Non-Big East Conference Realignment Thread v. 2017

[kayako]

All I was addressing was that Dayton having a large NYC alumni base isn't impressive because so does everybody and the idea they could help the SJU/SHU attendance for 1 game a year because they didn't exactly show up in impressive numbers last time they were at SHU.

A10 used to play their conference tournament in Brooklyn, so I want to see some proof to this claim that they're the best traveling fans. All I was able to find was this fluff piece from 2013.

https://www.vcuramnation.com/2013/03/vc ... -brooklyn/

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

I want to see some proof to this claim that they're the best traveling fans.

Here you go:

There’s way more to Dayton basketball than you think – Fox Sports - November 6, 2014

Best Traveling Fans – NCAA.com video – November 2, 2016 (The segment for No. 1 Dayton begins at the 1:45 mark on the video.)

Dayton Flyers Lauded for Traveling Fan Base – Dayton Daily News - November 2, 2016

NCAA.com puts UD No. 1 for the Best Travelling Fans - Dayton Flyers.com – November 3, 2016

[Xudash]

All I was addressing was that Dayton having a large NYC alumni base isn't impressive because so does everybody and the idea they could help the SJU/SHU attendance for 1 game a year because they didn't exactly show up in impressive numbers last time they were at SHU.

A10 used to play their conference tournament in Brooklyn, so I want to see some proof to this claim that they're the best traveling fans. All I was able to find was this fluff piece from 2013.

https://www.vcuramnation.com/2013/03/vc ... -brooklyn/

Good luck finding proof that will satisfy you.

MSG BE Tournament attendance needs no help:

“There were people hanging over the Sky Bridges,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said of the 19,000-plus fans who filled the arena to its top level and shook the historic building with rambunctious noise. For the four-day-tournament total attendance was 78,222.

Besides, if traveling attendance were to become a top criterion, which it won't, then the Big East would be much better served going after UCONN or VCU.

[kayako]

I want to see some proof to this claim that they're the best traveling fans.

Here you go:

There’s way more to Dayton basketball than you think – Fox Sports - November 6, 2014

Best Traveling Fans – NCAA.com video – November 2, 2016 (The segment for No. 1 Dayton begins at the 1:45 mark on the video.)

Dayton Flyers Lauded for Traveling Fan Base – Dayton Daily News - November 2, 2016

NCAA.com puts UD No. 1 for the Best Travelling Fans - Dayton Flyers.com – November 3, 2016

3 of the 4 links are about that ncaa.com video, which says almost nothing other than good holiday tournament turnouts. The first link didn't really answer anything either.

[kayako]

Good luck finding proof that will satisfy you.

MSG BE Tournament attendance needs no help:

“There were people hanging over the Sky Bridges,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said of the 19,000-plus fans who filled the arena to its top level and shook the historic building with rambunctious noise. For the four-day-tournament total attendance was 78,222.

Besides, if traveling attendance were to become a top criterion, which it won't, then the Big East would be much better served going after UCONN or VCU.

It may or may not be the top criterion, and personally I couldn't care less about the MSG exclusivity, but it's up there. C7 paid over $100M to AAC to basically keep the name and MSG rights.

I am just curious if Dayton really has such great traveling fanbase, and if they showed up in great numbers in Brooklyn. I was only able to find that fluff piece with VCU fans apparently outnumbering other A10 teams.

[Xudash]

Good luck finding proof that will satisfy you.

MSG BE Tournament attendance needs no help:

“There were people hanging over the Sky Bridges,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said of the 19,000-plus fans who filled the arena to its top level and shook the historic building with rambunctious noise. For the four-day-tournament total attendance was 78,222.

Besides, if traveling attendance were to become a top criterion, which it won't, then the Big East would be much better served going after UCONN or VCU.

It may or may not be the top criterion, and personally I couldn't care less about the MSG exclusivity, but it's up there. C7 paid over $100M to AAC to basically keep the name and MSG rights.

I am just curious if Dayton really has such great traveling fanbase, and if they showed up in great numbers in Brooklyn. I was only able to find that fluff piece with VCU fans apparently outnumbering other A10 teams.

They tend to overstate their value, including on that metric.

Muddled links his crazy less than on point links and otherwise wants you to believe there are thousands upon thousands of alumni living in the NYC area coming from a school in OHIO that has a student population (total) of < 10k, and that they'll be backed up by planes-full of traveling alumni to soak up all the first session empty seats.

Hey, this overstating thing is fun.

Seriously, if we need to solve for this via an additio, UCONN wins hands down, with VCU coming in second.

[Hall2012]

I want to see some proof to this claim that they're the best traveling fans.

Here you go:

There’s way more to Dayton basketball than you think – Fox Sports - November 6, 2014

Best Traveling Fans – NCAA.com video – November 2, 2016 (The segment for No. 1 Dayton begins at the 1:45 mark on the video.)

Dayton Flyers Lauded for Traveling Fan Base – Dayton Daily News - November 2, 2016

NCAA.com puts UD No. 1 for the Best Travelling Fans - Dayton Flyers.com – November 3, 2016

3 of the 4 links are about that ncaa.com video, which says almost nothing other than good holiday tournament turnouts. The first link didn't really answer anything either.

I have noticed some impressive turnouts from them at early season tournaments, but when I hear "best traveling fan base" I expect them to show up in huge numbers at standard away games. That's what would help Big East attendance, and I've simply seen nothing to suggest they do that.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

Seriously, if we need to solve for this via an addition, UCONN wins hands down, with VCU coming in second.

University of Connecticut Enrolment: 32,000

XL Center, Hartford - Capacity: 16,294

Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs - Capacity: 10,167

UConn Huskies’ average home basketball attendance: 8,446 (through games of February 19th)

The Huskies’ fans don’t travel well to their home games, let alone away games.

UConn has no interest in joining the Big East, and won’t until they drop FBS football – which is not in the foreseeable future.

The Big East has absolutely no interest in VCU, and most likely never will.

The presidents of the 10 Big East institutions put a much higher premium on ‘institutional fit’ than many message board posters.

Previously posted:

There's conference camaraderie. There's rivalries coupled with mutual respect. There's commonality among institutions. There are shared goals. And significantly, there isn't any desire by schools to look elsewhere. Now, that's exactly what you want for a conference.

What must happen in order for that to fully come to fruition and be sustainable is what is happening now with the Big East: improving media numbers, successful conference championships, strong performances in the regular season, and post-season success in the NCAA Tournament.

Bottom line: the probability of the Big East adding big state schools UConn and VCU (enrolment: 31,000) is close to zero.

Enrolment

23,799 - DePaul University
20,448 - St. John's University
17,858 - Georgetown University
11,852 - BE Average
11,745 - Marquette University
10,735 - Villanova University

9,627 - Seton Hall University
8,236 - Creighton University
6,538 - Xavier University
4,848 - Butler University
4,687 - Providence College

[Gopher+RamFan]

VCU has had the best turnout in the A10 tourney when it was in Brooklyn. That was widely known, and even Fieldhouse Flyer should admit that much. This is it is in Pittsburgh which should help them, next year its in DC so the turnout from VCU will be massive.

VCU's great turnout at the conference tournament is buoyed by its performance: the Rams have appeared in every conference tournament final since 2011.

[Hall2012]

The Huskies’ fans don’t travel well to their home games, let alone away games.

I'm sorry, but that claim is just laughable. Attendance numbers from this year show nothing. They're having a dismal season and playing a schedule full of no-name schools that nobody cares about in the AAC. Ask a fan of any team from the old Big East, who played them regularly, and they'll tell you that UConn fans travel to road games as well as any fan base in the country. They filled the empty seats at Seton Hall and St. John's, both with their traveling fans and increased turnouts from home fans and neutrals because it's an exciting, big time opponent.

If they were to rejoin the Big East, just having their old conference branding back, being able to play their old rivals again - and play a good, competitive opponent in every league game would be enough to drive their attendance back to averaging a sellout. They will show up in droves to away games - at least the drivable ones - and pack MSG for the BET almost single handedly. And that's not even considering if they return to their old quality of competing for a national championship year in and year out.

There's a lot that I (and many others on here) don't like UConn for - but to claim their fans don't travel is just plain wrong.