Should college hoops wait until after Thanksgiving to start its season?

[JonDMiller]

interesting read here...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/s...-irrelevant.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=sports

It wasn't until the late 1990's that the sport began playing games prior to thanksgiving, and then it was if you were in the Alaskan Shootout or some preseason tourney. In Iowa's 1986-1987 great season, their first game of the year was 11/28. In 1992-1993 their first game was 12/1.

Unless you are a hardcore fan, people don't start to focus on college hoops much until December and even then it only really picks up once conference season begins.

If you pushed the start of the season back to the week after thanksgiving, you could still have the first wekend of the NCAA tournament during the last week of March.

 

[hawkfarmer]

The first game I got to see all season was the Iowa State game. Just wasn't in bball mode yet. So I think they should wait, but hey, that's just one fan's opinion.

 

[Section136]

No, especially when we just sat through the type of football season we did.

 

[DwayneTwill]

Moar basketball! Pushing it back is a terrible idea.

 

[eyekwah]

The article left out that classes now start much earlier than labor day. In the 60's and early 70's classes didn't start until after labor day, which is three weeks earlier than in the past. In terms of the college calendar they really aren't starting any earlier.

Attendance for non-conference games has always lagged conference games. Some of the decline in attendance can be explained by more televised games, economic costs to attend more games when you must drive a considerable distance, and uncompetitive match-ups.

The NCAA tournament qualifying is partly responsible for attendance woes in the early season. Programs are trying to pad their resume for the "committee", the whole idea of strength of schedule came about because some programs were promoting wins over inferior competition in order to get in as an "at large". I don't blame the mid-majors for wanting to play the big boys, but it was the big boys that started the arms race to qualify for the tourney.

In my estimation men's college basketball has become more seedy. There too many shady characters in the background.

 

[redhawk55]

didn't the NCAA put into effect, no games during tests at the end of the semester?

 

[CPHAWK82]

I've watched every Iowa game this year and couldn't wait for them, but I'm diehard. The only benefit I could see is basketball having all the eyes to themselves which would be better exposure of your school early on and some more games would get picked up by tv. Selfishly, I don't want it pushed back.