mksioux Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 Ummmm...you must have missed the last home playoff game vs. Winona St. Barely 5000+ there for a PLAYOFF game. But to your credit, it was a morgue in the Alerus Sat. Yep, I missed the Winona State playoff game. I only can make about two games per year given where I live. This was the worst game I've personally attended. Quote
The Sicatoka Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 ... the "i wanted to sleep in excuse" ... Hey, I went to Friday hockey. I had to drive home and back for the Saturday double. (Hint: I don't live in Grand Forks County or an adjoining county.) And l slept in ... to all of 8:30 am! Quote
mksioux Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 The fact that people are going to wait in line for the hockey games worries me and makes me wonder why on earth they scheduled the Gopher Series for during football season! That just seems like bad planning on the athletic departments half. But what do I know? There had to be a reason, right? That's a valid point to raise. I'm pretty sure the WCHA schedules conference games, but I wonder what kind of input a particular AD can have in requesting adjustments? I don't think anyone thinks it is ideal to have the Gophers in town the second weekend of the season. Having it on a football weekend makes it even worse. It may be that the Gopher game was scheduled before the Sioux Falls game was scheduled and that football scheduling is so difficult, this combo weekend couldn't be avoided. Quote
Stromer Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 That's a valid point to raise. I'm pretty sure the WCHA schedules conference games, but I wonder what kind of input a particular AD can have in requesting adjustments? I don't think anyone thinks it is ideal to have the Gophers in town the second weekend of the season. Having it on a football weekend makes it even worse. It may be that the Gopher game was scheduled before the Sioux Falls game was scheduled and that football scheduling is so difficult, this combo weekend couldn't be avoided. It seems to me that when the USF game was first scheduled, it was for a Thurs night. Then it got moved to Sat afternoon. With FB games being hard to schedule this year, I am thinking they really were limited in trying to avoid hockey weekends. Which then makes me wonder why this game got moved from Thurs in the first place. Quote
GeauxSioux Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 Could it be they are using the Gopher games as a recruiting tool for football, mixing the football and hockey to dazzle young recruits? That could backfire if they see a half full Alerus on Saturday afternoon. Quote
Stromer Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 while I see your points, I spent 5 years at UND with the last year being the first where games didn't always start at 1pm. The student section was almost always close to full or full by 20 minutes to gametime. To use the "i wanted to sleep in excuse" is old and hello, the football team wanted to sleep in to, but they were there. The band is there, the cheerleaders and dance team are there. Which I know everyone knocks on the cheerleaders and dance team, but they are there before the football team some games. I agree that the triple-headers can hurt football attendance, but the die-hards will always be there. The fact that people are going to wait in line for the hockey games worries me and makes me wonder why on earth they scheduled the Gopher Series for during football season! That just seems like bad planning on the athletic departments half. But what do I know? There had to be a reason, right? Well this is my 5th year and with the exception of the first (2005-2006), the student section really wasn't that consistent. They showed up for the big games, homecoming, UNO, etc. but then would drop off against lesser known opponents. I think its easier to make exceptions for bigger games. For example, my friends started partying for homecoming before 10, even though the game wasn't until 4. Last week, you were lucky if anyone was even out of bed before 10. Different weather, different opponent, very different atmosphere. Quote
The Sicatoka Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 Sioux Falls is a pretty good team and they're the problem in the windshield. Quit looking in the mirror. USF seems to be focused on us, and why not: We're their "Texas Tech". Quote
bincitysioux Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 It seems to me that when the USF game was first scheduled, it was for a Thurs night. Then it got moved to Sat afternoon. With FB games being hard to schedule this year, I am thinking they really were limited in trying to avoid hockey weekends. Which then makes me wonder why this game got moved from Thurs in the first place. October 10 was originally supposed to be a bye week, hence the original Thursday Oct. 15 date for USF. Then Idaho St. bought out their Sept 12 game with us. Stony Brook was added to the schedule very late for October 10, so the USF game was moved to Oct 17 so it wouldn't be short week of preparation. There are alot of things that are certainly not ideal about this schedule, but it is what it is. To me, the worst thing about it is having all 5 home games in a 6 week stretch. Had to have been the lowest turnout for a Potato Bowl game in many years. Potato Bowl and homecoming have historically been the biggest draws (with the exception of NDSU). Quote
RD17 Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 There have been countless excuses/reasons for poor football attendance put forth over the years on this board, and although some do have merit, I think people are missing the deeper issue: The CULTURE of the university, community, and alumni base are what cause the issues with football attendance. UND has become so "hockey-centric" that many fans are only willing to support the other sports on campus if it doesn't interfere with their support of hockey. This hasn't always been the case. I can remember times in the early 90's when basketball at the Hyslop would outdraw hockey at the old REA when the games were being played on the same weekend. Keep in mind that I don't say any of this to disparage hockey... I'm smart enough to realize what the sport and the new REA have done for the visibility of the University and I'm a fan that follows the team as well. I knew this year would be a bit of a downer for football because the team isn't where it needs to be talent wise for the FCS level and with many of the home games being late in the season and conflicting with hockey, attendance might take a bit of a dive. I'm willing to live with those realities for now as some of the bumps in the road to becoming a full-fledged D-I program. But, in order for the D-I move to succeed long-term, UND must find ways to cultivate new fans and/or convince those that currently only follow the hockey program to buy into supporting the other major programs (football, men's/women's basketball) as well. I think having the national TV deal should help in that regard and when it comes to football, attendance only needs to increase by a little over 2K per game from what it has traditionally been at the Alerus to sell it out. If UND is reasonably successful in football and cannot reach a consistent 12K attendance level by the time the program is postseason eligible, then we have a problem. Quote
Let'sGoHawks! Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 Sioux Falls is a pretty good team and they're the problem in the windshield. Quit looking in the mirror. USF seems to be focused on us, and why not: We're their "Texas Tech". They have already sold 350 seats to their fans, with another 100 available. USF will be bringing close to 500 fans to this game...that is impressive for an NAIA school. Quote
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