Loyola Stream??

[unipanther99]

Flipping back and forth after our game last night I noticed there were a ton of empty seats at Okie State vs. Iowa State. Two ranked Big 12 teams and they still aren't selling out. Attendance is a problem almost everywhere.

[uniftw]

Flipping back and forth after our game last night I noticed there were a ton of empty seats at Okie State vs. Iowa State. Two ranked Big 12 teams and they still aren't selling out. Attendance is a problem almost everywhere.

It is, and Okie State has a real problem with it. I've noticed that over the last few seasons with them.

I took a screen grab of the UNI/Loyola game last night. When I get home tonight i"ll post it. It's of the side with the benches. The section behind the UNI bench is completely full, the middle section is 80% full with a high school basketball team, and side behind the Loyola bench and "upper sections" are 97% empty.

[Wufan]

I think the nationwide TV contracts is what has hurt butts in seats.

[hot nuts]

I think the popularity of college basketball is just not very high right now (unlike Jarrance Howard). Maybe it's because I live in Illinois and there just aren't any decent teams and my memories are from when Illinois was good year in and year out, but there is just not much interest anymore. It seems the national sports attention (especially in major cities) is 100% focused on NFL until after the Super Bowl...so that's 2.5 months where most sports fans don't even realize or care that college basketball is even going on. Even with the classic Duke/UNC game last night, when I tuned into ESPN radio this morning while I got ready and drove to work there was no coverage. This is why I bought XM, to listen to the college sports nation station. Throughout March college basketball will demand most of the sports media's attention, but the rest of the year CBB takes the back seat....I'm talking about the third row seating.

[ahunte1]

If it was 1700 last night (not even close) then about 1500 were UNI fans.

Were you at the game?

[uniftw]

If it was 1700 last night (not even close) then about 1500 were UNI fans.

Were you at the game?

Did you see the photo posted earlier in this thread that was taken from behind UNI's bench?

As I said, when I get home tonight I'll post the screen grab of the bench side of the arena. UNI's section was full. There was a HS team that took up most of the center section. The rest of that side was empty.

The ends, from camera angles on free throws, were also 90-95% empty.

There is no way there was 1700 people there.

[Rambler63]

And here's a pic of a tipoff at UCLA in January....

http://oi57.tinypic.com/16iy78l.jpg

[ahunte1]

If it was 1700 last night (not even close) then about 1500 were UNI fans.

Were you at the game?

Did you see the photo posted earlier in this thread that was taken from behind UNI's bench?

As I said, when I get home tonight I'll post the screen grab of the bench side of the arena. UNI's section was full. There was a HS team that took up most of the center section. The rest of that side was empty.

The ends, from camera angles on free throws, were also 90-95% empty.

There is no way there was 1700 people there.

No need to post photos for my benefit. I was at the game. I'm not saying there were 1,700 people there; most likely that was the number of tickets sold.

I just think it's funny when people think the crowd is 90% opposing fans because the camera shows that side.

[Aces44]

@PantherSigEp
Evansville didn't struggle when the Panthers played in Evansville.

[Rambler63]

I can't believe we're going through this discussion again.

School/Current RPI
Valpo 62
Loyola 127 (was 49 when Doyle injured ankle)
North Dakota State 130
Creighton 135
Belmont 155
Denver 258
UIC 295
UMKC 296

Now that the RPI objection has more or less dropped off the table, the attacks have turned to attendance and facility.

Valpo: Despite a 20+ win season and leading the HL, they've had three recent conference games (Detroit, Youngstown State, UIC) with fewer than 2000 in attendance, and their facility is worse than Loyola. Averages less than 2600 per game.
Loyola: Best crowds 4k vs. WSU, 3250 vs. Illinois State; averages about 2100 not counting two home non-D1 games.
North Dakota State: Largest home attendance this year was 3400 vs. South Dakota. Averages just over 2200.
Creighton: Fantastic attendance still, even under .500, although no-shows are more common.
Belmont: Averages 1920 per game in year after making NCAA appearance, 10th in OVC out of 12 teams, largest home attendance this year was 3018 vs. Lipscomb.
Denver: Averages 2000, had 1469 at last game vs. conference leader North Dakota State.
UIC: Averages 3032. Had 5449 for Loyola game, 5700 for Valpo (local rivalries), but had only 717 for a home league game vs. Cleveland State (may have been a postponement for weather).
UMKC: Biggest home crowd this year was 2937 vs. league leader NM State; had 1022 for the game before that.

However, for what it's worth, Loyola's league road attendance is 2nd in the MVC behind only WSU and third behind WSU and Bradley in all road games.

As some have pointed out, another option would have been for the MVC to stay put at 9 teams-- hoping that eventually St. Louis or-- I don't know, DUKE-- could have been wooed. In the chaotic fire drill of 2013, when 51 out of 347 D1 teams changed leagues, the MVC could have done much worse than Loyola.