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Anybody see where attendance is down 1000 per game

citygriz said:
one word to explain the difference between the wac and the big sky: television. the technology that changed the world has transformed sport, and yet we continue to play in a conference with scant television coverage and no major television contract.

the boise state game against oklahoma will live forever on espn classic, and puts boise state solidly into the big time of college football.

television.
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Very true but those of you who think attendance would stay up in football if we moved up just look at basketball. No winning team no attendance regarless of sport.
 
Bozgriz said:
AtHomeInTheDahlbergDen said:
Bozgriz said:
How about moving the Zoo to where it belongs? Why not, nobody else is using those seats...
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Once again... any possibility someone can give me some background on this? See post up above... I haven't been around too long and thought i'd ask those who are more knowledgeable on the history of Griz basketball.
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In the 80s, the Zoo was courtside along the east end floor and continued under the south basket...You actually had to move out of the way when there was an inbounds play and it was common to have "discussions" with members of the opposing teams during the games. We used to arrive when the doors opened at 5:00 for a 7:00 tipoff just to rush to get a good seat in the Zoo...it was a thing of beauty---kind of like the NEZ---
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very accurate description. except much crazier than the NEZ. i am far more interested in football than basketball, but i've yet to see a football game that compared to a bball game in the fieldhouse in the early 90's (as far as energy levels from the students). i believe some sports publication ranked DA as one of the top 10 or 20 loudest fieldhouses in the nation at some point in the early 90's.

a few things happened to initiate the decline of Dahlberg's energy.....students moved (the catalyst), immediate impact on our home court advantage (which definitely can impact recruiting and overall game experience), couple of average seasons, the move to Sentinel, patty kennedy.....

anyways, the biggest mistake ever made was moving the students. dahlberg has never been the same and never will be (unless the students are rightfully returned to courtside (and no, baseline is not courtside)).
 
citygriz said:
one word to explain the difference between the wac and the big sky: television. the technology that changed the world has transformed sport, and yet we continue to play in a conference with scant television coverage and no major television contract.

the boise state game against oklahoma will live forever on espn classic, and puts boise state solidly into the big time of college football.

television.
Click to expand...

One thing about television. It keeps people on their couches in front of the television. Take the TV out, maybe they would get out and go watch the game live.

Griz BB attendance has declined since 1991. Many posters have mentioned bb attendance has declined overall nationally. I blame television on that.
 
I would love to be in O'Days chair when he is making calls on basketball games
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I may be wrong on this, but I think almost all of the OOC scheduling is left up to Wayne and Robin. Wayne may be dealing with some games that Krysko set up before he left.
 
During the Michael Ray Richardson years, the arena was reasonably full on most occasions. The thing that I remember the most was the level of white noise that lasted throughout the game. You would leave with your ears ringing.

Of course the football team wasn't nearly as good......
 
grizpack said:
I would love to be in O'Days chair when he is making calls on basketball games
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I may be wrong on this, but I think almost all of the OOC scheduling is left up to Wayne and Robin. Wayne may be dealing with some games that Krysko set up before he left.
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Robin probably has more schedule autonomy than any coach, and l deservedly so. You are correct many of the games are set more than 1 year in advance. I think some people mistakenly think that coaches start with a blank slate of OOC openings each season and just call anyone they think would fit.
 
The bulk of the attendance decrease can be credited to the schedule - Stanford drew 6929 last year, vs 3203 for Boise State this year. UW_Milwaukee drew 7213 last year vs 3911 for Western Kentucky this year. A February MSU game last year drew 7311 vs 5723 for an early January game this year. That accounts for about 75% of the attendance decrease so far.

Attendance for other non-conference games is up, with the exception of the brackbuster game which was down 208 people. Every conference game is down.

You might say it is because of the win loss record, and it certainly affects it, but still Stanford was an early season game last year, like Boise this year, so the win-loss record had little to do with the draw for either game, it was more about the quality of the program. If win-loss record is the reason attendance is down 1000 people per game why was the bracket buster game off only 200 people?

The new scheduling might have hurt conference games, but probably a bigger factor is that conference competition is not perceived as quality. There might have been more promotions for conference games last year as well, like super skippers and dance teams and other things that bring in an extra 500 fans per game, but fans clearly respond to bigger name teams than to 100+ rpi lower tier conference teams.
 
sid2000 said:
The new hockey team will be playing in town next winter.
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If this team gets outdrawn by hockey then we have some major problems.

I think scheduling the weekend games at night instead of during the day could have a big effect on attendance. More night games mean it is THE thing to do on a saturday night with a majority of people going to these games. They would be too early to occupy other plans but just late enough to kick off the rest of the night. More people coming to night games creates a better atmosphere, once fans see this, they start coming to the weekday games.

I mean students are still hungover or even asleep at 2:00 on a saturday afternoon. Plus people are skiing. At this point, bball games just aren't thee thing everyone is doing on weekends like football games are. Bumping the weekend start times back could transform that. Plus, what the hell is the reasoning behind afternoon starts???
 
AtHomeInTheDahlbergDen said:
sid2000 said:
The new hockey team will be playing in town next winter.
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If this team gets outdrawn by hockey then we have some major problems.

I think scheduling the weekend games at night instead of during the day could have a big effect on attendance. More night games mean it is THE thing to do on a saturday night with a majority of people going to these games. They would be too early to occupy other plans but just late enough to kick off the rest of the night. More people coming to night games creates a better atmosphere, once fans see this, they start coming to the weekday games.

I mean students are still hungover or even asleep at 2:00 on a saturday afternoon. Plus people are skiing. At this point, bball games just aren't thee thing everyone is doing on weekends like football games are. Bumping the weekend start times back could transform that. Plus, what the hell is the reasoning behind afternoon starts???
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The Pacific game was an ESPN sponsored event. Since UM athletic department does not have control over scheduling the fieldhouse, and the team wasn't known until early February, the afternoon time may have been the only time they could schedule the Pacific game. Also, EPSN may have been more in control on what time the games were supposed to be played.
 
GrizBBIsKing said:
AtHomeInTheDahlbergDen said:
sid2000 said:
The new hockey team will be playing in town next winter.
Click to expand...
If this team gets outdrawn by hockey then we have some major problems.

I think scheduling the weekend games at night instead of during the day could have a big effect on attendance. More night games mean it is THE thing to do on a saturday night with a majority of people going to these games. They would be too early to occupy other plans but just late enough to kick off the rest of the night. More people coming to night games creates a better atmosphere, once fans see this, they start coming to the weekday games.

I mean students are still hungover or even asleep at 2:00 on a saturday afternoon. Plus people are skiing. At this point, bball games just aren't thee thing everyone is doing on weekends like football games are. Bumping the weekend start times back could transform that. Plus, what the hell is the reasoning behind afternoon starts???
Click to expand...

The Pacific game was an ESPN sponsored event. Since UM athletic department does not have control over scheduling the fieldhouse, and the team wasn't known until early February, the afternoon time may have been the only time they could schedule the Pacific game. Also, EPSN may have been more in control on what time the games were supposed to be played.
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ESPN really shouldn't care seeing as this game wasn't going to be on TV. Dahlberg wasn't booked for anything else so games like this should be at night. I'm just curious... flight times? or does whoever's in control think day games will draw more than at night bc they think people will choose to do other things? stuff like this, where there's no good explanation, are really frustrating.
 
No way could pro hockey outdraw BBall , especially since it isn't a college team coming in and they dont have a great arena. My point was to point out that a semi pro hockey team will add some level of competition for the sports buck in town and the Griz should be aware of that as they try to build a crowd.
Now......if the Griz added Hockey to the program we would finally be playing a true Division 1 , major college schedule and have the ability to compete at the highest level of college sports. Maybe that's another thread, sorry.
 
lilconnerpeterson said:
The bulk of the attendance decrease can be credited to the schedule - Stanford drew 6929 last year, vs 3203 for Boise State this year. UW_Milwaukee drew 7213 last year vs 3911 for Western Kentucky this year. A February MSU game last year drew 7311 vs 5723 for an early January game this year. That accounts for about 75% of the attendance decrease so far.

Attendance for other non-conference games is up, with the exception of the brackbuster game which was down 208 people. Every conference game is down.

You might say it is because of the win loss record, and it certainly affects it, but still Stanford was an early season game last year, like Boise this year, so the win-loss record had little to do with the draw for either game, it was more about the quality of the program. If win-loss record is the reason attendance is down 1000 people per game why was the bracket buster game off only 200 people?

The new scheduling might have hurt conference games, but probably a bigger factor is that conference competition is not perceived as quality. There might have been more promotions for conference games last year as well, like super skippers and dance teams and other things that bring in an extra 500 fans per game, but fans clearly respond to bigger name teams than to 100+ rpi lower tier conference teams.
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Dead on the $$$$$$, I was going to make the same statement.

Also, to some extent I agree with the W's and L's, but think the plays less of a roll. The 05/06 GRIZ were unbelievable in every aspect of the game and very much a joy to watch. YET, with the exceptions of Stanford, Milwaukee, MSU, and EWU attendance sucked in compartison to the product on the floor being so good! That really disappointed me as both a GRIZ and Basketball fan!

Better competition would certainly help along with a few more W's. Fortunately the losses are not blow outs for the most part. That is a sign that this team is very close.

I have to agree with City, a better conference affiliation would indeed increase attendance and revenue in all sports, except possibly football, which happens to be king here. Maybe that does go to show we have more fairweathered fans than we will admit in basketball and football. My ass is at football and basketball games regardless of record. Unless coaches or athletic department piss me off, I will always support the GRIZ. Kennedy lost my interest in basketball. I came back as soon as he was gone!

Until a conference change/move is made this controversy will remain. We all need to respect both sides of this issue (the one that is beaten like a dead horse.). Regardless of conference, level, competition, W's and L's, griznation should step up and support more than just football! If one does not support a particular sport, you can bitch all you want, but have no reason to be heard. Support the major revenue sports here (football and Basketball), then feel free to bitch, you earned that right.

Come on GRIZnation SUPPORT basketball too! The U of M benefits in all regards. More $$$ from basketball may allow for us to schedule and pay better competition home and away. If the fans support the team better then the reasoning behind weak schedules is much more minimized and less accepted by all. Until that support changes for the better in basketball, chances are likely we will continue to see the competition we do!!!!!
 
I admit that we have gone to some (a few) basketball games in past years, but opted not to do so this year because of the quality of the product. But, the truth is, we simply don't like basketball anywhere near as much as we do football. We've never been BB season ticket holders, although we've had FB season tickets since the days of Dornblaser. So, in our case anyway, it isn't so much support/lack of support for the teams in general as just not being very interested in given sports.
 
The so-called hockey team that is coming to town next year will not hurt the basketball program at all. It is semi-pro, they are bringing young kids from out of state to play in a rink/shell that barely holds wooden bleachers. Fans will go to basketball before they hockey. If you look at hockey franchises around the state in the past few years, they are all but gone. Bozeman had the ice dogs and I recently heard they turned that rink into a warehouse. There is just not the following for it.

Spokane even suffers when it comes to fans for their hockey team and it is good hockey.
 
I don't buy the whole TV is the reason for the poor attendance, especially here in Missoula. There has been what, 4 or 5 games on TV that the Griz have played in and only 2 have actually been in Missoula.

People over here forget that 90% of the state is located East of the divide. You're telling me that having the men's basketball games on TV has hurt attendance? If anything, having these games on Tv allows for the rest of the state to watch the Griz play a few times a year. Don't forget you can drive 9 hours East and you're still in this great state. You're telling me that these Griz fans don't deserve a chance to watch their alum or favorite college play?

Attendance all comes down to this: The atmosphere has changed since the move of the student section. Kids don't get excited to go to a game where they were yanked from their seats to allow for season ticket holders to take over. It is sad to see so many open seats in the lower sections. Why don't they allow the 8 minute dash anymore? I think this would allow for a better atmosphere even if it is for just the second half.

The marketing for the basketball program has been little to none. Obviously attendance has gone down this year, so the athletic department should have done something to spark some interest in the teams. I haven't seen or heard anything this year to try to get butts in the seats.

People like to see a winning team like last year. For some reason people don't realize that even when a team isn't winning, the players still need support and probably more so when they're losing. This team isn't all that bad and still have a good shot at making The Dance. I've been to just about every home game since I moved here last year and it makes me sad to see how this town supports it's teams. Either they don't win enough or win by enough to satisfy the people hear. Don't forget these are young athletes who are in most cases are playing away from their homes and don't get to play in front of their friends and families. They are playing for the name on the jersey and that name represents this community and state. Get off your couch and support the local teams otherwise they very possibly may decline to the point where there is nothing but a downward spiral.
 
Harm said:
the reason attendance is down is b/c the men's team sucks....Who wants to watch a bummer of a team with no excitement. The lady's are atleast fun to watch. The LG are an exciting and fun bunch. Unless the men get some good winning seasons, along with some fired-up leadership on the floor, not to mention dynamic play, attendence is going to be non-existant. :lame: Basketball is inherantly boring anyway, so if you don't have dynamic star players who wants to watch it......
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I agree. I think the Big Sky has some solid teams, but they really are not that flashy. Stuckey is really the only HIGH PROFILE player in the league. What you see is a lot of gritty type defensive type teams and those type (which actually usually are more solid teams) just don't sell as many tickets.

Dynamic and exciting are the key words.
 
I moved back to Montana from Arizona last August. Living in Butte for five months and now in Great Falls, I've found in talking to sports fans that the sports culture in the state of Montana is definitely football-centric. It's top dog....number one...with good reason as the Griz have one of the most consistentely competitive football programs to speak of. Basektball plays second fiddle. Football is engrained into the culture here.

I am an NAU alum and sports tended to be supported miserably there. You guys actually have it pretty good in comparison. The Lumberjacks have been reasonably competitive in conference for basketball since the days of Ben Howland but the support never materialized. I attended every game I could but could rarely convince friends into going. Dropping $50 at the bar on Thursday night took priority over a $3 for a soda/popcorn as did sitting the dorm and watching pro sports or supporting college teams from the communities that students grew up in. A case of divided studnet/fan loyalty and a wealth of social options could have been the case in Flagstaff then and Missoula now?

I'm hoping for a good game tonight....wish I could make it over the hill to Missoula. If the Lumberjacks lose out in the conference tourney, I'll always support a Montana school over Weber State. I'm a bit torqued that Big Sky basketball games get little to no tv coverage up here but that's how it is. I think I've seen 3-4 games all season? Are they shown in Missoula and Bozeman but not the rest of the state?

I'll cease my ramblings now.

Cheers.
 
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