Another anecdote....my daughter, son in law, and two grandsons (ages 6 and 4) last season had plans to come to a game in Athens, but very close to game day the game was moved from Saturday to Friday for television. So they couldn't come to the game. Ended up having to take them to our game in Millett Hall.
This season, we had plans for them to come to the BGSU game on Feb 23. Same result.
My grandsons love the Bobcats, and were able to attend a game two years ago. But this yielding of all control of the schedule to CBSSN and ESPN is making it almost impossible to plan family outings on which you can depend.
Bingo. This is my biggest bitch. Schedule the games on Friday from the start. Come up with a clause related to how good of a match-up you (CBSSN or ESPN) chose from the start and you get to change it if one of the teams is REALLY bad. Otherwise, pick a damn time, and stick to it. I'd bet in many cases, the ratings aren't all that different anyway.
For me, my BG buddy now can't go because of previous Friday plans. For him, it's the second game in February he'll miss because of TV. But #MACtion is sooo great. Makes me sick. Stuff like this confirms that my level of donation and commitment isn't likely to increase anytime soon unless I physically move to Athens.
Agree. But that's life in the MAC.
Leadership has made it loud and clear. They DO NOT care about the local fan bases of each school. It's all about money. TV revenue ... national TV exposure.
They just expect the fans/alumni to drink it up when in fact attendance is awful at almost every game outside of Buffalo in hoops some nights.
The MAC league office is nothing but a whore. Do anything for money. Period.
Not sure what the end game is. They'll never have enough clout to break this mold.
It's a P5/6 world in CFB & CBB and it's only getting worse. I guess they're in survival mode and they feel this is their best course of action to stay relevant.
My response next year is going to be this: I'm looking into mini-packs for OSU hoops, UC hoops, and UD hoops if they'd offer such an option. When they schedule a game that I make plans with friends and family for, the date sticks. And I might just reduce myself to two season tickets from the six I had two years ago. I've felt fed up for the last two years, and it's not even tied that much to on-court performance.
Feel same way .... especially for football. Incredibly difficult to get to Athens from Dublin on a weeknight.
And with lack of Saturday home games, it makes it really hard to justify season tickets when I can just go with game to game prices.
Not to mention they rarely play anyone of consequence in Athens ... and the in-game experience isn't awesome enough to get excited for.
It's a tough sell.
I'm sure if hoops was legitimately a MAC contender I'd be more apt to make the trip. But this program is below average right now and is a hard watch. Makes justifying a trip down harder.
Football is a whole other discussion. They're a contender but they don't care about local fans after October.
I'd add Xavier to your list. That's a great arena and Big East hoops is a good watch. I could never bring myself to supporting Ohio State ... plus that arena is a boring atmosphere. Way too big and cavernous.
Xavier for me, as a UC fan (dad is an alum), is out of the question. I do want to go to one game there though sometime, as I've never been in there. OSU is convenient - 15 mins from work, 20ish from home. Also, they offer a cheap ticket option I just learned about that I plan on checking out next year. I vehemently dislike the football team and OSU football fan culture, but I'll root for the basketball team on occasion, and I really like Coach Holtmann. And, I like watching entertaining college basketball, which they generally provide. Agree on the arena though - it's a little void of character. But, on the plus side, they'll let you leave from any exit when it comes time to leave, and they have restrooms painted since the internet was established. ;)
Ohio Football, for me, as long as I can get 3 home games, is well, well worth the money. I honestly don't even care who they play. I'm there for tailgating, fall in Athens, hanging with friends, and then lastly, the football.
With basketball, it's more related to WHEN games are scheduled and then this mickey mouse moving games stuff after I've made plans that's my issue. I'm enough of a fan of mid-major college hoops that games like a good Radford or Iona team, are more than enough of a sell for me. And, I can and do come on weeknights/Friday's, but I buy tickets primarily to plan on spending Saturday's in Athens through the season. I get unhappy when that's taken away, and the social aspect of it with friends gets screwed up so that 100,000 people can watch it on CBSSN or ESPNU, or worse, ESPN3.
Beyond that, related to basketball, its the way game day's are run, and how 7-8 year upper bowl season ticket holders are suddenly treated the same as anyone who walks up day of game. And how the fan can't walk up to, and into the concourse in any spot they want to walk to their seat in the upper bowl without getting harassed by 3 security people when there's a "crowd" of 3500 people. And how there's rarely enough light outside during night games....you get the picture. They don't seem to pay attention to, or do a good enough job with little details, and unless you're giving $500 and up a year, they don't seem to think you're important. And that, in my opinion, starts at the top, which why I'm increasingly critical of Jimmy.