[TheChamps990411]

For those of you who went to the Kansas game or have been their for a game, what is the experience like? How great is the atmosphere?

What needs to be done for UCONN to have that type of atmosphere and home court advantage?

For me, there was change the university made was removing the creativity and fun from the students and the student section maybe around 2010?. They also essentially got rid of the XL Center student section.

UCONN also needs to ditch the XL Center and upgrade Gampel.

Allen Fieldhouse is the best arena atmosphere in cbb no question. It outdoes Cameron, Rupp and the Dean dome easily. Gampel/XL arent even top 10 so the comparison isnt close and wont be. The student section at Allen is 3 times the size of Camerons sitting courtsize. Until we can get that type of student section we cant even have a discussion.

 

[John]

You should go to football games. They’ll promise a promotion giveaway upon entrance, only to find out it’s in one specific entrance near blue lot and they always “run out” of the merchandise. It’s hysterical at this point.

They've all but done away with compelling halftime shows.

 

[boog204]

Haven’t been to AFH but did I see a few games at Cole Field House (Maryland) back in the day and it is just such a different, more vibrant atmosphere. Games at Gampel are kinda boring from the student standpoint and I say this as someone who had season tickets from 99-02. Even the loudest games I remember (MSU in 99) did not have the same buzz as a random Maryland-NC St game at the same time. AFH seemed like an incredible atmosphere and I think it definitely contributed to how sluggish we were at the start.

 

[FriarJ]

I totalled it up once manually on a long plane ride. It was virtually the same in both places. Both Big East and overall. That was about 5 years ago.

I find that hard to believe. XL is like our 2nd home court. Gampel is a nightmare.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Allen Fieldhouse is the best arena atmosphere in cbb no question. It outdoes Cameron, Rupp and the Dean dome easily. Gampel/XL arent even top 10 so the comparison isnt close and wont be. The student section at Allen is 3 times the size of Camerons sitting courtsize. Until we can get that type of student section we cant even have a discussion.

I do put blame on the students for not getting into it more, putting pressure on the AD for giving them more freedom and working with them, but at some point the finger has to be pointed at the AD and the rest of the fans

 

[UConnSwag11]

I find that hard to believe. XL is like our 2nd home court. Gampel is a nightmare.

That’s what I thought. Teams seem to shoot better and perform better at XL. Does XL get louder than Gampel? I’d assume so with 6,000 more people (if the game is sold out). Gampel does get very, very loud so it’s not like it’s ND or UNC. Gampel’s arena is great for a home court advantage with how the seating is setup. Right up to the court.

 

[TheChamps990411]

I do put blame on the students for not getting into it more, putting pressure on the AD for giving them more freedom and working with them, but at some point the finger has to be pointed at the AD and the rest of the fans

I think thats bs. Its far more profitable to sell the tickets for crazy prices than it is to give them to the students.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I find that hard to believe. XL is like our 2nd home court. Gampel is a nightmare.

I think PC is a unique case. There are almost no tickets for Big East games at Gampel. There are at XL, and a school and hour away can take advantage of that.

Some decisions should be obvious, like XL games during winter break. But rather than playing tougher opponents at Gampel, I’d prioritize playinh closer schools at Gampel. PC, St. John’s, Nova. Play Marquette Xavier and Creighton at XL.

 

[husky429]

That’s what I thought. Teams seem to shoot better and perform better at XL. Does XL get louder than Gampel? I’d assume so with 6,000 more people (if the game is sold out). Gampel does get very, very loud so it’s not like it’s ND or UNC. Gampel’s arena is great for a home court advantage with how the seating is setup. Right up to the court.

The data does not back this up.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Allen Fieldhouse is the best arena atmosphere in cbb no question. It outdoes Cameron, Rupp and the Dean dome easily. Gampel/XL arent even top 10 so the comparison isnt close and wont be. The student section at Allen is 3 times the size of Camerons sitting courtsize. Until we can get that type of student section we cant even have a discussion.

In fairness half the student section at Allen is reserved for undercover feds monitoring their wiretaps.

 

[krinklecut]

Students need to all be in the same color. When I was there, all students got the same t shirt to wear. Students need to be LOUD. We jumped up and down and screamed the entire time we were on defense every possession.

Dream scenario is moving overflow students to the lower bowl, or even sideline. So tired of hearing about how we need to reserve that space for blue hairs from Fairfield with money.

 

[John]

Students need to all be in the same color. When I was there, all students got the same t shirt to wear. Students need to be LOUD. We jumped up and down and screamed the entire time we were on defense every possession.

Dream scenario is moving overflow students to the lower bowl, or even sideline. So tired of hearing about how we need to reserve that space for blue hairs from Fairfield with money.

Donor money's kind of important.

 

[Waquoit]

UConn's student section in Gampel wasn't even close to full in the non-NCAA years.

 

[krinklecut]

Donor money's kind of important.

It’s important for other schools too but they figured it out. It would be rough for a year or two but it would equalize and they’d get over it.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

UConn's student section in Gampel wasn't even close to full in the non-NCAA years.

Facts.

Students need to all be in the same color. When I was there, all students got the same t shirt to wear. Students need to be LOUD. We jumped up and down and screamed the entire time we were on defense every possession.

Dream scenario is moving overflow students to the lower bowl, or even sideline. So tired of hearing about how we need to reserve that space for blue hairs from Fairfield with money.

Maybe the first row of students (20 kids?) did that for bigger games. Let's not act like Gampel suddenly became Cameron Indoor.

 

[John]

It’s important for other schools too but they figured it out. It would be rough for a year or two but it would equalize and they’d get over it.

at this point it's a little more important in our peculiar case.

 

[Waquoit]

It’s important for other schools too but they figured it out. It would be rough for a year or two but it would equalize and they’d get over it.

How many other schools have won 5 times in 24 years? Maybe they could be more like UConn.

 

[krinklecut]

Maybe the first row of students (20 kids?) did that for bigger games. Let's not act like Gampel suddenly became Cameron Indoor.

When I was there (08-11) it was pretty much the entire main side of the student section.

 

[krinklecut]

How many other schools have won 5 times in 24 years? Maybe they could be more like UConn.

Okay, but the topic of this thread is gameday atmosphere

 

[DGRU]

We were in Lawrence (1st trip) and The Phog is amazing. The venue has a Fenway Park historic feel to it, but with some modern amenities added around the perimeter. Painted wooden bleacher seating through much of the arena, but they allow more knee room than Gampel. The angle of the bleachers is a bit less severe as well. Its a pretty good view. (we were near the rafters.)
Hot as @k. Students are super organized with chants and rituals.

We had a good, vocal Uconn contingent and we made a lot of noise that did not go unnoticed by Hurley, the media and certainly the KU faithful. (the kansas people were very polite and welcoming, almost to the point of annoyance).

We played like ass (everyone except Newton) and had no Castle. He was exactly what we needed to break that defense. Looking forward to March and hopeful we get them again. They are overated and we are maybe a little underrated, even with all the hype.

Dickinson plays to the crowd every time he even farts. So needy

 

[Waquoit]

Okay, but the topic of this thread is gameday atmosphere

And you want to throw away what's working for an incremental improvement.

 

[krinklecut]

And you want to throw away what's working for an incremental improvement.

This thread was started because people experienced AFH and thought “man that was awesome, how do we get some of that magic?”

By your logic, Gampel needs no improvements, XL needs no improvements, the floor at XL is fine, no notes on anything and no room for improvement because we’ve seen success.

 

[UConnSwag11]

How many other schools have won 5 times in 24 years? Maybe they could be more like UConn.

Agreed but that has nothing to do with getting the best home court advantage and atmosphere.

 

[AD DB Burner]

I think we could start by showing up on time and before tip. 30 minutes before tip at AFH looked like a UConn home game 5 minutes before tip.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

When I was there (08-11) it was pretty much the entire main side of the student section.

05-09 and I'll agree to disagree.

 

[Waquoit]

This thread was started because people experienced AFH and thought “man that was awesome, how do we get some of that magic?” By your logic, Gampel needs no improvements, XL needs no improvements, the floor at XL is fine, no notes on anything and no room for improvement because we’ve seen success.

And by your logic, big donors are going to be good with a bunch of knuckleheads standing up in front of them the entire game.

Y'wanna get some of that magic here? Play the same game in Gampel. Done.

 

[Skies2018]

As a fairly recent graduate I’d say the Gampel experience is a bit lackluster when considering our elite status in the sport. A few reasons come to mind:

1. Mansfield is tiny and not into sports compared to these Big 10/12 college towns. There aren’t a ton of bars to go to beforehand, the parking sucks, and the townsfolk just aren’t into it. They resent the university rather than embrace it. Completely different from other places in the country. Which is sad.

2. The arena itself kind of sucks. It’s an old ugly nipple in the middle of campus that until a few years ago didn’t serve beer. Theres no real history in it either so I’m not sure why they haven’t built a more modern one for their flagship programs.

3. The teams we play there aren’t that exciting. Usually it gets crazy for Villanova or a good Marquette team but nobody’s really thrilled to play St John’s or DePaul. It’s not like we’re playing other big state schools.

4. There is a lack of tradition. There’s nothing that’s passed down by the classes or alumni, people just pregame and show up. Besides a couple chants it’s really just like a professional environment - nothing really school specific.

 

[KingAG]

As a fairly recent graduate I’d say the Gampel experience is a bit lackluster when considering our elite status in the sport. A few reasons come to mind:

1. Mansfield is tiny and not into sports compared to these Big 10/12 college towns. There aren’t a ton of bars to go to beforehand, the parking sucks, and the townsfolk just aren’t into it. They resent the university rather than embrace it. Completely different from other places in the country. Which is sad.

2. The arena itself kind of sucks. It’s an old ugly nipple in the middle of campus that until a few years ago didn’t serve beer. Theres no real history in it either so I’m not sure why they haven’t built a more modern one for their flagship programs.

3. The teams we play there aren’t that exciting. Usually it gets crazy for Villanova or a good Marquette team but nobody’s really thrilled to play St John’s or DePaul. It’s not like we’re playing other big state schools.

4. There is a lack of tradition. There’s nothing that’s passed down by the classes or alumni, people just pregame and show up. Besides a couple chants it’s really just like a professional environment - nothing really school specific.

Gampel doesn’t lack tradition…

 

[JeannoCT]

They were doing that last year so unless they banned it this year it’s still a thing.

I've seen it done this year.

 

[whosurdaddy2720]

I honestly think it's more cultural than anything. Northeasterners generally love pro sports (especially baseball and NFL) more than college sports. In the Midwest and the South, college sports are embedded in the fabric of the community. We just don't do it like that up North. It is what it is.