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Post by commissioner on Jul 22, 2018 10:01:52 GMT -6
Nobody wants to travel to Milwaukee??? You are way off the mark on that one. Well, maybe it's big news for folks in Green Bay. ;-) |
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Post by gbphoenix1 on Jul 27, 2018 8:10:11 GMT -6
In message board circles I am of the unpopular opinion that a neutral site is a good thing and honestly I don't mind it being in Detroit. So with that said I will offer another unpopular opinion.
We know that after 3 years the MCM isn't meeting expectations of both sides. It might be because of the perception of Detroit as a host and it might be because the tournament goes to Tuesday making it hard to commit to for fans coming from out of town.
My unpopular opinion is only change one thing at a time. If you change locations and formats then you do don't know what it is that people didn't like. I think they have 3 years invested in Detroit, they should leave the location for now. The variable to change is the format, make it fan friendly and see what happens. If you don't gain any traction with a Thursday to Sunday format after two more years then feel free to look for other venues.
If you go to Cincinnati with a better format that doesn't prove it wouldn't of worked in Detroit with a better format. If you go to Cincinnati with the same format you are taking a risk of having more of the same.
There is no doubt that Wright State has the strongest fan base in the league. That doesn't mean the tournament should be at the spot that is most convenient for them. Other schools like Green Bay for example have been fairly consistent at the box office as well. Moving anything to be convenient for NKU is premature. We know that when they are winning they have fan interest. We also don't know how long that winning will continue for. Plenty of other teams have been up and down the standings and local fan interest spectrum in this league. Milwaukee and Cleveland are great examples of this.
My bottom line is play this event in Detroit on Thursday to Sunday without the ladies to start. Everyone who is a fan of their team and can make it happen get to the event. Don't dig your heels in, embrace the opportunity to make something great. Go to the casino, the Ford Museum and Hockeytown for some drinks. Make March Madness a part of your being as a fan. Don't just wait for every so often that your team actually gets to dance. Treat this like a big time event. For goodness sake the HL has the chance to play their tournament in the current nicest arena in the country. Think about the opportunity the HL could miss out on because of pot holes and tough neighborhoods that are located where this event is not. In anything you do, Pat Baldwin always talks about making it your big time. That is so true when applied to MCM.
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Post by bear2020 on Jul 27, 2018 20:53:40 GMT -6
I agree with you about the day thing it is a great point that anybody traveling from far away wont go to an event thats few hours away on a Tuesday and i do think part of it is Detroit just isnt a college basketball city
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Post by commissioner on Jul 27, 2018 21:49:36 GMT -6
In message board circles I am of the unpopular opinion that a neutral site is a good thing and honestly I don't mind it being in Detroit. So with that said I will offer another unpopular opinion. We know that after 3 years the MCM isn't meeting expectations of both sides. It might be because of the perception of Detroit as a host and it might be because the tournament goes to Tuesday making it hard to commit to for fans coming from out of town. My unpopular opinion is only change one thing at a time. If you change locations and formats then you do don't know what it is that people didn't like. I think they have 3 years invested in Detroit, they should leave the location for now. The variable to change is the format, make it fan friendly and see what happens. If you don't gain any traction with a Thursday to Sunday format after two more years then feel free to look for other venues. If you go to Cincinnati with a better format that doesn't prove it wouldn't of worked in Detroit with a better format. If you go to Cincinnati with the same format you are taking a risk of having more of the same. There is no doubt that Wright State has the strongest fan base in the league. That doesn't mean the tournament should be at the spot that is most convenient for them. Other schools like Green Bay for example have been fairly consistent at the box office as well. Moving anything to be convenient for NKU is premature. We know that when they are winning they have fan interest. We also don't know how long that winning will continue for. Plenty of other teams have been up and down the standings and local fan interest spectrum in this league. Milwaukee and Cleveland are great examples of this. My bottom line is play this event in Detroit on Thursday to Sunday without the ladies to start. Everyone who is a fan of their team and can make it happen get to the event. Don't dig your heels in, embrace the opportunity to make something great. Go to the casino, the Ford Museum and Hockeytown for some drinks. Make March Madness a part of your being as a fan. Don't just wait for every so often that your team actually gets to dance. Treat this like a big time event. For goodness sake the HL has the chance to play their tournament in the current nicest arena in the country. Think about the opportunity the HL could miss out on because of pot holes and tough neighborhoods that are located where this event is not. In anything you do, Pat Baldwin always talks about making it your big time. That is so true when applied to MCM. Your opinions are popular with me. |
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Post by tommyboy on Jul 28, 2018 6:27:42 GMT -6
I don't have any say but, interested in reading about any ideas that could help. Does any other conference finish up the week before Selection Sunday? I can't remember if Championship Week starts on Sunday, Monday, or doesn't mean anything. If the tournament finished on Selection Sunday, would that hurt chances to get a deserving team any chance at an at-large bid?
So, basically my question is which Sunday would you prefer to end the tournament on?
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Post by rogobob77 on Jul 28, 2018 13:19:33 GMT -6
I don't have any say but, interested in reading about any ideas that could help. Does any other conference finish up the week before Selection Sunday? I can't remember if Championship Week starts on Sunday, Monday, or doesn't mean anything. If the tournament finished on Selection Sunday, would that hurt chances to get a deserving team any chance at an at-large bid? So, basically my question is which Sunday would you prefer to end the tournament on? In 2018, five conferences had their tournament finals completed a full week before Selection Sunday. The OVC went first with their final on Saturday, the Atlantic Sun, Big South, Big 10 and MVC championship games were played on Sunday. That was, I believe, a one-time only change for the Big 10 that traditionally has their championship game on the afternoon of Selection Sunday. In 2018: The OVC started things off on Saturday Four league champs were crowned that first Sunday Two on Monday Five, including the Horizon, on Tuesday One on Wednesday Fourteen on the final Saturday Five on Selection Sunday IMO, the Horizon would be best served by having their tournament played the first weekend in direct competition with only five other leagues, rather than the following weekend when 19 conferences are crowning their champion. |
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Post by bear2020 on Sept 11, 2018 9:10:52 GMT -6
According to tony Paul top 8 teams make it with quarters at campus site then semis and final at lca March 11-12
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Post by ougrizz05 on Sept 11, 2018 11:34:34 GMT -6
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2018 19:52:30 GMT -6
According to tony Paul top 8 teams make it with quarters at campus site then semis and final at lca March 11-12 This is the last year for the tournament in Detroit. They shortened the contract to end after this season and LeCrone is hoping that this year's attendance will be enough to convince them to renew it. Having a 2 day tournament on a monday and tuesday is not going to improve attendance. Agreed. What drag. We'll see what the quarterfinal attendance numbers look like. I'm thinking the Tourney will eventually wind up in Indy. |
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Post by commissioner on Sept 12, 2018 14:44:52 GMT -6
The Horizon needs to decide if it wants to hold an event--in which case it needs to get the final off Tuesday night, ESPN be damned, so that fans can attend a Fri-Sat-Sun. event and not miss more than a day of work; or if it wants to be on ESPN, in which case it should probably just go to campus sites.
If they leave Detroit, and it does look like they will, I'd like to see them go to a smaller city rather than Indianapolis. Some place like Grand Rapids, which is very centrally located, has a good facility in the Van Andel Arena, has an attractive downtown with stuff to do, and where the HL tournament would be a relatively big event for local sports fans and media. Rooms are also cheaper than in Indy or another major city. Plus there'd be no strong home court advantage for anyone. Dayton would be a less attractive possibility, but it has some of the same advantages and the benefit of Wright State's 4000+ attendance base. Fort Wayne could be a possibility, too, though it lacks good facilities.
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Post by bear2020 on Sept 12, 2018 20:26:26 GMT -6
The big question is if the tournament gets moved to Indy why would that move help with attendance? Most of the school are far away from Indy so if it does go there seems the same problems will become of the tournament there too.
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Post by gbphoenix1 on Jan 25, 2019 14:37:57 GMT -6
If you would have told me two or more years ago that the league was going to play a neutral site tournament in Indianapolis at the Indiana Farmer’s Coliseum I would have been very happy. In fact I had a long post on the GB board a few years ago about doing that very thing. phearthephoenix.proboards.com/thread/228/future-hl-mens-basketball-tournamentI still stand by everything I wrote almost 6 years ago on why Indy and why this venue. However, there is a major change that doesn’t sit well with me. Now this venue is IUPUI’s home and for being the most junior member of the league that doesn’t seem fair or logical. Anyway, what is done is done and there is nothing left to do now but complain about it. This move has one other major drawback. The format isn’t what I thought was ideal in April of 2013. Playing the last two rounds on a Monday and Tuesday is a recipe for failure. Everyone around the league says that this is what ESPN wants and it can’t be changed. A few things about that. Did anyone ask ESPN what it would take to change? Also, if ESPN likes weeknight content what about a Monday game? Try this on for size. Keep the 8 team format, not my favorite but I am willing to compromise. Play the first round on Saturday starting at noon. Play the second round on Sunday. Play the championship on Monday at 7pm EST. Depending on how much you want to drive you could be home Monday night or by mid-day on Tuesday. As a fan you would take no more than two days off of work and see the entire men’s tournament. Right now we have a format that will be played in front of a few loyal fans/friends and family. As far as the women’s tournament you could fit it in with some creativity. It isn’t like the building is used a lot. This year from 2/25/19 to 3/31/19 there are 8 Indy Fuel hockey games as the only events in the building. Granted they are all on weekends but this proposed format would need the building one long weekend. That doesn’t seem like it would be hard to plan around and ESPN would still have weeknight content that is so precious. I wouldn’t describe this news today as a swing and miss but certainly it is a foul tip in the best case. The league might as well add Purdue Fort Wayne and Southern Indiana to the league ASAP to give this a better chance to succeed. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2019 18:19:39 GMT -6
When the League added IUPUI, it was just a matter of time before the Tourney would be held in Indy. Thanks a lot Oakland and Detroit for expediting the move.
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Post by ougrizz05 on Jan 26, 2019 7:47:33 GMT -6
When the League added IUPUI, it was just a matter of time before the Tourney would be held in Indy. Thanks a lot Oakland and Detroit for expediting the move. I agree that neither OU nor UD showed up in good #s at MCM. However it was a poor showing across the board. On top of the fact that LCA is way too big for the Horizon right now. Its a beautiful state of the art arena, but just too big for us right now. |
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Post by commissioner on Jan 26, 2019 9:43:37 GMT -6
Just as a point: The Horizon's average conference tournament attendance last year was 14th of 32 conferences. The power conferences and the MVC give a different impression, but for the rest of the country, conference tournaments have sparse attendance.
Totally agree with gbphoenix. The Tuesday night deal made some sense when games were played on campus. But if you want attendance at a neutral site, the Tuesday game has got to go. Do we get any money from ESPN for that? Or just a game on the main ESPN network? Anyway, as gbphoenix says, at least a Monday night game. Better would be a Sunday game. Get all 10 teams back in the tournament. 7-10 play first round Mon/Tues on campuses, quarters/semis/finals on Fri/Sat/Sun. Or Thurs/Fri/Sat -- Thursday games at 1:00/3:30/6:30/9:00. Lots of fans could make the late games, missing just 1 day work (and maybe cut out a couple hours early on Thursday) to catch the whole tournament, leisurely drive home on Sunday.
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