No. Fan support is not going to make this program elite. An elite program will help fan support absolutely no doubt.
upstate game thread
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No. Fan support is not going to make this program elite. An elite program will help fan support absolutely no doubt.
Bearcat_NTS
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For whatever reason, the fans never fully came back after Huggins left. The reason as to why still confuses me to this day. Part of it is the big personality Huggins has is a draw to the city, another part could be the immediate success he had making a Final 4 and then Elite 8 the next year.
There is no excuse as to why Cincinnati cannot average at least 10k over an entire season. Unfortunately at this point it will take a new arena or a Final 4 run to get some momentum going again. Mick is a great guy and great coach for this program, but for some reason cannot sell this city on the program.
The chicken or the egg scenario is that our team needs to win. Fans have little to do with this chicken or egg scenario. Can they help a little? Sure. Sellout crowds will never make a bad team good. Can they make a bad team a little less bad? I guess so.
I am with you NTS. But the reason is not as perplexing to me. Huggins made a final 4 in like 2-3 seasons into his coaching career here and then he maintained a very high ranking for most of his years. Our alums hadn't seen that since the 60's and our students were ready to take the bait.
If you look back at our final 4 season a lot of things happened in the tourney to give us an easier road....it was a perfect storm. But he continued with highly ranked squads year after year.
We simply haven't been ranked that high on a consistent basis since that point in time. We have breeched the top 15 a couple of times post Huggins but only for a moment. There was a time when we were in the top 10 conversation year after year after year. Top 4 seeds almost every year in the tourney. Old fans don't forget and young fans don't remember.
Patrick Bateman
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Big crowds are key for recruiting. One reason IU was able to recover quickly is their fans never stopped showing up, they continued to sell out games. Recruits want to play in front of sold out crowds and they are definitely aware of attendance.
Bearcat_NTS
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I really think the Huggins fiasco burned a ton of bridges with people in this city. I mean think about Fox 19, they used to pick up all the non-ESPN UC games when Huggins was the coach, the contract was up for renewal early after AK's year and Fox decided American Idol (which UC games consistently was bumping) would provide better ratings. After Mick rebuilt the program, was there ever a call to get Fox 19 back?
The city bailed on the program in 2006 and has not returned. That is not what elite (or even take NC State for example, they always have good crowds) programs do. They will show up in droves regardless of the coach. I guess I am disappointed that UC is no longer the city's team like they were more than a decade ago.
Maybe it will take a renovated US Bank Arena to get the people back?
The city bailed on the program in 2006 and has not returned. That is not what elite (or even take NC State for example, they always have good crowds) programs do. They will show up in droves regardless of the coach. I guess I am disappointed that UC is no longer the city's team like they were more than a decade ago.
Maybe it will take a renovated US Bank Arena to get the people back?
I might add that a new facility is NEVER going to make this program into an elite program. On court success is the only thing that will do this.
A shitty team with a new arena will not sell out. A great team with a shitty facilty will.
Good point! But you aren't going to bring your recruits to see NC Upstate....you are going to bring them to see UL (which will be sold out).
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Coach TT is bringing in a bunch of recruits during the UL game. Why? Well, we all know why...it's a big friggin game. It's a smart move. At no point in time would I expect ANY coach to bring in recruits for an NC Upstate game to impress anyone. If they did I would expect it was because we wanted to lose that recruiting battle.
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JumpinJack5
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A great team in a great arena will sell out consistently. It's high risk, high reward moving into a new arena. If we do it, we should announce our plans after a nice tournament run. A nice arena with a sellout crowd is a great supplement to have if you have the on-court success that we've had recently. If we keep winning and work on sustaining the momentum, it can certainly help grow your program into an elite program. Do you have to have it to be an elite program? No, but it sure as hell helps you continue to build a brand/image.
CaptDale
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Face it - sports fans are fickle entities. It doesn't make what the sport is. If you're winning, fans are coming. If you're not, they stay home (these patsie victories don't really count because they don't generate enough media hype). It doesn't matter if it's the Cats, Bengals, Reds, Muskies......or even the Yankees or Dodgers - and they have a tremendous infrastructure to draw from. If you start making banner headlines, the fans magically appear. Every venue is the same. UC gets ranked and knocks off some names, people's curiosity get piqued. You can't just MAKE fans attend games. It's much harder to get a live audience these days with all the media avenues available to them that make it much easier to stay home and warm on the sofa or at the computer. Me. personally, I would much rather experience the atmosphere of the game live. Unfortunately, not everyone feels that way. Those of you on this thread obviously feel like I do or else you wouldn't be doing all this brainstorming. A Top 25 and some home conference games ought to help - but there are no guarantees in life
I am surely not arguing that a better schedule or arena wouldn't help. I was simply arguing it's not necessary to selling out. I think I agree with your assessments.
Face it - sports fans are fickle entities. It doesn't make what the sport is. If you're winning, fans are coming. If you're not, they stay home (these patsie victories don't really count because they don't generate enough media hype). It doesn't matter if it's the Cats, Bengals, Reds, Muskies......or even the Yankees or Dodgers - and they have a tremendous infrastructure to draw from. If you start making banner headlines, the fans magically appear. Every venue is the same. UC gets ranked and knocks off some names, people's curiosity get piqued. You can't just MAKE fans attend games. It's much harder to get a live audience these days with all the media avenues available to them that make it much easier to stay home and warm on the sofa or at the computer. Me. personally, I would much rather experience the atmosphere of the game live. Unfortunately, not everyone feels that way. Those of you on this thread obviously feel like I do or else you wouldn't be doing all this brainstorming. A Top 25 and some home conference games ought to help - but there are no guarantees in life
Good stuff Capt Dale...yse it's very fickle. So many things that impact fan support.
Actually I think I agree with everything you said here.
Robert
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Let's also keep in mind that attendance has been trending downward in college basketball for a while now, and also in some other sports. Even if the Bearcats start becoming a fixture in the polls and make a Final Four run, they are still probably not going to sell out every game. If there is an option to renovate Fifth Third and make it a great arena, it may be worth pursuing even if it lowers capacity by a thousand or two.
One reason I am skeptical about moving to US Bank is the ability to fill it up. I do absolutely believe that Cincinnati can draw better with a better arena and continued success. But unless US Bank is converted to a state-of-the-art arena and Cincinnati becomes an annual national championship contender, I just can't see them ever filling up an arena with a capacity near 17,000. Not even the Crosstown Shootout has been able to do that in the 2 seasons US Bank has hosted. I do think a Final Four run or a preseason top 10 ranking could get us back near the 10,000 average mark though.
One reason I am skeptical about moving to US Bank is the ability to fill it up. I do absolutely believe that Cincinnati can draw better with a better arena and continued success. But unless US Bank is converted to a state-of-the-art arena and Cincinnati becomes an annual national championship contender, I just can't see them ever filling up an arena with a capacity near 17,000. Not even the Crosstown Shootout has been able to do that in the 2 seasons US Bank has hosted. I do think a Final Four run or a preseason top 10 ranking could get us back near the 10,000 average mark though.
Robert
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On the arena front, for what it's worth, there have been several arenas with around 10,000 capacity that have been built in the past 5 or so years for well under $100 million. I especially like Auburn Arena, although the capacity is a little on the low side at 9,121. Seriously, if you haven't seen it, Google it. It looks like a fantastic place to catch a college basketball game, and also looks like a place that would get ridiculously loud. Cozy, but modern.
If we can secure $86 million to renovate Nippert, maybe, just maybe, we can raise a similar amount of money to build a new arena? I know Babcock, Ono, and company will do all they can to put the team in the best situation possible, so maybe it can happen. I would much rather tear down Fifth Third and replace it with something similar to what they built at Auburn (but slightly larger) than move to US Bank IF at all possible.
If we can secure $86 million to renovate Nippert, maybe, just maybe, we can raise a similar amount of money to build a new arena? I know Babcock, Ono, and company will do all they can to put the team in the best situation possible, so maybe it can happen. I would much rather tear down Fifth Third and replace it with something similar to what they built at Auburn (but slightly larger) than move to US Bank IF at all possible.
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That would be the same UAB who beat North Carolina, who has defeated both Louisville and Michigan State
Robert
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Yeah, UAB is a quality team. They beat UNC, Nebraska, and Rutgers and lost in double OT to New Mexico. The 21-point loss to Temple is a head-scratcher since they are down this year, but ignoring the point margin, not a bad loss.
Also, New Mexico is likely no worse than last year... maybe even better. I believe they have 4 starters returning this year and 3 of those guys are averaging right around 20 ppg.
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WAITE HOYT 2
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http://news.cincinnati.com/proart/2...criminals-targeting-students?pagerestricted=1 could this have a impact on attendence???
WAITE HOYT 2
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Sorry guys I messed this up. the article i wanted to reference is in the Cincy.com. it has to do with crime on the upswing in clifton.