(03-18-2014 10:51 AM)mac6115cd Wrote:  

(03-17-2014 06:47 AM)DexterDevil Wrote:  The ACC court was hideous, and before anyone says anything about the stupid Big Ten tourney logo, I know.

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Who sponsored the Big Ten tourney...Luck Charms or the B1G LGBT club?

(03-18-2014 06:35 AM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  

(03-17-2014 04:54 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(03-17-2014 06:47 AM)DexterDevil Wrote:  The ACC court was hideous, and before anyone says anything about the stupid Big Ten tourney logo, I know.

Posted from my mobile device using the CSNbbs App

Northeast teams + MSG = Magic

It's unreal, and no conference tourney anywhere else can compete with the lights and passion of the city, ACC and B1G land included.

Not when it comes to TV ratings apparently.

Irrelevant.

(03-18-2014 07:43 AM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(03-18-2014 06:35 AM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  

(03-17-2014 04:54 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(03-17-2014 06:47 AM)DexterDevil Wrote:  The ACC court was hideous, and before anyone says anything about the stupid Big Ten tourney logo, I know.

Posted from my mobile device using the CSNbbs App

Northeast teams + MSG = Magic

It's unreal, and no conference tourney anywhere else can compete with the lights and passion of the city, ACC and B1G land included.

Not when it comes to TV ratings apparently.

I'm talking about game experience. FS1 + Almost every major team losing as soon as possible = Ratings Disaster, I agree.

Hopefully FS1 will figure itself out, and the BIG EAST will have better luck next year.

They will. FS1 is in it's first year. What did you expect?

FS1 is in this for the long haul. They have committed major resources to this, including the big buck they gave to the Big East. Fox wants to be competitive with ESPN. After watching them become competitive with the 3 major networks with their flagship channel, who can doubt that they will?

(03-18-2014 10:53 AM)MU88 Wrote:  

(03-17-2014 12:28 PM)IceJus10 Wrote:  The Garden is very misleading -- well placed mics and dark seating bowls make the building look and sound better on television -- the Garden lighting is designed to mimic a theater style, where it highlights the performance space (court), while leaving patrons darker and makes for a real big time feel - instead of new buildings where the roof is full of lights and the seating bowls are all lit up too.

That said, the Garden seats 20,057 for basketball, and the Big East's most attended session was only 15,290. A near 25% decline in finals attendance, and up to 42% decline in other sessions. The good thing is most people on TV couldn't tell because of the lighting in the Garden - so it didn't hurt the imagery of the BET. The only major problem is nobody saw the broadcasts, as BET ratings were pathetic on FS1, a mere fraction of what they'd been in past years.

Actually, there were more bodies in the seats for the first couple days of the tourney as compared with a couple of years ago. I was surprised how full the building was for DP-GT and SH-Butler. While the BE sold more tickets in the past, the atmosphere for the first couple days was better this year. However, the crowd was smaller than in the past on Friday and Saturday nights. The crowd was very good and it is hard to believe that the building was only 3/4 full. There were a significant number of people in the 4th deck end zones and the third deck was filled but for the sections closest to the corners.

I suspect that barring a banner year from SJU or maybe SH, this year will become the new norm. Its tough for smaller schools to fill the building. MU and GT had down years and there numbers at the tourney were down. But, Creighton brought a significant number of fans, which will certainly drop as their team falls in the standings next year. It would be nice if more than 2 fans from DePaul would show up. Geez, they even won a game this year.

It's hard to predict the future at this point without knowing the Big East's plans for expansion. The conference only has 10 members right now, not 16. If you go back 20 years to the last time the Big East has 10 members, they weren't selling out games in the tournament either - not even the finals. Attendance was very comparable to what it was this past weekend.

IMO, it would be a mistake for the Big East to expand with 2 teams from the Midwest. The smartest thing they could do if they want to boost attendance would be to add VCU and UMass, 2 schools with 30K enrollments and with locations that make a trip to the Garden very easy, just an Amtrak ride away.

Umass is probably a no go since they have a football team.

(03-19-2014 04:02 PM)adcorbett Wrote:  Umass is probably a no go since they have a football team.

They do have a football team. And that's about it. They have a football team.

Their decision to move up to FBS hasn't yet been accompanied by the financial investment that some others have made, so the decision is not irreversible.

When they joined the MAC for football, they negotiated an escape clause if Temple left - which they have. So, I assume they gave some thought to the idea that FBS might not work out for them. They are likely prepared to retrench.

It was a long, hard, and difficult battle for UMass to get the support in-state for a football upgrade. There were/are forces strongly opposed to it. If there were an offer from the Big East, accompanied by increases in revenue and prestige, those forces would be quickly activated to lead a charge to seize the opportunity even at - and especially at - the expense of football. Massachusetts is not like some other states where there has been a groundswell of support behind moving forward with football.

I didn't read this thread, but in summary is this effectively a PC fan feeling validated because a view anonymous SU posters weren't critical of the final?

(03-19-2014 04:17 PM)Melky Cabrera Wrote:  

(03-19-2014 04:02 PM)adcorbett Wrote:  Umass is probably a no go since they have a football team.

They do have a football team. And that's about it. They have a football team.

Their decision to move up to FBS hasn't yet been accompanied by the financial investment that some others have made, so the decision is not irreversible.

What I mean is as long as they have a D1A football team, their addition creates instability for the Big East that none of their other candidates do.

Now joining the Big East might be enough of an incentive to push them over the edge in terms of going back down, but as it stands now, I don't think they want any part of that.

I actually think they prefer to stand pat for a couple of years for image reasons. Too much expansion too fast makes it seem like a merger. Now they can integrate Creighton, Xavier, and Butler into their league, then add more down the line, in what will be a two teams added to a "ten team" Big East instead of appearing to be 5 teams added to a 7 team Big East.

sounds weird, but Marquette and DePaul are not called C-USA schools anymore.

(03-19-2014 04:30 PM)adcorbett Wrote:  

(03-19-2014 04:17 PM)Melky Cabrera Wrote:  

(03-19-2014 04:02 PM)adcorbett Wrote:  Umass is probably a no go since they have a football team.

They do have a football team. And that's about it. They have a football team.

Their decision to move up to FBS hasn't yet been accompanied by the financial investment that some others have made, so the decision is not irreversible.

What I mean is as long as they have a D1A football team, their addition creates instability for the Big East that none of their other candidates do.

Now joining the Big East might be enough of an incentive to push them over the edge in terms of going back down, but as it stands now, I don't think they want any part of that.

I actually think they prefer to stand pat for a couple of years for image reasons. Too much expansion too fast makes it seem like a merger. Now they can integrate Creighton, Xavier, and Butler into their league, then add more down the line, in what will be a two teams added to a "ten team" Big East instead of appearing to be 5 teams added to a 7 team Big East.

sounds weird, but Marquette and DePaul are not called C-USA schools anymore.

Agree that the Big East doesn't want any part of a D1 football school. They would only be interested if UMass agreed to downgrade football. Heck, there are rumors that they don't want any part of a public school of any sort. VCU seems like a no brainer other than that.

I'm just saying that those 2 schools would be the smart move if they want to boost attendance at their showcase event. At least that's how it seems to me. I don't know how much help with attendance they'll get from Midwestern additions like St Louis and Dayton.

Your point is well taken that they my be taking a few years to integrate the 3 current first year members before further expansion. What we don't know is how urgently Fox feels the need to increase inventory, which could certainly influence the time line. They also risk losing a prime candidate like VCU if they wait too long.

Well if they increase the size, it would not as much "increase" inventory as "improve" it. They also use CBS Sports and others as an outlet for extra games. So what it would do is give them a broader range of games to choose from for FS 1 and FS2 (or for that matter have more inventory to put on FS 2) before sublicensing the rest.

It may also help them get a better "spot" on local cable in those areas where a new team is added. If for example St Louis cables company has FS1 on an expanded basic tier, perhaps that puts it up to basic.