University of Cincinnati Sports: More thoughts on attendance

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

More thoughts on attendance

For all the criticism that The Shoe receives as being a bad place to watch a game, the fact is that when the place is full the atmosphere can be pretty loud and imposing, even fun. Having said that, it's understandable that fans don't want to pay good money to watch their team lose night after night. I think Marcus Sikes said it best in in the paper today when he said it's up to the team to give the fans something to cheer about. Sadly, the crowds that show up for UC games these days remind me of the crowds that UC used to draw back in the waning days of the Tony Yates era at the Gardens. But as soon as UC started to win, the fans came back. I'm sure the same thing will happen again, assuming that Mick Cronin turns this thing around. And just for the record, Mick wasn't whining about attendance. I asked him if he thought UC still had a homecourt advantage and he responded to my question.

22 Comments:

at 2:28 PM

Anonymous said...

ust a quick observation here - but Cronin is no Huggins.

at 2:31 PM

Anonymous said...

Good point. This also reminds me of the football program as well. I was one of few students that sat through the boring SE Missouri State game and Nippert was empty and quiet. Yet, by the time Louisville and West Virginia rolled into town, I was forced to be on campus by 6AM just to get in line to get a ticket.

For shame UC fans: support our team through the difficult games (or years) and it will make the the wins (and championships) that much better.

See you all at the game tonight.

at 2:54 PM

Anonymous said...

Hello Bill:
Thanks for having a blog for us true and/or bandwagon UC fans. Some of us are quite appreciative. One thing I would like to mention is what appeared in your UC article today, which read, in part: "the kind of support that has been lost the past few years as the program slipped"
I feel strongly that the choice of the word "slipped" for UC BB is very inaccurate. Better word choices would include destroyed, crushed, obliterated, etc. Or, is it necessary to softpedal what happened to UC BB because your boss is on the BOT? Just wondering, that's all...
That said, keep up the good work!

at 3:40 PM

Anonymous said...

"Just a quick observation here - but Cronin is no Huggins"

Yeah - we've noticed. No arrests for UC basketball for quite some time now. No coach or player DUI's. No rumors of the bad things coaches might be doing.

Sure, the team is not winning now, but the future is looking brighter.

at 4:05 PM

Anonymous said...

Why is it that Syracuse or Purdue can start multiple Freshman, and win but UC's Freshman are not ready? Also regarding supporting or even better attending UC BBall games, some fans only have so much time and money. You know it is not like UC is giving away free tickets. FWIW I am football season ticket holder since 92'. I really like BBall, but not as much as football. Mick & Co had a shot at capturing an audience, early this season, by beating the mid-majors however UC fans can only take too many losses to BGSU and Belmont.

Sikes is right, the team needs to perform a little better before UC gets into our pockets. Mick is making $750,000 plus maybe he can donate some tickets?

at 4:09 PM

Anonymous said...

Another just an observation here. And very few wins. Look at Huggins and AK and their respective teams today. That said, we can still give Mickie another year or two. After that, the EXCUSES no longer apply...

at 4:32 PM

Anonymous said...

I'm embarassed to be a UC fan when people that claim to be UC fans talk so ignorantly. I don't ever want to hear the comparisons of Huggins' and Kennedy's teams versus UC. Those guys walked into a much better situation than Mick did. How many times do you have to hear it to believe it. If you care so much ask Bob and Andy if they have it easier. Their answer would be a big "humble pie" to you. Syracuse and Purdue have upperclassmen on their team. We don't have a player on our team that has played D1 college basketball more than 1 and a half years except two guys sitting on the bench, Mike Williams and Nick Aldridge. Let me remind you that Mick had 2 players on the team when he took over, not Eric Hicks and Jason Maxiell, they were Ronald Allen and Cedric McGowan. Where are those guys right now (P.S. those guys were recruited by Huggins and Kennedy)? Get off Mick's back and let him turn the program around. Coach K wouldn't have turned the program around in a year like you expect. Have some rationale and get out of the past. Do you still talk about that tackle you made your junior year of HS?
Go Bearcats!
Nick in HP

at 5:25 PM

Anonymous said...

MC is a great recruiter? A great recruiter can recruit a starting lineup in one full year. Look at coack K, Donovan, Williams, etc. I know 2007 was a blow off year. But not this year 2008.

MC had a full year to recruit this year's team and a full year to two full years for next years. I still don't see the impact starting 5 players. Why does the rebuilding program have to be a 5 year process? A good recruiter and coach could have done in 1-2 years.

From what I see of MC, he is a nice guy, family man, and big Bearcat Fan. But does he deserve 5 years to rebuild when others could do it in 1-2 years?

.....The Bandwagon Fans are losing patience.

P.S. BTW...check your soources. One of the 2009 recruits will not be eligible.

at 6:18 PM

Anonymous said...

Bill, this is the second time recently I've seen a reference to UC playing in the Gardens. I was at UC during the Yates era, but not the end. Did UC move from Riverfront to the Gardens sometime after 1985 and before they moved into the Shoe? Just curious.

Honest to God, you folks have to get over the whole Huggs thing. You're like some nag wife who brings up the thing you said about her hair for the rest of your life!

at 6:25 PM

Anonymous said...

anon 4:32 pm....Do facts matter? per: "I'm embarassed to be a UC fan when people that claim to be UC fans talk so ignorantly. I don't ever want to hear the comparisons of Huggins' and Kennedy's teams versus UC. Those guys walked into a much better situation than Mick did."

I'm glad Huggins is gone but he followed the Badger and Yates disaster years. His initial team's starting guard played football. He made the NIT his 1st year and final four his 3rd year. Without bias he rebuilt a dead UC program quickly. them's the facts.

at 6:46 PM

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:18
To some of us who have been UC fans for many years, the BB fiasco was like being sucker punched by the BOT and an O$U alum. And no, I am NOT living in the past, but living in the present with this BB situation is not easy to stomach. I hope that the situation improves...and SOONER rather than later.
GO BEARCATS!!!!!

at 7:00 PM

Anonymous said...

Kennedy walked into a better situation? Yeah right.THAT situation is why Ron Allen was here.But the thing about AK was,he never pissed and moaned.Just coached.Mississippi and WVU have never had it so good.

at 7:03 PM

Anonymous said...

4:32 you are not a history major.

Huggins came in when fan attendance was at a modern historic low. He promised that they would win and win right away. That they did. Sure, he had players that were recruited by Yates and had the talent for D1 ball which MC did not have the benefit. However, they were players that Yates could not win with and yes, it took a football player named Sanders to hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer against a ranked Minn. Team that jump started the season and the fans.

As to say Kennedy could not be doing any better is a down right falsehood. If Kennedy was given the job, he would have been out recruiting and we would have had talented D1 players last year. Instead, he was told that he would not be the coach and not to waste time recruiting. Therefore, we ended up losing three recruiting seasons (Huggin’s last year because they all backed out, Kennedy’s only year, and MC’s first year because he was hired so late in the game). That you have to blame on the BOT, NANZI and MT.

The only way that 5/3 will fill up is to have the team start winning every night. Or else give tickets away like previous posters have suggested. They have been giving tickets away for the women’s team – one game per year they pass out tickets to different organizations such as the YMCA. Those games attendance total more than the whole season combined.

UC athletics need to figure something out to stop the bleeding. They could allow more students into games by letting them sit anywhere once the endzone is filled. They could do a child free with an adult. They could do two for one promos.

I used to have season tickets that I would give to clients. Well, nobody will take them now. There is no interest in the program. This is going to take years to recover from.

I am sorry to say that MC might be the perfect guy for the job but he may not last long enough for us to find out. How long can UC go with less than a half full house. What is the revenue loss from ticket sales, from sponsors and endorsements, from consessions, from alumni donations?

What a shame. And as a side note, NANZI just bashed the BSC bowl system like she has any credibility.

at 7:07 PM

Anonymous said...

The Collesium would not work with UC for one year because the Shoe was being planned. The Gardens was very helpful to UC and accomodated them nicely. It was strange having to play there with all of the X banners flying around and also, it was a UC home game with X that year. Attendance stunk at the Gardens.

As for Huggins bringing all of the trouble in, that is wrong also. The players during Yates era would steal purses at the bars in Clifton.

at 7:24 PM

Anonymous said...

Man, are people dumb or what? Kennedy would not been out recruiting if he was hired full-time because he was short staffed as it was. You think he really could have recruited any good players in a half of a season? Give me a break.

Also, Kennedy had a very good starting 5 to work with. Much better than Mick has had. And guess what, Kennedy made a TON of excuses. Go back and read his quotes.

at 10:13 PM

Anonymous said...

7:24, Do you not think that Kennedy would have hired another coach if he was full-time and had the admin support. What a weak arguement.

at 10:23 PM

Anonymous said...

10:13, sure he would have, but not until the season was over. Who was he going to hire during the season? He had nobody on his radar recruiting wise. He would have been much worse off then Mick in terms of recruiting.

at 10:46 PM

Anonymous said...

anon 10:23 ....Weak

at 11:41 PM

Anonymous said...

"What a shame. And as a side note, NANZI just bashed the BSC bowl system like she has any credibility"

Brilliant commentary, and a slur to boot. You sure bring a lot to the table. Yep, Nancy Zimpher has done nothing - UC just finished it's best football season ever, the basketball program, while struggling, no longer makes me ashamed to be an alum, and UC has raised more private money for academics (we ARE a university) and research than ever. Yeah, she has no credibility.

at 6:34 AM

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I've got to get in on this one. 7:03 - you believe in UFO's, too, don't you. Your quote is below, with my corrections inserted in brackets.

"As to say Kennedy could not be doing any better is a down right falsehood. If Kennedy was given the job, he would have been out recruiting and we would have had talented D1 players last year. Instead, he was told that he would not be the coach [not true. he was a candidate up to the last week and he knows it, no matter what he professed all season to save face.] and not to waste time recruiting. Therefore, we ended up losing three recruiting seasons (Huggin’s last year because they all backed out, Kennedy’s only year, and MC’s first year because he was hired so late in the game). That you have to blame on the BOT, NANZI and MT. [you couldn't hire anyone until the last game was over - all candidates were busy coaching their teams. This part ain't rocket science]

The only way that 5/3 will fill up is to have the team start winning every night. [10K last night and it looked like it on tv, too] Or else give tickets away like previous posters have suggested. They have been giving tickets away for the women’s team – one game per year they pass out tickets to different organizations such as the YMCA. Those games attendance total more than the whole season combined. [we just don't need to do that yet...or it appears...ever]

UC athletics need to figure something out to stop the bleeding. They could allow more students into games by letting them sit anywhere once the endzone is filled. They could do a child free with an adult. They could do two for one promos.[devalues the product, and now it's a Big East product, not CUSA]

I used to have season tickets that I would give to clients. Well, nobody will take them now. There is no interest in the program. This is going to take years to recover from. [or just a couple of games, we now see]

I am sorry to say that MC might be the perfect guy for the job but he may not last long enough for us to find out. How long can UC go with less than a half full house. What is the revenue loss from ticket sales, from sponsors and endorsements, from consessions, from alumni donations? [UC appears to care more about their national reputation than the lost revenue from basketball, even if this should continue, which it isn't]

What a shame. And as a side note, NANZI just bashed the BSC bowl system like she has any credibility." [Your most idiotic statement in the whole post. She said we should take a look at it and she'll be open minded. That's it. You Z haters lose all credibility when you post stupid stuff like that. It's like she said she likes oranges and you take that and say, "Z hates apples! She said so!" Idiotic.]

at 8:00 AM

Anonymous said...

Another nice win for the BB team. What is everyone going to talk about when Mick is winning consistently?

at 7:09 PM

Anonymous said...

It is funny the past that everyone remembers.

The class that Huggins had to work with Lou Bank, Levert Robinson, Tate, and Keith Starks were a top recruiting class for the bearcats when they came in. I played football with Sanders and he was a great athlete, but he was totally a role player.

And yates did have a 15-12 record the year before Huggins took over. I think Huggins finished like 18-14. Granted they had some better wins, but they also had some bad losses.

Kennedy had James White, Downey, and Hicks. I think he had enough talent (although a lack of depth) to make the NCAA tournament. At the end of the season, two players (White was one and I can't remember the other) were suspended because of their poor grades. kennendy didn't want to be at UC and told the administration that he didn't want to be there.

He was a part time coach at UC and only wanted to be here that one year.

Bob Huggins did nothing to but cause all of this for himself.

Mich Cronin started his career from below scratch. He is a great recruiter and will be successful at UC. He will make the NCAA tourney next year. He will make the NIT this year.

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Wednesday, January 09, 2008

More thoughts on attendance

22 Comments: