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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on May 31, 2021 18:53:28 GMT -5
HC doesn't win as much as they used to either.
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Post by trimster on May 31, 2021 19:35:24 GMT -5
Do not understand HC not playing BC, Fordham & Providence almost every season and Georgetown occasionally. These games should be scheduled long term regardless of the short term ups & downs of the various programs. These are natural rivals in b-ball. The HC game was always a big game at the Rose Hill Gym. There have been many memorable games with Providence. BC? Remember attending a game at Roberts Gym with RGS. Didn't he have press credentials? The BC crowd was nasty. It was not amusing. It was a great rivalry game. Want to improve attendance? It's a no-brainer. Many of the students in these schools know each other. These games should attract students from these schools. Set up buses. .Possibly, if Coach Nelson improves the quality of play with more hard nosed players who can hoop these schools will once again return to play against HC. Or, as in Coach Willard's day they might want to avoid us altogether 'cause we're too good. HA!!! What did these schools say when you checked with them? It takes them to agree to play, HC wanting to play, and HC has zero scheduling clout against any of them. According to my count of the year by year schedule in the archives, HC played 239 games against teams in the original Big East from 1945-1980. In the forty years since 1980, we have played 65 games against those schools. They have little to no interest in playing us. Throw in regular games prior to 1980 against NYU, UMass, Fordham, Fairfield and to a lesser extent URI as well as a solid in-season tourney and you have the makings of an appealing schedule.
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Post by longsuffering on May 31, 2021 20:35:31 GMT -5
HC also doesn’t get invited to name tourneys nearly as much as they used to. "It's so Rational, Worcester County National" -the late Steve Allen singing a jingle about the late Worcester County National Bank, which was sold to Shawmut Bank, which was sold to Bank of Boston, which was sold to Fleet Bank, which was sold to Bank of America. When Holy Cross hosted the Worcester County National Bank Christmas(?) Tournament at the Centrum, it appeared to be a natural fit that Central Mass sports fans could plan on for years to come like the Eastern Sprints or the regular PGA and LPGA tournaments at Pleasant Valley. A Worcester D-1 BB program hosting a quality holiday tournament at a quality arena downtown. For whatever reason it never caught on. And you can throw the PGA/LPGA tournaments onto the death pile, too. Yet sponsors, particularly the remaining local banks are tripping over themselves to get on the board at Polar Park. There is room for the ADMB administration to move the revenue sports at HC forward.
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Post by trimster on May 31, 2021 21:01:48 GMT -5
HC also doesn’t get invited to name tourneys nearly as much as they used to. "It's so Rational, Worcester County National" -the late Steve Allen singing a jingle about the late Worcester County National Bank, which was sold to Shawmut Bank, which was sold to Bank of Boston, which was sold to Fleet Bank, which was sold to Bank of America. When Holy Cross hosted the Worcester County National Bank Christmas(?) Tournament at the Centrum, it appeared to be a natural fit that Central Mass sports fans could plan on for years to come like the Eastern Sprints or the regular PGA and LPGA tournaments at Pleasant Valley. A Worcester D-1 BB program hosting a quality holiday tournament at a quality arena downtown. For whatever reason it never caught on. And you can throw the PGA/LPGA tournaments onto the death pile, too. Yet sponsors, particularly the remaining local banks are tripping over themselves to get on the board at Polar Park. There is room for the ADMB administration to move the revenue sports at HC forward. There can’t be too many arenas in America that have been as underutilized by the only D1 game in town as the DCU Center is by HC. It might as well have been on Mars as ten minutes away from HC.
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on May 31, 2021 21:23:01 GMT -5
^ Agree, but given no squad good enough to draw a decent crowd will come to Worc these days it doesn't make any sense to play there.
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Post by HC92 on May 31, 2021 21:29:17 GMT -5
Dating back to Dec 7, 1999, we have played 11 games at the DCU Center. The attendance in 10 of those 11 games has been somewhere between 1,574 and 3,821. The only game outside of that range was 1/17/06 when we drew 5,524 against BC. In the other 10 games, our opponents were UMass (3), BC (3), George Mason, Dayton, Iona and URI. So, unless we can get a bigger name opponent to come to town (highly unlikely), playing at the DCU is not that attractive.
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Post by trimster on May 31, 2021 21:51:31 GMT -5
Dating back to Dec 7, 1999, we have played 11 games at the DCU Center. The attendance in 10 of those 11 games has been somewhere between 1,574 and 3,821. The only game outside of that range was 1/17/06 when we drew 5,524 against BC. In the other 10 games, our opponents were UMass (3), BC (3), George Mason, Dayton, Iona and URI. So, unless we can get a bigger name opponent to come to town (highly unlikely), playing at the DCU is not that attractive. The big problem isn’t so much the opponent, it’s HC. The fans took a hike when HC decided it wasn’t in the entertainment business many moons ago. The mojo was lost.
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Post by longsuffering on May 31, 2021 22:12:34 GMT -5
Dating back to Dec 7, 1999, we have played 11 games at the DCU Center. The attendance in 10 of those 11 games has been somewhere between 1,574 and 3,821. The only game outside of that range was 1/17/06 when we drew 5,524 against BC. In the other 10 games, our opponents were UMass (3), BC (3), George Mason, Dayton, Iona and URI. So, unless we can get a bigger name opponent to come to town (highly unlikely), playing at the DCU is not that attractive. The big problem isn’t so much the opponent, it’s HC. The fans took a hike when HC decided it wasn’t in the entertainment business many moons ago. The mojo was lost. I hope playing a night game and the first football game ever at Polar Park this fall will be HC dipping it's toe back into the entertainment business and discovering the water is fine.
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Post by trimster on May 31, 2021 22:41:27 GMT -5
HC frittered away a once in a lifetime opportunity and from an athletic point of view, has paid a dear price for it. There have been some shining moments but even then, the black cloud of giving up scholarships hovered over the Duffner era on the gridiron and the end of the Blaney era on the hardwood. The Willard era was great but that was clearly an abberation. As I said earlier it is what it is and I do root hard for our programs to succeed. The average fan in Worcester County took a walk ages ago and two generations of fans have been lost.
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Post by hc87 on May 31, 2021 22:50:16 GMT -5
HC not joining the Big East in hoop has to go down as one of the worst decisions made by a college/university.....oh well.
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Post by timholycross on May 31, 2021 23:41:40 GMT -5
Dating back to Dec 7, 1999, we have played 11 games at the DCU Center. The attendance in 10 of those 11 games has been somewhere between 1,574 and 3,821. The only game outside of that range was 1/17/06 when we drew 5,524 against BC. In the other 10 games, our opponents were UMass (3), BC (3), George Mason, Dayton, Iona and URI. So, unless we can get a bigger name opponent to come to town (highly unlikely), playing at the DCU is not that attractive. The big problem isn’t so much the opponent, it’s HC. The fans took a hike when HC decided it wasn’t in the entertainment business many moons ago. The mojo was lost. Yep. The general public might go see a "big name" team, but that type of team has 0% chance of playing a game in Worcester, for both competitive and financial reasons. Heck, George Mason made the Final 4 the season before they drew flies to the DCU. And the in season tournaments (the Volunteer Classic, that sort of thing) that someone mentioned don't exist for mid majors any more. They've been replaced by events that are the sole property of the bigs.
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Post by rgs318 on Jun 1, 2021 4:57:47 GMT -5
Well, HC does not go to named tournaments, but does that necessarily mean they were not invited?
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Post by bigfan on Jun 1, 2021 6:16:26 GMT -5
We also played Notre Dame & Marquette @ the DCU. I believe that the ND game had around 7500 fans.
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Post by timholycross on Jun 1, 2021 6:45:25 GMT -5
I think the poster only listed games from 99 on. There was also a Maryland game (w/Len Bias as a freshman) that drew fairly well.
Again, that ship sailed and isn't coming back.
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Post by HC92 on Jun 1, 2021 6:47:50 GMT -5
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Post by trimster on Jun 1, 2021 8:00:38 GMT -5
Well, HC does not go to named tournaments, but does that necessarily mean they were not invited? Well I guess if they were and turned down invitations, that would fit their history of saying no.
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Post by sader1970 on Jun 1, 2021 8:06:36 GMT -5
I expect that with winning back-2-back PL championships in football coupled with a head coach with not only a dynamic personality but who has embraced Worcester, despite his Keystone State background, and playing a game in the new city-pride Polar Park that you will see more Worcesterites joining up to watch the Crusader gridders.
But, I see none of that in basketball. We have been losing - badly - not just against good and mediocre opponents but against teams that are not even D-1 level. The head coach is not only lacking dynamism, even some long time Crusader fans find him less than friendly. While he was undoubtedly one of the worst head coaches in HC basketball history, Sean Kearney had personality and Milan Brown at least made you feel he was eager to press the flesh with the fans. If you have a losing record but people like you, it'll buy you some time. If your record is atrocious and your personality doesn't bail you out, well . . . . . . . forget bringing in Worcester fans, probably a very short tenure.
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Post by HC92 on Jun 1, 2021 8:51:38 GMT -5
Ralph was not always dying to press the flesh with the fans but I couldn’t have cared less. He came to the Coach’s night at Chuck’s, made fun of a few players and left. Didn’t see him again until the next year. Kearney was real nice and friendly but that didn’t matter when I saw the team play. Just win, baby.
P.S. I’ve never met Nelson so I have no opinion of him personally. I would like to do Coach’s night again this year.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jun 1, 2021 9:19:25 GMT -5
The big problem isn’t so much the opponent, it’s HC. The fans took a hike when HC decided it wasn’t in the entertainment business many moons ago. The mojo was lost. Yep. The general public might go see a "big name" team, but that type of team has 0% chance of playing a game in Worcester, for both competitive and financial reasons. Heck, George Mason made the Final 4 the season before they drew flies to the DCU. And the in season tournaments (the Volunteer Classic, that sort of thing) that someone mentioned don't exist for mid majors any more. They've been replaced by events that are the sole property of the bigs. While George Mason was indeed coming off their Final Four season when they came to the DCU, they lost a lot to graduation and were not nearly the same team. Tney were good enough to beat PL champion Holy Cross but were probably 4th or 5th best CAA team that in 06-07. We should've won that game at the DCU. As far as big name teams, UMASS, URI and maybe BC are the best we can hope for. I remember being surprised that the attendance at the last BC game there (which we won) was actually slightly less than what would've fit into the Hart. Great atmosphere though, hope to be at the DCU for a game like that again. When I was a freshman, UCONN women came to the DCU. Not sure what the attendance was but I'd say thats the biggest name team we've gotten to come there since I've been following HC sports.
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Post by timholycross on Jun 1, 2021 9:28:32 GMT -5
I expect that with winning back-2-back PL championships in football coupled with a head coach with not only a dynamic personality but who has embraced Worcester, despite his Keystone State background, and playing a game in the new city-pride Polar Park that you will see more Worcesterites joining up to watch the Crusader gridders. But, I see none of that in basketball. We have been losing - badly - not just against good and mediocre opponents but against teams that are not even D-1 level. The head coach is not only lacking dynamism, even some long time Crusader fans find him less than friendly. While he was undoubtedly one of the worst head coaches in HC basketball history, Sean Kearney had personality and Milan Brown at least made you feel he was eager to press the flesh with the fans. If you have a losing record but people like you, it'll buy you some time. If your record is atrocious and your personality doesn't bail you out, well . . . . . . . forget bringing in Worcester fans, probably a very short tenure. What chance, exactly, did this guy have to interact with anyone in the last 15 months? He sure seems animated enough during the games, just like Milan did. And he got to Worcester pretty late too with a roster that, in line with your comments, was for the most part not at a D1 level. I generally like who he's recruited compared to his successor.
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Post by thecrossisback on Jun 1, 2021 9:29:08 GMT -5
Umass plays in a 9,000 seat arena and draws around 2-3k for fans.
Wish they would go back to that coaches vs cancer tournament at the Garden. Good matchups.
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Post by timholycross on Jun 1, 2021 9:30:10 GMT -5
Yep. The general public might go see a "big name" team, but that type of team has 0% chance of playing a game in Worcester, for both competitive and financial reasons. Heck, George Mason made the Final 4 the season before they drew flies to the DCU. And the in season tournaments (the Volunteer Classic, that sort of thing) that someone mentioned don't exist for mid majors any more. They've been replaced by events that are the sole property of the bigs. While George Mason was indeed coming off their Final Four season when they came to the DCU, they lost a lot to graduation and were not nearly the same team. Tney were good enough to beat PL champion Holy Cross but were probably 4th or 5th best CAA team that in 06-07. We should've won that game at the DCU. As far as big name teams, UMASS, URI and maybe BC are the best we can hope for. I remember being surprised that the attendance at the last BC game there (which we won) was actually slightly less than what would've fit into the Hart. Great atmosphere though, hope to be at the DCU for a game like that again. When I was a freshman, UCONN women came to the DCU. Not sure what the attendance was but I'd say thats the biggest name team we've gotten to come there since I've been following HC sports. I'd add PC to that list, it has been proven in the past if they have a good team they will travel in significant numbers up Route 146.
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Post by timholycross on Jun 1, 2021 9:30:57 GMT -5
Yep. The general public might go see a "big name" team, but that type of team has 0% chance of playing a game in Worcester, for both competitive and financial reasons. Heck, George Mason made the Final 4 the season before they drew flies to the DCU. And the in season tournaments (the Volunteer Classic, that sort of thing) that someone mentioned don't exist for mid majors any more. They've been replaced by events that are the sole property of the bigs. While George Mason was indeed coming off their Final Four season when they came to the DCU, they lost a lot to graduation and were not nearly the same team. Tney were good enough to beat PL champion Holy Cross but were probably 4th or 5th best CAA team that in 06-07. We should've won that game at the DCU. As far as big name teams, UMASS, URI and maybe BC are the best we can hope for. I remember being surprised that the attendance at the last BC game there (which we won) was actually slightly less than what would've fit into the Hart. Great atmosphere though, hope to be at the DCU for a game like that again. When I was a freshman, UCONN women came to the DCU. Not sure what the attendance was but I'd say thats the biggest name team we've gotten to come there since I've been following HC sports. I'd add PC to that list. Good fans who will come to The Woo in much larger numbers than BC.
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Post by sader1970 on Jun 1, 2021 10:29:11 GMT -5
tim, he’s had interactions with HC fans/alums and posters in his time here and to 92’s point, Ralph win, Brett hasn’t.
I am admittedly biased as while he’s run off players (statistically anyway), whether his players are better than what we lost has yet to be proven in the win/loss record I just don’t think all this turnover abandoning the culture of HC athletics has had positive results yet.
Ralph wasn’t warm and fuzzy but he won. That was my point. Winning forgives a multitude of sins. Losing, which Brett has done in record numbers, and better be a great shmoozer which he isn’t - at least not yet. Where’s his outreach to Worcester or the alums - or “Non Alums?” 😂
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jun 1, 2021 11:33:25 GMT -5
While George Mason was indeed coming off their Final Four season when they came to the DCU, they lost a lot to graduation and were not nearly the same team. Tney were good enough to beat PL champion Holy Cross but were probably 4th or 5th best CAA team that in 06-07. We should've won that game at the DCU. As far as big name teams, UMASS, URI and maybe BC are the best we can hope for. I remember being surprised that the attendance at the last BC game there (which we won) was actually slightly less than what would've fit into the Hart. Great atmosphere though, hope to be at the DCU for a game like that again. When I was a freshman, UCONN women came to the DCU. Not sure what the attendance was but I'd say thats the biggest name team we've gotten to come there since I've been following HC sports. I'd add PC to that list, it has been proven in the past if they have a good team they will travel in significant numbers up Route 146. But PC isn't going to agree to play us in Worcester. When was the last time they came up here -- early 1990s?
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