TU Article today on Siena

[SienaTony]

Of course you don’t have time Bob. Make all the excuses you want ( try a little Midol for your PMS )

 

Try spinning this… Siena owns Ualb in basketball, doesn’t matter if we play at the Times Union Arena, Albany’s “gym” or a playground in Albany, Siena is gonna win, you know it, Albany players know it and the entire capital district knows it. It has to suck knowing your best two teams of all time LOST to a rebuilding Siena program.

 

Siena’s avg attendance dwarfs Ualbany’s. All the above are facts.. Which explains why Albany fans want out of the Annual game. Good luck this year in the AE !!

[olddog71]

Patch,

 

You are definitely correct about the different fanbases that each school provides for the games. What's that famous quotation about the difference between quantity and quality?

 

Siena posters on their board have complained several times this week about the lack of a real college atmosphere. That's why the curtains are being installed - to create the impression of frenzy for the home team, but we all know the Siena fanbase is superannuated.

 

While UA occasionally (especially with Jamar) has to worry about a double dribble on the court, there's always the great concern about a triple drool in the Siena stands.

[UAalum72]

While UA occasionally (especially with Jamar) has to worry about a double dribble on the court, there's always the great concern about a triple drool in the Siena stands.

Watch it, OD, somebody who signs off the AE board by saying he has to collect his Social Security check should be careful about drool jokes.

 

But I hear Tony's organizing a siena season ticketholder plot-choosing party at Albany Rural.

[Zalman B]

<snip>

 

Siena is one of if not the best drawing mid major in the Northeast. Siena lowest attendance game was better than Albany’s best game- care to debate that?

 

<snip>

 

I don't care to debate it, but I'll take the time to correct you.

 

January 23, 2007 - The 2nd time in the same season the Crown Jewel faced off against powerhouse N.J.I.T.

LCC "drew" 4,362 - mind you, that's the paid attendance, not actual attendance.

 

The RACC/SEFCU seats 4,538 and it was sold out on multiple occasions. Again, that is paid attendance, not actual attendance. Of course, for UAlbany, the paid number is probably a low figure; for LCC, the opposite is true.

 

My quality education tells me that 4,538 is more than 4,362; would an LCC grad care to disagree?

 

On a somewhat related note, UAlbany also MADE the NCAA tourney, and so played a game before ~20k people.

 

Happy Memorial Day.

[Patch]

Siena Tony - are you going through a mid life crisis, a change of life or has the Dr. changed your Meds????

 

Sure go ahead and deflect from the fact that Siena owns Ualb. We beat you the last two years with the best Albany teams of all time, at the same time Siena was rebuilding… newsflash Bob rebuild complete. While anything can happen in a rivalry game, you better hope your freshmen are ready to play or the game this year could get ugly in a hurry. No wonder you Albany guys have Siena cramps - ST

 

Tony the MAAC has a Smaac board for your kind of talk. Just because there is nothing going on on the Siena site don't feel obligated to come over here and cause trouble.

 

Talking about the Smaac Board don't your friends over there have a name for you - Tony the Turd I know that can't be you because you are a Big Sho(?)t.

 

Siena has a fine fan base made up of a huge "Dead Zone" as described by the Siena faithful and almost zero "0" students. I love reading the Siena fan's comment about the "State of the Art" facility the TUC really is, its cleanliness and the lack of service they get at home games in this building that is in poor condition. I also like to read how they respect the Athletic Administration at Siena.

 

I have to give Siena some credit for their last 2 OT wins at HOME versus UA. You guys have to realize "1 game does not a season make"!!!

 

Coach Brown uses the OOC schedule to ready his team for the end of the season.

 

While Siena peaks early - like beating UA in OT and then beating Niagara twice early, then when it counts they choke losing to a team they beat twice for the MAAC Championship on a NEUTRAL court.

 

Meanwhile UA suffers some early setbacks Double OT to Siena and 2 tough losses to UVM only to come back and beat UVM on the ROAD for an AE Championship and a NCAA Bid.

 

The GOOD thing for the Capitol Region is that there are two (2) Twenty Win DI teams in the region - of course one of them did it by getting "9" wins playing 300+ RPI teams, that's almost 1/2 their total wins.

 

By the way Tony lets compare the two 20 win teams - which team won more games or had the highest RPI or played in the higher rated conference or won a Conference Tourney Championship or played in a nationally televised true "BracketBuster Game"?

 

I must admit with UA graduating!!!! Jamar and Jason-Siena does have an opportunity to close the gap this year. Things have totally changed in the last 6 or 7 years.

 

Most of us UA Fans are very happy and very happy that you guys need desperately to lash out at us because if you weren't concerned you wouldn't bother with us.

 

How many games at the TUC are scheduled to have ALL the seats available?

[soup]

One only needs to look at the average attendance of UA and Siena over the last five years. I would guess that UA's average attendance has tripled, while Siena's is down 30%. Siena has more season ticketholder, but UA has won the war with the casual fans on the fence.....the 1500 fans Siena has lost in average attendance are all over watching UAlbany games.

[Patch]

Soup - I think you hit the nail somewhat on the head.

 

The key word is "casual fans". DieHard Aints are DieHard Aints and that's great!!!!!!

 

The "casual fans" and many young families are going to turn to UA. It is in their budgetary range and that means alot.

 

Dad, Mom and a kid can get into a UA game for about $20 for the family and if the environment of the game is exciting (solid Pep Band, Crazy Students and being able to see and even meet the players) and the product on the floor is decent - it winds up being a nice night out and alot cheaper then a movie or a game at the TUC.

 

In time we have a chance to keep them and develop them into ardent UA Fans.

 

It takes time to build a fan base.

[alum73]

Has there ever been a comparison of crowds and such year by year, in other words Siena's 1-8 yrs of D1 vs. UA's? UA is really just getting started in D1. UA beat Siena's fist D1 team when they were still D3, so it was quite a while ago. It does take time to build a fan base, but I think UA is doing a very good job in building the athletic program and the fan base to support it.

[UA_MA_2000]

Has there ever been a comparison of crowds and such year by year, in other words Siena's 1-8 yrs of D1 vs. UA's? UA is really just getting started in D1. UA beat Siena's fist D1 team when they were still D3, so it was quite a while ago. It does take time to build a fan base, but I think UA is doing a very good job in building the athletic program and the fan base to support it.

 

 

alum73: excellent point about making the comparison of attendance a fair one in that the real measuring stick is our first 8 years or so versus their first 8 years or so.

 

Another thought I had is that UAlbany is relatively young, not only in its Division I athletics but also as a university (established as a University Center of, and for, SUNY in or about 1948, I believe). Only now are we arriving at the point where children of alumni are in a position to attend UAlbany and carry on, and build, a tradition. And that's exciting! If you look around the stands at the SEFCU, you see a lot of young kids wearing the purple and gold! And if I am ever blessed enough to have children, they will be sportin' the purple and gold and will attend every game with me! That's one way programs grow and develop. It's amazing to see where we have come in just 59 years. Incredible, really ... .

[bob87]

Of course you don’t have time Bob. Make all the excuses you want ( try a little Midol for your PMS )

 

Try spinning this… Siena owns Ualb in basketball, doesn’t matter if we play at the Times Union Arena, Albany’s “gym” or a playground in Albany, Siena is gonna win, you know it, Albany players know it and the entire capital district knows it. It has to suck knowing your best two teams of all time LOST to a rebuilding Siena program.

 

Siena’s avg attendance dwarfs Ualbany’s. All the above are facts.. Which explains why Albany fans want out of the Annual game. Good luck this year in the AE !!

 

 

 

Siena Tony

I am glad you had fun today with your name calling.

I had fun too driving down to LI today and seeing the 5th Dane team of this academic year go to the NCAA tournament. The 4th team I was fortunately enough to see win the title in person this year. Now I am sure we will get to our off season in our last remaining sports soon enough to join Siena in their off season in all sports and we will all have time to rehash both early season regular season games and conference championships. You can have the former. I'll take the latter. Good day.

[UA_MA_2000]

Is Siena on our football schedule this fall?

[UAalum72]

Has there ever been a comparison of crowds and such year by year, in other words Siena's 1-8 yrs of D1 vs. UA's? UA is really just getting started in D1. UA beat Siena's fist D1 team when they were still D3, so it was quite a while ago. It does take time to build a fan base, but I think UA is doing a very good job in building the athletic program and the fan base to support it.

 

Hard to make direct comparisons: In Siena's first years there was no other Division I basketball team established; they had been at a higher level in the early 1950's (where there current fan base arrived) before deemphasizing for a while; cable was just moving in and there was no ESPN or other sports channels, except for local NYC stations. Albany is trying to break into an established market in an era when few students make a habit of attending sports events; at most schools around the country the crowd has to be built on locals and alumni, not the student body.

 

But I do recall that the first two years after the ARC was built they only had four sellouts, two with LeMoyne and two with SUNYA.

 

Another thought I had is that UAlbany is relatively young, not only in its Division I athletics but also as a university (established as a University Center of, and for, SUNY in or about 1948, I believe

But the NY State College for Teachers began playing basketball before World War I, but not at a high level. Siena was founded in the 1930's.

 

With a head start of over twenty years, Siena's claim to be 'the premier program in the Capital District', in what most of them admit is the ONLY sport they care about, hangs on two one-point overtime wins, and about two thousand semi-comatose bodies more in their barn - and BTW do the owners of luxury boxes buy game tickets separately, or are all events at the TUC included in their purchase of the box, so their attendance is counted whether anyone shows or not?

[UA_MA_2000]

That's very true about the Teacher's College. I knew it went way back, I just didn't know how far back it went prior to becoming part of SUNY Albany. From what I've been told, it was a pretty well respected Teacher's College too ... .

[GODANESGO]

Purely for informational purposes, UAlbany became part of SUNY when the system was created in 1948 but did not become a University (designated a 'University Center' by SUNY) until 1962. The school definitely has a rich history, if not just with names!

[UAalum72]

That's very true about the Teacher's College. I knew it went way back, I just didn't know how far back it went prior to becoming part of SUNY Albany. From what I've been told, it was a pretty well respected Teacher's College too ... .

NOT the Teacher's College - according to the University history, "the institution emphasized that it was a "College for Teachers," not a "Teachers' College."

State Normal School, May 7, 1844 - March 13, 1890

New York State Normal College, March 13, 1890 - April 30, 1914

New York State College for Teachers, April 30, 1914 - September 1, 1959

State University of New York College of Education at Albany, September 1, 1959 - October 16, 1961

State University College at Albany, October 12, 1961 - June 14, 1962

State University of New York at Albany, June 14, 1962 - present

University at Albany, SUNY, Fall 1986