(05-12-2022 04:16 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote: [ -> ] (05-12-2022 03:50 PM)BePcr07 Wrote: [ -> ] (05-12-2022 03:04 PM)GreatDane96 Wrote: [ -> ] (05-12-2022 01:52 PM)ccd494 Wrote: [ -> ] (05-12-2022 01:48 PM)whittx Wrote: [ -> ]But Siena would love to be associated with Binghamton. UAlbany, and UVM
No they wouldn't. Albany and Siena HATE each other.
Exactly. Only after political pressure, Albany and Siena are renewing the basketball rivalry with some common ground. The three year deal makes a neutral site game next year at the The MVP Arena, publicly owned but Siena is a tenant. It will be stripped of anything Siena related and all sales will be split by the schools. The following year the game will move to Albany, and may even be the opener for our newly renovated arena. The year after we head back to the MVP Arena, which will have Siena declared the home team.
There is literally no love lost between the schools...and they can flat out pound sand.
What happened?
They fell in love with the same woman.
LOL. Sort of true. :)
It actually goes back to the DIII days, Albany was a powerhouse...Siena hated it. Private uppity school looked down on the "teachers" college. We were considered your across the tracks trash, and we summarily whooped on them in sports. They moved up to DI, that allowed them to build a local following...we stayed in DIII. They refused to play even exhibition games. Then when we came to DI, they refused to play us at home...treated our fans / school like trash at their arena...etc. They basically were elitist. Tide turned...yet, to their credit, they have a great fan base. Problem for them is that fan base is blue haired...and is slowly thinning.
We finally put our foot down and said "home and home" or nothing. WE got one home game, then they cancelled the series because we demanded equal treatment. We also got the MVP Arena to pull Siena's exclusivity clause (I used to work at the arena, and this was a big deal as Siena had a "no Albany" game clause for years). They wanted to corner the DI market.
To be fair, the MVP arena seats 15,000. Albany Cup games average just a hair under 10,000...it's a big deal in the Capital District. So with that, Siena's argument was fans will be locked out of tickets because Albany's arena sat 4200. Our argument was, so what...you can watch it on TV and then Siena can reap the revenue rewards during the MVP Arena games (double the amount Albany would make at our own home games). Alternatively, we asked to split the baby...revenues, concessions, and removal of all Siena branding/logos, including on the floor...making the game at MVP a true neutral game. They refused. Albany vs. Siena was the number one attended game on Siena's home schedule each year, increasing average attendance by about double or just a shy under.
The game is now back on for a three year tilt.
https://www.timesunion.com/sports/articl...767365.php
ALBANY - Siena men's basketball coach Carmen Maciariello got a phone call from a number he didn't recognize the night of last March 18.
The area code was Charlotte, N.C.
"I'm like, is this going to be a recruit or is this going to be a random robo-dial," Maciariello recalled Tuesday..
It was neither. The caller was new University at Albany head coach Dwayne Killings, who just had his introductory news conference.
Among other things, Killings, who once worked as a special assistant for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, wanted to talk Albany Cup. Specifically, how the Saints and Great Danes could get the rivalry game going again after not playing since 2017 because of a disagreement over venue.
"When I first got to town, it was amazing how many people said, 'You've got to get the Siena game back,'" Killings said. "Everywhere I went. The grocery store. Calls from our donors, our alums, our former players. So I actually reached out to Carm and we got together for coffee and I said, 'Is this something we can make happen?' And I think we both shared the same mindset and the same mentality in that this what your student-athletes deserve. This is what your community deserves."
Their meeting at Uncommon Grounds near the UAlbany campus helped lead to Tuesday's news conference at 677 Prime to formally announce the return of the Albany Cup rivalry starting next season.
The schools agreed on a three-year contract with the first game being a neutral-site contest at MVP Arena at a date to be determined. There will be a 50-50 split of the seating bowl and shared costs and revenues, according to UAlbany athletic director Mark Benson, who said his school was "appreciative" of the arrangement.
The second game in 2023 will be a UAlbany home game at SEFCU Arena and the 2024 contest will be back at MVP Arena in front of Siena's season-ticket holders.
Siena's willingness to return to SEFCU Arena was a key element of the deal. The teams played for 17 consecutive seasons from 2001 to 2017, and only one game was contested at UAlbany - an 81-72 Great Danes victory in 2016.
While MVP Arena can seat around 15,000 for basketball, SEFCU Arena has a seating capacity of 4,009. The Albany Cup has drawn a total of 167,251 fans since 2001, an average of 9,838 per game.
D'Argenio said four years ago, "I want to have it somewhere where we can accommodate as many people as possible who want to see it."
Asked about the change of heart, D'Argenio used a little humor and a more serious reference to the COVID-19 pandemic, a topic Benson also broached.
"Well, we have to go back there and avenge a loss, right," D'Argenio said to laughter. "The last time we were there, we lost the game. So we want to do that. And I think Mark put it very well. When you sit here in year two of the pandemic, you have all the other things that are swirling around, it puts everything in perspective. I think it's a good thing to be able to go there, to be able to play in front of their fan base, hopefully we bring some of our fans, then be able to say we're creating an exciting and great event in this area."
The rivalry began in 1940 and Siena holds a 30-24 advantage, including 10-7 in the Division I era. However, the Great Danes won six of the last eight meetings before the current interruption.
"We're a couple of miles apart from each other and it feels like we should be playing this on a regular basis," Benson said. "I think beyond each of our fan bases, this is arguably the premier sporting event in the Capital Region in the winter and beyond. So for the casual basketball fan who may not have an allegiance to either school, they can celebrate with us and know they have a great rivalry."
Benson also noted the toll of the pandemic and added "the beauty of sports is it can bring people together and give them something to rally behind."
Benson added he doesn't think there will more pauses in the rivalry.
"I think probably just continual dialogue, rather than waiting toward the end of a contract," he said. "I think we're in a good place and I don't anticipate any hiccups moving forward."
Maciariello graduated from Siena in 2001, the year before the rivalry began at the Division I level with a 60-48 Siena victory in front of 10,285 fans. Maciariello was in the crowd for that contest and said the atmosphere was "awesome."
"Now you have two programs on the rise that both want to compete for league titles," Maciariello said. "Now this can add to our value ... It's a way to teach our young men, but it's also an opportunity for us to both showcase what we're trying to build."