24/25 MBB Attendance Tracker

NorthTexasWeLove · Saturday at 06:41 PM

19 hours ago, Mrs. Esterhouse said:

Not only is there not a good % of UNT people working for the Athletic Department, the WB/JM administration actually ran off the ones that were there. They don't seem to see any value in having people with UNT ties in the department and instead viewed them as a detriment.

That's either one of 2 reasons. 1: The UNT people sucked. 2: WB/JM didn't like the accountability that was being pushed by the UNT people.

NorthTexasWeLove · Saturday at 06:46 PM

On 1/10/2025 at 10:08 AM, MeanGreen22 said:

I think he's made some positive changes in a lot of key areas. The fall kickoff gala before football season was a great event. I believe season ticket sales are up across the board(?). The street basketball event was a lot of fun. I think he's handled 2 coaching hires pretty well.. I like Eric and think he's a good coach (but yes, this is a make a break year.. just how this goes). I LOVE Ross. Even though that was kind of a layup, Jared should get props for not overthinking and wanting to make a big splash on his first hire.

Football made some great strides this year in putting butts in seats. Win a couple more games that it looks even better. Yes, basketball is still behind in that regard but its not fair to ask someone to fix a couple decade long issue in 2 years. I've seen enough positives to give him the benefit of the doubt and give flexibility to things here or there that may still need addressing.

Basketball attendance isn't fixing a couple decades long problem. If my memory serves me here I believe the Jones era in basketball had better attendance than this current era. There was a 5-year gap stop of terribleness with Benford, then right back to competitiveness. It's very fair to demand basketball attendance to be better. If anything, it's a disservice if not brought up and corrected and quickly.

If ticket sales were up than we would hear about it. I haven't heard about it.

NT80 · Saturday at 06:59 PM

9 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Basketball attendance isn't fixing a couple decades long problem. If my memory serves me here I believe the Jones era in basketball had better attendance than this current era. There was a 5-year gap stop of terribleness with Benford, then right back to competitiveness. It's very fair to demand basketball attendance to be better. If anything, it's a disservice if not brought up and corrected and quickly.

If ticket sales were up than we would hear about it. I haven't heard about it.

You have to also consider that all of our games are now are on some form of live TV or streaming. That wasn't the case in the Jones era. We may have less attendance at the Pit, but more overall viewers for each game!

The in-person experience is a better experience. That is what should be promoted.

Zeleny' Orel · Sunday at 12:33 AM

And even if we support our team by watching them on TV or streaming, the TV audience can't see us, the team can't see us, and the team can't hear our support. If it's possible to get to the game, we need to be there in person not only to get the better in-person experience, but to show our support to others. GMG!

NorthTexasWeLove · Sunday at 04:29 PM

21 hours ago, NT80 said:

You have to also consider that all of our games are now are on some form of live TV or streaming. That wasn't the case in the Jones era. We may have less attendance at the Pit, but more overall viewers for each game!

The in-person experience is a better experience. That is what should be promoted.

Not sure I care about TV. I'm pretty sure that will dry up given the trajectory of things. The athletic department, given it is THEIR job, should be scratching and clawing for attendance figures. We have to create the environment that players want to play in and coaches want to coach in. The athletic department has no hand in TV in any way shape or form. Let's leave that to the conference front office and focus on what WE can improve.

NT80 · Monday at 06:38 PM

On 1/12/2025 at 10:29 AM, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Not sure I care about TV. I'm pretty sure that will dry up given the trajectory of things. The athletic department, given it is THEIR job, should be scratching and clawing for attendance figures. We have to create the environment that players want to play in and coaches want to coach in. The athletic department has no hand in TV in any way shape or form. Let's leave that to the conference front office and focus on what WE can improve.

We should care if we want to build the fan base. Lots of future fans/students start with interest seeing games on TV. It builds your Brand to places where people may not easily be able to come to games in person.

NorthTexasWeLove · Monday at 06:42 PM

1 minute ago, NT80 said:

We should care if we want to build the fan base. Lots of future fans/students start with interest seeing games on TV. It builds your Brand to places where people may not easily be able to come to games in person.

My point in not caring about TV is that our contract will expire and TV has openly moved almost exclusively to a big brand business model. After this contract expires there is no telling what our TV rev will be diminished to and how often we'll be on TV. My guess is that there will be a lot of disappointment.

greenminer · Monday at 10:35 PM

On 1/10/2025 at 5:07 PM, Mrs. Esterhouse said:

Not only is there not a good % of UNT people working for the Athletic Department, the WB/JM administration actually ran off the ones that were there. They don't seem to see any value in having people with UNT ties in the department and instead viewed them as a detriment.

Is it okay if I understand both sides? I get wanting a team that feels a part of family, and work like they are your biggest cheerleader. But I also have this not-so-wild idea that some people get in their comfort zone - surrounded by people that that have known - and get...lazy.

Maybe WB/JM saw the latter? I have zero insight.

Edited Monday at 10:37 PM by greenminer

NT80 · 2025-01-14T06:31:11Z

11 hours ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

My point in not caring about TV is that our contract will expire and TV has openly moved almost exclusively to a big brand business model. After this contract expires there is no telling what our TV rev will be diminished to and how often we'll be on TV. My guess is that there will be a lot of disappointment.

Well, the contract expiration is 7 years away. You can cry about it later.

NorthTexasWeLove · 2025-01-14T16:13:16Z

9 hours ago, NT80 said:

Well, the contract expiration is 7 years away. You can cry about it later.

I will, as we all will. However, for some reason my mind had been telling me the contract expires in 2027. You are correct and it doesn't expire until the 2031-32 season, that is a very good thing for the AAC and for us. The conference and her schools have about 6-7 years to really build a brand and following. I hope they take advantage.

keith · 2025-01-14T18:59:34Z

On 1/13/2025 at 1:38 PM, NT80 said:

We should care if we want to build the fan base. Lots of future fans/students start with interest seeing games on TV. It builds your Brand to places where people may not easily be able to come to games in person.

TV coverage and attendance are inextricably linked. They feed off of each other and is exactly why attendance and in-game production is so important and should be one of the paramount goals of the AD. Watching a game on TV with a loud, energetic crowd along with some cool lighting, music and activity during game breaks can entice those watching on TV to attend the next game because it's something they want to be a part of. Conversely, watching a game with unengaged/quiet fans with zero energy in a soulless and cavernous arena will certainly convince those watching on TV that they made the correct choice in not going to the game.

NOT suggesting our attendance woes are due to the Super Pit. There are plenty of things that can be done to improve the fan experience and improve the production for the TV viewer that are less costly than building a new arena further from campus. Hang some giant curtains to block off the upper deck and force everyone to fill in the lower bowl....remove them as necessary to accommodate large crowds would be a good start.

Edited 23 hours ago by keith

NorthTexasWeLove · 2025-01-14T19:01:56Z

2 minutes ago, keith said:

TV coverage and attendance are inextricably linked. They feed off of each other and is exactly why attendance and in-game production is so important and vice versa and should be one of the paramount goals of the AD. Watching a game on TV with a loud, energetic crowd along with some cool lighting, music and activity during game breaks can entice those watching on TV to attend the next game because it's something they want to be a part of. Conversely, watching a game with unengaged/quiet fans with zero energy in a soulless and cavernous arena will certainly convince those watching on TV make the correct choice in not going to the game.

NOT suggesting our attendance woes are due to the Super Pit. There are plenty of things that can be done to improve the fan experience and improve the production for the TV viewer that are less costly than building a new arena further from campus. Hang some giant curtains to block off the upper deck and force everyone to fill in the lower bowl....remove them as necessary to accommodate large crowds would be a good start.

This is a very, very good start.

keith · 2025-01-14T19:27:00Z

Hopefully the Maniacs leadership and AD have been working on student engagement and how to be part of not only a dynamic game experience, but also something that shows well on TV.

Can we match the Utah State student section (check out some of the videos on-line)? Not sure. We don't need the "I Believe" chant but something that can be used as part of our pre-game hype.

Imagine this...a full student section that starts when the cheerleaders circle their hands in the air as a signal to begin a long drawn-out "Noooooooooooooooooorrrrrrtthhhh" that crescendos into everyone in unison yelling:

"T - E - X - A - S, TEXAS!!!"

This would work for football kick-offs as well with the "North" crescendo culminating at the kick and be a nice cross-over between basketball and football game experiences.

Mrs. Esterhouse · 2025-01-15T16:41:39Z

On 1/13/2025 at 4:35 PM, greenminer said:

Is it okay if I understand both sides? I get wanting a team that feels a part of family, and work like they are your biggest cheerleader. But I also have this not-so-wild idea that some people get in their comfort zone - surrounded by people that that have known - and get...lazy.

Maybe WB/JM saw the latter? I have zero insight.

I agree completely. People shouldn't be kept in a job that they're not performing well in just because they've been there a long time, are alums or really any other reason. These were people who consistently performed well at their jobs, chose to attend games they weren't working to support teams, and were very invested in seeing UNT succeed.