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Ohio Basketball Topic
Topic: Urban Campus Problems
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Ozcat
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Posted: 2/15/2013 1:58 PM
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OUVan
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Posted: 2/15/2013 2:14 PM
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"We’re not just the stepchild; we’re up there with soccer now."

For a team that has been as good as Akron the last decade that's a sad statement.
OU_Country
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Posted: 2/15/2013 3:01 PM
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It's a demonstration that they're a commuter campus - 2500 student living on campus says it all.  They said 800+ students were in attendance with a Zip Card.  I'm curious if anyone knows - what is the norm for Ohio students attendance?

It's truly incredible to me that they don't have greater awareness of hoops.  Honestly though, I think this is the problem at the vast majority of programs in the MAC.  There's not much awareness, and students just don't seem to care that much.
colobobcat66
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Posted: 2/15/2013 3:29 PM
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FWIW, how many students live in the Ohio dorms?
DelBobcat
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Posted: 2/15/2013 3:34 PM
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 Calling Akron urban is a stretch in my mind. 

Either way, I don't think it has anything to do with their urbanity (or lack thereof). I think it has more to do with the fact that it is a commuter school. 

...and a horrible place to be. Yuck. I hate Akron.

Tyler
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Posted: 2/15/2013 3:36 PM
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It's definitely more of a commuter school problem than just an urban campus problem. Akron is 90 percent commuters. It's had to build a sense of school pride when the overwhelming majority of your students drive to campus 4-5 days a week, go to class and then head home
Business_Cat
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Posted: 2/15/2013 3:57 PM
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The only good crowd they've seen in the jar was because of YOUR Ohio Bobcats. Ohio: the class of the MAC

ps: rumor has it that the Kan't game will be +9k. Don't know if I believe that, but I'm sure it'll be a decent crowd. 
OUVan
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Posted: 2/15/2013 4:06 PM
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OU_Country wrote:expand_more
It's a demonstration that they're a commuter campus - 2500 student living on campus says it all. 


I read somewhere a while back that there were approximately 12,000 students living near campus so I'm not buying that excuse.  Make it an event and they will come.  Put all the students courtside.  As much as schools rely on money from season ticket holders, putting them on both sides kills the atmosphere.  And atmosphere drives college basketball. 
Columbus_Bobcat
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Posted: 2/15/2013 4:39 PM
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Something like 8,000 students live on campus I believe, because 1st and 2nd year students are required to live in the dorms.
mf279801
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Posted: 2/15/2013 4:55 PM
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OUVan wrote:expand_more
It's a demonstration that they're a commuter campus - 2500 student living on campus says it all. 


I read somewhere a while back that there were approximately 12,000 students living near campus so I'm not buying that excuse.  Make it an event and they will come.  Put all the students courtside.  As much as schools rely on money from season ticket holders, putting them on both sides kills the atmosphere.  And atmosphere drives college basketball. 


And something like 100% of the students that attend the community college in my home county live relatively near the campus, that doesn't change the fact that there is no school spirit/involvement. If you live at home, or are a non-traditional student, you're unlikely to to go to a lot of basketball games. Calling it an "event" only helps if people are plugged into the campus community.
The Optimist
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Posted: 2/15/2013 5:49 PM
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Bobcats_828 wrote:expand_more
Something like 8,000 students live on campus I believe, because 1st and 2nd year students are required to live in the dorms.

And even when these students move "off campus" to Stewart, High or Union Street they are still basically on campus.  Athens is the definition of a residential school.

I think Akron's campus is coming along nicely.  I would want to live there if I had gone there.  I think they'd be best suited building a new arena with dorms buildings around it like they did Infocision to further enhance development.
Last Edited: 2/15/2013 5:53:15 PM by The Optimist
Tim Burke
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Posted: 2/15/2013 6:14 PM
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Tyler wrote:expand_more
It's definitely more of a commuter school problem than just an urban campus problem. Akron is 90 percent commuters. It's had to build a sense of school pride when the overwhelming majority of your students drive to campus 4-5 days a week, go to class and then head home


It was a long climb for us to do it at USF, and mostly only through joining the Big East.
DelBobcat
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Posted: 2/15/2013 6:25 PM
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OUVan wrote:expand_more
It's a demonstration that they're a commuter campus - 2500 student living on campus says it all. 


I read somewhere a while back that there were approximately 12,000 students living near campus so I'm not buying that excuse.  Make it an event and they will come.  Put all the students courtside.  As much as schools rely on money from season ticket holders, putting them on both sides kills the atmosphere.  And atmosphere drives college basketball. 


Maybe they "live" near campus, as in they have a house that they pay rent for, but the vast majority high tail it to their parents houses on the weekends.
OUVan
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Posted: 2/15/2013 6:43 PM
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mf279801 wrote:expand_more
And something like 100% of the students that attend the community college in my home county live relatively near the campus, that doesn't change the fact that there is no school spirit/involvement. If you live at home, or are a non-traditional student, you're unlikely to to go to a lot of basketball games. Calling it an "event" only helps if people are plugged into the campus community.


Except they are apparently "plugged in" for soccer. 
OUbobcat9092
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Posted: 2/15/2013 7:19 PM
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Bobcats_828 wrote:expand_more
Something like 8,000 students live on campus I believe, because 1st and 2nd year students are required to live in the dorms.


45 residential buildings, I believe...

Pataskala
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Posted: 2/15/2013 8:18 PM
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Since Akron is about 8 times larger than Athens, there's also more to do -- more places to shop, more movies, more restaurants, etc.  And I'm sure that most off-campus students want to be somewhere besides campus at the end of the day.  Plus there isn't that great of tradition at UA for b-ball.  They had just three winning seasons in the 12 years prior to Dambrot coming on board.  If they could get half or 2/3 of the students living on campus to show up for the home games, it would go a long way toward selling out the jar.
mf279801
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Posted: 2/15/2013 9:07 PM
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OUVan wrote:expand_more
And something like 100% of the students that attend the community college in my home county live relatively near the campus, that doesn't change the fact that there is no school spirit/involvement. If you live at home, or are a non-traditional student, you're unlikely to to go to a lot of basketball games. Calling it an "event" only helps if people are plugged into the campus community.


Except they are apparently "plugged in" for soccer. 


(1) We're talking about real sports here, why are you bringing up European Kickball?
(2) But seriously, you're citing soccer as an example of AWESOME student/fan support in a thread where-in we're mocking their basketball attendance? These are akron's soccer accomplishments since the year 2000 (according to Wikipedia):
NCAA Champion: 1 (2010)
NCAA Runner-up: 1 (2009)
MAC Tournament Champion: 8 ('02, '04, '05, '07, '08, '09, '10, '12)
MAC Tournament Runner-Up: 2 ('01, '06)
MAC Regular Season Champ: 10 (2000, 2002, 2005-12) 
MAC Regular Season Runner-Up: 3 (2001, 2003, 2004).

Why do I bring this up? Because their apparently legendary support for soccer, which basketball fans would do well to learn from, works out to an average home attendance of 2620, over 14 home games, including 2 NCAA tournament games held in Akron. Well HOOOOOOOO-DEEEE, they sure are plugged in for soccer. They win 8-10 conference championships and a national championship and they average 2620 fans per home game this year, a season wherein they go 18-1-3. (Their attendance numbers are, by the way, taken from gozips.com). 

Oh, by the way and just for purposes of comparison, their Basketball attendance, which we've been lamenting on this thread and which was recently compared (disparagingly) to their soccer support, has been 3325 fans per home game to this point in the season. Thats right, their basketball team, which has never won a national championship, is a better draw then their hugely successful soccer program (basketball attendance is 126.9% of soccer).
 
 
 
DelBobcat
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Posted: 2/15/2013 9:07 PM
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Pataskala wrote:expand_more
Since Akron is about 8 times larger than Athens, there's also more to do -- more places to shop, more movies, more restaurants, etc.  And I'm sure that most off-campus students want to be somewhere besides campus at the end of the day.  Plus there isn't that great of tradition at UA for b-ball.  They had just three winning seasons in the 12 years prior to Dambrot coming on board.  If they could get half or 2/3 of the students living on campus to show up for the home games, it would go a long way toward selling out the jar.


There might be more people in Akron but I would contend that there isn't more to do. Unless you like walking around a strip mall or eating at fast food restaurants.
The Optimist
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Posted: 2/15/2013 9:09 PM
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Pataskala wrote:expand_more
Since Akron is about 8 times larger than Athens, there's also more to do -- more places to shop, more movies, more restaurants, etc.

There might be more to do, but the quality is lacking.  I'd rather shop/eat/drink in Uptown Athens than Downtown Akron.  I think the Ohio Bobcats have more competition from Uptown Bars than the Akron Zips have from all the entertainment in a 10-mile radius.
Recovering Journalist
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Posted: 2/15/2013 9:13 PM
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Pataskala wrote:expand_more
Since Akron is about 8 times larger than Athens, there's also more to do -- more places to shop, more movies, more restaurants, etc.


Good God, our own posters are buying this myth now too? Yes, the Convo on gameday is full of students -- joined by alumni from Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati -- because Athens is so damn small and lacks the diverse tapestry of entertainment options that other MAC schools boast.

Has anyone making this argument ever spent any time in other MAC towns? Besides the fact that most MAC schools are in similarly sized remote college towns, technology makes the "nothing to do" argument even more meaningless.
JSF
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Posted: 2/15/2013 9:47 PM
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OUVan wrote:expand_more
"We’re not just the stepchild; we’re up there with soccer now."

For a team that has been as good as Akron the last decade that's a sad statement.


It's also kind of a compliment to their support of soccer.
Pataskala
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Posted: 2/15/2013 10:00 PM
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Recovering Journalist wrote:expand_more
Since Akron is about 8 times larger than Athens, there's also more to do -- more places to shop, more movies, more restaurants, etc.


Good God, our own posters are buying this myth now too? Yes, the Convo on gameday is full of students -- joined by alumni from Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati -- because Athens is so damn small and lacks the diverse tapestry of entertainment options that other MAC schools boast.

Has anyone making this argument ever spent any time in other MAC towns? Besides the fact that most MAC schools are in similarly sized remote college towns, technology makes the "nothing to do" argument even more meaningless.


RJ -- read the ENTIRE FRIGGIN POST!  It's not just that there's more to do, but UA is a 90% COMMUTER SCHOOL, which means that they live, eat, shop, etc. far from campus and aren't likely to stick around for midweek evening games or come back to campus for weekend games.  I live 25 miles from Columbus and I sure as hell don't want to go back downtown when I get home at night.  It sure helps Ohio to not only have a quality program, but to have 20,000 or so kids within easy walking distance of the Convo.  Now go take a pill and lie down.
Brian Smith (No, not that one)
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Posted: 2/16/2013 3:56 AM
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OUVan wrote:expand_more
"We’re not just the stepchild; we’re up there with soccer now."

That quote should be on a giant Kerouac-like scroll the entire OZone unfurls across the whole section for the Akron game during introductions.
Alan Swank
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Posted: 2/16/2013 8:32 AM
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DelBobcat wrote:expand_more
Since Akron is about 8 times larger than Athens, there's also more to do -- more places to shop, more movies, more restaurants, etc.  And I'm sure that most off-campus students want to be somewhere besides campus at the end of the day.  Plus there isn't that great of tradition at UA for b-ball.  They had just three winning seasons in the 12 years prior to Dambrot coming on board.  If they could get half or 2/3 of the students living on campus to show up for the home games, it would go a long way toward selling out the jar.


There might be more people in Akron but I would contend that there isn't more to do. Unless you like walking around a strip mall or eating at fast food restaurants.


Guess you haven't been to Akron lately.  Since you mentioned food, the restaurant choices and I'm not talking about chains are far superior.  And as far as shopping goes, try to buy a nice men's suit or sports jacket in Athens.  It's not happening.
Robert Fox
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Posted: 2/16/2013 9:32 AM
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And, Athens is short on good restaurants for alumni. They've got the market cornered on bar food, but if you're looking for a moderate to slightly upscale place, the pickin's are slim.

Oh, and soccer rocks.
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