I thought there was a "typo" on the men's basketball schedule when I saw our game Tuesday vs. Jacksonville State was listed as starting at 2pm. I checked the website and it is correct. Playing a game at 2pm, on a weekday, doesn't seem like a way to maximize attendance. Realistically, it probably won't make a ton of difference in the attendance since it seems like most of our fans are retired. Maybe they will be marketing it to kids, who I guess, are off this coming week. I assume they set the early game time so players, on both teams, have a chance to leave earlier for their short Christmas break. I guess that was a thoughtful thing to do.

(12-19-2021 08:45 PM)mjs Wrote:  I thought there was a "typo" on the men's basketball schedule when I saw our game Tuesday vs. Jacksonville State was listed as starting at 2pm. I checked the website and it is correct. Playing a game at 2pm, on a weekday, doesn't seem like a way to maximize attendance. Realistically, it probably won't make a ton of difference in the attendance since it seems like most of our fans are retired. Maybe they will be marketing it to kids, who I guess, are off this coming week. I assume they set the early game time so players, on both teams, have a chance to leave earlier for their short Christmas break. I guess that was a thoughtful thing to do.

Your last assumption is correct. Games right before Christmas are often scheduled early so players from both teams can maximize their holiday time.

(12-19-2021 09:51 PM)PTJR Wrote:  

(12-19-2021 08:45 PM)mjs Wrote:  I thought there was a "typo" on the men's basketball schedule when I saw our game Tuesday vs. Jacksonville State was listed as starting at 2pm. I checked the website and it is correct. Playing a game at 2pm, on a weekday, doesn't seem like a way to maximize attendance. Realistically, it probably won't make a ton of difference in the attendance since it seems like most of our fans are retired. Maybe they will be marketing it to kids, who I guess, are off this coming week. I assume they set the early game time so players, on both teams, have a chance to leave earlier for their short Christmas break. I guess that was a thoughtful thing to do.

Your last assumption is correct. Games right before Christmas are often scheduled early so players from both teams can maximize their holiday time.

Thing is, if I didn't happen to look at the schedule on my fridge, I may well have pulled out my tickets, an hour before the game on Tuesday (5:30 pm) like I usually do, and then realized I missed the game.

I respect the decision to make it easier on players but I cannot make a 2:00 game on a weekday. Our start times in general are strange compared to a lot of schools. Our old traditional 7:00 start times have turned into you never know what time a game will start.

(12-21-2021 08:44 AM)Karl B Wrote:  I respect the decision to make it easier on players but I cannot make a 2:00 game on a weekday. Our start times in general are strange compared to a lot of schools. Our old traditional 7:00 start times have turned into you never know what time a game will start.

That was my original point. Any "working" fan would not be able to attend the game. I also thought our move to 6:30 games was rather odd. Really makes it tough for working folks to get home, eat dinner, and make it back to the arena. Maybe it's good for families with kids in school, since the games end quite early. Unfortunately, I don't see many families with kids at the games. In reality, I doubt the start time makes a ton of difference (other than with a weekday afternoon game). Folks who want to see us play, will find a way to get there, regardless if we start at 6:30, 7:00, or 7:30.

Don't really want to get started on attendance again, but I remember for years blaming our poor attendance on playing at Barton Coliseum. Since leaving Barton, we have played in a beautiful downtown arena and now a beautiful on-campus arena. Our attendance is still awful and is actually worse now than it was in the Barton Coliseum days. There are a lot of factors to help explain this. However, I've realized that "build it and they will come" does not apply in Little Rock. Our "real" fans will come see us play wherever, and the quality of our facility doesn't appear to matter to the rest of the community.