Excerpt:
The Conference USA men’s and women’s basketball tournament held this week in Birmingham, Alabama, should have been in Bossier City or Ruston, in close proximity to the school that won the regular season title.
But it needed to be in Birmingham.
If you follow college athletics, you’ve probably heard about the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers football program being shut down.
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/spo.../24771203/
Good article. But I find it rather funny that the "newcomers" to CUSA are wanting the top seed to host the basketball tourney. It makes no sense financially for that to happen. In most cases, you would have to split the mens and women's tourney. I realize that CUSA used to do that. The women's tourney would be a few day earlier than the men's but the conference was losing money doing that. That's why it went back to being at the same time in the same city. The fans griping about the tournament being in Birmingham really would have hated being in the same conference with Memphis when Memphis was seemingly hosting every tournament and winning in it on their home floor. There was a reason we started calling the CUSA tourney the Memphis Invitational.
I don't get the problem.
Everybody knew where the tournament was going to be held before the damn season started.
Hell, do they think we enjoyed the Memphis Invitational? Don't like it? Put in a better bid.
(03-15-2015 08:52 AM)Smaug Wrote: [ -> ]I don't get the problem.
Everybody knew where the tournament was going to be held before the damn season started.
Hell, do they think we enjoyed the Memphis Invitational? Don't like it? Put in a better bid.
Agreed. The tourney has ALWAYS been at one of the member schools HOME arena. There's only two times that the tourney home arena and that is when UAB has hosted. The BJCC is NOT our home arena.
For personal logistic reasons, I highly enjoyed the Memphis Invitational.
Watching the replay last night former coach Mike Jarvis doing the commentary for the game says he thinks the CUSA way of awarding the tourney is best. Said nothing worse than playing a tournament in front of an empty arena, especially the championship game on TV. I think this year was a test to determine if a central location(Birmingham) would work. I know Coach Haase has stated the impotance of this tourney with possibility of Birmingham becoming the permanent site.
(03-15-2015 09:22 AM)BandGrad Wrote: [ -> ] (03-15-2015 08:52 AM)Smaug Wrote: [ -> ]I don't get the problem.
Everybody knew where the tournament was going to be held before the damn season started.
Hell, do they think we enjoyed the Memphis Invitational? Don't like it? Put in a better bid.
Agreed. The tourney has ALWAYS been at one of the member schools HOME arena. There's only two times that the tourney home arena and that is when UAB has hosted. The BJCC is NOT our home arena.
Tulsa hosted at the BOK center, which wasn't their home arena.
(03-15-2015 10:07 AM)WesternBlazer Wrote: [ -> ]Watching the replay last night former coach Mike Jarvis doing the commentary for the game says he thinks the CUSA way of awarding the tourney is best. Said nothing worse than playing a tournament in front of an empty arena, especially the championship game on TV. I think this year was a test to determine if a central location(Birmingham) would work. I know Coach Haase has stated the impotance of this tourney with possibility of Birmingham becoming the permanent site.
Can you imagine the jet-noise level whining if they did that?
Is there even an arena in Ruston or Bossier City that could host the tournament?
Yes. It's in Boiser City right across from Barksdale AFB.
(03-15-2015 10:08 AM)Marathon Blazer Wrote: [ -> ] (03-15-2015 09:22 AM)BandGrad Wrote: [ -> ] (03-15-2015 08:52 AM)Smaug Wrote: [ -> ]I don't get the problem.
Everybody knew where the tournament was going to be held before the damn season started.
Hell, do they think we enjoyed the Memphis Invitational? Don't like it? Put in a better bid.
Agreed. The tourney has ALWAYS been at one of the member schools HOME arena. There's only two times that the tourney home arena and that is when UAB has hosted. The BJCC is NOT our home arena.
Tulsa hosted at the BOK center, which wasn't their home arena.
C-USA tournaments not in home arenas:
1999: Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Arena*
2002: FirstStar Center# (Cincinnati)
2004: US Bank Arena# (Cincinnati)
2010: BOK Center (Tulsa)
2015: Legacy Arena* (Birmingham)
* , # same arenas
5 out of 20 (25%)
C-USA tournament host cities:
8 - Memphis (1996, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012)
3 - Cincinnati (1998, 2002, 2004)
2 - Birmingham (1999, 2015)
2 - Louisville (2001, 2003)
2 - Tulsa (2010, 2013)
2 - El Paso (2011, 2014)
1 - St. Louis (1997)
(03-15-2015 11:19 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote: [ -> ]Yes. It's in Boiser City right across from Barksdale AFB.
Well, I might have to Space A down the the tournament next year!