MBB: University Athletic Association

[blue_jays]

I would really like to know where UR invests the $ they get from the poor saps that buy the streams.

I'd assume in the cost of the stream, right?

Well that's part of the larger issue.  Is anyone supposed to believe the UR athletic budget can't handle livestreaming?  This is a school with an endowment the size of of some countries' GDP.

Admittedly, I was a sap back in 2014 when I purchased a stream when SLU soccer played at UR.  The only one I ever purchased since.  Hobart used to pay wall their streams too but removed it 5 years ago.   If everyone else can do it, I don't see why UR can't.

Endowment has nothing to do with it. In D3, the department gets what the university deigns to give them. Each athletics department must then figure out the best way to chop up that pie amongst at least 20 sports and the myriad needs for each of those sports. For things as benign as buying extra pairs of shoes for your track & field teams. Things you don't even think about.
If you want to buy a full streaming setup with bells and whistles, it ain't cheap. It depends on whether you're streaming through a laptop or a tricaster (which cost tens of thousands BTW). The cost of doing multi-camera streams, and replicating all your equipment for at least 2-3 different setups based on sports being played at the same time, will run you well over $10,000. The new Macbook Pro with top-flight specs will run you $2,700 to $3,500 alone. A good camera can be $2,000 and up. Trust me, there's a lot involved.

[WUPHF]

Washington University and Chicago has been called due to Covid-19 protocols. 

They used to leave very early for this game.  It is possible that the team was on the bus and pulling through Bloomington-Normal when the news was announced.  Maybe they can pick up a game with the Elmhurst or North Central while they are in town, depending on who had to cancel?

I guess they have to operate as if every UAA game will be played.

This game could be made up with a double-header in St. Louis.

[Greek Tragedy]

This is sucking more and more. NBA arenas can have 15,000 fans but a D3 game, which attracts anywhere between 50 to 3,000 gets postponed. SMH.

[deiscanton]

Washington University and Chicago has been called due to Covid-19 protocols. 

They used to leave very early for this game.  It is possible that the team was on the bus and pulling through Bloomington-Normal when the news was announced.  Maybe they can pick up a game with the Elmhurst or North Central while they are in town, depending on who had to cancel?

I guess they have to operate as if every UAA game will be played.

This game could be made up with a double-header in St. Louis.

It is very possible that Wash U athletic director Anthony Azama gave the go-ahead this morning to send both Bears basketball teams on the bus to Chicago, but the Chicago athletic director was forced to make the decision to cancel at least one of the games, if not the entire doubleheader, while the teams were en route, due to COVID-19 protocols.  (I just got on line and I still have to check on the women's schedules for updates.)

1:35 PM Eastern update-- only the men's game between Wash U and Chicago got postponed.  The Wash U at Chicago women's game is still scheduled to be played tomorrow at this time with a scheduled tip time of 3 PM Central/4 PM Eastern.   It is not like you can take the men's team off the bus and turn them around on a separate bus back to St. Louis while still sending the women onward to Chicago, though.

1:43 PM Eastern-- Chicago Athletics sent out the tweet confirming the postponement of tomorrow's Wash U at Chicago men's game due to COVID 19 protocols at 11:50 AM Central/12:50 PM Eastern.  The women's game between Wash U and Chicago is still scheduled to be played tomorrow at this time.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

This is sucking more and more. NBA arenas can have 15,000 fans but a D3 game, which attracts anywhere between 50 to 3,000 gets postponed. SMH.

I think to some degree we are comparing apples and oranges.

First off, the policies DIII is operating under are the same as DI and we are seeing DI games getting postponed and canceled - even big-time BIG 10, ACC, etc.

Secondly, individual schools can have other mandates for their students and that could be driving the ship. Unlike the professional leagues, DIII institutions have to consider their entire campuses and they aren't going to treat athletes different than other students. Furthermore, with the future of institutions already in question especially with 2025 coming, no administration is going to just let stuff like this go on without managing it carefully.

Thirdly, NBA teams like all professional teams are monitoring their players. If they have COVID positive exposures and especially if they are symptomatic, they aren't letting those players play. And if enough players aren't available they are going to shut down the game. Look at what the NHL has had to deal with already which was more than just the border being closed and fans not being allowed in the stands. NFL has had to deal with player issues as well. Maybe the NBA is getting lucky that they haven't had wide-spread outbreaks, but maybe they are doing better with their protocols and "bubble" plans (for each team in a city) than everyone else.

And the NBA and professional leagues are also going to take on a bit more risk because if they shut things down too quickly or prematurely, they risk losing the entire league (not a joke; MLB was losing $600k per game in 2020 and last year was a really rough start). These leagues can't just play games in front of no one, so they are willing to take more risk. That isn't a risk college presidents and administrations are willing to take especially for high-profile and highly-respected institutions.

Comparing to the NBA with fans in the stands to DIII just isn't a fair comparison for more than I just mentioned.

[deiscanton]

Here is my viewing schedule for tomorrow (assuming no further cancellations)

I will most likely be tuning in to the Emory at Rochester men's game at noon Eastern, followed by having the NYU at Brandeis women's game at 2 PM Eastern on my Roku TV while maybe having video of the Case Western Reserve at Carnegie Mellon's men's game on my Chromebook at the same time.  I will have live stats tabbed in on my Chromebook as well.  I will probably be watching the 4 PM Eastern women's game between CWRU and Carnegie Mellon (since the Brandeis women are scheduled to play both teams the following weekend) whlle having the other women's game between Wash U and Chicago on live stats with the ability to switch to live video of that game if the one between CWRU and Carnegie Mellon turns out to be one-sided.  I will watch the Emory vs Rochester 2 PM Eastern tip women's game on demand last.

Bummer that the Wash U at Chicago men's game had to be postponed.

[deiscanton]

Brandeis Athletics just tweeted at 1:54 PM Eastern that as of January 7th, the Brandeis spectator policy has been changed.  No spectators will be allowed at Brandeis home events, starting with tomorrow's scheduled NYU at Brandeis women's basketball game, and they apologize for the inconvenience to anyone who paid to take an express PCR test for the purpose of trying to qualify to get in to the Gosman building for tomorrow's game.

Personally, I do feel relieved at this.   The previous policy demanding a negative result on an RT-PCR test to be taken no more than 72 hours prior to the day of competition felt like a de facto ban on outside spectators anyway, given the big hurdles of getting an affordable PCR test these days for purposes of travel.    Brandeis should have announced the no spectators policy up front last week and not tried to play cute with the PCR test go around.

[NEPAFAN]

I would really like to know where UR invests the $ they get from the poor saps that buy the streams.

I'd assume in the cost of the stream, right?

Well that's part of the larger issue.  Is anyone supposed to believe the UR athletic budget can't handle livestreaming?  This is a school with an endowment the size of of some countries' GDP.

Admittedly, I was a sap back in 2014 when I purchased a stream when SLU soccer played at UR.  The only one I ever purchased since.  Hobart used to pay wall their streams too but removed it 5 years ago.   If everyone else can do it, I don't see why UR can't.

Endowment has nothing to do with it. In D3, the department gets what the university deigns to give them. Each athletics department must then figure out the best way to chop up that pie amongst at least 20 sports and the myriad needs for each of those sports. For things as benign as buying extra pairs of shoes for your track & field teams. Things you don't even think about.
If you want to buy a full streaming setup with bells and whistles, it ain't cheap. It depends on whether you're streaming through a laptop or a tricaster (which cost tens of thousands BTW). The cost of doing multi-camera streams, and replicating all your equipment for at least 2-3 different setups based on sports being played at the same time, will run you well over $10,000. The new Macbook Pro with top-flight specs will run you $2,700 to $3,500 alone. A good camera can be $2,000 and up. Trust me, there's a lot involved.

Yet the vast majority of D3 schools can pull it off in some fashion without charging.

[deiscanton]

I would really like to know where UR invests the $ they get from the poor saps that buy the streams.

I'd assume in the cost of the stream, right?

Well that's part of the larger issue.  Is anyone supposed to believe the UR athletic budget can't handle livestreaming?  This is a school with an endowment the size of of some countries' GDP.

Admittedly, I was a sap back in 2014 when I purchased a stream when SLU soccer played at UR.  The only one I ever purchased since.  Hobart used to pay wall their streams too but removed it 5 years ago.   If everyone else can do it, I don't see why UR can't.

Endowment has nothing to do with it. In D3, the department gets what the university deigns to give them. Each athletics department must then figure out the best way to chop up that pie amongst at least 20 sports and the myriad needs for each of those sports. For things as benign as buying extra pairs of shoes for your track & field teams. Things you don't even think about.
If you want to buy a full streaming setup with bells and whistles, it ain't cheap. It depends on whether you're streaming through a laptop or a tricaster (which cost tens of thousands BTW). The cost of doing multi-camera streams, and replicating all your equipment for at least 2-3 different setups based on sports being played at the same time, will run you well over $10,000. The new Macbook Pro with top-flight specs will run you $2,700 to $3,500 alone. A good camera can be $2,000 and up. Trust me, there's a lot involved.

Yet the vast majority of D3 schools can pull it off in some fashion without charging.

How many of those D3 schools have regular commentary on the stream for sporting events?

[WUPHF]

1:35 PM Eastern update-- only the men's game between Wash U and Chicago got postponed.  The Wash U at Chicago women's game is still scheduled to be played tomorrow at this time with a scheduled tip time of 3 PM Central/4 PM Eastern.   It is not like you can take the men's team off the bus and turn them around on a separate bus back to St. Louis while still sending the women onward to Chicago, though.

I have a feeling that the team will make the most of the situation.  Chicago and all.

[WUPHF]

This is sucking more and more. NBA arenas can have 15,000 fans but a D3 game, which attracts anywhere between 50 to 3,000 gets postponed. SMH.

I think to some degree we are comparing apples and oranges.

As a general rule, it is best to read these with a grain of salt or whatever the expression is.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I would really like to know where UR invests the $ they get from the poor saps that buy the streams.

I'd assume in the cost of the stream, right?

Well that's part of the larger issue.  Is anyone supposed to believe the UR athletic budget can't handle livestreaming?  This is a school with an endowment the size of of some countries' GDP.

Admittedly, I was a sap back in 2014 when I purchased a stream when SLU soccer played at UR.  The only one I ever purchased since.  Hobart used to pay wall their streams too but removed it 5 years ago.   If everyone else can do it, I don't see why UR can't.

Endowment has nothing to do with it. In D3, the department gets what the university deigns to give them. Each athletics department must then figure out the best way to chop up that pie amongst at least 20 sports and the myriad needs for each of those sports. For things as benign as buying extra pairs of shoes for your track & field teams. Things you don't even think about.
If you want to buy a full streaming setup with bells and whistles, it ain't cheap. It depends on whether you're streaming through a laptop or a tricaster (which cost tens of thousands BTW). The cost of doing multi-camera streams, and replicating all your equipment for at least 2-3 different setups based on sports being played at the same time, will run you well over $10,000. The new Macbook Pro with top-flight specs will run you $2,700 to $3,500 alone. A good camera can be $2,000 and up. Trust me, there's a lot involved.

Yet the vast majority of D3 schools can pull it off in some fashion without charging.

How many of those D3 schools have regular commentary on the stream for sporting events?

Majority. Not sure the exact numbers, but games I tune into around the country more times than not have commentary of some kind.

[Gregory Sager]

1:35 PM Eastern update-- only the men's game between Wash U and Chicago got postponed.  The Wash U at Chicago women's game is still scheduled to be played tomorrow at this time with a scheduled tip time of 3 PM Central/4 PM Eastern.   It is not like you can take the men's team off the bus and turn them around on a separate bus back to St. Louis while still sending the women onward to Chicago, though.

I have a feeling that the team will make the most of the situation.  Chicago and all.

If there are people in the Wash U traveling party who don't have their vax cards and proper ID with them, they won't be making the most of the situation in Chicago, that's for sure.

The suburbs are a different matter, of course.

[Gregory Sager]

I would really like to know where UR invests the $ they get from the poor saps that buy the streams.

I'd assume in the cost of the stream, right?

Well that's part of the larger issue.  Is anyone supposed to believe the UR athletic budget can't handle livestreaming?  This is a school with an endowment the size of of some countries' GDP.

Admittedly, I was a sap back in 2014 when I purchased a stream when SLU soccer played at UR.  The only one I ever purchased since.  Hobart used to pay wall their streams too but removed it 5 years ago.   If everyone else can do it, I don't see why UR can't.

Endowment has nothing to do with it. In D3, the department gets what the university deigns to give them. Each athletics department must then figure out the best way to chop up that pie amongst at least 20 sports and the myriad needs for each of those sports. For things as benign as buying extra pairs of shoes for your track & field teams. Things you don't even think about.
If you want to buy a full streaming setup with bells and whistles, it ain't cheap. It depends on whether you're streaming through a laptop or a tricaster (which cost tens of thousands BTW). The cost of doing multi-camera streams, and replicating all your equipment for at least 2-3 different setups based on sports being played at the same time, will run you well over $10,000. The new Macbook Pro with top-flight specs will run you $2,700 to $3,500 alone. A good camera can be $2,000 and up. Trust me, there's a lot involved.

Yet the vast majority of D3 schools can pull it off in some fashion without charging.

How many of those D3 schools have regular commentary on the stream for sporting events?

Majority. Not sure the exact numbers, but games I tune into around the country more times than not have commentary of some kind.

Based upon my observations, I'd say that it's about 75/25 in favor of D3 men's basketball webstreams having play-by-play announcers. It might even be higher than that.

It's substantially lower for D3 women's basketball. Lots of schools have PBP for men but not for women.

[WUPHF]

If there are people in the Wash U traveling party who don't have their vax cards and proper ID with them, they won't be making the most of the situation in Chicago, that's for sure.

I assume they needed those to get in to the gym.