alumni '92'

siena ... yes, it is only basketball ... they have avoided new meetings in areas where UA has an edge, and their football team is no more ... but, siena gets my vote as the 'biggest rival' because a win in basketball would create the community interest that is critical to growing the program (filling a new football stadium, RACC, etc.) ... locals matter ... they don't tend to pay significant attention to UA victories over bing, umbc, etc. (unless they lead to NCAA tournament appearances), but their curiosity would certainly be more than grabbed by a UA victory at the pepsi ... it may only be a single, one sport, regular season, non-conference game, but it is the one that matters most

not to be overly cosmetic, but one simple request for the administration, work with pros on the design of floor lettering/illustration ... i'm thinking back a few seasons when there was a poor outline of the state near midcourt and 'albany' printed in small block letters on the baselines ... the designs of the past couple years have been better, but there is still room for improvement ... "little things matter" ... do it right the first time with the new floor

as usual, great work Dane Pound, more than doing your part to improve the entire program ... ... see you there ... football?? ... oops! (not trying to rub anything in, i have family who are former siena players) Dane96, nice post

if walter brown arena in boston could play host to AE basketball tournaments, the RACC and capital district would do just fine (sufficient seating/facility, reasonable costs for visiting fans, etc.) ... i'd also push for AE baseball at 'the joe', albeit it is across the river at hvcc, it is a community resource and part of the SUNY family

i probably should have added track/cc to the 'jewel for UA at the DI level' category

the lax team has been the jewel for UA at the DI level ... great to hear more positive news for the team and coaches ... congratulations and thanks ... to keep the high quality recruiting classes coming, it is time for the state and university to solidify funding/plans for the artificial turf stadium

"little things matter" ... justified, constructive criticism for the athletic dept. ... i'll add another for the university central administration/admissions office - the walkways and facades of "the concrete campus" need to be sandblasted ... years of muck have made everything connected to the podium less attractive ... i was on campus recently, and was more than a bit disappointed with the upkeep ... prospective students/athletes may think likewise

just to add my two cents ... "greatest pre-DI villain(s)" ... faculty/administrators who opposed an earlier move to DI, and later, failed to line up adequate public/private funding for a smooth transition once the decision was made ... current villain ... dan murphy and the wten sports dept. for consistently giving UA the short end of their local collegiate coverage biggest athletic rival ... w/out question siena ... aints fans will deny a rivalry ... we'll have to recheck their opinion in late november (no reason to check in the fall)

patch, glad to see we're on the same page

i would disagree ... it is the game that has the most significance for UA athletics in the long term ... if you want local sports fans to come out to the RACC for games, they need to be convinced that UA basketball is a legitimate DI program ... capital region media coverage, private sponsorship/advertisement, local recruitment, etc. ... a victory over siena at the DI level (at present, the local standard) is the key to clearing all of these hurdles ... i enjoy the optimism of the 'oldtimer' ... the talent level on the court is much closer to even than at any earlier time ... even with all of the unknowns mentioned by patch and dane pound, i like our chances in november

i'll echo the views of dane pound ... and those of scottotile ... iati will do well with his sophomore season ... a year of experience, less attention from the opposition, and a fully rehabilitated shoulder we'll see what the staff does with levine ... he may still be out of position underneath, but he could get a ton of minutes while dyson comes along at this level ... he is deserving ... levi will be on the floor to start the 04-05 season one thing we should all be able to agree on with confidence ... gone will be 38 (vs. unh) and 36 (vs. maine) point offensive performances by the danes

no reason not to root for a fellow AE member ... siena men add vermont to schedule

Albany Fan i agree with your recommendation ... appreciate and second your optimism on the future of the program ... more than satisfied with the efforts of the AD/coaching staff in putting together the 04-05 schedule

it would be nice to see future UA golf outings moved to saturday, but not very likely for the reason stated above ... my gripe is with the luncheons ... difficult for many who work traditional hours/days ... at least one early dinner would be welcomed ... the original date for the golf outing conflicted with my schedule, but monday 6/28 just might work

it may only take one ... one ua victory and the average capital district fan will recognize the legitimacy of our move to DI in basketball ... until then, siena wil receive all of the local perks ... majority of press, corporate sponsorship, etc. as the balance of athletic power shifts siena discovers unresolvable scheduling difficulties that prevent head-to-head meetings

box of popcorn at the pepsi $9 gas for the road trip to the 'events center' $42 an open ua fan site that distracts me from my employment ... priceless

dane baseball drops AE season finale to northeastern (8-1) ... surrendering #1 seed ... finishes #3 going into the conference tournament AE Baseball Championship Picture

... it is clear that in the interest of protecting the reputation of their program siena bagged the game ... that said, i would like to see UA demand that the next meeting between the women occur at the RACC ... i would bet that a stand alone saturday day/evening game would draw a significant turnout, and more importantly, bring many capital district fans onto the UA campus and into the RACC ... many for the first time excluding conference tournaments, i would imagine that in time UA-Siena head-to-head games would consistently be the top draw for each program

... not really knowing anything about these players, except what is being stated here (the #s from 3 for perry are pleasing) ... it just creates optimism that the danes finally have legitimate depth off the bench ... they just may demonstrate this season that the program has finally turned the corner ...

we'll see what is in the long term interest of the program ... good luck to Todd Martin ... unfortunate that he faces this roadbump in his academic/personal/athletic career ... as i've stated previously, he was extremely personable and generous with students/faculty during the visit by UA to our school ... best wishes and thanks

congratulations to the lax team on a successful season ... thank you for again putting the UA name into the lax national headlines (not to mention keeping bing & umbc at home, and leaving siena reluctant to schedule any head-to-head meetings) ... looking forward to 05 when i understand a few more rules of the game

nothing better than a little UA humor

i also failed to ask if there were any scholarships still available ... as stated by DP, most of the news on the basketball front was positive ... it was a pleasant surprise to see members of the basketball coaching staff and a few players from other sports on hand for the game ... sets a fine example ... state politics often creates odd outcomes, but i'd bet UA winds up with a big chunk of their requested funds for improvement to the ADept. ... only question is the timetable Sen. Bruno has always looked on hvcc with special favor and sees to it that generous portions of state/rensselaer county appropriations find their way into that campus ... pet project ... he has steered our fair share of state funds all over the capital district in recent years (helping to make up for countless, unfair, earlier budgets), and it would be nice to see that influence direct a few more dollars toward UA

i asked for 'reasonable driving distance' ... i guess that this is about as good as it could be ... let us hope for good play and a little luck ... as a fellow UA graduate stated to me earlier, we've already seen them once, and played fairly well after a slow start ... hopefully, any intimidation factor has already been worn off

surprised to see siena absent from the list ... just hoping for an opponent within reasonable driving distance ...