I didn't see an option for Greeneville, Tennessee (home of Tusculum), so I chose the closest location.

Toby Wrote:Macon deserves a chance within the next couple years. I think it makes sense to move the tourney around a bit, especially to those schools with new facilities. Unless there is a compelling neutral site, I don't think it's really fair to play it at the same schools year after year (ETSU, Nashville, Jax.)

It comes down to the $$$ though... and Mercer isn't likely to foot that bill. I hope I'm wrong though.

KSU is pretty central and since we're not able to play, it's also neutral. :)

What are the costs for the host school?

I'm not sure, but I've always heard it's a money losing event. I would guess that the host school has to pay (their bid) to host the tourney. So the school that hosts is usually a contender since that justifies the bid. Next, they don't sell enough tickets to out weigh the cost.

But that's an outsiders guess at how it works, I really have no "insider" info.

That is interesting on how it would work MercerFan. Only teams with stacked programs would bid. It seems to work out that way though. Plus winning a conference championship at home is much more desirable than on the road. As far as the money goes, are any of the ASun programs profitable?

Nick M Wrote:As far as the money goes, are any of the ASun programs profitable?

I'd say none at all. Every sport except basketball is a complete drain, and basketball struggles to break even at Mercer. I would bet the other a-sun schools are similar.

i would think stetson baseball would make some profits...but thats it.

Good thing for tuition dollars and student fees.

It reminds me of the Braves sale recently. The Braves don't make money but they appreciate over time. They were bought by Turner Broadcasting for $50 million and sold for $450 million even though they don't make that much profit. That was a big reason in the sell (and the HUGE tax benefits for the asset/stock swap they did with Liberty group). The same applies for all of our schools. We don't make money but we're appreciating in value (KSU going to D-I, other schools excelling in specific programs). I never thought of it that way till I read that article.

If you count alumni contributions to athletics and not just ticket sales, I'm sure some of the programs are profitable. I read something recently that said Mercer's athletic department was slightly profitable counting contributions.

MercerFan Wrote:

Nick M Wrote:As far as the money goes, are any of the ASun programs profitable?

I'd say none at all. Every sport except basketball is a complete drain, and basketball struggles to break even at Mercer. I would bet the other a-sun schools are similar.

There are a number of BCS-league programs that don't make a profit, either. I wouldn't feel too bad about that.

I can say certainly that it will not be in Johnson City.

I think it needs to be where there are fans that will actually go to games. ETSU, Belmont and Lipscomb are unarguably the three best men's teams, while Belmont and ETSU are the top two women's teams. Hell, play it in Chattanooga or Knoxville, maybe even Asheville North Carolina, but keep the tourney close enough to where those fans can easily travel there. It's stupid to play it in Deland where nobody would want to go.
Now another suitable compromise would be the Gwinnett Center, it's a smaller arena, a neutral site, and somewhat centrally located. Thoughts?

Buccaneerlover Wrote:I think it needs to be where there are fans that will actually go to games. ETSU, Belmont and Lipscomb are unarguably the three best men's teams, while Belmont and ETSU are the top two women's teams. Hell, play it in Chattanooga or Knoxville, maybe even Asheville North Carolina, but keep the tourney close enough to where those fans can easily travel there. It's stupid to play it in Deland where nobody would want to go.
Now another suitable compromise would be the Gwinnett Center, it's a smaller arena, a neutral site, and somewhat centrally located. Thoughts?

Granted, Deland isn't exactly a central location on the A-Sun geographical footprint. It is right between Orlando and Daytona Beach, however . . . .

UCFGoldenKnights#1 Wrote:

MercerFan Wrote:

Nick M Wrote:As far as the money goes, are any of the ASun programs profitable?

I'd say none at all. Every sport except basketball is a complete drain, and basketball struggles to break even at Mercer. I would bet the other a-sun schools are similar.

There are a number of BCS-league programs that don't make a profit, either. I wouldn't feel too bad about that.

There are roughly 30 athletic programs in the nation that are profitable.

Asheville would be great - good destination city and a very easy drive for ETSU, G-W, and Campbell. A-Sun doesn't seem to be big on neutral courts, though. I don't recall MBB ever being on a neutral court since I've been following the TAAC/Sun. (WBB in Dothan, though.)

It's about time it's moved down south again. Deland would be one of my top choices as far as other things to do. Easier to get around, less traffic, and better hotel rates than Jax, but Daytona's Harley week is the first of March, too. (I remember bikes were trickling in during the tourney there several years ago.)

Don't forget about the combined tournaments next year and the need for practice facilities. Does that automatically rule out everyone but Nashville and Jacksonville?

JU averaged over 1900 at the downtown arena last year.

OrangeCamel Wrote:Don't forget about the combined tournaments next year and the need for practice facilities. Does that automatically rule out everyone but Nashville and Jacksonville?

Tri-Cities can easily provide multiple facilities.

Asheville is not a bad drive for Belmont, Lipscomb, or Mercer either. I just think if it's held in Florida it will hurt the attendance overrall. Plus for Nashville even though the tourney is held in "two difference venues" you can hit about three iron from the Curb Center over to Allen Arena, so why not this. You play the first round of the women's tourney at Allen, then the semi's and the finals are at Belmont, or vice versa? With all the colleges around Nashville there are ample practice facilities.
I can't believe nobody even mentioned the Gwinnett Center though. That could easily make EVERYBODY happy. Small venue, neutral site, centrally located to all the schools. (I'm still a fan of it being in Nashville though)
As for the Tri-Cities, we would have to play the games between the dome and Brooks, while giving court time on the auxiliary gyms at the dome, Brooks Gym, as well as area high schools. That sucks in my opinion. Chattanooga did that our last year in the SoCon when the women played at Maclellan Gym for two rounds then moved over to the Roundhouse. Beating UT-C that year might have kept Karen Kemp's job safe.

Let's do it in Atlanta Buclover You pick where. Gwinnett Center (in Ga., don't know if thats the same one) would be considered Atlanta.

Deland/Orlando would be great.