Fran quietly putting together a nice 24 class

Doesn’t matter if they win, have exciting basketball, good players …. Doesn’t matter. Some invisible force field of an excuse about a Sweet 16 which would be realistically just an extra basketball game is bullshit. If Iowa makes a S16 this year, next year ain’t nobody showing up.

At this point it’s the fans not the product, no one cares about IA hoops.
Really wish I could argue this but the empty seats kinda speak for themselves. This isn't new. Far from it. And on the nights when the weather sucks and the folks in Polk county decide not to venture over it hurts even more. Is what it is I think. Need some sort of culture change but it'll take someone smarter then me to know what all that'll take
 
Really wish I could argue this but the empty seats kinda speak for themselves. This isn't new. Far from it. And on the nights when the weather sucks and the folks in Polk county decide not to venture over it hurts even more. Is what it is I think. Need some sort of culture change but it'll take someone smarter then me to know what all that'll take
I remember reading somewhere that BG was looking at some changes like getting the students closer to the court. I hope whoever designed Carver isn't finding more work.
 
I remember reading somewhere that BG was looking at some changes like getting the students closer to the court. I hope whoever designed Carver isn't finding more work.
I'd heard that too. We'll see if she stirs that pot and if it'll even help much. The big $ boosters that sit on their hands all game don't seem to want to give up there seats so something would have to give
 
I'd brought up fans in Polk county and central Iowa that go to games. I'd be curious to know about how many that is. I know it's probably a significant number for both football and hoops. As I used to be one of them that cruised back and forth on I 80. It kinda surprised me because when you think that within a closer radius of say 60-70 miles you have Cedar Rapids/and the quad cities population. So when Iowa gets bashed for poor attendance I'd look at those folks first before the Polk and Dallas county ones. Try to get more of them to attend would be my goal if I'm her
 
I'd heard that too. We'll see if she stirs that pot and if it'll even help much. The big $ boosters that sit on their hands all game don't seem to want to give up there seats so something would have to give
Maybe they can create them some more luxurious accommodations further away from the court.
 
This perception with regard to Iowa fans and attendance is interesting, but general assumptions are questionable.

Specifically: The night or day of the week the game is played speaks loudly to attendance. The starting time, mixed with the game day, is an absolutely dominating impact. Drive from out of town on a Tuesday for an 8:00 pm start. Doubtful. Bring your kids to a game like that, Never.

The opponent matters big time, duh. BT games are pretty well attended, but see the statement above as a qualifier.

The oft repeated charge that the big donors are all old people is false. Of course, some are, duh.

The oft repeated charge that the old folks don't cheer is simply false. I can see them very well from my seat. Yup. I am old. And, continually disruptive, rude, loud, and dispute every call that goes against my Hawkeyes.

Say what you will about CHA. The fact is that there are virtually no bad seats in the arena.

Put the students nearer to the floor. Good idea. But, the pep band and the student section is not exactly a weak sister. And, the spirit squads do the game justice. So does Herky, who spends time in the stands posing for pictures with fans, mostly the little tikes. BTW: Wisconsin's Kohl Center has seating that is essentially the same as CHA. And, the students sit in the end zone. And, they sell out the student tickets every season, and very few freshman can even get a seat. So, ?.

I would also suggest that the arena layout, with the concourse at the top is both unique and has the appearance looking down at the seating of a "snake pit." Maybe that was the idea?

Two comments: What is this thing about attendance at one pre-season game becoming the sign post for the season? The sign post for me was seeing our new freshman on the floor for a lot of minutes! That was outstanding. Secondly, I have been a season ticket holder through Alford, LackLuster, and Fran. I sit in row 25, dead center court across from the bench. I rarely miss a game. Every time I read another thread about the horror story that is CHA, I just shake my head, roll my eyes like a middle schooler, and think, "Good grief. These idiots have not been to many, if any, games in CHA.
 
Have your seen the home schedule? Beyond awful. Yes, good for a young team but gonna be some Boring games. Not a ranked team until conference season starts. The road games will be a test. Not going to sell out like the ladies. Unathletic guys shooting 3's and playing bad defense doesn't demand attendance. This team will struggle badly on the road, rebounding is gonna be their main weakness along with interior defense. One athlete on the NDS team was head and shoulders better than any of the Hawks. Love the Hawks but this is a rebuilding year. I say this as a fan who picked Iowa to finish in the top 5 in the Big for the last 3 years. Not this year, but that's OK the journey is part of the fun. I really like the freshman.
Looks a lot like this year's home football schedule, but they still seem to pack the house.
 
I'd heard that too. We'll see if she stirs that pot and if it'll even help much. The big $ boosters that sit on their hands all game don't seem to want to give up there seats so something would have to give
Convince those boosters that climbing all those rows from their seats down near the court damages their knees more and more every year and that it would be easier on their bodies to sit up closer to the concourse.

:)
 
This perception with regard to Iowa fans and attendance is interesting, but general assumptions are questionable.

Specifically: The night or day of the week the game is played speaks loudly to attendance. The starting time, mixed with the game day, is an absolutely dominating impact. Drive from out of town on a Tuesday for an 8:00 pm start. Doubtful. Bring your kids to a game like that, Never.

The opponent matters big time, duh. BT games are pretty well attended, but see the statement above as a qualifier.

The oft repeated charge that the big donors are all old people is false. Of course, some are, duh.

The oft repeated charge that the old folks don't cheer is simply false. I can see them very well from my seat. Yup. I am old. And, continually disruptive, rude, loud, and dispute every call that goes against my Hawkeyes.

Say what you will about CHA. The fact is that there are virtually no bad seats in the arena.

Put the students nearer to the floor. Good idea. But, the pep band and the student section is not exactly a weak sister. And, the spirit squads do the game justice. So does Herky, who spends time in the stands posing for pictures with fans, mostly the little tikes. BTW: Wisconsin's Kohl Center has seating that is essentially the same as CHA. And, the students sit in the end zone. And, they sell out the student tickets every season, and very few freshman can even get a seat. So, ?.

I would also suggest that the arena layout, with the concourse at the top is both unique and has the appearance looking down at the seating of a "snake pit." Maybe that was the idea?

Two comments: What is this thing about attendance at one pre-season game becoming the sign post for the season? The sign post for me was seeing our new freshman on the floor for a lot of minutes! That was outstanding. Secondly, I have been a season ticket holder through Alford, LackLuster, and Fran. I sit in row 25, dead center court across from the bench. I rarely miss a game. Every time I read another thread about the horror story that is CHA, I just shake my head, roll my eyes like a middle schooler, and think, "Good grief. These idiots have not been to many, if any, games in CHA.
Correct about the Kohl Center. But the Kohl has one huge advantage that Carver doesn't. Numerous bars and restaurants withing easy wasking distance, even if they did close down my beloved Buckingham's

I've gone to games at Carver for forty years. Never had an issue with the arena itself. But it's going to be tough to draw against the most famous college basketball player on the planet, male or female. My wife and I earlier tonight looked into getting tickets for the Iowa women's game in Madison in December and they were severely jacked up.

When the women draw fourteen five for their first game and the men half that much it's noticeable. Add wrestling and most consumers can only stretch their leisure dollars so far.
 
Doesn’t matter if they win, have exciting basketball, good players …. Doesn’t matter. Some invisible force field of an excuse about a Sweet 16 which would be realistically just an extra basketball game is bullshit. If Iowa makes a S16 this year, next year ain’t nobody showing up.

At this point it’s the fans not the product, no one cares about IA hoops.
The proof is the seasons where we have great regular seasons and lose early in the post season. It's not like you don't care the entire season because you already know they will lose early in a month. Fran has had quite a few really good regular seasons. Fans still don't show up regularly. I think some of it is the drive. A lot of it is the parking.
 
Sadly, when Clark moves on, so will the big crowds.
I bet you're right.. Clark is box office. The team is kinda along for the ride and are the beneficiaries of all that is 'Clarkanomics' How good is this team without Clark? Rated #3 currently and will be higher then that the next time the rankings come out. But what would they be if the worst happened and Clark couldn't play anymore? Tough to say but I bet they aren't a top 10 team. Would they even be a top 25 team? Clarks impact is just immeasurable.
 
There is no substitute for Clark. But the team I watched last night looked a whole lot better this early than last year's team. I thought each point guard ran the team pretty well. Our starting center did not play. Their center is their star and is at least four inches taller than any of our players. And we won.
 
I'd brought up fans in Polk county and central Iowa that go to games. I'd be curious to know about how many that is. I know it's probably a significant number for both football and hoops. As I used to be one of them that cruised back and forth on I 80. It kinda surprised me because when you think that within a closer radius of say 60-70 miles you have Cedar Rapids/and the quad cities population. So when Iowa gets bashed for poor attendance I'd look at those folks first before the Polk and Dallas county ones. Try to get more of them to attend would be my goal if I'm her


Those 8 o’clock tips during the week are tough. You are not getting home until at least midnight, if not later. I understand those from central Iowa that cherry pick 3 or 4 basketball games a year to go to.

Btw, the men and women’s team play a back-to-back doubleheader at Wells Fargo in a couple of weeks. Tickets were sold out like 20 minutes after they went on sell. The women are the headliner, which they should be and they will play the late game.
 
Maybe beating a dead horse, give students free transportation to and from Carver. Also reduced admission priced tickets.

Show a valid student ID get free pizza slices. Obviously, you would not do it for every home game, but against some of these lesser opponents why not try it. For example, this Friday against Alabama St. you could get a little gimmicky.
 
The proof is the seasons where we have great regular seasons and lose early in the post season. It's not like you don't care the entire season because you already know they will lose early in a month. Fran has had quite a few really good regular seasons. Fans still don't show up regularly. I think some of it is the drive. A lot of it is the parking.
I don't think we're attracting enough young fans. Obviously they have more diversions with everythin growing up post millennial but I remember being in middle school and high school and watching Iowa hoops was appointment TV. That carried over to attending games.
 

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