WSUnPurple
Well-known member
http://www.standard.net/Sports/2016/03/12/Big-Sky-brass-pleased-by-first-Reno-tournament-set-sights-on-2017-improvements.html
Good hell
Good hell
-
Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your eGriz.com experience today!
Big Sky brass pleased with first Reno run
- Thread starter WSUnPurple
- Start date
Potomac Griz
Well-known member
In the article they mention asking the fans who attended. I'm guessing fans that attended would agree with what marceagfan said in an earlier thread about the attendance.
"Reporting 1700+ for ewu game...no way there were 300 people there..."
Yup, sounds like a total success...just fudge the shit out of the numbers and pretend it's all OK and everything is fine!
"Reporting 1700+ for ewu game...no way there were 300 people there..."
Yup, sounds like a total success...just fudge the shit out of the numbers and pretend it's all OK and everything is fine!
WSUnPurple
Well-known member
“Was it a slam dunk, home run?” Kasper asked. “In our eyes, maybe it was. It fans eyes, maybe it wasn't. Be we know we're going to grow it and get better.”
Big Sky's version of a home run? Wow
Big Sky's version of a home run? Wow
cmtgrizzly
Well-known member
Maybe they know something we dont. I hope for their sake they do. I think the attendace was ridiculously low. I dont expect them to say anything else at this point
WILDCATFAN
Well-known member
Attendance was bad, that was expected, however, my hats off to the Weber and Griz fans who made the trip for being loud, it sounded loud on tv, and ESPNU never showed the actual crowd, so it didn't look to embarrassing on National TV.
WILDCATFAN said:
Just imagine how bad the attendance would have been had Weber State and Montana both not made it to the championship game!
fanofzoo
Well-known member
Soon to retire, real soon I hope, commish said it went well and the only thing we need to do is expand the fan base.
OK say 100,000 new people move to either Ogden or Missoula, well the fan base expanded but still you won't get them to reno.
If you won't show the lack of people in the stands at least pipe in crowd noise.
Yeah, hats off to the Weebs they took the game, advance and play well.
OK say 100,000 new people move to either Ogden or Missoula, well the fan base expanded but still you won't get them to reno.
If you won't show the lack of people in the stands at least pipe in crowd noise.
Yeah, hats off to the Weebs they took the game, advance and play well.
WILDCATFAN
Well-known member
get'em_griz said:WILDCATFAN said:
Just imagine how bad the attendance would have been had Weber State and Montana both not made it to the championship game!
I try not to :?
footballdood
Well-known member
get'em_griz said:Just imagine how bad the attendance would have been had Weber State and Montana both not made it to the championship game!
Just as bad as if neither Montana or Weber were the top teams going into the tournament and the other top teams didn't make the championship game.
WSUnPurple said:
I don't even know what this means. Who, exactly, is the tournament for?? Your fans are your customers. If they weren't happy....
I would say a little over 1500 at championship game which I agree is terrible. The fans were very loud though!
A few things that need changed are the concession stands need to be staffed better the beer line was long and with only one person serving the mixed drinks took to long!
A few things that need changed are the concession stands need to be staffed better the beer line was long and with only one person serving the mixed drinks took to long!
UMGriz75 said:
The decision to go to a neutral site wasn't the Big Sky staff's -- it was the Big Sky coaches, ADs and presidents. The Big Sky staff worked their butts off to make the tournament go as smoothly as possible. All the feedback I'm hearing from coaches, players and administrators is that the tournament was largely well-run and professional. That's a win.
As to the fans, well if you're disappointed in the attendance, there is a solution: go to the tournament next year.
Bengal visitor said:
If it were that easy. I expected good attendance when Montana played SAC but that did not happen either. Face it, the Big Sky is not the ACC, people do not travel in this conference nor do most schools have the fan base to make a neutral location work.
putter said:
The Big Sky is not alone in this dilemma. I was channel surfing Saturday and came across the American Conference semifinal game matching Tulane (who finished 12-22 and 3-15 in league, but yet somehow managed to make it to the semifinals) and Memphis in Orlando. There was NOBODY in that arena for that game. But the American Conference, like the Big Sky, has made the determination that having a tournament experience for all its teams on a neutral court is best for the conference. They are willing to trade off live bodies in the stands for those values.
I understand nobody in Missoula or Ogden is going to like this trade-off, but remember, it wasn't the conference office that pushed this -- it was the coaches and ADs, and ultimately the presidents who accepted it. Try to understand this from the perspective of the athletes -- no more two-day bus rides from Pocatello to Grand Forks. The ability of their parents to plan ahead and be at the games, with an assurance that they will get to see their sons or daughters for at least one more game. And from the teams' perspectives, an ability to make travel arrangements well in advance. From the coaches' perspective -- an ability to tell a recruit, "We're no longer one of the few conferences in the nation that doesn't allow every school and athlete to participate in the post-season tournament. We go first class here -- we have a pre-determined site where your family can come and watch you play at the end of the season. And you won't have to take two-day bus ride to get there."
I'm sure the conference is hoping to grow this over time. That people in Missoula and Ogden will decide it's worth it to plan a couple of days every March to go to Reno and watch basketball. Nobody expects the early round games to draw many fans, but they don't usually when they are campus and don't involve the host team.
But if the fans don't come, I'm sure there will be another discussion about how to do this. I will say this: I applaud the conference for giving consideration to the needs and desires of the athletes and their families. I know everybody is targeting the Big Sky Conference staff for hate and discontent over this decision, but it was really driven by the coaches and ADS who wanted a better experience for their athletes.
Good post, Bengal. Your understanding of the reasons for the new format and who pushed for it, is what I was told and posted previously. Maybe some of the doubters who didn't seem to believe me will believe you. I'll put some of your quotes below. I liked the old format, but I see no reason to diss and trash the current format, and seemingly hope for its failure.
"it wasn't the conference office that pushed this -- it was the coaches and ADs, and ultimately the presidents who accepted it."
"it was really driven by the coaches and ADS who wanted a better experience for their athletes."
"it wasn't the conference office that pushed this -- it was the coaches and ADs, and ultimately the presidents who accepted it."
"it was really driven by the coaches and ADS who wanted a better experience for their athletes."
The tournament couldn't have gone better for the Conference.....so many entertaining games....a great game between the top 2 teams in the Chipper....more fans in the seats would have been the cherry on top....but they knew going in that attendance for the first year would be this way.....I am afraid to say it because many of you won't like it....but the days of the league winner hosting are history....this setup may not be perfect...but none of them will be...and all the league schools are behind this format and this inaugural effort has done nothing but reinforce this setup....
We all understand why they've gone to a neutral site (although no one is buying the recruiting advantage argument; if you're getting a kid excited about playing in a tournament as a 3-24 team, you're recruiting the wrong player).
That doesn't excuse the poor choice of location. It doesn't excuse rewarding the 14th place team with a day off before they play a high seed. It doesn't excuse the obviously terrible job of marketing this thing to locals (who admittedly don't give two shits about the BSC). It doesn't excuse 97 foul calls in the semis, making those games virtually unwatchable. Any casual fan without a rooting interest certainly ain't coming back after that debacle. It doesn't excuse the failure of the league to get someone --anyone -- to televise the thing, or at least the semis.
Look, I agree the Tourny appeared to be smoothly run. Kudos to the conference for doing what they were paid to do. The fact that they're being praised for it, however, just goes to show how incredibly low the bar is set in this confence.
And finally, BG, yes, fans should go. But this league can't get 800 people to drive 7 miles across town to watch their home team play a game. Do you really expect those fans are going to reNO to do so??
That doesn't excuse the poor choice of location. It doesn't excuse rewarding the 14th place team with a day off before they play a high seed. It doesn't excuse the obviously terrible job of marketing this thing to locals (who admittedly don't give two shits about the BSC). It doesn't excuse 97 foul calls in the semis, making those games virtually unwatchable. Any casual fan without a rooting interest certainly ain't coming back after that debacle. It doesn't excuse the failure of the league to get someone --anyone -- to televise the thing, or at least the semis.
Look, I agree the Tourny appeared to be smoothly run. Kudos to the conference for doing what they were paid to do. The fact that they're being praised for it, however, just goes to show how incredibly low the bar is set in this confence.
And finally, BG, yes, fans should go. But this league can't get 800 people to drive 7 miles across town to watch their home team play a game. Do you really expect those fans are going to reNO to do so??
All legitimate concerns, EG. Nobody is saying the Big Sky Conference is perfect, or that there are not improvements that can be made in execution. The Ogden Standard Examiner article said the conference had a whiteboard full of ideas to improve the tournament experience next year. I expect to see many of those implemented.
