I was going to post that it seemed like the lowest attended MAC tournament ever (which it probably was)
The final game of 9,303 was the lowest since the first year (when the game was played on a Wed)
Still comparing the 9,303 to some other numbers- it doesn't look too bad for a neutral site tournament.
The Atlantic 10 had shy of 7,000- and the final had Temple- which is pretty close to Atlantic City
The Big 10 tournament only had 12,526- and they had Purdue vs OSU- both pretty close to Indianapolis.
Overall- a pretty good turnout at the Q when you consider the average MAC team draws under 3K per game and the economy, etc.
The problem is that MAC attendance and performance has trended down since '02.
If the teams were better, I don't doubt that attendance would be better as well.
Aside from Akron and Kent, who you can always expect to bring a relatively large crowd, I have to say that BG and Buffalo traveled well.
I usually think Buffalo travels well, considering they are 4 hours from Cleveland.
Although I am a KSU Alum, I plan to attend more Akron games next year, wearing my Kent State gear. That is if there is not a Kent game the same night. If schools that are in proximity to eachother support the other team by attending, not necessicarily root for them, as I have no intention of rooting for Akron in the future, that will help the confrence overall.
It was fun sitting courtside at the game Saturday, wearing by Kent State hoodie. I even got on the jumbotron a couple times.
How quickly some of us forget.
A crowd of 9,300 is better than any MAC school averaged all year. In fact, Toledo led the league in average home attendance with 5,600.
Just eleven short years ago the MAC averaged around 3,000 at the Seagate Center dump in towntown Toledo. Now a decade later we are playing in a state-of-the-art NBA facility and still getting nearly 10K; even when the league did not have a true marquee player or team all season.
That's pretty darn good if you ask me.
(03-16-2009 02:27 PM)Nick in Cleveland Wrote: [ -> ]How quickly some of us forget.
A crowd of 9,300 is better than any MAC school averaged all year. In fact, Toledo led the league in average home attendance with 5,600.
Just eleven short years ago the MAC averaged around 3,000 at the Seagate Center dump in towntown Toledo. Now a decade later we are playing in a state-of-the-art NBA facility and still getting nearly 10K; even when the league did not have a true marquee player or team all season.
That's pretty darn good if you ask me.
It looked great on TV.
ACC also played at the cavernous Georgia Dome instead of the arenas in Charlotte or Greensboro, where they would have sold out.
9,000 is good??? Seriously. Let's get some perspective. Kent State's finals with Central and Western in 2003 and 2004 were both over 10,000.
Akron is an hour away and Buffalo is three hours away from the Western suburbs. Neither school has been in the NCAA tournament in years. That is terrible. Add in the fact that the MAC is completely inept at getting locals to come. Give a bunch of tickets to local high schools, boys and girls clubs or don't charge $19 for the cheapest ticket when you add in the surcharge.
I quit caring about attendance a long time ago, but call a spade a spade.
(03-16-2009 03:36 PM)Airport KC Wrote: [ -> ] (03-16-2009 02:27 PM)Nick in Cleveland Wrote: [ -> ]How quickly some of us forget.
A crowd of 9,300 is better than any MAC school averaged all year. In fact, Toledo led the league in average home attendance with 5,600.
Just eleven short years ago the MAC averaged around 3,000 at the Seagate Center dump in towntown Toledo. Now a decade later we are playing in a state-of-the-art NBA facility and still getting nearly 10K; even when the league did not have a true marquee player or team all season.
That's pretty darn good if you ask me.
It looked great on TV.
When the only shots of people are tight shots, that is ESPN's way of making it more crowded than it actually is. They do that with MAC football games all the time.
I don't think having in excess of 9K is too bad, considering what our teams average during the regular season, plus this year was one of the worst in history in terms of the league's competitiveness outside the conference.
(03-16-2009 04:26 PM)KStud Wrote: [ -> ]9,000 is good??? Seriously. Let's get some perspective. Kent State's finals with Central and Western in 2003 and 2004 were both over 10,000.
Akron is an hour away and Buffalo is three hours away from the Western suburbs. Neither school has been in the NCAA tournament in years. That is terrible. Add in the fact that the MAC is completely inept at getting locals to come. Give a bunch of tickets to local high schools, boys and girls clubs or don't charge $19 for the cheapest ticket when you add in the surcharge.
I quit caring about attendance a long time ago, but call a spade a spade.
I paied $2 for my ticket. It was in the form of 2 boxes of Mac-N-Cheeze. Then we got upgraded to the $50 seats to fill in the lower bowl for the camera shots.
Althoug, I do agree. For the cost of Mac-N-Cheeze, it is an unheard of bargain. No reason to get all those people that run to an overrated NBA game to consider showing up for a D-1 college game.
(03-16-2009 05:34 PM)exCincy Kid Wrote: [ -> ]I don't think having in excess of 9K is too bad, considering what our teams average during the regular season, plus this year was one of the worst in history in terms of the league's competitiveness outside the conference.
Economy.
(03-16-2009 01:35 PM)AlphaFlash Wrote: [ -> ]I usually think Buffalo travels well, considering they are 4 hours from Cleveland.
yea if you ride your bike
Drawing only 3,000 less than the Big Ten when Purdue was playing in Indianapolis would indicate that we had a great crowd. 2,000 more than the A-10. The economy is affecting attendance all over college basketball, and in addition to that the MAC had perhaps its weakest season ever and also the teams are lacking star power right now. Cleveland is by far the best location this tournament has ever had (I have attended every single MAC tournament, no other location was even close).
I got front row seats behind the bench for $20. Not a bad deal. Atmosphere was great as always despite no band from Ohio. Akron did a good job of getting its people to the game. That made a difference.
(03-18-2009 12:26 AM)OUBOBCATJOHN Wrote: [ -> ]I got front row seats behind the bench for $20. Not a bad deal. Atmosphere was great as always despite no band from Ohio. Akron did a good job of getting its people to the game. That made a difference.
I think Bobcat fans should have hidden their faces in shame and embarrassment when the PA system provided their fight song. I was there and I was embarrassed as a MAC fan to see one of its programs resort to using a virtual band instead of the real thing. What's next? A virtual OU team in Cleveland next year?
You mean that was the real team playing BG on Thursday?
(03-18-2009 11:37 AM)LongtimeFan Wrote: [ -> ] (03-18-2009 12:26 AM)OUBOBCATJOHN Wrote: [ -> ]I got front row seats behind the bench for $20. Not a bad deal. Atmosphere was great as always despite no band from Ohio. Akron did a good job of getting its people to the game. That made a difference.
I think Bobcat fans should have hidden their faces in shame and embarrassment when the PA system provided their fight song. I was there and I was embarrassed as a MAC fan to see one of its programs resort to using a virtual band instead of the real thing. What's next? A virtual OU team in Cleveland next year?
you're right, it was an outrage. i couldn't agree more! McDavis really dropped the ball on this one.
Does anyone care to open up the paid attendance vs butts in seats conversation? I know its a big topic during football season. Any pictures of these 10k in cleveland for the final?
AFter researching myself i did find one picture on cleveland.com that showed a nice crowd... congrats! a real ***** to find a picture though...
http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/...c_jac.html