Ah the glory days when the FF gym really was a home court “ pit” that provided a real advantage!!! Of course those days are long gone and never to be re-captured as a result of student dis-interest, over exposure of college games by TV and a history of well over 35 seasons of losing. RIP
Our focus shouldn’t be on the students. Half the games they are on break anyway. Our focus needs to be the town. The mombies appearance brought a good crowd-we need a game like that and then back it up with another. Bunching that will eventually bring back the students as the games will become “events”.
Ah the glory days when the FF gym really was a home court “ pit” that provided a real advantage!!! Of course those days are long gone and never to be re-captured as a result of student dis-interest, over exposure of college games by TV and a history of well over 35 seasons of losing. RIP
Our focus shouldn’t be on the students. Half the games they are on break anyway. Our focus needs to be the town. The mombies appearance brought a good crowd-we need a game like that and then back it up with another. Bunching that will eventually bring back the students as the games will become “events”.
Not sure I agree with that. The time period when students are away is basically mid-December to mid-January. This is when Christmas, New Years, college playoffs, NFL playoffs are center stage. Sure it would be nice to get more of the locals to games, but the core audience has to be those who are connected to the school ... current students, alumni, employees and families with a connection to FU. If you can't get those people to the games, it's going to be an awfully tough sell to get others to attend, given there are a million other things to do in the NY Metro region.
“The new arena will be a versatile, dynamic, and contemporary space,” said President Mark R. Nemec, PhD, “providing a much-anticipated upgrade in size, technology, and amenities.”
“We are seeing tremendous excitement and support from our alumni, parents, and friends,” said Vice President for Advancement Wally Halas. “This Center will bring our entire University community together and serve the town of Fairfield for years to come.”....
ghost, I agree not "exclusively" should students only be the target market but the infectious and noisy energy of the Red Sea is needed to create the much needed game day atmosphere. The arrival on campus of new state of the art Alumni Hall Convocation Center will appeal to the Town of Fairfield residents and more should be done in town with the local community, especially the businesses. However, our fellow alumni within driving distance of campus already have the best interest in Fairfield University and its athletic programs along with the current 5,000+ enrolled students.
Post by ctghostman on Jan 23, 2020 14:20:07 GMT -5
I’d love it if it was the late 80s and before when the Red Sea was packed with students. Unfortunately for us and most schools the crowds are different today. Siena draws locals over 50 not students.
As far as comments about students being away half the time- we lose them for Thanksgiving, Exams, Christmas though MLK day and presidents weekend. It’s tough to have that as a base with those restrictions.
locals are more likely to come on weeknights. Alums will travel on weekends There’s 10k plus kids in the schools in town-disposable money-looking for something to do. The probably want more than just the game-want some halftime or post game entertainment too. I’d focus my marketing efforts there. The women’s 11 am game a few weeks back is another example of how to draw a crowd. Might not get ticket revenue but sell popcorn peanuts and cracker jacks. A good time makes them come back.
A good time makes them come back....Absolutely! Stag Men's Basketball and all the other Stag athletic programs are just another entertainment option and if they (students, our fellow alumni, locals...) have fun they will be back on campus, especially to the new Alumni Hall Convocation Center. A sold out SRO 3,500 Convocation Center crowd of Stag needs to be the marketing goal and it is never to early or late to work for everyone in the Administration to be working towards that goal.
ThanKs SOD, probably the best and most exciting (from a Stag's perspective) game I ever saw at Alumni Hall. The building was louder than I can ever remember
Sounds like it was a great game! 3,400 in attendance.
But I've got to assume Fisher didn't actually hit an 80-footer with a few seconds remaining. I suspect the author meant an 18-footer? Why take an 80-footer with several seconds left.
Post by stagmania78 on Jan 30, 2020 22:34:36 GMT -5
I remember being nervous about this game for a couple of reasons. It was the next game after the Cross game so a letdown was probable. Also, we had been hearing and reading about this Ruland kid. He didn't disappoint. The place went crazy whem Kim hit the game winner. Not as loud as 2 nights before though. Ha. I honestly can't remember how crowded the game was, especially it being a Monday night. Seeing it was 3400 is amazing. Stagmania was definitely in full effect.
Yes absolutely, I can verify that. I remember standing in the lobby and seeing people angrily waving their tickets at the people in charge trying to get in to see a game they had paid to see only to be denied. Apparently they had oversold, an egregious mistake for sure. Or maybe, just maybe, some without tickets had sneaked in early, who knows? But once they hit the limit, as far as the Fire Marshalls were concerned, that's it. No one else was getting in. Glad it wasn't me because if it was I would have been pissed to this day!
Did I read that correctly, Jeff Rutland in that game as a Freshmen , 23 pts and 27 rebounds. Ouch!!! Hard to believe 27 rebounds in one game by a player. Coached by the late Jim Valvano. “ Don’t give up, Don’t ever give up”