Article/essay on the front page.

http://www.ramblermania.net/

I'll say this much...the ticket office has been receptive to the things I have suggested regarding game day atmosphere. Because of that, I have developed a pretty good relationship with them. If you guys have ideas for improving attendance, pass them along. I'm more than happy to express those sentiments to the ticket office.

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Cigarboy sucks!

Just had a thought...

Do you think the shift in game day (more Sunday and Wednesday games) has caused some folks to not attend? Are Thursday/Saturday games truly more conducive to higher attendance?

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Cigarboy sucks!

Just a comment on this part. The MVC spaces it's games out on Tuesday/Wednesday and Saturday/Sunday for two main reasons. One, it gives us better officials. Especially the Sunday games since most of the big conference games take place on Saturdays. Having games on Sunday gives us better access to those guys. For the same reason, it helps get a little more TV time. Less competition on Sunday compared to Saturday.

With that said, a lot of people in Wichita don't like Tuesday games because it then competes with HS basketball. And we love our HS sports around here. That and it keeps some people away because they're playing or supporting their kids or friends at the HS level. Sunday games are typically not too bad unless it's a noon or 1pm tip in which case it can interfere a bit with church. That's also been a bit of a complaint for Wednesday games, but not as much. I could probably find "bad" things for just about any day of the week, but that sums up what we see pretty nicely I think.

I hope your attendance woes get figured out down the road. I am curious how much effect our pub will have when we come into town in a few weeks.

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The Roundhouse

Go - for me, yes. I travel a lot early in the week but am usually back around by Thursday. And I love Saturday afternoon games, but Sundays aren't a great day for anything other than a Bears game.

Directly across from LU's bench last night, there was 1 person sitting in the courtside seats. Even I'm the old arena, the floor seats used to be 80% full on a weeknight game.

I get why the MVC plays games when they do. I'm just curious what the effect is on attendance for us. After years of Thursday/Saturday games, I wonder if schedules just don't allow for attendance at Wednesday/Sunday games. Just speculation with nothing to support the claim.

I hope that winning will bring out the fans. Perhaps people will get excited about Doyle. It took some time for Schilb to be the big draw but I think folks were genuinely excited to watch him. It won't pack the place, but it certainly couldn't hurt.

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Cigarboy sucks!

Oh, gee! Can't wait to see the effects of your "pub!" Take a hike, please.

John - Yes, the attendance decline from last year to this year is concerning. What do you attribute the decline to? And if you cite the weather... Well, don't cite the weather.

Also, notice how you end your 1st two paragraphs:

1 - "But it’s an embarrassing way to make a debut into a new conference."

2- "In a league where attendance, game day atmosphere, and energetic rivalries are not only a point of pride, but a real source of strength for recruiting, fiscal stability, and personnel retention, Loyola’s rotten attendance has become a running joke and source of ridicule throughout the conference"

Here is your thesis: Our Conference rivals are making fun of us and that bothers me.


Honestly, who CARES what they think?

The questions - which you semi allude to - should be about why do the attendance numbers sit where they are today (A decline even though we have upgraded conferences)? And also what this mean for Loyola Athletics moving forward? Less revenue from tickets, less budgeted money for teams within this great University.

Note to Chicago Catholics: You may not know that Wednesday night is church night for many Protestants, particularly in the South and Southwest. At least I didn't know this until I tried to schedule a Little League practice on Wednesday and found out it was against league rules.

I am betting we will be full or close or full for Wichita if they maintain a top ten ranking.

This needs to be re-posted because it is that good. Please read this.

From Rambleon8390 - "That board is brutal. Porter talks about culture change, and although sometimes it can be annoying, he is right. I have been a fan for a long time and I finally can see the University putting the right focus on the program. That focus has been missing for a long time. The problem with culture change is that it does not happen overnight. Both students and alumni will become interested when we win consistently. We have upgraded our facilities and are starting to see an upgrade in talent. I believe that in time, hopefully sooner than later, that will translate to wins which will generate enthusiasm. For now we as alumni need to remain loyal fans and support this team by attending games and providing financial support if possible. Getting back to that board … I could not care less what is said about Loyola. Yes I am frustrated with some of these losses, but I am very proud of our university and the direction it is moving! Hang in there … we will see better days!"


Everyone should be very proud in the direction the university is moving in... Hang in there..

I'm not too overly concerned with what the MVCfans.com board says. I've pushed back on them there about their fixation on attendance, and I've mentioned it on this board. But when we suffer a 34% decline in attendance, I know that affects our athletic department budget, and it looks terrible to prospective recruits. It also turns our supposed home court advantage into a neutral site scrimmage game. I have no idea how we're doing with donations, but if people don't show up, I imagine it doesn't bode well.

And popularity attracts popularity. That is the critical mass effect. No one wants to live on a street with abandoned homes and vacant lots. No one wants to be the only person walking on a desolate stretch of sidewalk. It's the same thing when you go to a college basketball game and there are 900 people there amid 3800 empty seats, and you're one of three people in an entire section.

The embarrassment factor is tertiary. It's revenue, impressions to the people that matter (e.g. recruits, prospective students, current students, etc.) that matters to me, and we're not showing very much competence on that count. An 800 fan decline per game over the previous year represents approximately a quarter of a million dollars in lost revenue from tickets alone, not even counting other revenue (parking, souveniers, refreshments, donations, etc.). That's a big hole in a budget.