Letter from O'Day to Students in Kaimin

[Grizflips]

Okay let me just start off by saying that I know next to nothing about basketball. The ball goes in the hoop, team with most points wins, there ya go...well I know more than that but pretty much I'm a basketball layman.

With that said, I really do enjoy the games here on campus, no matter the sport. The Lady Griz always put on a great show, usually they come out on top and it's always fun to watch because it seems like they play every point like it's the last. The men on the other hand...

I just got back from the Griz-PSU game and I think it's fair to say it was an off night for all them. I don't know what it is though about the guys team, maybe it's the decision making on the court or the coaching...but nobody really seems to know what they're doing out there. The past couple games they've been fun to watch, keeping a fast pace and really having the other team on thier toes but usually, they're just dead boring.

I can't speak for any other student besides myself....but I'd certainly go to more of the men's games if they started, well, winning. Also, would it hurt to schedule some more interesting opponents? I'm from the east coast and would love to see the Griz start a home-home series with either a Big East, ACC or even SEC team. Either that, or if they had a coach who did a little more than yell. But did we (the students), really have a shot at getting the good seats back? How would the Athletic department offset the costs of the students there?

Oh and as for the Griz moving into the WAC....That's just NOT a good idea, not by a long shot.

 

[mtgrizrule]

Grizflips, you should consider making some suggestions of how they do it in the Big East as for student promotions and creating student atmosphere. Hell join up with Swilly and athome to work on this for next season. I would love to see a Big East atmosphere in Dahlberg. Welcome to Egriz too. :thumb:

 

[Grizflips]

Thanks for the welcome!

Haha I don't know how much help I would be! All I know is this, I live about a half hour from Rutgers (State Univ of NJ) and they have a similiar situation with thier basketball teams. The women are amazing but the men, well saying they are a work in progress would be a compliment.

Now Rutgers women average about 4,800 a night, which is about average for a Big East team, I'd say the men are a little off from that but I can't tell you the exact figure. The main point I'm trying to make, is that despite how many people may or may not be there, the place is LOUD, you do not want to play in the RAC!

The Big East is a much stronger conference than the Big Sky but besides that, the women have an intense non-con schedule as well. Stanford, LSU and Cal to name a few for the ladies. The men played North Carolina, Nebraska and Manhattan as the big non-con names. You could argue that Rutgers is able to schedule these games because it's a large school and that one out of the two teams, is a proven winner.

But this could also be because us Jersey kids are passionate about anything we can argue about with someone. Now Rutgers football, good luck getting tickets there! And a Big East atmosphere IS possible in Dalhberg, we just need to be given something to get riled up about!

 

[LakeGriz]

Although I saw that line about "Stop watching this topic," and thought it might be a good idea ...

When 5,000 people show up and they see what might be the worst defeat ever at UM basketball -- certainly on the home court --what's to say about whose fault whatever is? It usually winds up on the coach.

For the first time in ???, we did not make the 200+ mile round trip to see the men play, and I can't feel we missed much.

And in the days of Fri-Sat night games, we used to take our two boys, stay overnight on Fri and drive home late Sat night. So I guess it's Fullerton's fault.

 

[Proud Griz Man]

If the UM student body can't muster more than 430 out of 13,000 students for a game then -- I'm sorry -- but they don't "deserve" ANYTHING!!

O'Day is using an honest, direct approach with the students. I can't blame him. If only 400-500 show up, then there is no strong argument for giving them back the floor-level seats.
When I was in college at Missoula, we would often wait outside the gate at 4:00pm, so that when it opened we could flash our student passes and jog down to secure our premium, floor-level seats. There was no debate about going to the Griz BB game. The only discussion was about where to go afterwards.
Oh, and there was no talk about how to improve the atmosphere in Dahlberg arena back in the 1970's and 1980's, because we rocked that place and intimidated the opponents into sub-par performances.

 

[Silvertip]

Between O'Day and the Grizzoulian.com editor, the games mentioned where UM students attended in large numbers were the likes of Stanford and Colorado State - and MSU, which you would expect - reflecting the student's huge disdain for BSC conference games. Yawn.

The students seem more discerning about where they spend their Thursday and Saturdays than many on this board who equate Griz loyalty with supporting second rate basketball. Woe be the football program if they ever become a losing one. O'Day is a solid dollars and cents guy, but he puts way too little effort in creating athletic programs that can play competitively against peer programs. He would be forced out of his malaise if the Griz were in the WAC.

 

[Spanky]

good points Silvertip.

 

[citygriz]

before we beat up on the students, flagellate the coach and blame the administration, let's remember that college basketball today faces much stiffer competition for the entertainment dollar than in the glory years of the 70's and 80's. the millenia or gen y generation, which was born roughly between 1980 and 1984, and numbers roughly some 70 million, has a gazillion entertainment options that weren't available to students a generation ago--like i pods, computer games, facebook, constant communication by cell phone, netflix, teevo, even women's basketball, not to mention the increased competition from pro sports, where any game you want to see is on almost any time you want to see it. i don't have numbers to back up my claim, but i know weber state used to regularly sell out the 12,000-seat dee events center but doesn't any more and would never build such a big facility again. i think the dahlberg rennovation plan originally was for 12,000, but thankfully a lack of money intervened, and a capaticity of 8000 now seems more than adequate.

in short, we recall the glory days fondly, forgetting all the incredible entertainment options that have sprung up since and are now available to today's students.

 

[PlayerRep]

The students came to the CSU game, because they were given the east side seats and a big deal was made of the seating/game. Saying they came because of who UM was playing is ridiculous. CSU has lost 21 games this year, including 15 in a row. 0-14 in the conference. Wow, those students must really know how to discern quality.

 

[100%GRIZ]

Give the Students there rightful place...... The place they should be... They will come.... They will stay... Give them the chance of years past... If they come other will follow... For those displaced give them the rights to the beer gardens up stairs for a couple of years!!! They will get over it!!!! Just Freaking do it!!! Give it the old college try!!! :twocents:

 

[argh!]

The students came to the CSU game, because they were given the east side seats and a big deal was made of the seating/game. Saying they came because of who UM was playing is ridiculous. CSU has lost 21 games this year, including 15 in a row. 0-14 in the conference. Wow, those students must really know how to discern quality.

greenie finally scores!!!

 

[Turd Ferguson]

The students came to the CSU game, because they were given the east side seats and a big deal was made of the seating/game. Saying they came because of who UM was playing is ridiculous. CSU has lost 21 games this year, including 15 in a row. 0-14 in the conference. Wow, those students must really know how to discern quality.

Playing CSU actually probably had a pretty big part in the large attendance. It's one of the larger and best known universities in the region. Playing a school that the student fan base has actually heard of never hurts.

The UM student fan base isn't a particularly basketball savvy group. They could schedule nationally ranked Butler and many of the students would be like "Who???"

Also, the attendance for the first game was high because this team was supposed to, ummm, how do I say this . . . be good. Then the wheels fell off (or perhaps were never put on), fans became frustrated, and the wind in the sails was deflated.

 

[BelierPeaux]

Correct me if I am wrong, but attendance dropping seemed to start with the construction/renovation of Dahlberg. When the griz were forced to go play in Sentinal they lost a lot of the faithful who probably forgot what they were missing and never came back save for a game or two. Then when everything was opened back up there were all these nice seats in the arena excpet for the General Admission and the "new"student seats. It was a slap in the face to the students to have all this nice new equipment in and then be fed the scraps when the students were the ones rocking the place. I know I started school about the time that the renovation was done and I scratched my head over that move and was not happy about it. How can Griz teams get fired up to play at home to 400+ kids who like the game and a few thousand people who may just be indifferent and are there for status? Anyone else have thoughts on that? It seems more than coincidence to me.

 

[GrizWhiz]

Correct me if I am wrong, but attendance dropping seemed to start with the construction/renovation of Dahlberg. When the griz were forced to go play in Sentinal they lost a lot of the faithful who probably forgot what they were missing and never came back save for a game or two. Then when everything was opened back up there were all these nice seats in the arena excpet for the General Admission and the "new"student seats. It was a slap in the face to the students to have all this nice new equipment in and then be fed the scraps when the students were the ones rocking the place. I know I started school about the time that the renovation was done and I scratched my head over that move and was not happy about it. How can Griz teams get fired up to play at home to 400+ kids who like the game and a few thousand people who may just be indifferent and are there for status? Anyone else have thoughts on that? It seems more than coincidence to me.

The attendance dropping started many seasons prior to the renovation. There was a steady decline beginning with the 92-93 season. It had dropped by about a third by the time the temp move to Sentinel was made.

 

[GrizBBIsKing]

Correct me if I am wrong, but attendance dropping seemed to start with the construction/renovation of Dahlberg. When the griz were forced to go play in Sentinal they lost a lot of the faithful who probably forgot what they were missing and never came back save for a game or two. Then when everything was opened back up there were all these nice seats in the arena excpet for the General Admission and the "new"student seats. It was a slap in the face to the students to have all this nice new equipment in and then be fed the scraps when the students were the ones rocking the place. I know I started school about the time that the renovation was done and I scratched my head over that move and was not happy about it. How can Griz teams get fired up to play at home to 400+ kids who like the game and a few thousand people who may just be indifferent and are there for status? Anyone else have thoughts on that? It seems more than coincidence to me.

The attendance dropping started many seasons prior to the renovation. There was a steady decline beginning with the 92-93 season. It had dropped by about a third by the time the temp move to Sentinel was made.

I would say attendance started to trend downwards sometime around 1983. 1981-82 had an attendance average of 7,438. 1989-90 had an attendance average of 5,589. Attendance averages declined each year after the 1981-82 season to 1990. then, Griz won Big Sky Championships during 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons. Attendance jumped up, first to 6,155 then to 7,034. Ever since then, attendance steadily dropped.

Attendance year before Sentinel season was 4,455. Attendance during the first year in remodel was 4,372. So, remodel really lost an average of 83 fans. So, really, can you really blame the remodel for lost attendance. Certainly no proof here.

Heck, even attendance last year was higher than the season prior to the Sentinel year.

A winning team certainly helps. the two Big Sky Championship seasons in early '90s was proof. Without those two years, Attendance would have continued the downward trend that started in 1982-83 season. Also, the attendance last year jumped because of the Trip to the NCAA, just like the big jump in attendance in 1991-92 season because of the trip to the NCAA in the 1990-91 season.
So, considering the previous season can dictate what attendance can be next season, I really do not think attendance is going to improve next year. I predict a decline.

 

[GrizBBIsKing]

Correct me if I am wrong, but attendance dropping seemed to start with the construction/renovation of Dahlberg. When the griz were forced to go play in Sentinal they lost a lot of the faithful who probably forgot what they were missing and never came back save for a game or two. Then when everything was opened back up there were all these nice seats in the arena excpet for the General Admission and the "new"student seats. It was a slap in the face to the students to have all this nice new equipment in and then be fed the scraps when the students were the ones rocking the place. I know I started school about the time that the renovation was done and I scratched my head over that move and was not happy about it. How can Griz teams get fired up to play at home to 400+ kids who like the game and a few thousand people who may just be indifferent and are there for status? Anyone else have thoughts on that? It seems more than coincidence to me.

The attendance dropping started many seasons prior to the renovation. There was a steady decline beginning with the 92-93 season. It had dropped by about a third by the time the temp move to Sentinel was made.

I would say attendance started to trend downwards sometime around 1983. 1981-82 had an attendance average of 7,438. 1989-90 had an attendance average of 5,589. Attendance averages declined each year after the 1981-82 season to 1990. then, Griz won Big Sky Championships during 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons. Attendance jumped up, first to 6,155 then to 7,034. Ever since then, attendance steadily dropped.

Attendance year before Sentinel season was 4,455. Attendance during the first year in remodel was 4,372. So, remodel really lost an average of 83 fans. So, really, can you really blame the remodel for lost attendance. Certainly no proof here.

Heck, even attendance last year was higher than the season prior to the Sentinel year.

A winning team certainly helps. the two Big Sky Championship seasons in early '90s was proof. Without those two years, Attendance would have continued the downward trend that started in 1982-83 season. Also, the attendance last year jumped because of the Trip to the NCAA, just like the big jump in attendance in 1991-92 season because of the trip to the NCAA in the 1990-91 season.
So, considering the previous season can dictate what attendance can be next season, I really do not think attendance is going to improve next year. I predict a decline.

I will say that the remodel caused a drop in student attendance, but was replaced by season ticket holders, many of whom do not show up for many of the games. That is the tragedy caused by the remodel.

 

[BelierPeaux]

Thanks BB, makes sense to me. I was just voicing what it looked like to me. But I really didn't research anything, as you can tell.