Joe Stag, it was a packed arena with energy. Forget the #'s....the Palestra holds less than AYH. Wouldn't you want to play where there is a vibe? The MAAC Tourney looks like a joke on TV. American had students go to Boston yet Manhattan had a handful go to Springfield.
Respectfully, the PL #'s are better and the environment was better.
Curious, I am not debating your points here. But to be fair (something like truth in advertising), the Aganis Arena seats 7,500 people. 2,300 there. Think if the Stags hadn't blown that game to St. Peter's in 2011 that more than 2,300 would have shown up the next night? Just asking?.
Post by curioustag on Mar 13, 2014 15:09:43 GMT -5
Nash, you are right...we would have been in the 5,000-6,000 fan range. But....we could be a bigger fish in that pond with academically better schools. Plus, we could be hosting a game like that instead of relegated to the Thursday PM play-in game in front of 200 people in Springfield.
The MAAC finals are a freaking joke...especially when the winning coach asks where his fans are? Shouldn't he be excited about winning the tourney other than annoyed about the empty seats watching them cut the nets down?
curious i'm with you, The on-campus tournament game is the only way to go. Just about every low to mid-major tourney game that i watched on any of the sports channels,played in an on-campus facility, has been electric. I understand the argument made by some on this board that most of the on-campus facilities in the MAAC are sub standard to some degeee. St Petes for instance and our own Alumni Hall. However, these small facilities "rock" with excitement when you pack them with 2000-3000 fans! A higher seed team has earned the right to have home games based on their regular season performance. You should be rewarded for good results. Also, i would be in favor of a Patriot League membership for Ffld. I realize i may be in thet minority on this board. We have been trying to upgrade our regional/national mens baskeball impact for some 40 years now with only at best, minimal results. I personally do not think that will ever change at FFld. So, i would rather be asociated with the better academic schools then with ST petes, Rider , Monmouth etc. and maybe Wagner in the future.
I know the MAAC screws things up left and right, but my opinion on the Patiot League is NO way!! Academically it's a step up, for basketball it stinks. I know Lehigh and Bucknell have had success, but the program would take two steps back with that move...
This is quite simple. Everyone wants out of the MAAC. We all agree that its the most mismanaged conference in the history of college sports. What conference repeatedly makes mistakes like the MAAC has made? But,do you want to move down or up? And don't tell me the Patriot League is an "up" move, because its not. IMO, if Fairfield moves, they go to the CAA with another Northeast school, whether its Stony Brook, Albany, Holy Cross, or ......Fordham. They've been in every other league and it hasn't worked, why not the CAA. Why not Northeastern, Hofstra, Fairfield, Fordham, Drexel, and Delaware, and Towson, William and Mary, James Madison, Elon, UNC Wilmington, and College of Charleston? You never know.
PS: If Fairfield played a MAAC Final vs Iona at the Webster Bank Arena, what do you think the Attendance would be? I bet more than double what BU drew for their final.
Post by redseastag on Mar 13, 2014 16:53:57 GMT -5
BU is massive. It's more than five times the size of Fairfield. To draw such a small crowd as the prohibitive favorite, with the tourney final on tv and an ncaa bid on the line is embarrassing. Think about the 5000 we had for a semi when we inexplicably lost to SPC and tell me that we need the PL. This argument is ludicrous. There are plenty of reasons to be upset with the maac, but it doesn't mean anything and everything else is better. I'm hopeful that Siena and Fairfield will stick together if something else shakes out and I think the lacrosse program to the CAA is a sign of upward mobility/aspirations. We have a great court, some recent successes, and a financial commitment. We're not in the worst shape, by any means .
Post by curioustag on Mar 13, 2014 18:18:40 GMT -5
BU didnt look at bad as AHY has looked on TV On many occasions... even with good FU teams. My friends would always ask where the fans were when we were on TV so we don't get to throw stones at BU in my opinion.
Environment simply looked a heck of a lot better than MAAC did and the schools are better overall.
The Horizon is a better league than the Patriot but can you name 4 schools not named Butler (I know they left two years ago)....sometimes it is bigger than hoops... esp. When you are not a well-known school outside the tri-state area.
Joe, If anybody looks at our "entire body of work" what are they going to see that is enticing?? Sports in decline? Academics in decline or being overpriced for the value? I went to FU when the school was much more "elite" in both academics and athletics...........now we HOPE to compete with QU...........where were they 10 years ago? I, amongst other older fans, tend to think of FU in a past tense.....of what we were and where we thought we'd be headed.......the Duke of the North, when Timmy was hired.......the Gonzaga of the East.........yes, those were ideas and goals spoken of..........now we debate attendance at BU and Loyola....before Jimmy Patsos they ran with the Peacocks. The fan base is dillusional, the administration is not caring.......that equation is not good.
This is quite simple. Everyone wants out of the MAAC. We all agree that its the most mismanaged conference in the history of college sports. What conference repeatedly makes mistakes like the MAAC has made? But,do you want to move down or up? And don't tell me the Patriot League is an "up" move, because its not. IMO, if Fairfield moves, they go to the CAA with another Northeast school, whether its Stony Brook, Albany, Holy Cross, or ......Fordham. They've been in every other league and it hasn't worked, why not the CAA. Why not Northeastern, Hofstra, Fairfield, Fordham, Drexel, and Delaware, and Towson, William and Mary, James Madison, Elon, UNC Wilmington, and College of Charleston? You never know.
PS: If Fairfield played a MAAC Final vs Iona at the Webster Bank Arena, what do you think the Attendance would be? I bet more than double what BU drew for their final.
I think Sobro hits in on the head. Everybody with a couple of exceptions wants out of the MAAC. (St. Peter's, rider, and Monmouth?)
So, why do the schools continue to endorse the commissioner and his performance? Who are the suckers here? What is this magical hold this guy has on this league?
I like the CAA alignment above. Somebody invite us, I beg you. But, in the interim, how do the member MAAC schools tolerate how this league performs?
Can anybody provide some reasonable and serious insight here. This has baffled me for years. Am I missing something?
Last Edit: Mar 14, 2014 6:59:27 GMT -5 by paulie74
living in the past last night i witnessed fairfield prep playing basketball in alumni hall. the place was packed, the student body ( all male ) was out in force, the building was rocking ( the paint was knocked off the wall ) excellent basketball, a franchise player, with due respect to master card, " priceless ". walter pleban was not in the stands, pat burke was not on the floor, the organ was not playing when the saints go marching in - - it was just a reminder of the past, but it was a joy to watch. my question is, in what year, in what place, will the stags, once again, be a joy to watch ?
Joe, If anybody looks at our "entire body of work" what are they going to see that is enticing?? Sports in decline? Academics in decline or being overpriced for the value? I went to FU when the school was much more "elite" in both academics and athletics...........now we HOPE to compete with QU...........where were they 10 years ago? I, amongst other older fans, tend to think of FU in a past tense.....of what we were and where we thought we'd be headed.......the Duke of the North, when Timmy was hired.......the Gonzaga of the East.........yes, those were ideas and goals spoken of..........now we debate attendance at BU and Loyola....before Jimmy Patsos they ran with the Peacocks. The fan base is dillusional, the administration is not caring.......that equation is not good.
Everyone has a short memory because the Basketball team had a bad season. That does not mean the Program and Sports are in decline. Academically we have been rated top in 3 in the Northeast for decades. We are always in the top schools for the Commissioners cup. The goals are still the same. We just have not won that coveted NCAA Bid. Will will not be able to go to a better league than the MAAC by playing our home games in a HS Gym. And people are misremembering the MAAC Tourney in WBA. Just some statements from the press releases when we hosted the MAAC Tourney. Below is why we do not want to go backwards.
Tonight's attendance stood at 5,235 which marks the first time in school history that the Stags played at home in front of more than 5,000 fans in consecutive games. The attendance for the Siena game, the team's regular-season home finale, stood at 5,287 fans. The total was also sixth largest crowd for a Fairfield game at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard.
And then the next Night
And as that community of alumni, students, and fans filed out of the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard on Sunday afternoon, you could see the pride in them through the sea of red shirts and painted faces that they wore throughout the season.
curioustag, you know I am a big advocate of joining the PL. Our basketball program has had over a decade of increased funding and the WBA. The results...the worst season in Fairfield basketball history. There is an institutional problem that based on our track record I suspect will never be overcome. And that is why I am such a big proponent of joining the PL. It makes no sense institutionally to hold the growth of our academic reputation captive to a dysfunctional basketball program and conference especially in a competitive academic environment where the school needs to increase its geographic and academic awareness. But I have come to realize that this is not the forum to make this argument. The diehards are the diehards, at least those that are left, and will never be convinced otherwise. You and I see a bigger picture here. We can only hope that the trustees begin to see this bigger picture also. I would recommend sending an email to FVA or cornering him at your next alumni event as I have done. You will probably get a wishy washy answer, but, at least he will begin to understand that there is strong support amongst the academically conscious alumni for a move to the PL.