Scholarship table
We also played Rutgers and South Florida too, but they were cupcakes (at best) in the Old Big East. Seton Hall, DePaul and Providence were also bottom-dwellers in the old conference, but they are now very competitive in conference play. It comes down to wins. Nothing more. You win, more fans come. Our schedule could have featured Duke, North Carolina, Indiana, Syracuse, UCLA, Arizona and a boat-load of other top programs, but the decreasing attendance (from MU fans/alumni) over the course of the season would have continued. With the rivalries that are being built in the New Big East, the competitive games will be there. It's up to Wojo and the team to win those games and for us fans to support the team during down times (like this year).
Submitted my survey. Not as dismayed by the results as some may be, probably because I feel we knew it was coming and can see the turnaround as well.I did raise issues with the scoreboard, my seating location, and the student section. It irks me that I get a better experience watching at home than I do at the game, and the scoreboard is a big part of that. Replays, updated statistics, knowing which players are actually in the game, these are all things that are lost because they waste the fantastic scoreboard we have. That needs to be improved upon.Can't speak for everyone, but my seats have moved back for three straight seasons now. Doesn't really feel like my loyalty is rewarded when they are pushing me further and further from the action. Also...did anyone else notice the Season Ticket Holder of the Game that got his tickets within the past 5 or so years? Was early in the year, but that really irritated me. STHOG should be going to someone who has at least 30 years as a STH. Again, not rewarding loyalty, instead just handing it out to any random schmuck. And while I'm sure it's tied to donations, it undermines loyalty, which should be just as important.I also griped about the student section. I think the students that do come do a great job, but how long can you say "best student section in the country" when I can count the number of students in the upper bowl on one hand and the lower bowl isn't filled? When they move the arena further north because UWM won't give up the old Mecca and the Bucks don't want to take the Grand Avenue location due to parking, it will only lessen the number of students that show up. We've seen what having an arena far away from campus has done to Georgetown and DePaul, and while we may not go to that level we will approach it. Walking 1.2 miles from Marquette to the BC is clearly already too much for some students in the Wisconsin winters, and while they'll fill the new arena for the first year, what will happen when the newness wears off? It will be a 1.5-2.0 mile walk, through frigid temperatures and often unshoveled sidewalks, and it will deter them.At best we'll have the "best student section in Milwaukee". I'd love to see Marquette chip $50-100 million into the new arena in hopes of getting it closer to campus rather than further away. I know, some will question the investment, but this investment is Marquette's most visible recruiting tool, not just for athletes but for students and for the University as a whole. When they build on 4th and McKinley, it won't be good for any of us, and definitely won't help the long-term student attendance numbers.
Lots of good comments. Someone needs to copy and share with the AD. I doubt he reads Scoop. From my point of view, these comments yield better insight than the survey.Game day experience is critical to the long term success.
I thought they should try to schedule some Friday night or Saturday night games next season.
Whether you think MU"s game day presentation is good or bad, the fact is, not much has changed since TC revamped it in the early 2000s. Imagine if we hired Quinn Snyder instead of TC. I think Crean did a lot of good for the gameday experience but we shouldn't be stuck with a program that is 10+ years old.
So Lens, you'd change what? I'm told that the students today absolutely want the pregame music traditions to remain as is. Now the in game promos could certainly use some improvement. That damn dice roll is horrible. And the fact that it seemingly always ends in a tie is even worse.
On the replay topic, I was at the DePaul creighon game last night and have been to Allstate before for MU but didn't notice that they show the live FS1 feed on the jumbotron during the game, complete with being able to see many of the replays. Maybe they usually cut them out, but at least last night I saw many replays.
Does anyone know why the "Big Heads" get smaller every year? They were basically just the size of real heads this year.
Never got a survey. How are they supposed to get to me? I have season tickets since 74 and have never gotten a t-shirt, pizza or anything in my row. The price of tickets per game went down but the total price stayed amount the same because of added costs. You can't keep on reducing the number of home games and increasing the total price of tickets. We have to have a chance in most games. I understand this is a throw away year. We have all the nice facilities, conference ties and other recruiting tools. We have to be able year after year get some good players.
Excellent point on Senior Day. How in the world does MU not do that before the game? Been way too many Senior Day's in the last 15 years after they'd lost a heartbreaker, which killed it, a lot of times for guys who you had a decent idea were going to be in the NBA the next year.
That's funny, I could have spoken to your class this year. We got the invite, but had to decline. I spoke at the class probably 20 years ago.