OVC looked better because the tourney was close to all the schools in the conference and Gaylord is also closer to all the schools than Denton,TX is.

Maybe the Toppers should get back in the OVC....or the Sun Belt should have the tourny at the locations that is it most likely to sell out.... :bang:

NMSU and Denver are the schools that really put the SunBelt out of whack geographically....

The crowd might look better, but the talent on the floor sure doesn't, I'll take the top four in the Sunbelt over the top of the OVC any day. Heck I we played enough of them last year, we should have had a first round bye in the OVC Tourny. I still like the way Smidge just disappeared after Western blew out their OVC opponents. He said the Tops would go 0-5 and lose by a combined 30 points, how did that end up again?

I seem to remember a banner across the OVC board, how did it read? RBM you might remember the WKU v the OVC series how did it tally up at the end? :laugh:

Ah I'm not a consistent visitor to the OVC board but heard about the mea culpa Smidge had to do with the banner. Good times, and a good sport if you ask me.

The OVC tourney attendance last year was anemic. Most of Nashville was crying when they saw who was going to the tourney. Many of them didn't bring a lot of fans. I will say this about MSU: we bring the fans to GEC whenever the team is in the tourney. I think being 2 hours away is a huge plus in our favor. When we are there, Nashville sings. Biased? No, not really. I've only been quasi-affiliated with MSU since 1999, and since I didn't go there, I would call it more of an "observation" than a bias. If you want to check me on this, compare attendance to last year's OVC to the year before.

I have to admit though that being affiliated with a smaller D1 school freaks me out a little. I'm used to trekking thousands of miles to see my fav alma maters play. Bowl game? I'm there. Conference tourney? Bring it on. Fans from all over the U.S. come to cheer on their team. RVs, some major, serious tailgating, ooh yeah baby. Smaller D1 schools don't have that same kind of following. I honestly don't understand why. If you went to a school and love it to death, why not cheer it on, make some roadtrips, relive your glory days, support the 'ole alma mater, etc. I really don't get it.

Big Squirrel Wrote:I think the OVC championship game on TV looked a hell of a lot better than the SBC title game, that's for sure. I'm not sure what the SBC needs to do to "Wright" the "Waters". I think it will be a pretty good event in Murfreesboro though. I'm sure a lot of Topper fans will make it in. Scheduling always makes things difficult too. I live in Memphis, yet I can't get to Murfreesboro on a weeknight. If the games were played only the weekends, then I'd be at every one.

I guarantee you that many a diehard WKU fan would make it to a weeknight SBC Tourney game from Memphis to Murfreesboro and back. You can make it in 3.5 hours--done it plenty of times.

Home by 1am..........

Though you were a fanatic, Squirrel?????

galojay Wrote:

Quote:It would allow for more people to come to the game

Um, maybe you've missed some previous tournaments, but we aren't selling out seats. Gaylord is HUGE and probably very expensive. Why rent out a 20K seat Arena when we only have 3-4K fans ever show up??? It would look HORRIBLE on TV. Every fan would have their own row!

Granted MTSU's arena is nasty (I know they are making a few minor fix-ups, but nothing to change the overall nastiness of it) but is the best place for it.

In 2007 it is in ULL.
2008 was left wide open during the last meetings, for whatever the reason.

The tournament will NOT be poorly attended this year unless FIU and Denver are in the finals (or UNT), and WKU and MT are both knocked out in the first round.

Many MT (and probably quite a few WKU) fans will be there regardless.

Arkansas State travels well too, not sure about UALR.

USA and UNO also travel poorly........what has happened to South Alabama Athletics since their glory days??

At one time, I thought USA basketball was right up there with the UNCC's and Creighton's......

After reading the above posts...it apears both the SBC and the OVC have a problem with justifying their respective bball tourneys because of empty arenas. Sure an NCAA berth is at stake but why have a tournament that is a potential financial wash? When I attended WKU in the late 70's to early 80's, the OVC awarded the regular season winner the final four of the conference tourney. Sounds like a decent ideal since both conferences could never sell 9000 tix to a conference final?? Maybe you could actually make money on the actual event (tickets + consessions) as well as the ESPN broadcast. Why do we really need the number five through what-ever seed there anyway?

That actually sounds like a good idea, perhaps combining our two ideas somehow, if you win the regular conf title and are in the top 3-4 then you get final four.

galojay Wrote:I don't like that because as a fan, I might have to travel to two different places in a week to see the first couple rounds and then the final. Basically it would hurt the earlier games, no one would travel to that, instead hold out for the final 4.

Win the division and its not an issue.

Big Squirrel Wrote:I would be happy if the tourney was just in a central location and not on the outskirts of the conference. Personally, I would prefer it to be in a metropolitan area with other attractions besides just the basketball. I think Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham, New Orleans, Atlanta, and maybe even Louisville meet those criteria. Sure Miami does also, but it's so far away from most of the other schools. I know I enjoyed it back in 1993 when it was in Biloxi. There were other things to see and do besides sitting in a gym for 8 hours a day. That's just me though.

I'd like to see it in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Great set-up. Plenty of stuff to do and hotels at each end of the convention center.

I would rule out any place located in a market where the local TV and newspapers do not regularly cover the Sun Belt or its members.

Big Squirrel Wrote:That's because it was in FREAKING DENTON TEXAS!! Sorry, I didn't mean to shout. I'm still not really over this decision by the powers that be. What has North Texas done for basketball in the SBC?

They bid more than anyone else did.

The question is... Where are the markets where the Sun Belt is the first conference covered? I can't really think of any place right off hand. We know it's not in Texas, Louisianna, Arkansas, Tenn, KY, Florida, Alabama, or Colorado. So, where? I think we're out of options. I think we have to take a place where we know fans (that usually travel well) will go to. I think the Arkansas team's fan would travel to almost any of the places I listed, simply because there not on the "other side of the globe". I think a nice, central location would be great, and they could get the attendance they're expecting, unless, of course, the finals were two obscure teams that don't travel at all (like you said).

As for the comment about me being a fanatic... Yes I'd probably make the trip to M'boro, if it were on a Thursday. I can deal with being "out of it" on a Friday, but when the game is in the middle of the week, that's just too much. I made it over to Little Rock on a Thursday for our game against them last season, and it's a 2 hour drive. Didn't get home too late. It was around midnight, but I didn't care because I don't do squat on Friday at work.

It looks as though the tournament will be a neutral site final four beginning in 2008. Biloxi is the site that has been most mentioned.

Going back to previous posts, it seems that the problem in this league is that there are fans of school....not fans of basketball.

If we had BASKETBALL fans, then fans of our schools wouldn't be leaving as soon as our team was knocked out.

We all bemoan what the stands look like for the finals on television.

We have met the enemy and it is us.

Fact of the matter is, regardless of where the tournament is played, the only place you'll have a big crowd for the finals is if the home team is playing.

Otherwise, those who "call themselves" fans, but in effect are only fans of their own school, will continue to abandon ship as soon as their team is out.

Even Western fans, who are as passionate as any in this league, showed last year in Denton that they aren't true basketball fans.....they didn't have the men or women in the finals so they bailed.

That's not a slam against Western fans......but if THEY don't stick around, certainly no one else will.

Again, we have met the enemy....and it is us.

WKU did support the SBC when it was held in Bowling Green. I went to every session and they were all well attended by WKU fans. This more than we saw from UNT fans.

Having the semifinals and finals on a weeknight hurts keeping casual fans in town. Most will go back home and keep their vacation time for another time if their team isn't playing.

And that's just an excuse which proves my point. BASKETBALL fans make it a priority to be there.

I was at the tournament in Bowling Green when Western was knocked out on the first night.

It wasn't Denton. But it wasn't pretty.

Big Squirrel Wrote:The question is... Where are the markets where the Sun Belt is the first conference covered? I can't really think of any place right off hand. We know it's not in Texas, Louisianna, Arkansas, Tenn, KY, Florida, Alabama, or Colorado. So, where? I think we're out of options. I think we have to take a place where we know fans (that usually travel well) will go to. I think the Arkansas team's fan would travel to almost any of the places I listed, simply because there not on the "other side of the globe". I think a nice, central location would be great, and they could get the attendance they're expecting, unless, of course, the finals were two obscure teams that don't travel at all (like you said).

As for the comment about me being a fanatic... Yes I'd probably make the trip to M'boro, if it were on a Thursday. I can deal with being "out of it" on a Friday, but when the game is in the middle of the week, that's just too much. I made it over to Little Rock on a Thursday for our game against them last season, and it's a 2 hour drive. Didn't get home too late. It was around midnight, but I didn't care because I don't do squat on Friday at work.

Who said anything about covered first?

Yeah ASU is going to be the lead story on TV in Jonesboro but it's not my idea of a great neutral site. Lafayette is more entertaining than Jonesboro but it ain't close to being neutral.

I just want a site where Joe Hoops fan at least sees coverage of a Belt team or two on the local TV.

The league's best bet today is Hot Springs, Arkansas. The venue is appropriately sized and its a reasonable travel from most league cities. Plenty of non-basketball activities and ample hotel space. More importantly an aggressive convention and visitors board that is contemplating making a pitch to the league.

Stick the tournament some place and grow it. Show it can draw fans and other convention and visitor boards will be more interested in trying to get the event.

I think Biloxi MS is still the best place. Couldn't ask for a better location in my book.

How about Birmingham Alabama? Is there an Arena in Hoover

I still like Murfreesboro. Right at Nashville. The teams that care about basketball aren't far away. (except denver). And that's where I can easily see the games.