A plea to our "football-only" fans

[Matt from A700]

I'm not trying to scold anyone here, but what's it gonna take for more people to come out and support our basketball teams? And other sports - softball and women's soccer are always solid, and volleyball just made a promising coaching hire.

Our basketball teams are a combined 23-9, which is the best in The American. They're also a combined 17-1 at The Super Pit. But no one is showing up for games.

I don't want this to turn into a bitch fest about our marketing. It is probably deserved, but the people on this board likely follow our athletics department on some other social media or email list. Every Monday on Twitter I see a post about what teams are playing at home this week.

I know some aren't a big fan of basketball, do you dislike it more than you like the Mean Green?

Many are rightfully getting turned off by NIL and the transfer portal. I don't blame you. But the coaching staff for the men are putting together its' school record eighth straight winning season. With Burton, the women won't be far behind.

In football, I get it adds up for a family of four - tickets, parking, concessions. But the other five spectator sports offer free parking and normally a hella great ticket deal. Season tickets for basketball start at $99 (like $6.50/home game). If you like soccer, softball, and/or volleyball, an Olympic pass will get you a GA ticket for every home game for $75 (less than $2/ticket!).

Again, not trying to call out the board, just want to raise awareness for our other sports, especially if you are feeling sour about football. Come out to The Pit at least one time the remainder of the season! The men and women deserve it. Next women's home game is this Wednesday, 1/15 at 6:30pm against defending conference champ Rice. The men play at home a week after that on the 22nd against Temple - last year's conference runner-up. Or, if you live in the Central Texas or Houston area, look for upcoming games at UTSA next Saturday, 1/18 and at Rice Tuesday, 2/11.

GMG!

[untjim1995]

Culturally speaking, UNT and Denton just don’t care about the teams here. If people do care, they get made fun of or looked at as if they have 3 heads. But if someone loathes our teams and is a student, professor, administrator, or citizen of Denton, they get all kinds of attention and praise from the others.

It’s a town that loves being anti-establishment and going against the grain. And sports are most definitely at the top of the establishment definition to these people.

[emmitt01]

12 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

Culturally speaking, UNT and Denton just don’t care about the teams here. If people do care, they get made fun of or looked at as if they have 3 heads. But if someone loathes our teams and is a student, professor, administrator, or citizen of Denton, they get all kinds of attention and praise from the others.

It’s a town that loves being anti-establishment and going against the grain. And sports are most definitely at the top of the establishment definition to these people.

You missed his point entirely.  He’s not talking about having another“but Denton hates us” pity fest.  
 

if the same people (or just half of them) who can manage to make it to Datcu to watch a sub .500 team would make it literally across the street to the pit to watch a team that has won 🏆, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

Edited 3 hours ago by emmitt01

[Cougar King]

10 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

Culturally speaking, UNT and Denton just don’t care about the teams here. If people do care, they get made fun of or looked at as if they have 3 heads. But if someone loathes our teams and is a student, professor, administrator, or citizen of Denton, they get all kinds of attention and praise from the others.

It’s a town that loves being anti-establishment and going against the grain. And sports are most definitely at the top of the establishment definition to these people.

 

If UC-Berkeley can show up in full force including the walking, talking stereotypes then so can UNT. UNT's problem is that they never won big and gave people a reason to give a damn.

If UNT can give College GameDay a reason to show up or get some sort of national attention, EVERYBODY gets on the bandwagon. Including people who all of a sudden remember that they are alumni.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 6 hours ago by Cougar King

[GMG_Dallas]

34 minutes ago, Cougar King said:

 

If UC-Berkeley can show up in full force including the walking, talking stereotypes then so can UNT. UNT's problem is that they never won big and gave people a reason to give a damn.

If UNT can give College GameDay a reason to show up or get some sort of national attention, EVERYBODY gets on the bandwagon. Including people who all of a sudden remember that they are alumni.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1) nobody has mentioned your name or school in this post yet here you are.

2) the thread is about basketball attendance (and other non-football sports). I know it's not the NCAA tournament but I'd imagine winning the NIT and a 31 win season just 2 years ago would count as "some sort of national attention." You look at the winners of the past 12 years and see Baylor, Minnesota, Stanford, TCU, George Washington, Texas, Penn State, Memphis, Xavier, and Seton Hall in the champion column. How nobody in Denton recognizes the achievement of North Texas also being on that list baffles me. 

Edited 5 hours ago by GMG_Dallas

[Cougar King]

16 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

1) nobody has mentioned your name or school in this post yet here you are.

2) the thread is about basketball attendance. I know it's not the NCAA tournament but I'd imagine winning the NIT and a 31 win season just 2 years ago would count as "some sort of national attention." You look at the winners of the past 12 years and see Baylor, Minnesota, Stanford, TCU, George Washington, Texas, Penn State, Memphis, Xavier, and Seton Hall in the champion column. How nobody in Denton recognizes the achievement of North Texas also being on that list baffles me. 

 

1. I didn't mention anything about UH. I'm contributing to the thread and subject. 

 

2. I realize this post is about basketball, but Jim mentioned the CULTURE at UNT. My point is that UC-Berkeley has a similar culture to UNT but shows up when Berkeley is winning big or is getting national attention.

Winning the NIT is a big accomplishment but if it's not the NCAA Tournament, you casual fan isn't going to know or really care. 

 

 

George Mason got more mileage out of their Final Four un almost 20 years ago than they ever did in their NIT runs.

 

 

Here's UC-Berkeley basketball to make you feel better.

 

 

https://youtu.be/CmSUBcvOGDk?si=IW-msh3bd4-v-LOa

Edited 5 hours ago by Cougar King

[Coffee and TV]

1 hour ago, Cougar King said:

If UC-Berkeley can show up in full force including the walking, talking stereotypes then so can UNT.

This guy sucks but he's right here, there are 40k students at any one time on this campus: to simply write them all off as uninterested in sports is lazy and unhelpful, and simply not true.

Edited 5 hours ago by Coffee and TV

[Big Z]

12 hours ago, Matt from A700 said:

I'm not trying to scold anyone here, but what's it gonna take for more people to come out and support our basketball teams? And other sports - softball and women's soccer are always solid, and volleyball just made a promising coaching hire.

Our basketball teams are a combined 23-9, which is the best in The American. They're also a combined 17-1 at The Super Pit. But no one is showing up for games.

I don't want this to turn into a bitch fest about our marketing. It is probably deserved, but the people on this board likely follow our athletics department on some other social media or email list. Every Monday on Twitter I see a post about what teams are playing at home this week.

I know some aren't a big fan of basketball, do you dislike it more than you like the Mean Green?

Many are rightfully getting turned off by NIL and the transfer portal. I don't blame you. But the coaching staff for the men are putting together its' school record eighth straight winning season. With Burton, the women won't be far behind.

In football, I get it adds up for a family of four - tickets, parking, concessions. But the other five spectator sports offer free parking and normally a hella great ticket deal. Season tickets for basketball start at $99 (like $6.50/home game). If you like soccer, softball, and/or volleyball, an Olympic pass will get you a GA ticket for every home game for $75 (less than $2/ticket!).

Again, not trying to call out the board, just want to raise awareness for our other sports, especially if you are feeling sour about football. Come out to The Pit at least one time the remainder of the season! The men and women deserve it. Next women's home game is this Wednesday, 1/15 at 6:30pm against defending conference champ Rice. The men play at home a week after that on the 22nd against Temple - last year's conference runner-up. Or, if you live in the Central Texas or Houston area, look for upcoming games at UTSA next Saturday, 1/18 and at Rice Tuesday, 2/11.

GMG!

If only we had crowds like this again 

 

[GMG_Dallas]

1 hour ago, Cougar King said:

 

1. I didn't mention anything about UH. I'm contributing to the thread and subject. 

 

2. I realize this post is about basketball, but Jim mentioned the CULTURE at UNT. My point is that UC-Berkeley has a similar culture to UNT but shows up when Berkeley is winning big or is getting national attention.

Winning the NIT is a big accomplishment but if it's not the NCAA Tournament, you casual fan isn't going to know or really care. 

 

 

George Mason got more mileage out of their Final Four un almost 20 years ago than they ever did in their NIT runs.

 

 

Here's UC-Berkeley basketball to make you feel better.

 

 

https://youtu.be/CmSUBcvOGDk?si=IW-msh3bd4-v-LOa

UC Berkeley hasn't had a winning season since 2016-2017 and went 3-29 the same season we won the NIT yet they're bringing in better attendance this season than we are despite being 8-8. I don't necessarily disagree with you as it pertains to our football program but I think it's a bit off when you consider the basketball program's recent success. I've said in previous threads we need more than the NIT championship but I still think our average of 2900 attendance is baffling considering the streak of 7 straight winning seasons. I'm not expecting a full house but is asking for an average of 4500 in basketball attendance that unreasonable?

Edited 4 hours ago by GMG_Dallas

[GRN-WHT]

2 hours ago, Cougar King said:

 

If UC-Berkeley can show up in full force including the walking, talking stereotypes then so can UNT. UNT's problem is that they never won big and gave people a reason to give a damn.

 

 

 

 

UC Berkeley has more school spirit because it’s a school that most of their students aspired to attend and has high admission standards. 
 

We have low admission standards, and are not the first choice school for the vast majority of our students. 
 

Berkeley has a 11% acceptance rate, ours is 72%. 

[NT80]

41 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

UC Berkeley hasn't had a winning season since 2016-2017 and went 3-29 the same season we won the NIT yet they're bringing in better attendance this season than we are despite being 8-8. I don't necessarily disagree with you as it pertains to our football program but I think it's a bit off when you consider the basketball program's recent success. I've said in previous threads we need more than the NIT championship but I still think our average of 2900 attendance is baffling considering the streak of 7 straight winning seasons. I'm not expecting a full house but is asking for an average of 4500 in basketball attendance that unreasonable?

The year we hosted Cal their message board was full of posts saying they should drop football.  This was during the transition to the ACC.  
They mentioned the students and fanbase didn’t care about their sports and attendance was continuing to decline.

[MrAlien]

Part of the problem with basketball attendance is that they are not playing any notable teams at home. 

[untjim1995]

4 minutes ago, MrAlien said:

Part of the problem with basketball attendance is that they are not playing any notable teams at home. 

Which is why Cal has survived and will probably still survive…people go to games there to see Cal play teams people have heard of or care about. 
 

People don’t care about North Texas playing Charlotte or Florida Atlantic or Middle Tennessee or Western Kentucky. They care about SMU, UH, Tech, TCU, Baylor, etc…and those schools want absolutely nothing to do with being in a conference with us.

As for Denton and UT having 40k in enrollment, a city with over 100k in population, and a giant metro area to draw from within an hour, ask yourself why they don’t come. Win in hoops? Attendance can’t get to 33% of the Pit. Football is king in Texas and Denton High Schools have awesome programs? But we can’t average 2/3rds capacity and have never sold out a 30k stadium EVER…Denton not caring for our teams  isn’t a pity party—it’s the damn truth. And has been forever.

[GMG_Dallas]

20 minutes ago, GRN-WHT said:

UC Berkeley has more school spirit because it’s a school that most of their students aspired to attend and has high admission standards. 
 

We have low admission standards, and are not the first choice school for the vast majority of our students. 
 

Berkeley has a 11% acceptance rate, ours is 72%. 

Texas Tech is 71% and Houston 70%.

[TripleGrad]

I just don't like basketball.  I'll go watch the football team in a no-name bowl, because I like football.

The folks who keep saying "dump football, we'll be a basketball school" just don't get the level of apathy (or outright antipathy) regarding the bouncy ball sport.

And PLEASE don't start crying about attendance at women's basketball games.  They're even less entertaining than the men's games.

In regards to NIT championships:  congrats on being the 69th best team.  That's the same level of accomplishment as the Frisco Bowl.

Edited 3 hours ago by TripleGrad

[Matt from A700]

1 hour ago, Big Z said:

If only we had crowds like this again 

 

That TP shot was the loudest I'd ever heard the Pit.

[Green Otaku]

I talked about this a while back, but unlike football "Just win" does not work for basketball. The year we won the NIT that team deserved to have a 3/4s full Super Pit for the season. There simply isn't a built in fanbase for basketball, the fans do not exist. The ath. dept. needs to focus on growing those numbers. If football were doing as good as basketball we'd be having 27k a game no problem.

Edited 3 hours ago by Green Otaku

[GRN-WHT]

12 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

Texas Tech is 71% and Houston 70%.

Yup, and much more recent athletic success. 
 

Cal is always going to have a high base of support because of the quality of the school, no matter how bad the teams may be. 
 

We have minimal athletic success and not many students that want to be here, so where does the school spirit come from?

[wardly]

The real problem is with the students. Until you can generate real on campus and Denton residents interest you will always have attendance problems.

[MrAlien]

1 hour ago, untjim1995 said:

 

People don’t care about North Texas playing Charlotte or Florida Atlantic or Middle Tennessee or Western Kentucky. They care about SMU, UH, Tech, TCU, Baylor, etc…and those schools want absolutely nothing to do with being in a conference with us.

 

 

They dont need to be in a conference with us in order to play them... OOC portion of the schedule is almost 2 months long.  And in the past UNT has play big name schools at home. 

[untjim1995]

22 minutes ago, wardly said:

The real problem is with the students. Until you can generate real on campus and Denton residents interest you will always have attendance problems.

Be careful…people on here don’t want you to say that Denton doesn’t love and support their Mean Green…

Never mind about the attendance stuff for the last 70 years.

[UNTcrazy727]

I don’t think it helps that UNT plays an extremely slow and brutal brand of basketball. We’re not exactly what you would call an exciting watch. 

[UNTcrazy727]

15 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

Culturally speaking, UNT and Denton just don’t care about the teams here. If people do care, they get made fun of or looked at as if they have 3 heads. But if someone loathes our teams and is a student, professor, administrator, or citizen of Denton, they get all kinds of attention and praise from the others.

It’s a town that loves being anti-establishment and going against the grain. And sports are most definitely at the top of the establishment definition to these people.

Glad to see you’re still up to your same negative and false BS. 

[greenminer]

3 hours ago, GMG_Dallas said:

UC Berkeley hasn't had a winning season since 2016-2017 and went 3-29 the same season we won the NIT yet they're bringing in better attendance this season than we are despite being 8-8. I don't necessarily disagree with you as it pertains to our football program but I think it's a bit off when you consider the basketball program's recent success. I've said in previous threads we need more than the NIT championship but I still think our average of 2900 attendance is baffling considering the streak of 7 straight winning seasons. I'm not expecting a full house but is asking for an average of 4500 in basketball attendance that unreasonable?

I think it is completely reasonable, and wild that we aren’t doing 5-7k every home game.

I think about this a lot, and wonder if there is more to it than the traditional points.

1) Denton doesn’t care

2) we have a UT-tshirt culture

3) too much other stuff to do in DFW

…I personally think throwing those excuses out there, even with the element of truth, is kinda lazy. We need to have constructive, creative talks to solve this riddle. We should still be getting 5k, even with the above.  My 0.02

[meangreenfaninno]

2 minutes ago, greenminer said:

I think it is completely reasonable, and wild that we aren’t doing 5-7k every home game.

I think about this a lot, and wonder if there is more to it than the traditional points.

1) Denton doesn’t care

2) we have a UT-tshirt culture

3) too much other stuff to do in DFW

…I personally think throwing those excuses out there, even with the element of truth, is kinda lazy. We need to have constructive, creative talks to solve this riddle. We should still be getting 5k, even with the above.  My 0.02

Isn’t attendance down everywhere?  You act like this is a UNT specific phenomenon and I think it seems like more of a macro issue.

For instance, how about the fact I can watch basically every sporting event nowadays on my hi def television?  Seriously, that has not always been the case and it has to have an effect on the casual sports fan.