BASKETBALL MTSU/Vanderbilt roll call
- Thread starter Matt Dossett
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Next three up after S. Ala.
Vandy at home
Belmont and VCU on the road.
This is gonna be fun to watch.
Vandy at home
Belmont and VCU on the road.
This is gonna be fun to watch.
The only games remotely close to a sellout that I attended at Murphy were the Men's NIT game vs. Minn. and the Women vs. UT. Vandy fans won't drive to the Boro so CM and Co. need to hit the streets of Murfreesboro
Realistically, my guess is between 8-9,000 if we beat South Alabama. If the marketing folks and Massaro get out in the community and actually do something instead of putting an internet ad out, we could hit 10,000. If we don't beat South Alabama, I'd say between 7-8,000.
This is a huge game for an early season game.
Kermit rightly threw down the gauntlet on the postgame last night. Paraphrase: If you want to have a national program, you have to have national level fan support. He also used examples of VCU and Butler filling their arenas with tremendous fan support to boost and maintain that national level type programs.
I agree. Kermit and team have done their part. It's not like football where mediocre performance for years resulting in fan loss of interest. In addition to overall tremendous success, one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history. Now this season while integrating a bunch of new players into the team, MT has only one hiccup vs an improved TSU very early in the season. After a bunch of quality wins on the road, this team deserves a full house when they return home vs a big hated local rival!
Kermit rightly threw down the gauntlet on the postgame last night. Paraphrase: If you want to have a national program, you have to have national level fan support. He also used examples of VCU and Butler filling their arenas with tremendous fan support to boost and maintain that national level type programs.
I agree. Kermit and team have done their part. It's not like football where mediocre performance for years resulting in fan loss of interest. In addition to overall tremendous success, one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history. Now this season while integrating a bunch of new players into the team, MT has only one hiccup vs an improved TSU very early in the season. After a bunch of quality wins on the road, this team deserves a full house when they return home vs a big hated local rival!
While I don't have any extra tickets, I would be willing to purchase a ticket for someone if a legit lack of $$ was the only thing keeping them from attending.
The team needs and deserves a full house. IMO, they are winning vs decent quality opponents to start to garner national attention if they can continue to win especially vs an SEC team and a nationally recognized VCU. Plus, a win on national tv on CBSN with a full house would likely grab further media attention for potential further broadcasts from The Murph. It would at least help make MT home games more enticing to programmers.
Again, Kermit and the team are doing their part. It is time for the fans to do their part. The team can use all the energy and support that they can get. They appear to be on the verge of taking a big step forward that us MT fans have been wanting to see for a long time.
The team needs and deserves a full house. IMO, they are winning vs decent quality opponents to start to garner national attention if they can continue to win especially vs an SEC team and a nationally recognized VCU. Plus, a win on national tv on CBSN with a full house would likely grab further media attention for potential further broadcasts from The Murph. It would at least help make MT home games more enticing to programmers.
Again, Kermit and the team are doing their part. It is time for the fans to do their part. The team can use all the energy and support that they can get. They appear to be on the verge of taking a big step forward that us MT fans have been wanting to see for a long time.
". . . team deserves a full house . . ."
And has been deserving greater support for the last few years with the success we have had yet the attendance is growing incrementally and much too slowly for this long-suffering fan.
IMHO the VU game Thurs. night along with the trip to Curb next week will go a long way to perception among area casual fans (which includes students, area alumni, townspeople, etc.). How we do in these next two games could impact attendance, not to mention the $$$s generated, for the remainder of the year and could subsequently affect support for years to come. We need to be 10-1 when the team is on the bus headed back to The Boro from Nashville on the 14th.
And has been deserving greater support for the last few years with the success we have had yet the attendance is growing incrementally and much too slowly for this long-suffering fan.
IMHO the VU game Thurs. night along with the trip to Curb next week will go a long way to perception among area casual fans (which includes students, area alumni, townspeople, etc.). How we do in these next two games could impact attendance, not to mention the $$$s generated, for the remainder of the year and could subsequently affect support for years to come. We need to be 10-1 when the team is on the bus headed back to The Boro from Nashville on the 14th.
I did some research.
2011-12 ... 5,329 per game (high of 10521 vs Minnesota in NIT) ... 27-7 record
2012-13 ... 5,410 per game (high of 10105 vs Western Kentucky) ... 28-6 record
2013-14 ... 4,465 per game (high of 7307 vs Belmont) ... 24-9 record
2014-15 ... 4,037 per game (high of 5227 vs Western Kentucky) ... 19-17 record
2015-16 ... 5,184 per game (high of 8882 vs VCU) ... 25-10 record
So far this year...
2016-17 ... 4,835 per game (high of 6020 vs Milligan) ... 8-1 record
We have been stagnant at 4,500 to 5,000 per game over the last 5 years. Kermit's right that if we want to be a nationally-recognized program, we need to have some real fan support behind us. We should aim to average 9,000 a game through the rest of the year, win or lose. It's an exciting product and the team is good so chances are we'll win most of our home games. Even in losses we have a great product and people come back.
2011-12 ... 5,329 per game (high of 10521 vs Minnesota in NIT) ... 27-7 record
2012-13 ... 5,410 per game (high of 10105 vs Western Kentucky) ... 28-6 record
2013-14 ... 4,465 per game (high of 7307 vs Belmont) ... 24-9 record
2014-15 ... 4,037 per game (high of 5227 vs Western Kentucky) ... 19-17 record
2015-16 ... 5,184 per game (high of 8882 vs VCU) ... 25-10 record
So far this year...
2016-17 ... 4,835 per game (high of 6020 vs Milligan) ... 8-1 record
We have been stagnant at 4,500 to 5,000 per game over the last 5 years. Kermit's right that if we want to be a nationally-recognized program, we need to have some real fan support behind us. We should aim to average 9,000 a game through the rest of the year, win or lose. It's an exciting product and the team is good so chances are we'll win most of our home games. Even in losses we have a great product and people come back.
If you don't have tix yet to the Vandy game, you should aim to get them on Monday, as early as possible, and start asking coworkers, family, friends, neighbors to get theirs too. It creates a snowball effect when tickets start selling fast. Hopefully Aldo will put a piece out in the paper about our season and wanting a sell out for the Vandy game.
That's very true! We have a great home court advantage to begin with ... having a large crowd with lots of energy will help the team even more. Of course the Middle Curse is always hiding away there but our win rate against good teams in MBB is high (looking at you, football team).
In the grand scheme of things, upwards of 5000 on average in attendance has been a step forward. For too many years, I recall sitting in the Glass House with 1200 - 1500 in attendance for regular season games. Some of those seasons would see big games on Saturdays in the middle of the bball season with some of the largest crowds for the season pushing 4000 - 4500. So it has been success getting to the point to where the average is about the same as the largest attended games years ago.
With that said, this is a different and new situation here. This is MT on the verge of taking the next big step onto the national stage. 4 or 5000 would hopefully be the season lows for that national level most to all of us would like to see. I would guess 8000 would be excellent for the typical games with full house for the big games of the season. Examples for the big games might be local rivalry vs Vandy, and big match ups vs ooc teams like Ole Miss and VCU. The other type of games that come to mind as likely targets for full houses would be big conf games vs rivalries like WKU & UAB in addition to the the one or two games a season vs a conf opponent for 1st place in the conf race which could very well be vs the aforementioned WKU or UAB.
About 20 years ago now, The Glass House had about 10,000 in attendance twice in the same season the year Vandy came to The Murph. The other big crowd was vs TSU when they were having big success with a future NBA player. A huge percentage of those in attendance in those games came from Nashville as fans of the visiting teams. I think it's pretty obvious these days that MT can't count on those visiting opponents bringing lots of fans to really help out with our overall attendance.
With that said, this is a different and new situation here. This is MT on the verge of taking the next big step onto the national stage. 4 or 5000 would hopefully be the season lows for that national level most to all of us would like to see. I would guess 8000 would be excellent for the typical games with full house for the big games of the season. Examples for the big games might be local rivalry vs Vandy, and big match ups vs ooc teams like Ole Miss and VCU. The other type of games that come to mind as likely targets for full houses would be big conf games vs rivalries like WKU & UAB in addition to the the one or two games a season vs a conf opponent for 1st place in the conf race which could very well be vs the aforementioned WKU or UAB.
About 20 years ago now, The Glass House had about 10,000 in attendance twice in the same season the year Vandy came to The Murph. The other big crowd was vs TSU when they were having big success with a future NBA player. A huge percentage of those in attendance in those games came from Nashville as fans of the visiting teams. I think it's pretty obvious these days that MT can't count on those visiting opponents bringing lots of fans to really help out with our overall attendance.
In this age of social media, fans, students, and alumni don't have to wait on the athletic dept to do all the work and heavy lifting. So much marketing and buzz in general can be gained by use of social media from the old mainstays of FB & Twitter to Instagram and Snapchat in addition to simple text messages.
MTOleBlue - Thanks for the research but da-n, that's depressing. All the success we've had and no bump in attendance past the Dendy year with all we've accomplished since the 20 +/- years of mediocrity (wonder how that year compares with say, the three previous years - and no, I'm not asking for more research).
You would like to think that we would be adding 250 season ticket sales per year, a growing fan base of students and greatly increased numbers of walk-up fans with the progress Davis has made.
Just as with FB I'm beginning to think it's time to forget about having an athletic dept and any sports, much less a nationally recognized men's basketball program. It's just so frustrating being a MT fan.
You would like to think that we would be adding 250 season ticket sales per year, a growing fan base of students and greatly increased numbers of walk-up fans with the progress Davis has made.
Just as with FB I'm beginning to think it's time to forget about having an athletic dept and any sports, much less a nationally recognized men's basketball program. It's just so frustrating being a MT fan.
dukewayne: TSU fans (students at least) quit coming to games at MT when we stopped opening the gates at half-time. Of course, that didn't count in ticket sales. And before anyone accuses me of that being a racist comment: A couple of time I availed myself of the open door after halftime policy - that's just being frugal.
I don't have the statistics to go with this, but it is a trend much discussed around sports in general. For example, look no further than the big declining ratings of the NFL this season. The trend in general is for a lot of sports to see gradually decreasing numbers for attendance. Even the mighty SEC did a big study on the phenomenon a few years ago. Personally, I think it is partly technology and the general increasing fractured or disintegrating nature of American society that is contributing to decreasing attendance and viewer ratings. With these overall societal trends, I think it could be argued that MT is doing pretty good to maintain a decent average of attendance these last few years.
Of course, an even higher level of success or national level of success would indicate another level up in fan support and attendance. The ingredients are present so now is the time to increase the buzz and attendance.
Well, I know you didn't ask... but I read your mind before you posted and already looked it up a few minutes ago. The three years prior to 2011-12 we averaged right around 3,600 each year with smaller crowds being the rule, not the exception (the UT game at Bridgestone in 2009 with 14,000 and at home in 2008 with 11,000 skewed the numbers). In 2008-09, our Senior Day crowd was 1,104.
Yes, dukewayne, fans don't have to wait around for the AD to do it all. I've been posting ad nauseum on social media about the Vandy game and getting a good amount of feedback but it can only do so much. Spreading the word by mouth is old-fashioned and it works, and it's made even easier by all this new technology nowadays - Twitter, Facebook, etc. even text messaging. I use FB messenger to ask friends if they're going to the game. Got a friend who had never been to a game before to come with me to the Milligan game that way. She will be coming back, we had a blast.
We have actually increased season ticket sales dramatically over the last few years, since we were - clearly - not even at 1,000 in 2008-09 season. This season we are probably around 3,000 or so. Progress is actually occurring though it is on a smaller scale than football since the arena is smaller and changes aren't as noticeable. I know I harp on Miami a lot but when I started college at UM we barely had 2,000 fans a game in the seats for ACC matchups against teams like BC and Clemson. It took deep NCAA runs and top five rankings for the team to sell out our allotment of 5,500 season tickets and even that didn't happen until last year, and that's with a large local fan base and hall-of-famer caliber coach in Larranaga, like Davis. Point is - especially in basketball, progress can be very slow and appear even slower than it is.
The problem is partly students, that's for sure, but the basketball crowds for students have been really good over the last several years. When we played WKU back a few years ago with 10,000+ the student section was packed. Obviously, that was when classes were in session, but the students have been filling their seats. I think they're actually accounting for more than we realize. We sit in Section D for men's games and at the last several games we were surrounded by tons of students who just sat wherever. And that was with sections S, T, A, and B pretty full. They're showing up at a good rate, but the arena is still fairly empty. It's gotta be a cooperative effort from everybody. CKD goes out on campus all the time trying to rally support and what he's doing is working for the most part. With it being the end of finals, I'm not sure we'll have a full Blue Zoo on Thursday, but we'll have a good showing. As odd as it is, I think we have more students show up for basketball games than football. It is what it is.
Social media is a great way to spread word about a game like this quickly and easily. I know it's different, but in election season you could create an event and have 5,000 people invited to the event page in one day and get 1,000 folks to show up if it's a good event. MT basketball is fun, exciting, and a good deal. The problem is our reach is tiny right now. Sometimes it's like you can count how many people are active on social media for MT on one hand. If everybody invited folks to these event pages, we could theoretically reach thousands and thousands more and get the ball rolling that way.
Here's that page I'm talking about. Right now, 44 people are going, 33 say they're interested, and 96 have been invited. Vandy game is on Thursday. Students and young alumni / community members are on Facebook more than anything. Many don't really pay attention to DNJ, The Tennessean, the news stations, or ESPN. But if you get a notification that a friend invited you to the MT vs Vandy game this Thursday, and the Raiders are really good (hope they know that much), then they're likely to go.
Missing sons basketball game at his school for this. Sorry son...I still love ya.
Queue "Cat's in the cradle"
Queue "Cat's in the cradle"
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MTOleBlue, yep I think word of mouth has remained effective for most things over the years. Technology has provided tools to reach more people and reach people faster. The downside, some of the valuable human to human interaction is lost through tech. Still, it's a valuable tool. While I was pushing the idea of us fans getting the word out, that does not suggest Massaro and athletic dept should just sit back and wait. Massaro and the athletic dept has a role in reaching out and promoting Thursday's game.
I do wonder what kind of effect the game being played right at the end of the semester will have on student turnout.
I imagine the athletic dept will be busy this week. It's a good problem to have. Getting ready for the bowl game, and promoting the huge MT basketball game vs Vandy. Maybe some synergy could possibly form in creating buzz for the events and success of MT sports.
I don't want to be a pest or irritant regarding building buzz and getting the word out for the Vandy vs MT game, but I really do want to see Kermit and the team rewarded with a tremendous crowd that they have earned and deserved.
Food for thought, all kinds of people all over the region including Nashville were suddenly exclaiming their ties and devotion to MT basketball when MT knocked off Mich St during March Madness. I imagine quite a few of those people have never been to more than a couple of games if that. Hey, I'm glad so many people were buzzing about MT basketball, don't get me wrong. If MT can get a fraction of all the excited fans during March Madness in the region to come to the game, there would be standing room only.
To my way of thinking for a MT fan and/or college basketball fan, driving to the boro from Nashville would be no big deal for such a big game.
I do wonder what kind of effect the game being played right at the end of the semester will have on student turnout.
I imagine the athletic dept will be busy this week. It's a good problem to have. Getting ready for the bowl game, and promoting the huge MT basketball game vs Vandy. Maybe some synergy could possibly form in creating buzz for the events and success of MT sports.
I don't want to be a pest or irritant regarding building buzz and getting the word out for the Vandy vs MT game, but I really do want to see Kermit and the team rewarded with a tremendous crowd that they have earned and deserved.
Food for thought, all kinds of people all over the region including Nashville were suddenly exclaiming their ties and devotion to MT basketball when MT knocked off Mich St during March Madness. I imagine quite a few of those people have never been to more than a couple of games if that. Hey, I'm glad so many people were buzzing about MT basketball, don't get me wrong. If MT can get a fraction of all the excited fans during March Madness in the region to come to the game, there would be standing room only.
To my way of thinking for a MT fan and/or college basketball fan, driving to the boro from Nashville would be no big deal for such a big game.
Not to be a debbie downer here, but I'd hate to see our record when crowd is above, lets say, 8k.
I'm with you, Wiley. Two that come to mind are UAB last year (7,822) and Minnesota (10,521) for the NIT game in 2012.
It's reasonably obvious why MT FB, men's BkB, and I assume BB and Women's BkB (possibly other team sports as well) have a worse home record when crowds are larger than when crowds are smaller. Doesn't take a genius to think it through.
Regardless, it is great when the team does come through when hosting a "big" game with a "name" school or a game with consequences on the line. I'm cautiously optimistic about the game Thurs. night.
Regardless, it is great when the team does come through when hosting a "big" game with a "name" school or a game with consequences on the line. I'm cautiously optimistic about the game Thurs. night.
Davis teams are 8-5 in home games with crowds of 7k or larger.
And more wins and larger crowds are likely in the immediate future
I hope ticket sales start picking up because right now it doesn't look like we will even have 7000 at the game. And, as others have said, there's no excuse for that. We had tens of thousands of folks in the Murfreesboro area so excited and proud after we beat Michigan State... it's all about connecting to those people and getting them there. We have the fans to have a standing room only game this Thursday. Will it happen?
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