(03-14-2014 12:24 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(03-14-2014 11:41 AM)stanman505 Wrote:  

(03-14-2014 10:51 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(03-14-2014 08:56 AM)wh49er Wrote:  It wouldn't matter where it was held if we were a 3-4 bid league. I probably made the trip to El Paso if I knew the Niners had a chance of winning. We all need to focus on the quality of our basketball programs.

I disagree. The MWC will likely only get two schools in the dance and their conference tournament has sick crowds. Last night looked totally full for New Mexico and Fresno St and it was a quarterfinal!

Granted, the games are being played in Las Vegas. I'm not sure any city in CUSA can compete with Vegas but New Orleans probably comes close.

I look at it from the opposite perspective. Because of the fact that CUSA is a one bid league, it makes it that much more important that the Conference tournament be in a tourist city on a neutral floor. For most of us, this IS the tournament.

There is a big difference in fan support between CUSA and the MWC. Look at the attendance numbers and you will see that the MWC has 6-7 teams that average more than 8k for their home games. They really support basketball and have a long tradition of strong basketball teams in the MWC. That is why their attendance is so strong. Having the tournament in basketball crazy Las Vegas doesn't hurt either.

This is surprising to me since CUSA was sold to us as a basketball conference.

I always thought that MWC was a football conference and CUSA was a basketball conference.

The logic given to us locally was the UTEP was a basketball school and therefore better suited for CUSA than MWC.

This information pretty much puts that theory on it's head.

CUSA was an equal basketball league until this year.

There is a big difference in fan support between CUSA and the MWC. Look at the attendance numbers and you will see that the MWC has 6-7 teams that average more than 8k for their home games. They really support basketball and have a long tradition of strong basketball teams in the MWC. That is why their attendance is so strong. Having the tournament in basketball crazy Las Vegas doesn't hurt either.
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Stan, I'll be waiting for that announcement that you promised would come at the end of the tourney.

what about Miami? Attendance wouldn't be good but atleast it would be cool for the players.

(03-13-2014 09:37 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(03-13-2014 09:36 PM)Saint Greg Wrote:  That's why we need a more centralized location.

In all fairness, for the good of the conference, it shoul be somewhere on a neutral court in a tourist area. I"m thinking New Orleans.

.....or San Antonio.

(03-14-2014 06:13 AM)UTSAMarineVet09 Wrote:  Bring it down to San Antonio. Host it at the Alamodome. The NCAA tournament always gets a good crowd when they have the games at the dome. Plus you can walk to the Riverwalk afterwards and have a few beers or margaritas.

^^^^THIS!! San Antonio would be a great choice. It's a tourist town. It's a CUSA town. There's lots to do. It's a big city, so it could draw nice crowds. And it doesn't have competition from the Big 12, because the Big 12 has a love affair with Kansas City.

(03-14-2014 07:56 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  I've been working the SWAC tournament all week in Houston. So far their crowds haven't been great, but they haven't been awful either (and they should be decent the last two days with both TSU and Prairie View teams still alive). They've done a nice job of having special events tied into the tournament (like postgame concerts and college recruiting days for local high schools).

While Houston isn't a possibility right now due to Rice's pathetic state of both of its basketball programs, that could change in the future. And if Rice had a viable program, I'd like to see the city of Houston considered as a host. There are plenty of local groups to help with the event and the city has a lot to do this time of year (the rodeo is in town this time of year). It was probably a better choice when UH was still in the conference, but it's still a possibility down the road (btw, the Southland Conference tournament is also in Houston - out in Katy which is a suburb 20 miles west of downtown).

How was attendance in El Paso yesterday?

Did I hear correctly that the SWAC is at the Toyota Center? How did that happen?

I think Houston should be in play. And not just because I live here.

I vote for a centrally located neutral site with a CUSA team in it. *cough* Birmingham *cough*

UTEP, God love ya, but my kid's in the UAB pep band and spent 2 days on a bus this week.

If we are looking for a tourist destination, Ruston is the obvious choice! I suppose Houston or San Antonio would do in a bind; I've heard they both have a few things to do.

(03-15-2014 02:14 PM)RougeDawg Wrote:  If we are looking for a tourist destination, Ruston is the obvious choice! I suppose Houston or San Antonio would do in a bind; I've heard they both have a few things to do.

You can only have fun in Houston if you are 21+. The attractions are limited for people under age. Houston hasn't been the same since they destroyed Astroworld. It has become more of an executive city.

(03-15-2014 02:33 PM)UTSAMarineVet09 Wrote:  

(03-15-2014 02:14 PM)RougeDawg Wrote:  If we are looking for a tourist destination, Ruston is the obvious choice! I suppose Houston or San Antonio would do in a bind; I've heard they both have a few things to do.

You can only have fun in Houston if you are 21+. The attractions are limited for people under age. Houston hasn't been the same since they destroyed Astroworld. It has become more of an executive city.

Then San Antonio it is.

I'd lean towards New Orleans over San Antonio. It's more of a central location, there's plenty to do and it's a big-time tourist destination. San Antonio is a great destination, but it's on the western edge of the conference. I hope it's never held in El Paso again. Nothing against the city or it's people, it's just too far away and fans aren't going to get excited about going to El Paso like they would New Orleans. I'd like the conference to pick one city for the tournament and stick with that city for the long-term. Lets take a couple more years to find the right spot if we have to and then settle on it.

There is a zero chance we don't host again in the next three years

(03-15-2014 03:29 PM)mistabinks Wrote:  There is a zero chance we don't host again in the next three years

Then that will be a really really bad business decision by CUSA officials. The conference has got to start thinking more strategically than that. We need to be playing our tournaments in busy, large media markets, where we get wall to wall media coverage for 3 straight days, and where fans of MORE THAN ONE SCHOOL can logically afford to participate. It's insane to hold CUSA's tournament in such a far away, isolated, destination. Hell, that game this morning started at 9:30 AM in El Paso. WTF?

I personally like El Paso. It's a great Texas town, with tons of culture, and obviously great UTEP fans. But it's location --half way between Dallas & San Diego-- is just too damn far to be hosting a CUSA tournament of any kind. Maybe golf, but nothing else.

Iv never understood this, can someone PLEASE fill me in one why CUSA cant get a floor for the tournament?
The SWAC tournament looks better, the look of the tourney isn't eye pleasing and has never been.
Even when it was held in Memphis it looked nothing like a neutral court.


And WHO on gods earth picked El Paso to host, do they not have a map?



why pick a school so offset from all the rest, & such a long distance?
they're killing themselves.

If they held it in Birmingham (which for one is a much nicer city than El Paso, sorry UTEP fans..) they would have loads of fans. People would actually travel to Birmingham because of the city itself and the distance wouldn't be bad.

On top of that MTSU, LTU, WKU, UAB and USM the best fan bases in CUSA would be so close the turn outs would be amazing..

(03-15-2014 04:25 PM)HogDawg Wrote:  

(03-15-2014 03:29 PM)mistabinks Wrote:  There is a zero chance we don't host again in the next three years

Then that will be a really really bad business decision by CUSA officials. The conference has got to start thinking more strategically than that. We need to be playing our tournaments in busy, large media markets, where we get wall to wall media coverage for 3 straight days, and where fans of MORE THAN ONE SCHOOL can logically afford to participate. It's insane to hold CUSA's tournament in such a far away, isolated, destination. Hell, that game this morning started at 9:30 AM in El Paso. WTF?

I personally like El Paso. It's a great Texas town, with tons of culture, and obviously great UTEP fans. But it's location --half way between Dallas & San Diego-- is just too damn far to be hosting a CUSA tournament of any kind. Maybe golf, but nothing else.

Realistically, there are only 3, maybe 4 schools who have a large enough fan base to support the tournament and 3 of them are definitely not centralized location.

St Petersburg, Atlanta, Charlotte, New Orleans, Destin, Savannah, Nashville, Charleston, Jacksonville, Myrtle Beach, Daytona Beach (make it a "Spring Break" event where they could have cheap beer, tricycle races, and wet t-shirt contests for the college kids that adopt a CUSA team while on Spring Break).

(03-15-2014 04:50 PM)grapes Wrote:  Iv never understood this, can someone PLEASE fill me in one why CUSA cant get a floor for the tournament?
The SWAC tournament looks better, the look of the tourney isn't eye pleasing and has never been.
Even when it was held in Memphis it looked nothing like a neutral court.


And WHO on gods earth picked El Paso to host, do they not have a map?



why pick a school so offset from all the rest, & such a long distance?
they're killing themselves.

If they held it in Birmingham (which for one is a much nicer city than El Paso, sorry UTEP fans..) they would have loads of fans. People would actually travel to Birmingham because of the city itself and the distance wouldn't be bad.

On top of that MTSU, LTU, WKU, UAB and USM the best fan bases in CUSA would be so close the turn outs would be amazing..

Take Tulane, ECU and Tulsa out, add WKU and let's revisit this map.

(03-15-2014 04:50 PM)grapes Wrote:  .

On top of that MTSU, LTU, WKU, UAB and USM the best fan bases in CUSA would be so close the turn outs would be amazing..

Don't forget ODU. We were 2nd in attendance this year with a sub .500 team.

(03-15-2014 05:48 PM)UTSAMarineVet09 Wrote:  

(03-15-2014 04:50 PM)grapes Wrote:  Iv never understood this, can someone PLEASE fill me in one why CUSA cant get a floor for the tournament?
The SWAC tournament looks better, the look of the tourney isn't eye pleasing and has never been.
Even when it was held in Memphis it looked nothing like a neutral court.


And WHO on gods earth picked El Paso to host, do they not have a map?



why pick a school so offset from all the rest, & such a long distance?
they're killing themselves.

If they held it in Birmingham (which for one is a much nicer city than El Paso, sorry UTEP fans..) they would have loads of fans. People would actually travel to Birmingham because of the city itself and the distance wouldn't be bad.

On top of that MTSU, LTU, WKU, UAB and USM the best fan bases in CUSA would be so close the turn outs would be amazing..

Take Tulane, ECU and Tulsa out, add WKU and let's revisit this map.

That map was speaking for this year not next year, and even with them out UTEP would still be a horrible pick.



Birmingham is centered between all CUSA schools and is also VERY close to the best CUSA basketball schools there is.

(03-15-2014 04:50 PM)grapes Wrote:  Iv never understood this, can someone PLEASE fill me in one why CUSA cant get a floor for the tournament?
The SWAC tournament looks better, the look of the tourney isn't eye pleasing and has never been.
Even when it was held in Memphis it looked nothing like a neutral court.


And WHO on gods earth picked El Paso to host, do they not have a map?



why pick a school so offset from all the rest, & such a long distance?
they're killing themselves.

If they held it in Birmingham (which for one is a much nicer city than El Paso, sorry UTEP fans..) they would have loads of fans. People would actually travel to Birmingham because of the city itself and the distance wouldn't be bad.

On top of that MTSU, LTU, WKU, UAB and USM the best fan bases in CUSA would be so close the turn outs would be amazing..

Let Memphis bid then