La Monroe Anticipation Thread

[CMJ]

Just over 25 hours away fellas. I have to work tommorrow during the game, but I'll try to listen if I can. I'll be climbing the walls....

If I can't listen...it's all about scoring updates here or Yahoo.

[ADLER]

Here's a post that I made a few years ago addressing this same subject. At the time we had an opportunity to really highlight our athletic programs and their success. The football team had just clinched another conference championship, and we were playing metroplex rival TCU on a Saturday night.

Nov 24, 2004

Here are a few of my ideas: All intended to show fans a good time, and make them want to come back. Make the basketball game an event, and the fans will start coming out. We really need to concentrate on building our fan base since we are hosting the SBC tournament this season.

Dollar hot dog night. Have a lot of fans out and show them it's not only fun but economical to bring the family to a Mean Green basketball game. Arrange for students that have dining hall cards to be able to get a dinner from dining services at the games.

Award the Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Trophy during halftime of the TCU game. Inviting the football team to BB games always brings an additional 100 loud and spirited fans. Have video highlights ready to show on the jumbotrons.

Have the entire Green Brigade at the game. The Super Pit rocks when the whole band is in there, and it has been over a decade since the whole Green Brigade played a basketball game.

Send (yes, for free) a set of good basketball tickets to the TCU game to every person that has a set of North Texas football season tickets. That target audience is clearly defined, and many of those football fans haven't been exposed to North Texas basketball in decades. We've got to win back those fans that were lost from the Tommy Newman through Vic Trilli eras (or errors as some might say). Those fans will come to a basketball game if they are familiar with the opponent, and hopefully we can keep many of them coming back. If not, we really didn't lose anything, and gratitude was shown to the fans that supported North Texas throughout the football season. Those fans will also love to see the football team receiving the trophys. The exposure may also kindle their interest in North Texas basketball.

Give an extra set of tickets to this game to everyone that already buys season tickets for basketball. Our season ticket holders are potentially our best salespeople, and they all know people that may be interested in going, and those guests may become fans.

Do an IFC half court shot contest for $1000. Each fraternity gets a chance to shoot a half court shot quarterly throughout the game (each fraternity getting shots pregame, halftime, and postgame during the evening). The $1000 prize will be split equally between each chapter that makes a shot, and between all chapters equally if none make the shot. This keeps their members involved for the duration of the game.

Get FOX Sports to award the Moneypenny Trophy to Jamario (assuming he gets it) at halftime. This will be an additional reason to invite the Dallas/Fort Worth media to the event. A few succesful events could change the Metroplex media's perception about North Texas sports being "small time".

Throw out gazillions of beads and tee shirts to the fans at the basketball game to help promote the New Orleans Bowl trip. It's good promotion for the Bowl, and the fans love it.

Make a concentrated effort to promote the game to the TCU season ticket holders, and have a loud, concentrated TCU section at the game. Many of those fans will make the trip to Denton if they plan early enough. TCU has always been very classy in it's relations with North Texas and it's fans, and it would be good to return the favor. Maybe this could become an annual game, or better yet a semi-annual non-conference basketball game like NMSU has with UTEP and UNM (they play home-and-home in every season). It could happen if it's profitable enough for both schools, and there's no reason it shouldn't be.

Put Skytracker quad-unit searchlights on all four sides of the Super Pit before the game. It might not do anything for the game itself, but it sure looks as though something huge is going on there.

These are just a few ideas, and I believe basketball at North Texas is ready to take off, and that we have the right people in place to make it happen.

Results, relatively nothing was done by the athletic department. Most seats sat empty, as always.

The Pit Crew promoted the game on campus. A few of us alums pitched in and paid for a single search light, Sound Man set up a concert for the Pit Crew, and the Pit Crew arranged for a couple of bands for the pregame concert.

Other than that, it was just another game. Opportunity lost.

I still think that every suggestion was valid and worth pursuing. I find it disheartening that the people in positions to make things happen didn't.

Oh well, I guess we can keep discussing low attendance until somebody somewhere decides to ..............nah, let's just blame the Greeks, the alumni, or the people of Denton. That's much easier than asking people to make the attempt to improve things.

Oh well, fire away.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

--- Fire one--- The "North Texas Daily" needs to promote or at least announce it -----and this means on the Front page when a major sporting or any other big event appears ON CAMPUS ....What is the purpose of a campus newspaper.?.. the first priority should be news about the university and the students.

--- Fire two --- I still think that some sign appearing on campus (student center entrances? ) on game days and disappearing after afterward will be noticed. It should be it rather large and extremely obvious. Being there all time would just mean it would become part of the scenery and people would just ignore it. ---------- if not this then come up up with some other "obvious" game day on campus reminder that people will can't just ignore but makes people aware of it.... even those who don't go. ----This could also mean support groups wear game-day shirts, vests, or whatever or whatever on gamedays to make other people aware of what is happening ... and never wear them anyother time....

---too often ---especially for basketball ------ people don't really realize there is a game on campus unless they are reminded somehow. Football is a little different... they only play on Saturday and that is a weekend day with no classes. It is also true where I teach math... Most students just aren't aware of a on campus game... but this is a bit different.. it is a community college without a daily paper. I will bet most of the student were not even aware of the NT vs. ULL game or what it really meant.

---Something needs to be done instill some Pride in our university..... Why are we not getting students to attend events like A&M, UTEP, TT, UT and the rest.

_______________

Interesting game on TV now.. NMSU vs. Nevada.

It appears every fan in the arena (full) has on the same white shirt with NEVADA on the front of it.

Edited March 4, 2007 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

North Texas is a divison I basketball school with 20 wins and an enrollment of 33,000. We only had 2,700 attend our Men's tournament game at home.

HPU has 1,500 students and in a town of about 20,000...... Read below..... We can do better..... This is one reason why I am so disgusted with our NT fans.

________________________

By Derrick Stuckly — Brownwood Bulletin

The largest crowd ever to attend an NCAA Division III women’s basketball game — 4,356 fans — may well have witnessed the best team in the nation Saturday night at the Brownwood Coliseum.

The No. 2 Howard Payne Lady Jackets ran their home win streak to 21 games and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament’s Sweet 16 with their 76-37 victory over the Chapman Lady Panthers (California).

http://www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/...ts/sports01.txt

[Keith7]

By Derrick Stuckly — Brownwood Bulletin

The largest crowd ever to attend an NCAA Division III women’s basketball game — 4,356 fans — may well have witnessed the best team in the nation Saturday night at the Brownwood Coliseum.

The No. 2 Howard Payne Lady Jackets ran their home win streak to 21 games and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament’s Sweet 16 with their 76-37 victory over the Chapman Lady Panthers (California).

http://www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/...ts/sports01.txt

ya but what is there for people to do in brownwood?? maybe we should move UNT to bfe

[ADLER]

ya but what is there for people to do in brownwood?? maybe we should move UNT to bfe

SCREAMING EAGLE-66 is too busy hating people to let reality interfere with his warped viewpoints. History is full of people like that, and I think it's probably best to ignore him that to debate the issue further.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

SCREAMING EAGLE-66 is too busy hating people to let reality interfere with his warped viewpoints. History is full of people like that, and I think it's probably best to ignore him that to debate the issue further.

---I "HATE" no-one ...but I am EMBARESSED that MY university can't draw a crowd equal to a college of a mere 1500 students. I am shocked that several aren't also bothered about it and think 2,700 is a ok crowd. (Obviously many here are troubled by it) That is part of the problem, some think 2700 is acceptable. UNT students gave better support to basketball 40 years ago than now.

---If we want to be considered on the level with Tech, A&M, UTEP, and Texas (all state supported universities) we need to do better and have more pride in ourselves and support our university. It appear you, Adler, have no trouble accepting being a failure. (I can type insults as well, and I know both us violated the rules and purpose of this board) Again I hate no one just want things to improve because I want us to be as successful or more so than the the other Texas D-I universities in everything including athletics.

---Adler --are you really proud of the fact that we managed to attract only 2,700 fans while UTEP had over 11,000 ..????

But then again I am writing to the person that stated: but, it's even more inportant that they support the activities that help the Greek system on campus prosper enough said.... that summarizes how you feel about your university.

I do agree... history is full of people who are so apathetic that their warped viewpoints should be ignored., why debate them , they just don't get it and don't understand what is important.

Edited March 5, 2007 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[ADLER]

---Adler --are you really proud of the fact that we managed to attract only 2,700 fans while UTEP had over 11,000 ..????

No, I but I can state this with the utmost confidence that I have done everything in my power to promote North Texas atletics, as well as support the athletic department through involvement in the Mean Green Club, NT Exes alumni association and the Presidents Council. I have hosted preseason events for athletics at my home, have for years made a substantial investment of time and personal finances hosting (with others) the largest tailgate events that have ever been held at North Texas, and those tailgate functions have always been open to everyone and have never charged for food and drinks. There are very few fans that travel to road games like I have for the last few decades to support our athletes, there are others, but the list isn't long. I have never left a game before the alma mater was played or before our team has left the field/court. There has never been a cookout for the team or the coaches that I have not participated with, and I have never missed a postseason football or basketball banquet. I have not only made the trip for all four New Orleans Bowls, but participated in setting up the Bourbon Street activities for each. I have always tried to make time available to support the university when I have seen there is area where I can help.

I think I possibly do a little to support attendance.

What's your involvement to change things, or do you, in your own words "have no trouble accepting being a failure"?

I am prepared to ignore your personal attacks directed at me, but I refuse to ignore your attacks on the students. I am disgusted by your overzealous attempt to implicate those fraternity and sorority kids on campus. The Greeks on campus have historically been strong supporters of Mean Green athletics. Their leadership conciously planned an event so that it didn't interfere with any basketball games. Their Greek Week events were scheduled several months in advance. The Wednesday basketball game was only scheduled after results of the preceding Saturday night's conference games were tallied and would not be announced in the campus paper until Tuesday. So, until very late there was no game scheduled and it would have been nearly impossible for the fraternities and sororities to postpone their Greek Week events.

Personally, I hope their event was a success, much the same as I hope for success in so many of our university's non-sports related endeavors. There are a lot of areas where our university can improve, and I applaud their involvement the same way that I support any and every campus organization that is striving to raise the the university's profile.

My question to you is why are you so overanxious to attack that group, or any group in the university community, especially while they're working on a university sanctioned event? If they are not being singled out because of hate, then why?

[Bryan316]

Not to put my head on the chopping block, but from the first page (for me),

#1- This was an actual Greek Week function. A speaker came and spoke on how to improve Greek life. We were texting the whole time on when we were going to leave for the basketball game, but decided not to so our chapter didnt look bad.

With the advanced planning that the Greek system does, the guest speaker really could not have been rescheduled for them to make a basketball game that was announced three or four days before tip-off. Not only would it disrupt their Greek Week, but it would most likely disrupt the speaker's own schedule, and they might not be able to work out a new date.

[ADLER]

SCREAMING EAGLE-66, like I stated earlier, it's probably best to ignore your response, well, because you weren't even at the game you're complaining about.

You were sitting at home playing on your computer and didn't make the effort to attend this "very important home tournament game".

I don't doubt that you had other obligations which kept you from being able to attend, but didn't the targets of your attacks also have prior commitments?

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

SCREAMING EAGLE-66, like I stated earlier, it's probably best to ignore your response, well, because you weren't even at the game you're complaining about.

You were sitting at home playing on your computer and didn't make the effort to attend this "very important home tournament game".

I don't doubt that you had other obligations which kept you from being able to attend, but didn't the targets of your attacks also have prior commitments?

---I am 325+ miles away which is more than a few blocks away...(ie. sort of hard to make a week-day game, 700 mile round trip).... As I posted earlier basketball crowds are more about student attendance than alums etc. because they mostly occur during the week, not week-ends. ... I always went when I lived on campus unless I had a test to prepare for or something that absolutely needed doing that night (even then a couple of hours off usually did not matter and might be good) . The Old Men's gym was always full on week-day games when I was there. More would have gone but could not get in and a larger place was needed... strangely once the Super Pit appeared games calmed down a lot and the crowds were not the same. Now attendance seems to be worse than ever. I do make 2-3 football games every year.. saw SMU and FIU last year with 7? overtimes. [ you lose ]

I was not at home playing on computer... I was teaching a stat class but heard the final part of it on the internet. [you lose again ]

[apparently you like losing... notice where I am which is on the left side of this post ]

-30-

Edited March 5, 2007 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[Quoner]

Here's a post that I made a few years ago addressing this same subject. At the time we had an opportunity to really highlight our athletic programs and their success. The football team had just clinched another conference championship, and we were playing metroplex rival TCU on a Saturday night.

Results, relatively nothing was done by the athletic department. Most seats sat empty, as always.

The Pit Crew promoted the game on campus. A few of us alums pitched in and paid for a single search light, Sound Man set up a concert for the Pit Crew, and the Pit Crew arranged for a couple of bands for the pregame concert.

Other than that, it was just another game. Opportunity lost.

I still think that every suggestion was valid and worth pursuing. I find it disheartening that the people in positions to make things happen didn't.

Oh well, I guess we can keep discussing low attendance until somebody somewhere decides to ..............nah, let's just blame the Greeks, the alumni, or the people of Denton. That's much easier than asking people to make the attempt to improve things.

Oh well, fire away.

Not bad ideas - but all of it hinges on having a good name opponent - its a shame we squandered that opportunity, but I also remember we were in the process of shedding a promotions director who didn't care to be here and adding one who was in his first couple of weeks when the game took place with no time to plan.

Regardless, some people WERE here the whole time and I agree with the frustration.

Also, I hate Greek people, especially Uncle Jessie (and his bastard twin brother who stole...)