Take it easy Miners...fer crissake.

UTEP fans would do better to start any pitch with the acknowledgement that through no fault of their own- they are located too far for a reasonable 4 day tourney to attract many out of town fans.

Then you can get into all the defensive whiney points about how wonderful El Paso is.

I would not mind an El Paso tourney. But the distance is a huge issue. A conference basketball tourney is not the same thing as a bowl game...which is just 2 teams that had to do well to get there and typically have more planning time during holiday season.

I think Memphis, Dallas, New Orleans, Biloxi and even Birmingham could host the tourney most successfully. Orlando offers a lot of additional thngs to do but is similarly far away.

I would just be scared to walk around downtown. That's all I'm saying. Probably get mugged. Maybe if they held it at a nice venue in east El Paso or in the suburbs. I just hear it's too risky going "into" the city.

(02-15-2010 09:07 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 08:54 AM)UMTigerfan Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 08:25 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  If they do award El Paso the tourny, I hope they don't televise any of the games except the ones UTEP is in because it will be an empty arena and extremely embarrassing.

while that is true it is also true of the non-Tiger games when the tourny is here.

nobody in this conference travels well except for Memphis, so i can see where the distance may not necessarily be a factor.

what would concern me is hotel space, adequate practice, etc. i don't know anything specifically about it except many people have said El Paso lacks in those areas.

however, the bottom line is the bottom line. if the city of el paso ponies up big bucks to the conference, they should get a look (and pray UTEP makes it to the finals).

I haven't missed a game yet when the tourny was here, and yes, although the crowd was sparse for the non-tiger games during the day, at least there were several hundred tiger fans to watch.....I'm betting in El Paso it would be much much less.

I have to agree with MissJ here. I have bought the tournament ticket each time it has been held here, and I go to almost every session. There are serveral hundred U of M fans at each session. I am already on record that I think the Tulsa experiment will be a bust.

I just can't see the tournament being successful in El Paso, but I do agree they would at least attend in much greater numbers for UTEP tha what we will see in Tulsa for TU.

(02-15-2010 09:07 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  I haven't missed a game yet when the tourny was here, and yes, although the crowd was sparse for the non-tiger games during the day, at least there were several hundred tiger fans to watch.....I'm betting in El Paso it would be much much less.

I agree with that.

However, does CUSA really care whether or not there are 300 people or 600 people in attendance for the day games?

I'm not trying to be smart, but they probably only are concerned with the 'guarantee' the host cities provide...not if the 'off' game attendace is 'bad' instead of 'horrible'.

It seems to me the risk lies with the City making the bid...wherever the venue.

It's not like the old days where you could count on UC, UL and MEM bringing a few thousand each and then Marquette bringing a good number as well.

If Tulsa can't sell out the Reynolds Center for what was by far the most important home game of the year for them, what makes anyone think that they're going to draw well for the tournament.

(02-15-2010 09:59 AM)UMTigerfan Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 09:07 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  I haven't missed a game yet when the tourny was here, and yes, although the crowd was sparse for the non-tiger games during the day, at least there were several hundred tiger fans to watch.....I'm betting in El Paso it would be much much less.

I agree with that.

However, does CUSA really care whether or not there are 300 people or 600 people in attendance for the day games?

I'm not trying to be smart, but they probably only are concerned with the 'guarantee' the host cities provide...not if the 'off' game attendace is 'bad' instead of 'horrible'.

It seems to me the risk lies with the City making the bid...wherever the venue.

It's not like the old days where you could count on UC, UL and MEM bringing a few thousand each and then Marquette bringing a good number as well.

yeah...I'm sure $ is the driving force like it is in anything now days BUT that's why I hope it's not seen by the whole country if the arena is indeed EMPTY. Maybe the Tulsa and possibly the ETEP folks will be given the opportunity to strut their stuff and shut us doubters up. The ball is in their court now....put up or shut up.

(02-15-2010 09:07 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 08:54 AM)UMTigerfan Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 08:25 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  If they do award El Paso the tourny, I hope they don't televise any of the games except the ones UTEP is in because it will be an empty arena and extremely embarrassing.

while that is true it is also true of the non-Tiger games when the tourny is here.

nobody in this conference travels well except for Memphis, so i can see where the distance may not necessarily be a factor.

what would concern me is hotel space, adequate practice, etc. i don't know anything specifically about it except many people have said El Paso lacks in those areas.

however, the bottom line is the bottom line. if the city of el paso ponies up big bucks to the conference, they should get a look (and pray UTEP makes it to the finals).

I haven't missed a game yet when the tourny was here, and yes, although the crowd was sparse for the non-tiger games during the day, at least there were several hundred tiger fans to watch.....I'm betting in El Paso it would be much much less.

the non utep sessions in el paso cant possibly do as bad as the non memphis sessions in memphis, like i said el paso has ft bliss

(02-15-2010 10:17 AM)randaddyminer Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 09:07 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 08:54 AM)UMTigerfan Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 08:25 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  If they do award El Paso the tourny, I hope they don't televise any of the games except the ones UTEP is in because it will be an empty arena and extremely embarrassing.

while that is true it is also true of the non-Tiger games when the tourny is here.

nobody in this conference travels well except for Memphis, so i can see where the distance may not necessarily be a factor.

what would concern me is hotel space, adequate practice, etc. i don't know anything specifically about it except many people have said El Paso lacks in those areas.

however, the bottom line is the bottom line. if the city of el paso ponies up big bucks to the conference, they should get a look (and pray UTEP makes it to the finals).

I haven't missed a game yet when the tourny was here, and yes, although the crowd was sparse for the non-tiger games during the day, at least there were several hundred tiger fans to watch.....I'm betting in El Paso it would be much much less.

the non utep sessions in el paso cant possibly do as bad as the non memphis sessions in memphis, like i said el paso has ft bliss

huh ? what is ft bliss ?

UTEP would fill it up, with UTEP fans. Memphis will fill it up with Memphis fans. The fanbases in this league don't travel for basketball. If you want a neutral court venue that's fair to all, try Little Rock or Shreveport. There will be less than 10 people at most sessions but it will be completely fair.

Otherwise, it should rotate between Memphis/Tulsa/UTEP/UAB.

Seems to me like none of the fanbases are traveling anywhere at this point so El Paso could be on the moon for all I care as long as they can sell all-session passes.

(02-15-2010 10:28 AM)Clarence Iba Wrote:  UTEP would fill it up, with UTEP fans. Memphis will fill it up with Memphis fans. The fanbases in this league don't travel for basketball. If you want a neutral court venue that's fair to all, try Little Rock or Shreveport. There will be less than 10 people at most sessions but it will be completely fair.

Otherwise, it should rotate between Memphis/Tulsa/UTEP/UAB.

"The fanbases in this league don't travel for basketball." wow, funny, I guess all my travels the past 10 years have been a dream ? SOME of the fanbases don't travel, NOT ALL, thank you very much. My next dream starts at 7am Wed. morning when I board the Rebounders bus to New Orleans.

(02-15-2010 10:22 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 10:17 AM)randaddyminer Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 09:07 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 08:54 AM)UMTigerfan Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 08:25 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  If they do award El Paso the tourny, I hope they don't televise any of the games except the ones UTEP is in because it will be an empty arena and extremely embarrassing.

while that is true it is also true of the non-Tiger games when the tourny is here.

nobody in this conference travels well except for Memphis, so i can see where the distance may not necessarily be a factor.

what would concern me is hotel space, adequate practice, etc. i don't know anything specifically about it except many people have said El Paso lacks in those areas.

however, the bottom line is the bottom line. if the city of el paso ponies up big bucks to the conference, they should get a look (and pray UTEP makes it to the finals).

I haven't missed a game yet when the tourny was here, and yes, although the crowd was sparse for the non-tiger games during the day, at least there were several hundred tiger fans to watch.....I'm betting in El Paso it would be much much less.

the non utep sessions in el paso cant possibly do as bad as the non memphis sessions in memphis, like i said el paso has ft bliss

huh ? what is ft bliss ?

Fort Bliss is an Army installation located in the El Paso metropolitan area. The relationship between the presence of Army personnel and attendance at C-USA games is unclear to me unless there is evidence that hoards of soldiers presently go to UTEP C-USA games.

Ft. Bliss

(02-15-2010 10:34 AM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 10:22 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 10:17 AM)randaddyminer Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 09:07 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 08:54 AM)UMTigerfan Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 08:25 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  If they do award El Paso the tourny, I hope they don't televise any of the games except the ones UTEP is in because it will be an empty arena and extremely embarrassing.

while that is true it is also true of the non-Tiger games when the tourny is here.

nobody in this conference travels well except for Memphis, so i can see where the distance may not necessarily be a factor.

what would concern me is hotel space, adequate practice, etc. i don't know anything specifically about it except many people have said El Paso lacks in those areas.

however, the bottom line is the bottom line. if the city of el paso ponies up big bucks to the conference, they should get a look (and pray UTEP makes it to the finals).

I haven't missed a game yet when the tourny was here, and yes, although the crowd was sparse for the non-tiger games during the day, at least there were several hundred tiger fans to watch.....I'm betting in El Paso it would be much much less.

the non utep sessions in el paso cant possibly do as bad as the non memphis sessions in memphis, like i said el paso has ft bliss

huh ? what is ft bliss ?

Fort Bliss is an Army installation located in the El Paso metropolitan area. The relationship between the presence of Army personnel and attendance at C-USA games is unclear to me unless there is evidence that hoards of soldiers presently go to UTEP C-USA games.

Ft. Bliss

oh ok...gotcha....yeah, maybe the servicemen will fill the place up ?

(02-14-2010 11:00 PM)shyminer Wrote:  think outside the box...

we're thinking get us out of this league!

(02-15-2010 10:34 AM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 10:22 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 10:17 AM)randaddyminer Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 09:07 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 08:54 AM)UMTigerfan Wrote:  

(02-15-2010 08:25 AM)missjtiger Wrote:  If they do award El Paso the tourny, I hope they don't televise any of the games except the ones UTEP is in because it will be an empty arena and extremely embarrassing.

while that is true it is also true of the non-Tiger games when the tourny is here.

nobody in this conference travels well except for Memphis, so i can see where the distance may not necessarily be a factor.

what would concern me is hotel space, adequate practice, etc. i don't know anything specifically about it except many people have said El Paso lacks in those areas.

however, the bottom line is the bottom line. if the city of el paso ponies up big bucks to the conference, they should get a look (and pray UTEP makes it to the finals).

I haven't missed a game yet when the tourny was here, and yes, although the crowd was sparse for the non-tiger games during the day, at least there were several hundred tiger fans to watch.....I'm betting in El Paso it would be much much less.

the non utep sessions in el paso cant possibly do as bad as the non memphis sessions in memphis, like i said el paso has ft bliss

huh ? what is ft bliss ?

Fort Bliss is an Army installation located in the El Paso metropolitan area. The relationship between the presence of Army personnel and attendance at C-USA games is unclear to me unless there is evidence that hoards of soldiers presently go to UTEP C-USA games.

Ft. Bliss

Im pretty sure there is more soldiers and family here in El Paso from your neck of the woods then you guys have traveling fans. That holds true for every school in our conference... That is my correlation between Ft. Bliss and the cusa tournament.

I don't think it's a good idea to expect soldiers to spend their hard earned money going to see Rice play Tulane.

More like they should get hazardous duty pay just to show up and endure it.

I don't think UTEP fans will buy even 1000 all session passes, Memphis fans have bought between 4-5K of those, regardless of whether they showed up for the ugly games or not.

It's not about butts in seats for the non home team games - its about tickets sold. I have no doubt UTEP fans will sell out the building for UTEP games, but I do doubt that they will buy enough all-session tickets.

If the city of El Paso puts up a guarantee for that, they are going to take a bath, because they will NOT get the desired tourism dollars.

Nothing against El Paso, just what I see happening. If they put up the money, fine. The point is that it will probably be a financial failure for someone. The conference can't afford it to fail, so hopefully the city is willing to eat the losses, or it needs to be somewhere else where it can be viable.

I'm guessing they will get the leftover tickets for free.

(02-15-2010 10:01 AM)TheKidat3B Wrote:  If Tulsa can't sell out the Reynolds Center for what was by far the most important home game of the year for them, what makes anyone think that they're going to draw well for the tournament.

Slight correction.

The most important game of the year, fan-wise, was December 2nd, against in-state rival Oklahoma State, and it was a sell-out.

As far as conference games, you are correct.

by the way, I love how the conference office has been supported for the last number of years by Memphis fans' purchase of those all-session tickets, and how everyone in the conference has gotten a nice check from Memphis' NCAA tournament credits, and yet everyone else has some kind of sense of entitlement, as if Memphis has been unfair to the rest of the conference. we have been subsidizing the rest of the conference, and we do have more resources because of our fan base. that is the bottom line.

A rew points that might not have been stated clearly.

1) Memphis is the best venue/city for the tourney. I think most UTEP fans, Memphis fans, and others agree. However...

2) I believe other schools/cities would like an opportunity to host the tourney on occasion. Again, "on occasion" not yearly or even bi yearly. Which I believe would be fair since they are all member of the same conference.

3) Key point and well understood. UTEP is hundreds of miles from nearest CUSA school. Absolutely true. And also "Exactly" why UTEP would want to host the tourney at some point. Someone said why should the others schools "be punished" to go so far. Again UTEP fans must always travel that far so having the tourney close to home will help fans see their team in the tourney. Again, UTEP has the best home attandance after Memphis.

4) One point we all are missing is the opportunity other cities get to showcase the other CUSA schools in the tourney in front of their fans. I will throw random numbers here so cut me some slack...lets say Memphis averages 11000 fans including bottomfeeder teams vs bottom feeder teams that year. Lets say UTEP would average 9,000 and Tulsa would aveage 8,000. (again random numbers for example only). These 9,000 UTEP fans are likely to be different fans than would have attended the one in Memphis for example. And there is the reason for rotating the conference tourney. Others wouldl get to see the show.

5) Someone said once you get the tourney "put up or shut up". Totally agree. Need both a reasonable financial support and fan support at the games.

This post sticks to the points with no attacks on other schools or cities.