(07-08-2015 10:34 AM)UConnHusky Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 08:06 AM)Cubanbull Wrote:  Some of our schools are never going to draw huge numbers. With that said we all can do better.
Yes Tulane has a small arena but they should get 3k
UCF,USF,Houston ,Temple and ECU should be in the 6-7k
Tulsa has proven that for a small school they can draw very well.
SMU is doing well
The top three are the big basketball powers in our conference they should be drawing 12k or better and Memphis when they win has proven to better than that

I think that this comment needs to be put in perspective, though. For Memphis, a move to the AAC was a step up in class. From a fan perspective, their ticket packages became more attractive with some of the basketball powers in this league. For UConn and Cincinnati, it is the opposite. It is hard to swap out Syracuse, Louisville, Pitt, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, and Marquette for Tulane, Houston, UCF and ECU in roundball and expect attendance to remain the same or increase.

That said, I fully expect the AAC to become a great basketball league. Tulane, Houston, UCF and ECU can go as far as they want if they are committed to building basketball. When that happens, attendance will improve for all members.

This x100

Temple was coming off a 9 win season and was not supposed to be as good as they were coming into the season. Our attendence in the OOC was awful and even when we played Kansas we only get about 12k when we normally would have sold out the Wells Fargo Center. We had better attendence during our 9 win season then last season despite no big names in our OOC scedule. This year our conference attendence was about a little over 7k which is not bad in my opinion. It frustrates me with our attendence was we got a little over 7k for Houston but only got 6,600 for Cincinnatti which at the time was the biggest game of the year.

(07-08-2015 08:47 AM)Cubanbull Wrote:  All of our schools can fill up for a big game but the question is can they draw 6-7k night in night out vs every home opponent

We've averaged about 6k a season back when we were in the CAA and had other seasons in the 5600-5800 range even with losing records in the old CUSA 1.0 and no success.

Lebo and his D2/300+ RPI OOC schedules and talking down expectations constantly wet blankets any potiental attendance these days though.

He actually said we might not be favored in a conference game last summer. Way to get the season ticket base fired up aye.

ECU could get to max capacity in the blink of an eye if we had a product worthy of anything. Even an NIT quality team. That has to come first.

God, I hate Lebo. ECU deserves better.

Basketball attendance like all sports attendance is trending down. It doesn't help that pro and college football occupy the sports landscape until the start of February. UC's attendance during conference season is usually over 10,000. Heck two seasons ago the Cats sold out a late season game against Houston.

(07-08-2015 10:36 AM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:34 AM)UConnHusky Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 08:06 AM)Cubanbull Wrote:  Some of our schools are never going to draw huge numbers. With that said we all can do better.
Yes Tulane has a small arena but they should get 3k
UCF,USF,Houston ,Temple and ECU should be in the 6-7k
Tulsa has proven that for a small school they can draw very well.
SMU is doing well
The top three are the big basketball powers in our conference they should be drawing 12k or better and Memphis when they win has proven to better than that

I think that this comment needs to be put in perspective, though. For Memphis, a move to the AAC was a step up in class. From a fan perspective, their ticket packages became more attractive with some of the basketball powers in this league. For UConn and Cincinnati, it is the opposite. It is hard to swap out Syracuse, Louisville, Pitt, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, and Marquette for Tulane, Houston, UCF and ECU in roundball and expect attendance to remain the same or increase.

That said, I fully expect the AAC to become a great basketball league. Tulane, Houston, UCF and ECU can go as far as they want if they are committed to building basketball. When that happens, attendance will improve for all members.

This x100

I think our new retrofitted gym will only hold 11500 or less.

(07-08-2015 11:55 AM)rosewater Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:36 AM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:34 AM)UConnHusky Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 08:06 AM)Cubanbull Wrote:  Some of our schools are never going to draw huge numbers. With that said we all can do better.
Yes Tulane has a small arena but they should get 3k
UCF,USF,Houston ,Temple and ECU should be in the 6-7k
Tulsa has proven that for a small school they can draw very well.
SMU is doing well
The top three are the big basketball powers in our conference they should be drawing 12k or better and Memphis when they win has proven to better than that

I think that this comment needs to be put in perspective, though. For Memphis, a move to the AAC was a step up in class. From a fan perspective, their ticket packages became more attractive with some of the basketball powers in this league. For UConn and Cincinnati, it is the opposite. It is hard to swap out Syracuse, Louisville, Pitt, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, and Marquette for Tulane, Houston, UCF and ECU in roundball and expect attendance to remain the same or increase.

That said, I fully expect the AAC to become a great basketball league. Tulane, Houston, UCF and ECU can go as far as they want if they are committed to building basketball. When that happens, attendance will improve for all members.

This x100

I think our new retrofitted gym will only hold 11500 or less.

I do believe though that once the renovated Fifth Third opens, we will sell out nearly every game (save for a few early season dregs and snow storm games) as long as Mick keeps leading us to the tournament every season. Even though our capacity will drop, our attendance will increase.

(07-08-2015 11:46 AM)bearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  Basketball attendance like all sports attendance is trending down. It doesn't help that pro and college football occupy the sports landscape until the start of February. UC's attendance during conference season is usually over 10,000. Heck two seasons ago the Cats sold out a late season game against Houston.

Yep. A lot of people don't even start thinking about college basketball until mid January and even February. Football is a big part of that, but I also think that for the casual fan it does not really get interesting until the season progresses and teams are jockeying for conference championships and NCAA seeding.

Also, just as with football, the other factor we also have to throw in there are the comforts and availability of watching games from home. My wife always brings up to me every year how much she prefers to stay at home to watch games because she can see the action better and has access to multiple views of instant replay.

(07-08-2015 10:36 AM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:34 AM)UConnHusky Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 08:06 AM)Cubanbull Wrote:  Some of our schools are never going to draw huge numbers. With that said we all can do better.
Yes Tulane has a small arena but they should get 3k
UCF,USF,Houston ,Temple and ECU should be in the 6-7k
Tulsa has proven that for a small school they can draw very well.
SMU is doing well
The top three are the big basketball powers in our conference they should be drawing 12k or better and Memphis when they win has proven to better than that

I think that this comment needs to be put in perspective, though. For Memphis, a move to the AAC was a step up in class. From a fan perspective, their ticket packages became more attractive with some of the basketball powers in this league. For UConn and Cincinnati, it is the opposite. It is hard to swap out Syracuse, Louisville, Pitt, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, and Marquette for Tulane, Houston, UCF and ECU in roundball and expect attendance to remain the same or increase.

That said, I fully expect the AAC to become a great basketball league. Tulane, Houston, UCF and ECU can go as far as they want if they are committed to building basketball. When that happens, attendance will improve for all members.

This x100

Except the numbers don't bear out. The AAC is a huge upgrade no doubt, but Memphis has been top 25 in attendance (with multiple top 10 finishes) since the turn of the century (probably further back, but I stopped at 2000). 04/05 is the only year they finished outside the top 25. Attendance has been trending down for the last five years and could fall further next year (which is a reflection on the state of the program NOT the AAC). Memphis has proven that they can draw top 10/15/20 numbers over multiple coaches and conferences. Point being that while great home slates can certainly help with attendance, the Tigers have shown that their attendance is tied to performance more so than opponents or coaching. Now, the fanbase complains (loudly) when the home slate is weak, but they don't typically stay away b/c of it.

14/15 13,915 AAC
13/14 16,121 AAC
12/13 16,234 CUSA
11/12 16,336 CUSA
10/11 16,768 CUSA

None of this a meant disparagingly toward the AAC. It IS a step up. It's just that Memphis has a proven fanbase that has transcended conference affiliation and coaching changes over the years.

ETA: clean up grammar and add link. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketba...Ytop25.pdf

It's difficult to say anything about Memphis when they are # 1 in average attendance in the conference.

All of the teams need to improve, but there are way too many averaging under 5,000.

(07-08-2015 10:30 AM)pesik Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 09:56 AM)aTxTIGER Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 07:33 AM)pesik Wrote:  or simply put memphis has to fire pastner they recorded one of their worst attendance in decades

and not to put all the blame on memphis..houston needs to dramatically improve aswell...

also noting smu's max capacity is 7k, theyd have likely doing 9k-ish attendance in a bigger arena

LOL did you just blame the school that has 6x Houston's attendance for the conference's poor showing?

That's rich.

clearly you didnt read the fact that i mentioned houston

clearly i did. Get your own house in order before you even think of mentioning our attendance in a negative light.

Houston could play 5 seasons and still not equal the attendance we have in just one.

(07-08-2015 12:36 PM)gulfcoastgal Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:36 AM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:34 AM)UConnHusky Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 08:06 AM)Cubanbull Wrote:  Some of our schools are never going to draw huge numbers. With that said we all can do better.
Yes Tulane has a small arena but they should get 3k
UCF,USF,Houston ,Temple and ECU should be in the 6-7k
Tulsa has proven that for a small school they can draw very well.
SMU is doing well
The top three are the big basketball powers in our conference they should be drawing 12k or better and Memphis when they win has proven to better than that

I think that this comment needs to be put in perspective, though. For Memphis, a move to the AAC was a step up in class. From a fan perspective, their ticket packages became more attractive with some of the basketball powers in this league. For UConn and Cincinnati, it is the opposite. It is hard to swap out Syracuse, Louisville, Pitt, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, and Marquette for Tulane, Houston, UCF and ECU in roundball and expect attendance to remain the same or increase.

That said, I fully expect the AAC to become a great basketball league. Tulane, Houston, UCF and ECU can go as far as they want if they are committed to building basketball. When that happens, attendance will improve for all members.

This x100

Except the numbers don't bear out. The AAC is a huge upgrade no doubt, but Memphis has been top 25 in attendance (with multiple top 10 finishes) since the turn of the century (probably further back, but I stopped at 2000). 04/05 is the only year they finished outside the top 25. Attendance has been trending down for the last five years and could fall further next year (which is a reflection on the state of the program NOT the AAC). Memphis has proven that they can draw top 10/15/20 numbers over multiple coaches and conferences. Point being that while great home slates can certainly help with attendance, the Tigers have shown that their attendance is tied to performance more so than opponents or coaching. Now, the fanbase complains (loudly) when the home slate is weak, but they don't typically stay away b/c of it.

14/15 13,915 AAC
13/14 16,121 AAC
12/13 16,234 CUSA
11/12 16,336 CUSA
10/11 16,768 CUSA

None of this a meant disparagingly toward the AAC. It IS a step up. It's just that Memphis has a proven fanbase that has transcended conference affiliation and coaching changes over the years.

ETA: clean up grammar and add link. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketba...Ytop25.pdf

As a previous poster said, attendance has been trending down in all sports across all conferences. It is hard for fans to give up their large HD screens (most likely offering a better view than a live game) and creature comforts of their houses (bathroom and fridge nearby!). That being the case, it certainly doesn't hurt for live games that Memphis currently plays in a state of the art NBA arena. People tend to go to more games when there are creature comforts. Most of the other arenas in the AAC (UConn and Cincy included) aren't exactly shiny and new.

However, I still think that it is hard to compare UConn and Memphis attendance in an apples to apples sort of way. Memphis has always drawn well. Much of that is due to a rabid and loyal fan base. However, some of that draw is due the joy of climbing the mountain and not quite reaching the summit yet. The rigors of the climb are what give one the adrenaline rush when they finally reach the summit.

For UConn, that first climb to the summit for that first national championship in 1999 was a BLAST. The fan base was rabid for years leading up to it and so excited to see it finally come to fruition. Now, three additional championships later, the UConn fan base (while still loyal) is a little less excited. We love the climb, but it isn't as exciting as it used to be. There is no "what if this is the year" type of excitement. Now, winning it all every few years is expected. If our fans don't see at least an Elite 8 year in the cards, then it is harder for them to get amped up (and buy tickets).

Memphis is actually in an enviable position. They always recruit great players and see much success (such as being in the championship game in 2008). Tiger bball is always an exciting product. However, once you win it all, it will be less fun when you do it again (although, don't get me wrong, it is never NOT fun).

Either way, kudos to Memphis for leading the conference in attendance. I love being in a conference with the Tigers and I respect the loyalty of the Memphis fans. One of the best hoop schools out there (and football ain't half bad either).

(07-08-2015 10:33 AM)Hank Schrader Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:30 AM)pesik Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 09:56 AM)aTxTIGER Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 07:33 AM)pesik Wrote:  or simply put memphis has to fire pastner they recorded one of their worst attendance in decades

and not to put all the blame on memphis..houston needs to dramatically improve aswell...

also noting smu's max capacity is 7k, theyd have likely doing 9k-ish attendance in a bigger arena

LOL did you just blame the school that has 6x Houston's attendance for the conference's poor showing?

That's rich.

clearly you didnt read the fact that i mentioned houston

It still made no sense. Houston's attendance is an embarassment. Tulane's is a disgrace. Why should home fans of teams that get decent-good attendance be expected to show up for games against these teams when Houston and Tulane's fans don't even show up for their own?

Houston can turn It around for me tulane was a big concern I think they will only take us down sadly ihope I'm wrong.

(07-08-2015 12:51 PM)bearcatfan Wrote:  It's difficult to say anything about Memphis when they are # 1 in average attendance in the conference.

All of the teams need to improve, but there are way too many averaging under 5,000.

not trying to pic on tulane but I think they have a major uphill climb to compete in this conference

(07-08-2015 01:45 PM)aTxTIGER Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:30 AM)pesik Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 09:56 AM)aTxTIGER Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 07:33 AM)pesik Wrote:  or simply put memphis has to fire pastner they recorded one of their worst attendance in decades

and not to put all the blame on memphis..houston needs to dramatically improve aswell...

also noting smu's max capacity is 7k, theyd have likely doing 9k-ish attendance in a bigger arena

LOL did you just blame the school that has 6x Houston's attendance for the conference's poor showing?

That's rich.

clearly you didnt read the fact that i mentioned houston

clearly i did. Get your own house in order before you even think of mentioning our attendance in a negative light.

Houston could play 5 seasons and still not equal the attendance we have in just one.

first off the negative light was on pastner not memphis ...my comment was actually a positive that memphis can actually do way more but that your coach is holding you back

secondly, if this is how you feel...i better not here a single word from any memphis fan even in the slightly negative tone about football as you have by far been the worst program in the league the last 15 years even if you included last year (too bad your fans already do)

(07-08-2015 02:16 PM)UConnHusky Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 12:36 PM)gulfcoastgal Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:36 AM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:34 AM)UConnHusky Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 08:06 AM)Cubanbull Wrote:  Some of our schools are never going to draw huge numbers. With that said we all can do better.
Yes Tulane has a small arena but they should get 3k
UCF,USF,Houston ,Temple and ECU should be in the 6-7k
Tulsa has proven that for a small school they can draw very well.
SMU is doing well
The top three are the big basketball powers in our conference they should be drawing 12k or better and Memphis when they win has proven to better than that

I think that this comment needs to be put in perspective, though. For Memphis, a move to the AAC was a step up in class. From a fan perspective, their ticket packages became more attractive with some of the basketball powers in this league. For UConn and Cincinnati, it is the opposite. It is hard to swap out Syracuse, Louisville, Pitt, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, and Marquette for Tulane, Houston, UCF and ECU in roundball and expect attendance to remain the same or increase.

That said, I fully expect the AAC to become a great basketball league. Tulane, Houston, UCF and ECU can go as far as they want if they are committed to building basketball. When that happens, attendance will improve for all members.

This x100

Except the numbers don't bear out. The AAC is a huge upgrade no doubt, but Memphis has been top 25 in attendance (with multiple top 10 finishes) since the turn of the century (probably further back, but I stopped at 2000). 04/05 is the only year they finished outside the top 25. Attendance has been trending down for the last five years and could fall further next year (which is a reflection on the state of the program NOT the AAC). Memphis has proven that they can draw top 10/15/20 numbers over multiple coaches and conferences. Point being that while great home slates can certainly help with attendance, the Tigers have shown that their attendance is tied to performance more so than opponents or coaching. Now, the fanbase complains (loudly) when the home slate is weak, but they don't typically stay away b/c of it.

14/15 13,915 AAC
13/14 16,121 AAC
12/13 16,234 CUSA
11/12 16,336 CUSA
10/11 16,768 CUSA

None of this a meant disparagingly toward the AAC. It IS a step up. It's just that Memphis has a proven fanbase that has transcended conference affiliation and coaching changes over the years.

ETA: clean up grammar and add link. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketba...Ytop25.pdf

As a previous poster said, attendance has been trending down in all sports across all conferences. It is hard for fans to give up their large HD screens (most likely offering a better view than a live game) and creature comforts of their houses (bathroom and fridge nearby!). That being the case, it certainly doesn't hurt for live games that Memphis currently plays in a state of the art NBA arena. People tend to go to more games when there are creature comforts. Most of the other arenas in the AAC (UConn and Cincy included) aren't exactly shiny and new.

However, I still think that it is hard to compare UConn and Memphis attendance in an apples to apples sort of way. Memphis has always drawn well. Much of that is due to a rabid and loyal fan base. However, some of that draw is due the joy of climbing the mountain and not quite reaching the summit yet. The rigors of the climb are what give one the adrenaline rush when they finally reach the summit.

For UConn, that first climb to the summit for that first national championship in 1999 was a BLAST. The fan base was rabid for years leading up to it and so excited to see it finally come to fruition. Now, three additional championships later, the UConn fan base (while still loyal) is a little less excited. We love the climb, but it isn't as exciting as it used to be. There is no "what if this is the year" type of excitement. Now, winning it all every few years is expected. If our fans don't see at least an Elite 8 year in the cards, then it is harder for them to get amped up (and buy tickets).

Memphis is actually in an enviable position. They always recruit great players and see much success (such as being in the championship game in 2008). Tiger bball is always an exciting product. However, once you win it all, it will be less fun when you do it again (although, don't get me wrong, it is never NOT fun).

Either way, kudos to Memphis for leading the conference in attendance. I love being in a conference with the Tigers and I respect the loyalty of the Memphis fans. One of the best hoop schools out there (and football ain't half bad either).

Not to go too political but I think it also has something to do with the stagnation of the wages in the middle classes and a more and more competitive job market for college grads. People have less money to spend on frivolous activities like going to games.

Temple's OOC home schedule:

American
LA Tech
LIU Brooklyn
Towson
Delaware State

Kansas (Wells Fargo) 11,188
Penn 4,292 (usually much better attendance)
LaSalle 7,445

American and LT were good teams, but no one is going to go out of their way to get to those games. Our attendance has never been great despite our history, but that OOC home slate certainly did us no favors.

Overall conference average should be 8,000. That's a realistic goal.

(07-08-2015 11:59 AM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 11:55 AM)rosewater Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:36 AM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 10:34 AM)UConnHusky Wrote:  

(07-08-2015 08:06 AM)Cubanbull Wrote:  Some of our schools are never going to draw huge numbers. With that said we all can do better.
Yes Tulane has a small arena but they should get 3k
UCF,USF,Houston ,Temple and ECU should be in the 6-7k
Tulsa has proven that for a small school they can draw very well.
SMU is doing well
The top three are the big basketball powers in our conference they should be drawing 12k or better and Memphis when they win has proven to better than that

I think that this comment needs to be put in perspective, though. For Memphis, a move to the AAC was a step up in class. From a fan perspective, their ticket packages became more attractive with some of the basketball powers in this league. For UConn and Cincinnati, it is the opposite. It is hard to swap out Syracuse, Louisville, Pitt, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, and Marquette for Tulane, Houston, UCF and ECU in roundball and expect attendance to remain the same or increase.

That said, I fully expect the AAC to become a great basketball league. Tulane, Houston, UCF and ECU can go as far as they want if they are committed to building basketball. When that happens, attendance will improve for all members.

This x100

I think our new retrofitted gym will only hold 11500 or less.

I do believe though that once the renovated Fifth Third opens, we will sell out nearly every game (save for a few early season dregs and snow storm games) as long as Mick keeps leading us to the tournament every season. Even though our capacity will drop, our attendance will increase.

Speaking of Mick...how's he doing health-wise now? Hope all is good for him!