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BlueGoldAg
1.2kI think Bob Dunning makes some very good points about why the Big West Tournament being played in Henderson, Nevada, this year may not be a very good idea.
Is the Big West Conference forgetting its basketball fans?
Let’s start to answer that question by pointing out that the tournament’s first game will take place at noon on Tuesday, March 8.
I’ll give you 20-to-1 Las Vegas odds that there won’t be 100 paying customers in the Dollar Loan Center for that game, including those who came there hoping they could get a loan.
And for sure, there won’t be a single student there from any California or Hawaii institution of higher education that is participating in this game. Other than the players themselves, of course.
Oh sure, Chamber of Commerce types will no doubt pass out complimentary tickets to scout troops and anyone in line at In-N-Out in order to make the “crowd” scene look respectable on national television, but it will be a neutral group at best that doesn’t care about the outcome.
Who knows, organizers may even resort to cardboard cutouts to fill the cheap seats.
A much better plan, one that serves both the players and the fans alike and truly rewards a team for its success during the regular season, would be to play the entire tournament at home sites, with the better seeded team always enjoying home-court advantage.
https://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/bob-dunning-big-west-is-leaving-fans-behind/?utm_source=DE&utm_campaign=d38f0c5c5c-Daily_Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_be64fee185-d38f0c5c5c-171004309 -
BlueGoldAg
1.2kI hadn't thought about travel though. It could get tricky if, for example, a team played in Davis one night and then had to travel to Riverside the next day and travel arrangements couldn't be made entirely in advance since you wouldn't know where you were going next until that round of games was over. So it probably wouldn't be manageable or feasible.
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movielover
531How about this.
Commercial to site #1. Charter to site #2.
A huge increase in attendance should pay for it. And campus excitement. -
DrMike
731I’m not sure why Vegas is much different than Anaheim for us. At least it’s a neutral site.
I think the fact that they jacked up the price of a tournament pass from $70 to $270 is a bigger slap to the fans. Conversation yesterday sounded like we’ve not sold our usual number of tickets. Not sure if that’s because we’d get SOCal alum who attended or if some of our more loyal (i.e. older) donors don’t want to risk travel to Vegas -
Jackbacker
2I have always enjoyed the mid-major conference championship games that are held on the higher seeds campus. The look of joy of the players and the fans as a ticket is punched to the NCAA dance is great to watch! What a great way to build energy for college sports than to have that on your campus rather than watching or streaming a game. -
Oldbanduhalum
599Other than the fanless version last year, this will be the first time I’ve missed the bwt in 8 years. Partly it’s the fact that for vegas we’d want to fly so it’s more expensive, and partly the desire to not really want to travel anywhere. Next year, assuming things are back to normal, we may try and double up with the big west and Pac-12. Basketball junkies heaven. -
cmt
137Having it in Vegas is a very dumb idea. You're basically giving a middle finger to all the fans. Anaheim was great because it was nearby all the SoCal schools.
Home sites for each round wouldn't work because of too much travel and they like having the games on consecutive days. However, it is relatively common in the smaller conferences to have the #1 seed host the whole tournament. -
Jackbacker
2Before COVID the Big West conference tourney was mostly soulless. The difference of having home games versus games at soulless Anaheim convention center or Las Vegas is tremendous. None of the conference teams have rabid bb fans. Having games on campus will generate enthusiasm. You don’t have to play games back-to-back. Spread the tourney out for 8 days going Fr-Sat then Weds then Saturday. Even 1st round wins on campus sights will help foster a base of fanes It’s basketball not a field sport. With basketball you have no weather issues, field issues or large teams to travel. Home tourney games are FUN for the campus and players and better for the sport.
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agalum
331
“I suspect one reason why they don't want to have the first seed host the tournament is because it might involve all teams flying to and booking hotels in Hawaii, which--believe me--would be very expensive. Of course I, personally, would love it.”
When the football team played there, it was a no brainer. Several of us on the board went, including the band-uh. In fact Aggie 6thman planned his honeymoon around that game. I would love to see us plan more away games there. -
abridge
115The travel situation is the killer for having a decentralized tournament. Hawai'i is certainly demonstrates the difficulty. As does Davis.
If the conference winner isn't known until the last game and has to host the tournament beginning on Tuesday the teams are going to be working really hard to find rooms. I don't know if there are local motels like the one in "Survive and Advance" that had the mirrors on the ceiling but there might be some sub-optimum lodging.Or some really expensive choices in Sacramento. In the case of Hawai'i the problem is both lodging and air travel. I don't think the Big West can fork over for every team to travel on charter and the airfares for commercial would be expensive. Lodging might be rather hard to come by on short notice.
Having the conference tournament in SoCal at least put the games close to most of the schools.
And, frankly, having the tournament in the gambling center of the US reeks of problems. I'm old-fashioned about this but it's just too easy to get a player to tip the scales in subtle ways. -
DrMike
731i'm sure it al boils down to money. Henderson probably ponied up some bucks to host, whereas we probably have to pay a significant amount to get the Honda center for a week. ESPN probably likes it because they have multiple conference tourneys in one location. maybe the casinos give away tickets to fill the stands to compensate for the lack of fans from the teams.
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Jackbacker
2The travel problems are not that hard. The NIT bb tourney has a much greater challenge as our women saw a few years ago.
As the season ends all the schools will know all possible travel outcomes and plan for that. Host sites can block off rooms for the visiting team. Departments can make reservations for flights and buses. If the team doesn't make the trip the department still gets the credit.
Having games on campus will grow the interest in the sport and enhance the game experience for the players.
Yea it is more work;but worth it for the players and the fans. How cool is it to win a play off game on your own hard wood? -
eastbayaggie
99Out of curiosity, does any basketball conference have the #1 seeded team as the host site? -
DrMike
731Looks like several conferences play on campus games, but I don’t see anyone that has a school as a host:
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/page/bracketsticketspunched2022champweek/college-basketball-2022-conference-tournament-brackets-schedules-tickets-punched?platform=amp -
eastbayaggie
99I like the fact that the WAC, the PAC-12, the WCC, and the Mountain West basketball conferences are all playing in Las Vegas. I'm definitely going, and maybe I'll swing by the other conference tournaments if I'm bored.
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Oldbanduhalum
599If you’re looking for something to watch, ucsb vs Csun is on espn plus at 7 tonight. Asking a lot for an upset but I guess you never know.
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abridge
115I'm going to disagree. Big West isn't a well-funded conference. Dealing with the travel expense if definitely non-trivial. The NIT has it's own sources income (although I don't know how it works or how much is involved.)
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Jackbacker
2For the NIT on the women's side the school is on the hook for travel until the finals. When we competed in the NIT a few years ago all the travel was picked up by Davis The trips were way harder than any Big West travel. . ( Not sure how the men's bb funding for the NIT is)
If we had the conference games at home sites, we give the players and fans a great experience. In that scenario even travel to Hawaii may not be super cheap but tickets can be had. Additionally, a school can purchase tickets in case of and then have them credited for later conference travel if they are not needed. The conference games at neutral sites are dismal. Give the players and fans a great experience and grow the sport in the Big West -
movielover
531Don't underestimate stupidity. Back in the DII days, I'm told we couldn't schedule baseball games for a stretch as it was seen as an 'unfair advantage' to have possibly 1,000-2,000+ fans! Both sides would love it... and let every school have games on 'their weekend'.
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Jackbacker
2Movie Lover it might be that the Big West and UCD administrators like having a paid trip to Anaheim or Las Vegas. They do very little work and get to enjoy the amniotes of the area as the tournament happens. They consider it a perk or a right of their job.
Compare that scenario with games at home sites. Games at home at home sites require more work and less time down. I think their actions speak for themselves.
Games at home sites will grow the sport in the Big West and give the players a much better experience. -
Russ Bowlus
336
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