Saturday afternoon in March. NEC Tournament on MSG. CAA Tournament on SNY/COMCAST. A-10 WOMEN"S Tournament on CBS Sports Channel. MAAC Tournament..........ON YOUR COMPUTER.
Holding the MAAC Basketball Tournament in Springfield, MA, a state that has no MAAC teams or even any nearby (Hamden, CT is the closest at 58 miles away).
You disparage the Patriot League, yet their semifinal games of Army v. BU @ 3:30pm and Holy Cross v. American @ 5:30pm are on national TV via Fairfield Trustee Pete Gillen's own CBS Sports Network today. Plus the Boston Globe, Boston Herald and local TV news channels have been providing media coverage of the PL Tournament because of BU and Holy Cross. Great exposure for two like minded academic institutions competing for a similar pool of applicants in the New England region. And despite playing in Springfield, Massachusetts, I think you would be hard pressed to find many New Englanders that have even heard of the MAAC!
I did NOT post that to make this a debate about the Patriot League, but I am NOT a fan of having conference tournaments at different campus locations. What this is about is the lack of SENSE continually displayed by this league. No TV, no marketing, no press, a nonsensical location for a tournament, a move back to Albany with the home team poised to jump leagues. IMO, in spite of the disastrous season that was Fairfield Men's Basketball this season, I still think they will look to move. After all, Fordham moved to the A-10 after a season in which they lost their first 9 and went 9-17. And if you're keeping score, especially those Fairfield fans who have abandoned ship, by my count, Fordham has had 20 of 22 losing seasons.
I have to laugh at these MAAC school commercials on ESPN3. Who the heck do they think is actually watching these games on such a narrow platform? The only people watching are true MAAC fans who bother to log into ESPN3 on their computers or Apple TV. So basically these commercials are fillers. It is also telling that ESPN is not placing many real commercials during these games. Classic MAAC.
Post by reindeerfan on Mar 8, 2014 22:05:46 GMT -5
Every basketball conference in the country had free televised games I could watch this afternoon, except the Maac. That's all anyone needs to know about their leadership or lack thereof.
Just finished watching the atlantic sun tournament final from the Florida Gulf Coast U on-campus arena. FGCU vs Mercer our old friends from Macon, Georgia and the CIT tournament of a few years ago. Let me tell u the atmosphere was electric. Both teams fans right on top of the court, great bands, plenty of cheer leaders, color and excitement. College basketball at its best!!! I compare that game to the CAA semi-final I was also watching at a neutral site, the Baltimore MD arena in front of practically no one. The atmosphere can be described as WBA - like, no enthusiasm and about as electric as a dead battery. Not sure that the neutral/off-campus arena approach to a tournament is the right way to go? ps- mercer punched its ticket to the NCAA, good for them.
Other MAAC schools would have to drastically improve their facilities. FGCU HAS a gorgeous facility. Couldn't imagine the MAAC final at most MAAC school gyms. It would be atrocious. High school gyms are better than most...
Its 5:15 PM and I tried to watch the MAAC semi-finals on ESPN3, no video only an audio broadcast. Game started at 4:30 in Springfield. Seems the Iona/Canisus game is on a two hour delay with the video starting at 6:00 or 6:30 and the second game, manhattan and quinny being broadcastalso on a delay starting at 9PM. Even if you want to watch the game live on your computer , you cannot. The MAAC = a joke. Must be desperate for live attendance , so they are forcing THE FANS TO ATTEND THE GAME OR BUST!
Even if you want to watch the game live on your computer , you cannot. The MAAC = a joke. Must be desperate for live attendance , so they are forcing THE FANS TO ATTEND THE GAME OR BUST!
Well, it doesn't look like they are attending the game in person or on paper:
Other MAAC schools would have to drastically improve their facilities. FGCU HAS a gorgeous facility. Couldn't imagine the MAAC final at most MAAC school gyms. It would be atrocious. High school gyms are better than most...
FGCU's Alico Arena has 4,333 fixed seats and the capacity with SRO of up to 4,633 in an oval configuration and a permanent hardwood floor. It includes four full-sized basketball courts and six suites. In addition to the arena, the facility includes offices for the Athletics Department and arena staff, as well as, 12 locker rooms, and a hospitality room.
