UAlbany - $iena Albany Cup Contract

[uofalbany]

If we don't get half of the arena:

(sidecourt lower and upper levels and endzone upper and lower levels)

then I say we ax the game.

 

We obvious have proven we have a very competitve program, and we will have a chance to win each and every year.

(Last night was our first real test against a high quality D1 team as a new group - and I believe we needed this game to demonstrate to our newbies what it will take to be competitive against higher quality programs)

Coach Brown is the best thing that could have happened to our b-ball program.

 

It's a great annual game. It's what college basketball should be... a true rivalry. In rivalries is where you get stupid comments from the $iena Bozo players, like the one that said that $iena owns us, and they will beat us next year and every year. I like the game because I want to see our MEN beat $iena, to shut them up. There's alot of squawking over there for a ONE SPORT college. But, I don't like anything else about the game.

 

Regardless, I am getting tired of sitting in the damn endzone and corners, and watching the $iena crowd sit in luxury.

What was the attendance at the Stanford game, 4000? Whatever it was, UAlbany pulls in 9,000 more, totally 13,000+ people for the Albany Cup game.

 

I won't get into the ridiculous amount of $ they make off of this 'thing'.

But, making a sick amount of profit and having ALL of the BEST seats in the arena....... is just enough to say the Hell with it.

 

I don't want to see this thing AXED........ BUT I do not want an extra 1000 or 2000 seats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I want this thing to be absolutely EQUAL or screw it.

 

If we don't get half of the arena:

(sidecourt lower and upper levels and endzone upper and lower levels)

then I say we ax the game.

[soup]

Regardless, I am getting tired of sitting in the damn endzone and corners, and watching the $iena crowd sit in luxury.

What was the attendance at the Stanford game, 4000? Whatever it was, UAlbany pulls in 9,000 more, totally 13,000+ people for the Albany Cup game.

 

6,300 for the Stanford game. I would gather that Siena had about 8,000 fans last night and Albany had about 5,500.

[LETS GO DANES!]

I agree that It should be 1/2 and 1/2... But as a Devils advocate... One of Our requests is to have an Albany/Siena game @ the SEFCU...

 

 

Would we be willing to give 1/2 the SEFCU up to Siena fans?

[Zalman B]

I agree that It should be 1/2 and 1/2... But as a Devils advocate... One of Our requests is to have an Albany/Siena game @ the SEFCU...

 

 

Would we be willing to give 1/2 the SEFCU up to Siena fans?

 

No, but (in my mind at least) we wouldn't be able to expect a home-and-home PLUS half of the Knick. If Siena agreed to a home-and-home (which would be great, but there is absolutely no indication they will) then I'd sit in my crappy seat at the Knick and be OK knowing that next year we'd be able to have a home game of ours.

[bob87]

I agree that It should be 1/2 and 1/2... But as a Devils advocate... One of Our requests is to have an Albany/Siena game @ the SEFCU...

 

 

Would we be willing to give 1/2 the SEFCU up to Siena fans?

 

 

No, in that case it would be a true home and home series and we would no longer ask for 1/2 the tickets in their rented arena. The 1/2 and 1/2 should be the requirement to keep the series 100% in their rented arena. There is No other team that would play 2 out of 2 games in the saints rented arena over a 2 year period AND put a total of over 20,000 fans in the seats.

[uofalbany]

I agree that It should be 1/2 and 1/2... But as a Devils advocate... One of Our requests is to have an Albany/Siena game @ the SEFCU...

 

 

Would we be willing to give 1/2 the SEFCU up to Siena fans?

 

 

The game should only happen once a year, as it would be a bit redundant and lose its appeal to the general fans.

If our demand is to play once a year, one year at the TUC and the next only at SEFCU, then $iena won't do it.

 

I'd like to see it played at the TUC with the massive crowds, as this crowd would be too big for SEFCU . But, I want totally equal seating, as I expressed earlier. Or can the damn thing.

 

And getting those many seats, half the arena, is not about making a big profit. It's about filling those seats with UAlbany fans, alumni, and students.... The AA could give everyone nice discounts, etc. etc. etc., hopefully getting lots of out of towners returning for UAlbany.

[GDBD]

One of the things that annoys me about during the Albany Cup Games @ the T - U is the preferred treatment the Siena crowd receives - over & above the seating disparity. Granted familar faces generate more friendly responses. But, during a home & home scenario, is there really a means to make UAlbany the home team with regard to the feel of the arena?

If the Cup becomes home & home:

1) Will the T-U security continue to place more security guards between the UAlbany student section & the court than it does w/ the Siena crowd? This a recurring situation observed first hand.

2) Will UAlbany idiots be allowed to wander through the Siena crowd chanting insults & in-your-face comments? I'd be happy if this doesn't happen & it becomes regular practice to have preemptory security interaction through out the arena. I know in previous years when the painted Dane fan, shown in the site's picture, wandered away from his assigned seat, he was accompanied by security personnel & escorted back to his seat area. Yet each year the end zone designated for UAlbany is visited by several bands of LCC supporters who parade through the aisles being stupid.

3) Will suddenly both sides be able to carry flags onto the court or will just the home team be able to?

 

Kuddos to the T-U for extending the dramatic lights out, video screen intros to both sides, for the first time.

[Patch]

Soup - 6,300 for the Stanford game. I would gather that Siena had about 8,000 fans last night and Albany had about 5,500.

 

The Siena faithful showed up for the Top 20 opponent Stanford and numbered the 6,300 or abouts that you mentioned and couldn't fill the bottom bowl.

 

The 7, 000 NEW bodies were UA Fans or casual locals with no real affiliation.

 

I guess the 1,700 new Siena fans you want to give them had other obligations the night of Stanford.

 

Why do you think the Siena administration and the TUC management tarped the seats and closed off the upper level? Siena struggles getting a more than 6,000 ( which is excellent in its own right).

 

The only difference between Siena v. Stanford and Siena v. UA was the team that they played drew much more local interest.

[Clickclack]

Something else that really pissed me off last night. When there was a contest held....UA vs. Siena fan the Stony Brook bag announcer said that if Siena fan wins he get a prize and if the UA person wins he gets nothing. It was so classless that it was almost like a slap in the face. I can see slaps like that between fans but the people representing Siena and working the game?

[uofalbany]

I would agree. The appearance of a harmless joke, but with underlying sarcasm.

There were a few things last night along those lines.

 

I did appreciate the UAlbany introduction with the AE Championship banner, etc....

but that was about it.

 

I passed along my previous thoughts in the posts above, and Dr. M replied that we were on the same page.

It appears that is the direction he is leaning.

 

I had mentioned how fortunate we were landing Coach Brown.

I am also very thankful that Dr. McElroy joined our University and has done so much in getting this University at the levels we are now at..........

 

Even though we lost last night, I do believe that our Basketball program has become an equal to $iena. Quite a few of our new guys had big minutes last night and were playing in front of their first HUGE crowd and first HUGE rivalry game in their lives. As the night went on, they were playing much better.

 

The $iena guys talk about their sophmores and junior starting the game. I like more the fact that Ambrose Martin, and Turley are all freshman, playing significant minutes, gaining valuable experience and will improve exponentially, as they learn D1 ball. They have the natural skills already. With our next year's freshman class: Logan Aronhalt, Jake Lindfors,

Anthony Raffa , including Allen redshirting.... we're going to have a group of guys playing with eachother for 3 full years. That's going to be exciting.

 

If these games continue with $iena, they will always be hugely competitive for the foreseeable future. At that point, we will probably surpass them.

 

They may have won last night, but I take pride that we are not just a one sport wonder.

 

Go Danes

[UAlbany09]

in the words of Les Miles (slightly changed): I will wear those colors when it comes down to the Albany-Siena game. I'm going to root and pull for the purple and gold, and they will eventually win that game.

[alum73]

We don't need 50/50. It's like any other guarantee game to me, except we have a better chance of winning. If we can get 3000 tickets, at $20 each that's a $60,000 game for UA. Based upon last night's attendence that's still a good payday for Siena also.

[ATL_DANE]

Rivalries are great. It brings in fans and revenue. That being said, it has to be fair. UA is getting a raw deal. If we don't get a 50-50 split like a Georgia-Florida game, I would say can it. UMass is our natural rival. Be should be fostering a rivalry with them (all sports). I feel we have a similar profile and Amherst is close enough to start a real battle.

 

Instead of spending time on this "Albany Cup", we should be planning on how we can replace Northeastern in the CAA. Their short term thinking about football may give us an opportunity to move up on up to the east side, George Jefferson style. That would get us in a position to take on UMass. Think UMass folks not Siena. While I'm at it, not St Francis, not Wagner, not Sacred Heart. We need UMass, URI, Delaware, Georgia State etc. (sorry, I threw Georgia State in for my benefit).

[bob87]

We don't need 50/50. It's like any other guarantee game to me, except we have a better chance of winning. If we can get 3000 tickets, at $20 each that's a $60,000 game for UA. Based upon last night's attendence that's still a good payday for Siena also.

 

I disagree. Continuing this game as a guarantee game sends the wrong message. OK we didn't win the game, but that is not reason to roll over to the LCC hype machine.

To me a guarantee game should be against a nationally recognized opponent not an equal.

[soup]

I thought Graney had a decent idea tonight on his show. Renew the series for three years - Siena gets the gate and is the home team in year 1 and 3; UAlbany gets the gate and is the home team in year 2.

 

I thought it was a pretty good idea.