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Thread: UC basketball vs. UC football

  1. #1
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    UC basketball vs. UC football

    How many of you consider yourselves UC basketball fans, but not UC football fans. And by fans I mean you actively follow the program, go to the majority of games or at least listen on the radio/watch on tv the games that you cannot attend.

    If you consider yourself a fan of the basketball program but impartial to the football program, why is that?

    Also, how many of you consider yourselves UC basketball fans and OSU football fans? I'm trying to get a feel for why it's so difficult for UC football to get anyone to their games. They have a pretty good team this year, cheap tickets (starting at $10), and several activities on campus leading up to the games as well as a nice stadium. I really think the football program is rising, and has potential to turn themselves around as Louisville has done in the recent past. However, I'm not so sure that the "fans" will come out and support them until they do something big like the bball team did with the final four. Anybody have thoughts on this?

    I'm a member of a UC message board where there is all kinds of discussions on this, and I just wanted to see how many people over here fit the bill of being UC fans but only for basketball.


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    Member Cedric's Avatar
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    Re: UC basketball vs. UC football

    It's simple. No tradition and no ties. A commuting campus must have tradition or a big name coach (Huggins) that brings the fans in. When Gino Guiduli is in your ring of honor already you got problems.

    There are VERY few UC Bearcat football fans from birth. There are no family ties and tradition.
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    Re: UC basketball vs. UC football

    I'm a big UC basketball fan, could care less about the football team. It isn't just UC football though, I'm not a fan of football in general. I don't watch the Bengals or OSU either.

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    Re: UC basketball vs. UC football

    I don't follow the basketball program as much as I used to. I never followed the football program in the past, and I've started to. I don't really have much more than a casual interest in either program.
    Over the years, my interest in basketball in general has waned, while my interest in football has increased. If I weren't a graduate of UC, I don't think I would follow the football team at all.
    I think I really enjoy both teams more since the move to the Big East. I like the notion of being an underdog in a major conference. It's much more enjoyable for me than being the big fish in a little pond.
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    Re: UC basketball vs. UC football

    My family has season tickets to the UC football team. I've yet to determine why. They drag me along from time to time. It bores me to tears, apart from the members of my family themselves, who are very entertaining.

    They do not follow basketball as much. i think they just like football better than basketball and this is cheaper and more family-friendly than the Bengals. I couldn't really tell you why they are such an exception, since as I said, I don't really pay much attention. But there you have it: some people do follow the football team and not the basketball team.
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    Rally Onion! Chip R's Avatar
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    Re: UC basketball vs. UC football

    I think one big problem that UC football has - and I know this sounds silly - no place to tailgate. I know about the practice field where they have games and stuff going on but that seems very contrived to me. If you want to park, you have to do it in the garages. Does not make for a real good time.

    I think another thing is that it is a commuter college. A lot of students are from Cincinnati and the surrounding area. When Friday afternoon comes they go home. They aren't staying on campus because they don't have to. If the public doesn't see the students at the game they probably figure they shouldn't go either.

    I used to go to 3-4 UC games a year when I first moved here. That was more because my girlfriend at the time was a UC student. I was there for the Wisconsin game. It was a great atmosphere but they were playing a Big 10 team who brought a lot of fans. I think if UC Football had had success like UC hoops has had recently, it might be more popular. It's not like people don't like football here. They're crazy about high school football and are passionate about the Bengals. Stands to reason UC football should be popular as well. It's not like they don't recruit local players either.

    I don't necessarily think it's one thing that is to blame. It's a lot of little things. I think they ae going in the right direction. They have some good rivalries in the Big East with WV and Pitt and LOU and Syracuse. But sometimes you can't pay people to go to your games. Like when the Reds were playing the Padres and they cut ticket prices and sold $1 hot dogs. They didn't get any more than they would have if they had sold them at regular price. The fans lost interest. Right now, UC fans don't have much interest in the team.
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    SERP Emeritus paintmered's Avatar
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    Re: UC basketball vs. UC football

    UC does have a tailgating lot. It's not much of one, but they do have one. It's located alongside the baseball field in front of Edwards.

    As for the lack of fans, it's fairly obvious that this city won't support a team that doesn't have success. We're seeing that with the Reds right now. No amount of advertising and marketing got fans to the ballpark in September. The Bearcats are going through similar struggles. Saturday is homecoming, so that will help with attendance - although I'm worried about the weather forecast. Precipitation tends to drive the UC crowds away.

    UC football is definetly headed in the right direction. They were picked to only win 3-4 games this year but now have a legitimate shot of ending up in a bowl game. The core of the team is in their sophomore season, so this team is going to do nothing but improve between now and 2008.

    I expect to see 8-9 wins out of them next year. Maybe that will be enough to get them over the hump and see attendance increase.
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    Re: UC basketball vs. UC football

    Quote Originally Posted by Chip R View Post
    I think another thing is that it is a commuter college. A lot of students are from Cincinnati and the surrounding area. When Friday afternoon comes they go home. They aren't staying on campus because they don't have to. If the public doesn't see the students at the game they probably figure they shouldn't go either.
    I hear people saying this all the time, and I'm not so sure how true it is. There's 3500 students living on campus and at least 10,000 more within a mile of campus.

    I've been here over four years now and the vast majority of people I know (many from cincinnati) are still around campus on the weekends. The bigger concern is apathy, not commuting.
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    Rally Onion! Chip R's Avatar
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    Re: UC basketball vs. UC football

    Quote Originally Posted by paintmered View Post
    UC does have a tailgating lot. It's not much of one, but they do have one. It's located alongside the baseball field in front of Edwards.

    As for the lack of fans, it's fairly obvious that this city won't support a team that doesn't have success. We're seeing that with the Reds right now. No amount of advertising and marketing got fans to the ballpark in September. The Bearcats are going through similar struggles. Saturday is homecoming, so that will help with attendance - although I'm worried about the weather forecast. Precipitation tends to drive the UC crowds away.

    UC football is definetly headed in the right direction. They were picked to only win 3-4 games this year but now have a legitimate shot of ending up in a bowl game. The core of the team is in their sophomore season, so this team is going to do nothing but improve between now and 2008.

    I expect to see 8-9 wins out of them next year. Maybe that will be enough to get them over the hump and see attendance increase.
    That's good. I haven't been to a game in 5 years so I didn't know about the new lot. I have been to more UC football games than basketball games though. I don't have any horse in this race but I do root for UC. I believe you when you say that fans here only support successful teams.

    But how successful does UC have to be? Do they have to go to BCS bowls every year? Should they stop scheduling teams like tOSU and get some lower level teams to play them for an easy win? They went to several bowls during the Minter years and it didn't seem to matter even when the Bengals and Reds were down.
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    Re: UC basketball vs. UC football

    Quote Originally Posted by Chip R View Post
    They went to several bowls during the Minter years and it didn't seem to matter even when the Bengals and Reds were down.
    Right, but let's take a look at the bowl game affiliations between CUSA and the Big East:

    Big East:
    BCS game
    Gator Bowl
    Sun Bowl
    Meineke Car Care Bowl
    Texas Bowl
    International Bowl
    Birmingham Bowl

    CUSA:
    GMAC Bowl
    Liberty Bowl
    Armed Forces Bowl
    Birmingham Bowl
    New Orleans

    Are any of those CUSA bowl affiliations going to inspire a fanbase? Absolutely not. The New Orleans Bowl win did nothing for this program a few years ago.

    But there are some very attractive bowls the Big East will send teams to this year. I don't think it's going to take a BCS bid, but if UC could make it to the Sun or Gator Bowl, that should be enough to charge the fanbase.

    Also, next year's non-conf schedule for UC is going to be much more sane than this year's schedule. There is still one game left to schedule, but the other four are Fresno St., Marshall, Miami (Oh), and I-AA S.E. Missouri St. Going into Columbus and Blacksburg in the same year is rediculous.
    Last edited by paintmered; 10-25-2006 at 09:45 PM.
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    Re: UC basketball vs. UC football

    Quote Originally Posted by paintmered View Post
    Right, but let's take a look at the bowl game affiliations between CUSA and the Big East:

    Big East:
    BCS game
    Gator Bowl
    Sun Bowl
    Meineke Car Care Bowl
    Texas Bowl
    International Bowl
    Birmingham Bowl

    CUSA:
    GMAC Bowl
    Liberty Bowl
    Armed Forces Bowl
    Birmingham Bowl
    New Orleans

    Are any of those CUSA bowl affiliations going to inspire a fanbase? Absolutely not. The New Orleans Bowl win did nothing for this program a few years ago.

    But there are some very attractive bowls the Big East will send teams to this year. I don't think it's going to take a BCS bid, but if UC could make it to the Sun or Gator Bowl, that should be enough to charge the fanbase.

    Boy, I dunno, paint. The Gator Bowl is about the only one out there that's worth a darn. Let's face it, if it isn't being played on or after New Years day, nobody really gives a hoot. I may be way off but I don't see a lot of UC folk heading to either Jacksonville or El Paso to watch a 7-4 or 8-3 team.

    The bowl affiliation with the conferences is a problem too. Let me give you an example. Back in the 70s, Iowa had a horrible football program. They hired Hayden Fry and petty soon they started going to bowls, the first of which was the Rose Bowl. Now there weren't so many bowls back then so most of them had some panache to them. I believe they played in the Gator Bowl one year, Holiday Bowl another, Peach Bowl another year. They were going to different bowls every year with a trip to Pasadena thrown in there every few years. But in the 90s they started doing these conference tie ins with the bowls. Some of the other doormats of the Big 10 improves as well like Wisconsin and MSU and Purdue and even Northwestern. Plus they added Penn St. Iowa started getting mediocre. They would finish about 4th or 5th about every year and were obligated to go to the Sun Bowl or the Alamo Bowl. The first couple of years was OK but after that people lost interest because they were going to the same bowls every year. Nothing against San Antonio but my friends and I took to calling the Alamo bowl the Al-Lame-o Bowl. People like going to different places. If they don't make the BCS game, UC is going to be in the same situation. After a few years it will be, "Ho hum, we made the Sun Bowl again." or "Another Gator Bowl. Big deal." I can just see Daugherty writing a column on how there are too many bowl games and UC is going to a boring game. And I can hear the Angry Guys snarking about El Paso or Birmingham. And it won't be a lot different than the Minter years. I really think they are going to have to go to a BCS bowl or two to charge that fanbase.
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    SERP Emeritus paintmered's Avatar
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    Re: UC basketball vs. UC football

    Quote Originally Posted by Chip R View Post
    Boy, I dunno, paint. The Gator Bowl is about the only one out there that's worth a darn. Let's face it, if it isn't being played on or after New Years day, nobody really gives a hoot. I may be way off but I don't see a lot of UC folk heading to either Jacksonville or El Paso to watch a 7-4 or 8-3 team.

    The bowl affiliation with the conferences is a problem too. Let me give you an example. Back in the 70s, Iowa had a horrible football program. They hired Hayden Fry and petty soon they started going to bowls, the first of which was the Rose Bowl. Now there weren't so many bowls back then so most of them had some panache to them. I believe they played in the Gator Bowl one year, Holiday Bowl another, Peach Bowl another year. They were going to different bowls every year with a trip to Pasadena thrown in there every few years. But in the 90s they started doing these conference tie ins with the bowls. Some of the other doormats of the Big 10 improves as well like Wisconsin and MSU and Purdue and even Northwestern. Plus they added Penn St. Iowa started getting mediocre. They would finish about 4th or 5th about every year and were obligated to go to the Sun Bowl or the Alamo Bowl. The first couple of years was OK but after that people lost interest because they were going to the same bowls every year. Nothing against San Antonio but my friends and I took to calling the Alamo bowl the Al-Lame-o Bowl. People like going to different places. If they don't make the BCS game, UC is going to be in the same situation. After a few years it will be, "Ho hum, we made the Sun Bowl again." or "Another Gator Bowl. Big deal." I can just see Daugherty writing a column on how there are too many bowl games and UC is going to a boring game. And I can hear the Angry Guys snarking about El Paso or Birmingham. And it won't be a lot different than the Minter years. I really think they are going to have to go to a BCS bowl or two to charge that fanbase.
    Personally, I find that scenario quite appealing compared to the current situation. Face it, half the city doesn't know there's even major college football being played here. UC hasn't been to anything higher than a third-tier bowl game since I was born. A Sun Bowl birth would at least make people notice. Iowa doesn't have a problem getting fans to home games, do they? Of course not.

    I do agree that UC fans aren't going to travel to see this team in anything less than a New Year's Bowl. But right now, the objective is to get people to travel to Nippert first so there are more than 15,000 there for nationally televised games.
    Last edited by paintmered; 10-25-2006 at 10:48 PM.
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    Re: UC basketball vs. UC football

    Going to any bowl now is going to be better than the alternative to the fans and the team. But trust me, after a few years of going to the same old bowls it's going to get old. It'll be like UC hoops during the last few ears of the Huggins regime. During the Tony Yates era, 20 wins a year and just making the NCAAs would have been a dream come true. But after a Final 4 appearance, some Elite 8s and Sweet 16s not to mention all the CUSA championships and Kenyon Martin's senior year, just making the NCAAs wasn't that special anymore.

    UC may not get to that Final 4 level and making bowl games will be great. But eventually they are going to have to get to the next level if they want to keep that support.

    There are so many good things about UC football that they shouldn't have to be a perennial top 25 team in order to sell out Nippert and get some media attention. The tickets are inexpensive, it's a more family friendly atmosphere than a Bengals game. Nippert isn't exactly the Horseshoe but it has its charms. Local kids are there playing. It's all good. But the problem is that they are going to have to be a top 25 team and go to BCS games if they want the support they are looking for.
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    Re: UC basketball vs. UC football

    Quote Originally Posted by Chip R View Post
    Going to any bowl now is going to be better than the alternative to the fans and the team. But trust me, after a few years of going to the same old bowls it's going to get old. It'll be like UC hoops during the last few ears of the Huggins regime. During the Tony Yates era, 20 wins a year and just making the NCAAs would have been a dream come true. But after a Final 4 appearance, some Elite 8s and Sweet 16s not to mention all the CUSA championships and Kenyon Martin's senior year, just making the NCAAs wasn't that special anymore.

    UC may not get to that Final 4 level and making bowl games will be great. But eventually they are going to have to get to the next level if they want to keep that support.

    There are so many good things about UC football that they shouldn't have to be a perennial top 25 team in order to sell out Nippert and get some media attention. The tickets are inexpensive, it's a more family friendly atmosphere than a Bengals game. Nippert isn't exactly the Horseshoe but it has its charms. Local kids are there playing. It's all good. But the problem is that they are going to have to be a top 25 team and go to BCS games if they want the support they are looking for.
    And how do you win? With constant top 30 recruiting classes. That's just not possible at this school. The program has zero tradition and not much in terms of aesthetics either. It's getting better, but it's still not the best. There are just too many potential options for the type of recruit that UC must get. They lose too much second tier talent to Miami and other schools.
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    Re: UC basketball vs. UC football

    I had a good friend who was a UC alumni and diehard basketball fan (during the Huggins era). He took me to a few UC basketball games about 10-12 years ago. He told me one time that I could go to a UC football game with him sometime if I was interested. I was sort of surprised when he told me that in order to have UC basketball season tickets he was also required by UC to buy football season tickets too. You could get football season tickets by themself, but you had to buy the football package in order to get the basketball package... take it or leave it. I cannot confirm it, but this friend was a real honest type.

    Is this still the case at UC?


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