MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[chmarx]

I'm okay if Oregon wins it all.  So far, so good.

[frankiet]

As for getting more people in the stands... I think one thing to look at is, why play early Saturday games? 1:00 games are brutal and for a smaller community, some people may have to work or have committments. I think if they were pushed back to later in the day that would draw more people. I understand long trips like Superior to Whitewater. But like Stevens Point to River Falls, thats not that long, no need to play an early game.

[John Gleich]

I agree with that Frankiet.  The reasons why it is done (having to spend $ on fewer busses) do not outweight the reasons why it SHOULDN'T be done (I haven't spoken with a player who has enjoyed playing earlier, being squashed on a bus with the team of the opposite gender, working around the particular schedules of not one but TWO head coaches, sitting around waiting for the first game to get done, or sitting around after the first game is done for the next one to get done...).

To be honest, though, wouldn't the added revenue from 300-400 more fans in the crowd pay for the extra bus?  And most schools don't have fans pay for BOTH the men's and women's games.  That's added revenue there, as well.

[chmarx]

How many of those possible 300-400 would be students, who don't pay admission?

[John Gleich]

Though money doesn't change hands when students walk through the door, I think that, in a way, the students DO pay admission... it's called tuition, but I think that a portion of the tuition goes towards getting them a "free" ticket into sporting events.

I'm not 100% sure if this is the case or not, but it would seem to make sense. 

[titan2000]

I paid $7 to see the UW-Oshkosh Titans play this year and it was not worth it.   

[foul_language]

This attendance discussion is interesting. From Souptown point of view, I have a couple of observations:
Weeknight games are the bane and the blessing--UW-Superior has only 2500 students and many are non-traditional. We offer a lot of night classes, which means a good number of students are tied up on game nights. In that case, weekend games might be a better draw for on-campus students. Up here, though, Saturday night games would bump up against hockey. We just don't have enough students to fill the fieldhouse, Wessman Arena and classes.

Having losing teams for a couple of years hurts, of course. I'm hoping that with the coaching situations settled, perhaps the teams can come together. Sounds like the men are getting some decent recruits; I'm hoping the women can pick up some players, as well. Hockey proves Superior can get a crowd together, but it has to be an ecumenical group--students, parents, interested community members.

Also, the IFan video could possibly cut into the attendance, since it's easier to pull up the computer at home rather than drive the 10, 15, 20....miles into Superior. Given that basketball weather is generally crappy up here, I suspect the easy option is to crack a cold beer and huddle up in front of the monitor.

[chmarx]

I know that the students pay for their admission through fees.

My point is that their attendance doesn't change the bottom line.

[frankiet]

Yes the students don't pay admission at the gate, but they are paying in tuition. Now granted you would think why would it made a difference if we had 200-300 more students at the game? Because of those crop of students, a good handful will spend money in other ways like concessions, programs, school gear, and halftime activities. Not to mention you then have extra support for the programs!

Unlike D1 where game time is depended on TV coverage, the WIAC should in some cases be looking at what is the best time for each campus to host their own game.

[foul_language]

I think student attendance at athletic events is very important to the sport and to the students, themselves (students actively involved in campus probably do better academically and socially--both pretty important). Anything that could be done to put more butts on the benches would be a good thing.

However, individual schools are hardly able to personalize schedules, because the whole thing has to fit together in a larger framework. UW-Superior would likely benefit from Sunday afternoon games, but how is that going to fly when WIAC teams try to accommodate that? It's pretty much all or nothing. Individual times on a specific day may have leeway, but I doubt there's a lot of flexibility in days.

I'm not crazy about weeknight games. Having three years of traveling to Oshkosh and back on Wednesday nights to watch games was trying. Having 'home' games 2.5 hours south of home seemed reasonable after a while, but it really wasn't.

[Just Bill]

Not WIAC news specifically, but still very big!

Tharp leaves Lawrence for Hillsdale College (MI)

http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070328/APC02/70328011/-1/APCsports

[diehardfan]

Too lazy to look up his email address at the moment so excuse the random interruption...

Old School, perpetrator of the term "She-vegas", hi from the real Vegas Since Las Vegas is Las instead of Los, does that mean it's "She-vegas" too?

[John Gleich]

... and She-BOY-gan probably should be HE-Vegas, should it not?

[bulk19]

Most recent National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Directors Cup standings show, as of March 29:

Williams ranks #1 (based on all men's and women's finishes as of the recently completed hoops seasons, and other winter sports...)
UWL #7
UWSP #10
UW-Oshkosh #20
UWW #30
UWEC #31
UWP #48

[titan2000]

Not WIAC news specifically, but still very big!

Tharp leaves Lawrence for Hillsdale College (MI)

http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070328/APC02/70328011/-1/APCsports

Ted Van Dellen just sighed relief.  Tharp beat him 3 of the last 4 and  lots of Oshkosh alums were embarrassed by that.