Home attendance for BE games

by **LA_Mustang** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 5:27 pm

I'm guessing our average home attendance the past few years in C-USA has been 2k-2.5k, and when we've played Memphis in the 4k range. With probably 80% of the crowd SMU students/alums, 10% opposing fans and 10% nonpartisan basketball fans. I believe playing a very high profile Big East schedule should greatly boost these numbers. There's no reason why we shouldn't get our average up 5k-6k a game. I can see the non-SMU DFW bball fans coming out in droves to see the likes of Georgetown, UConn, Syracuse (at least for one year), Louisville, ND, St. John's and Nova. Let's face it, these are the big boys of college bball and they will be coming to Moody every year. Do you guys think we will sellout Moody for G-town, UConn, Syracuse and Cinci? With the high profile schedule, the upgrades to Moody - the jewel of our campus and hopefully a continually improving team, the future of SMU basketball is very bright. I can't wait.

by **Digetydog** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 6:27 pm

LA_Mustang wrote:I'm guessing our average home attendance the past few years in C-USA has been 2k-2.5k, and when we've played Memphis in the 4k range. With probably 80% of the crowd SMU students/alums, 10% opposing fans and 10% nonpartisan basketball fans. I believe playing a very high profile Big East schedule should greatly boost these numbers. There's no reason why we shouldn't get our average up 5k-6k a game. I can see the non-SMU DFW bball fans coming out in droves to see the likes of Georgetown, UConn, Syracuse (at least for one year), Louisville, ND, St. John's and Nova. Let's face it, these are the big boys of college bball and they will be coming to Moody every year. Do you guys think we will sellout Moody for G-town, UConn, Syracuse and Cinci? With the high profile schedule, the upgrades to Moody - the jewel of our campus and hopefully a continually improving team, the future of SMU basketball is very bright. I can't wait.

In a word: No.

While the teams will be a better draw for SMU fans than the UAB's of the world, most of the BE schools are relatively small with very few alums/fans in the DFW area to help fill up Moody. The state schools, Uconn and Rutgers, aren't known for sending large numbers of graduates outside the NY metro area.

The main exception will be ND as they have many Alums (like my sister) in the DFW area and many non-alum fans.

by **LA_Mustang** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 6:40 pm

I totally disagree. Dallas a very underrated basketball city (see Mavs - longest sellout streak in NBA going on 8 years I believe). When we had solid teams under dement we would have 3k-4k at conference games, a lot of basketball fans, not necessarily SMU fans. It has nothing to do with the number of alums of those schools in DFW, it has to do with the number of basketball fans in DFW. I promise you there are 2k or 3k "basketball" fans that would come to SMU to see Cuse, G-town, UConn that are not coming to see us play C-USA schools.....season tickets should double. We're not going to be playing UTEP, Marshall and Tulane anymore.

by **PoconoPony** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 8:43 pm

I am not sure how much draw the BE teams will have at SMU. As pointed out above, Dallas is not a real hub of BE school graduates. I think there will be some draw simply based on the national rankings and reputations of the visitors; however, I am skeptical that they will draw as well as we hope. I think the real issue will be whether of not SMU will be ready to play a BE schedule and capture the imagination of area basketball fans inducing them to return for good competitive games and excitment. If we are not ready and do not grab the moment, things may not be that good and it may then take years to evolve.

by **SMU89** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 11:44 pm

Local press will have to mention the games - - all good.

by **Charleston Pony** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:11 am

Big East "name" teams will draw as well as Memphis games have in CUSA, but I agree with Orsini that improved attendance is going to have to start from the inside out. Let's get the students interested in creating a real home court advantage for SMU. Strong student attendance and rowdiness will make for a more exciting environment and then perhaps more alumni and those casual bball fans in the DFW area will come out and if they enjoy the experience, they just might come back to a couple more games. I would not count on a big spike in season ticket sales. That may be a very gradual process

by **Hoop Fan** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:02 am

I think Louisville, Notre Dame, Uconn, and Georgetown will draw. Cincinnati, Villanova, St Johns and Marquette will do ok. Rutgers, Providence, DePaul not so much. USF and UCF won't draw flies. Houston is Houston. Kind of a mixed bag and in the Western division, we might not get home games against Uconn, Gtown and Nova very often.

We gotta win and be likable and entertaining. Nobody wants to watch losing, uncompetitive basketball. People will go to some football games regardless because they are events (season opener, the Boulevard, Homecoming, Parents weekend, etc), but people won't go to basketball unless the product is good all the way around: team, opponent, concessions, amenities, game presentation, parking. You name it, we have sucked in every facet of the product. There is hope and a plan, but we gotta get the team to turn the corner. Whats the plan on parking? i only see that getting worse now that the Dedman lot is gone. We have to be more accessible to outsiders, our cramped parking garages are terrible. Any chance all of the surface area around the Bush Library might be used for parking on game days? I'm guessing not because the thing will be like a fortress of security.

by **hoopmanx** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:31 am

I think Big East level hoops and the exposure is pretty off the charts. I have no expectations for our fan base, but better games means more TV, which gets more casual students. It becomes the 'in' thing, attendance bumps.

by **Digetydog** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 1:00 pm

hoopmanx wrote:I think Big East level hoops and the exposure is pretty off the charts. I have no expectations for our fan base, but better games means more TV, which gets more casual students. It becomes the 'in' thing, attendance bumps.

I do agree with that. The key to improving attendance is building the SMU fan base. When I was a student, going to games was cool (I am pretty sure it was free with a student ID) as we faced teams like Ark, Texas, Baylor, TCU, etc. We used to sit behind the visitors bench and say horrible things to Nolan Richardson.

From both a football and a BB perspective, the banishment from the SWC meant SMU ended up playing against teams that were not considered Big Time. To the casual Dallas resident, most of SMU's opponents might as well have been junior colleges. While BE football has some credibility issues, BE BB is about as good as it gets. It is the Big Time. If we can put good, exciting teams on the floor, we can build OUR FAN base.

If I recall, in the SWC days, an average conference game was about 3-4K with full houses for Big Games (Arkansas in my day) from time to time. I think that is doable if the school can train students to show up.

by **MustangIcon** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 1:09 am

LA_Mustang wrote: Do you guys think we will sellout Moody for G-town, UConn, Syracuse and Cinci?

I think we will have good crowds, but not sellouts. As a proxy, I remember attending a game between University of Houston vs #1 Cincy featuring Kenyon Martin in Houston. Stadium was MAYBE 3/4 full. I think Hofienz has capacity of about 9,000 or so. That said, if we could have Moody consistently 3/4 full, wouldn't that be great?

by **2ndandlong** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:47 am

LA_Mustang wrote:I totally disagree. Dallas a very underrated basketball city (see Mavs - longest sellout streak in NBA going on 8 years I believe). When we had solid teams under dement we would have 3k-4k at conference games, a lot of basketball fans, not necessarily SMU fans. It has nothing to do with the number of alums of those schools in DFW, it has to do with the number of basketball fans in DFW. I promise you there are 2k or 3k "basketball" fans that would come to SMU to see Cuse, G-town, UConn that are not coming to see us play C-USA schools.....season tickets should double. We're not going to be playing UTEP, Marshall and Tulane anymore.

1 Cuban completely helps that sellout stat by buying excess tickets.
2 mavs had paltry attendance numbers until they had a couple consecutive 50 win seasons and some major signings.
3 this town only likes a winner.

by **SMUer** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 1:42 pm

2ndandlong wrote:this town only likes a winner.

Totally. Not only does Dallas only support "winners" they have to look like "winners" while winning. I think it's a mistake switching to play ugly, grind it out basketball even if it gets SMU 2-3 more wins than it deserves and keeps potentially blowout games closer. Dallas isn't going to attend games, even wins, if they are painful to watch. Football is suffering from the same problem, despite its promise.

by **hoopmanx** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 3:30 pm

SMUer wrote:
2ndandlong wrote:this town only likes a winner.

Totally. Not only does Dallas only support "winners" they have to look like "winners" while winning. I think it's a mistake switching to play ugly, grind it out basketball even if it gets SMU 2-3 more wins than it deserves and keeps potentially blowout games closer. Dallas isn't going to attend games, even wins, if they are painful to watch. Football is suffering from the same problem, despite its promise.

Style doesn't count, only giving yourself the best chance to win does. Everyone likes run'n'gun hoops, but that doesn't mean it makes sense for most programs If SMU plays slow but starts to look like Butler, no worries. Just have to keep getting better. Do what works, don't cater to marketing or what frontrunners like.

by **SMUer** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 4:14 pm

If playing ugly is only going to net this program 1-2 more wins and save us embarrassment in 2 out of 3 potential blowouts, it's not a good strategy. There is not a single soul not already committed to loving SMU basketball who has walked into Moody this season and thought "gee I could really get behind this team and this style of play...I'm going to come back" and to me, that makes the trade-off not worth it. Marginal gains, near un-watchable product.

by **Hoop Fan** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 4:54 pm

i see both sides of this style of play debate. When you mention Butler, I'd take that kind of ball all day, smart hard nosed players, good shooters, and tough defenders. Having said that, we still have a huge defensive void in the post which was exposed by Rice of all people and Utep. How can you play a half court game with no real post and no real post on the way necessarily? Then you have our three best freshman in Jones, Manual and Cunningham who represent our future and the only thing keeping me interested in going to Moody right now. Are THESE guys really natural fits for the Princeton? Don't think so.

I don't love the Run and Shoot, but it means alot that JUNE JONES does and that he eats and breaths it and recruits to it. You can't tell me that Doh does that with our version of the Princeton. You can't tell me is adept at identifying players to succeed in it. And you can't tell me in Year 6 that you want to play half court yet you don't have a post man or a true CUSA upper echelon caliber point guard. Thats kind of like June going into Year 6 and 7 without a quarterback. Not having a QB in Year 4 has been bad enough, but KP and Gilbert should have that solved in JJ's year 5 at least. Bottom line for me is based on everything we have seen, when you are honest with yourself deep down, is Doh the guy to lead this program? He can't just be the recruiting coordinator, that won't work and even if it does for a season, its not sustainable.