Eli

 

 

People are lazy, they don't want to go to the box office or call. How do you expect to sell out when you can't buy tickets online?

Tickets were and are available on line - I bought them

 

 

hmmm, wasn't seeing them last night or this morning but they are there now.

 

Question for the board, what is a good section to try and sit in where people will be loud and cheering? Sat towards the back of 650 with my family and I was the only one cheering loud at the UVM game. Seems to be some seats in the lower part of 600. thoughts?

 

As Click said, 200. Our section usually leads the arena in chants, etc. Our section seems to have a lot of knowledgeable fans as well.

Certainly a part of it, but its a one and done environment. Every game should be sold out. With that many students on campus, no reason to not be able to get fans in attendance.

 

Are midterms this week or starting soon?

Midterms are next week, technically. I have some papers due as midterms, not actual exams, but 8 Week 2 session classes start the 11th so this is basically the mid-point of the semester.

I think his moves are better than most big man moves...not quite Sam but he had some nice spins today. That being said, he's a heady kid and also hustles (had some nice plays tonight). He might not end up being option 1 or 2 his senior year, but he's a glue guy.

 

 

Wilkin says attendance was 2966 - bring back the tournament - please!!!!!!!

 

Wow! That's all? With all the advertising that was done in the area for this game? What is wrong with the people in the Capital District? Many of them must have a screw loose. Why does that loser LCC team manage to draw more?

 

 

that is an understatement.

guess 38 degrees is too cold for some people to walk 5 minutes.

 

What you did there, I see it.

Anyway, the crowd was pretty pathetic tonight compared to the last few games. Has to be one of two things: Maine being flat out garbage or Wednesday night. Not sure why UA released another batch of 500 student tickets...I don't think the first 1000 were even remotely used up.

Evidently it isn't about winning. Don't know if it's because it was a wednesday night or because Maine flat out sucks, but todays crowd was a HUGE disappointment. I doubt they even got rid of the first 1000 student tickets, so not sure why they released another 500 on top of that.

 

Did commish Amy ever play a sport, at 4'1"?

Two-time all-conference and team captain of softball at Wisconsin-LaCrosse

 

BOOM!

Well...winning takes care of all. This was just proven by UA's post on Twitter/FB:

They released 500 extra student tickets (which are free) on top of the 1000 they had released initially. Looks like the students are behind this team.

As Click has said many many times...win and they will come.

Any word on ticket sales for the game? Is there going to be a good crowd?

According to UA's facebook post, they released an additional 500 tickets to students (free) due to high demand.

EDIT: Dangit, you posted the same time I did lol.

Yes, awesome news. When students are into the game, the place is CRAZY loud.

 

 

The real issue is not by providing more parking right next to the venue, but knowing how to transport people in and out quick and easy. When I first went to a game at Ohio Stadium, we stayed in a hotel that we could keep our car parked and walked maybe half mile tops. Now we stay in a hotel about 10 miles away in a business park area with hotels, shopping & restaurants. A park and ride lot is right next door and COTA provides bus shuttle services leaving the lot every 10 minutes three hours before the game and two hours after. Quick 20 min ride to a drop off at the stadium gates. Busses continually make the loop. Five bucks both ways.

There's a need to partner with transportation services to make it easy to get to the game.

Totally agree with this . I went to the college World Series for a week a couple of years ago . The first day I parked about a mile from the stadium for $10. Ever day after that I picked up a city bus just for college World Series $6 that literally picked me up across the street from my hotel and dropped me off by the park entrance by the right field foul poll. They had at least 4 maybe 6 different places they were running busses to the park . Obviously we are not as big, but little things can make a difference

I think in the raac lot the second lane helped get out quicker , but it seems like they have issues getting people in . 1 game I saw a back up and went around to the fuller road entrance to get to Dutch quicker

The original intent for the additional lane was to allow two lanes in prior to the game and then two out post game. Don't think athletics has used it that way yet. Traffic control is a huge part in making this successful. At OSU, once you get close to the stadium traffic lights are shutdown and traffic control personnel take over. Busses have priority routes. I bet if you look at a sports venue of any considerable size, there's a lot of planning going on prior to game day to get the fans in/out safely and quickly.

 

They haven't...not quite anyway. At the beginning of the year, they let cars with the season parking pass in the left lane and the people paying in the right...but the last few games it seems that I've had to merge with the regular paying cars before I get let in. Granted...it hasn't been that bad. At the beginning of the year there were some jams coming from the Western Ave. entrance...but for me coming from the Dutch lot, never any jam.

But not just from the lot...I think, similar to godanesgo's wife, many students skip games when it's -10 outside. I know I would. I've made the walk from the lecture center right after class to a game...one time in the rain. Even with an umbrella, it absolutely SUCKED. It's dark between the science library and the track and I stepped in a puddle I didn't see. Have a shuttle that stops at the dorms and one that stops at the lot to bring the driving fans. It's not hard to get 4-5 buses going every 5 minutes similar to how Brutus mentioned Ohio State was doing it. I think if they did this, they'd see 40-50 more students easy.

Seems to me that people fall into two categories...

 

- Those that watch ALL games - For these folks this is a terrible deal as the games are no longer at one sites allowing for game after game after game watching. Judging from the attendance of all sessions I have to believe this is a minority.

- Those fans that only go to watch the home team play and/or don't travel to away sites - This is an awesome deal, a chance to watch your team at home at least one more game if they earned it.

 

Personally I fall into category 2 so I like this deal....however, I understand category 1 as to why it sucks.

Pretty much hitting the nail on the head.

I think people are missing the point he's making, actually. He's 100% correct. You and I will go to the game regardless, but the average fan will say...you know what, it's too cold outside. I'm going to sit at home and watch Netflix instead (or watch the game on ESPN3 if it's on). There is ZERO incentive for them to go to the game. I would love for you guys to take him up on his example and park in the visitor lot at Collin's Circle by the new business building and walk through the wind tunnel that is our campus. I have walked from LC (lecture center) to a handful of games before I got the parking pass (my Wednesday classes ended at 7:05 over the last few semesters). It sucks. See how you like it (doubt you'll be a happy camper after).

It's not like there is a huge structure in between the parking lot and the arena...it's literally, freaking GRASS.

Oldtimers idea is pretty good.

Semifinals should be on Saturday night. That's the one issue I have. Should not be on a Sunday. At least allow out of towners to have option to attend without having to travel back on the same day.

I will agree with this. Sunday is terrible for me as well and I might have to miss it. If the game starts at any time other than 7pm, I won't be there.

 

Well, we can certainly agree to disagree. To me, from a money and building-fan-interest stand point (which leads to more ticket sales)...you're better off getting as many home games as possible to increase local interest (the interest that matters most). Gaining fans that live 10 hours away is great...but they'll likely never spend the money to come see Albany at home other than maybe one game a year (such a BPG). Your biggest ROI will come from trying to influence the local market you play in.

How much of a cut is the AE taking from each school that hosts a game. They don't have a guarantee from the tourney site anymore. The AE has to get that money some where. Yes the exposure is good for schools that get to host but half are left out and the money won't be as much as for a regular season game.

 

I'm not sure...but I'm assuming UA is getting some cash money by having a home game vs a 'tourney game' at someone else's place. Plus the benefit of the casual fan (who otherwise wouldn't travel) being at a game as important as that (do or die) and getting them hooked.

As for the schools that get left out...again, it gives them incentive to either do better in the regular season or do better period (recruiting, etc.). Like I said, in years past, no one was reaalllyyy worried about the regular season because the tourney was a 'clean slate'. Similar to how no one really gives a crap about the OOC schedule as the conference schedule is more important. No anymore. If you don't show up for the first few months of the season, good luck winning on the road. I think, in the sense, winning is rewarded and losing is punished. As it should be.

Well, we can certainly agree to disagree. To me, from a money and building-fan-interest stand point (which leads to more ticket sales)...you're better off getting as many home games as possible to increase local interest (the interest that matters most). Gaining fans that live 10 hours away is great...but they'll likely never spend the money to come see Albany at home other than maybe one game a year (such a BPG). Your biggest ROI will come from trying to influence the local market you play in.

First in job placement for a business school second year in a row...top 100 (#87 overall).

http://www.albany.edu/business/48322.php

That's what I wrote above (and what others have mentioned)...but if I had to venture a guess, the majority of the UA fans are local, so thus they should (if possible) cater to the majority (me). No offense to the out of towners. Don't you think that makes more sense (fiscally and otherwise) than trying to appease a smaller minority of fans by playing the games somewhere else? UA typically gets 2,800-3,200 or so fans a game, right? Do you think there are the same number of fans that will specifically root for UA somewhere else in this country? I highly doubt it. You have to get the home court advantage when you can.

This is the best way for each team, not just UA, to increase it's exposure at its campus by getting people into THEIR seats. Again, the pro's out weigh the cons by a mile in my opinion.

I really like this new format...at least this year (because we're the top seed), lol.

That being said, as long as the games are properly aired on AETV/ESPN...I couldn't care less if we played in Vermont or Timbucktu. I wouldn't be attending...so the changing of tournament sites each year is completely useless and irrelevant to me. The only games I drive to are the ones at SEFCU. I will be attending my first road FB game this year just because it's in Buffalo where I have many friends who happen to like UB/football. But other than that...it's not even a concern for me (regardless of sport) and I, personally, hope they keep this format. It's more money for UA (EVERY year) due to concessions, tickets, etc. so why would we want anything different? I think also having a do-or-die game(s) at least once a year (pending we're the top seed in a matchup) will help build the brand (as has been mentioned) due to the type of game it is. Playoff basketball, just like in the NBA, is a different beast from the regular season. 1000x more on the line. It really is March Madness.

Benefits:

• More money from parking, concessions, ticket sales, etc. for the school
• Crazy atmosphere at HOME where the majority of the schools fans reside due to the playoff/do-or-die game importance
• Teams that are in the top seeds get to rest at home
• More than likely the best AE team wins and gets a change to represent the AE at the Big Dance. This is vital to the our conference brand, not just our school brand.
• It gives teams incentive to play well in the regular season (higher seeds = more home games) as opposed to just wiping the slate clean in the tournament where everyone plays at the same venue. It makes seeding much more important. This is the first year in memory where people were actually concerned with tie breakers, etc.

Negatives:

• The lower seed teams have to play on the road, possibly every game if they keep winning. Meaning bad teams like Maine have virtually no chance of even winning one game
• Out-of-market fans of a local team can't attend the games without making extra effort

The benefits of this format far out weigh the negatives (the only one seeming to be that out of towners can't attend).

Anyone know approximately what time the game on Sunday would be should we win? 2PM? 4PM? 7PM? Trying to plan my weekend...hypothetically...

Anyone?

I think this approach is better. Gives exposure to each school, allows schools to host a game (generating buzz etc.) and rewards in-season playing.

I generally agree with this.

Anyone know the reason why the tournament is set up this way.... and not at one venue?

It's really anti-climatic to end the conference season that way. As for upgrading and improving the AE brand,

this isn't the avenue to travel. Good for us this year, but overall weak.

I believe SB complained about being a higher seed playing on the 'road'...

Anyone know approximately what time the game on Sunday would be should we win? 2PM? 4PM? 7PM? Trying to plan my weekend...hypothetically...

YEAH YAH!

I think UAalum was speaking hypothetically...no renovation, etc. has been scheduled or approved.

I definitely understand the 'home team screwed' notion...but come on. Many of us (not just here in Albany but fans around the country), while not officials, have been watching basketball for decades (me personally, even though I'm only 27, for 15 years)...we know a bad call when we see one. That's why there are 'make up calls' during games (there were 3-4 yesterday) because us fans called the ref out on his mistake and he agreed. Either that, or it was just ANOTHER bad call lol.

Picture I took today at the UA vs UVM game: