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Post by rf1 on Apr 9, 2024 9:35:14 GMT -5
Jim Christian to Canisius.
Christian has had an interesting career with connections to many notable coaches. Started off playing college ball at BU before transferring to URI. Was on the URI 1988 Sweet-16 team coached by Tom Penders and assistant Al Skinner. Was later an assistant under Ralph Willard (WKU/Pitt), Herb Sendek (Miami-OH), and Stan Heath (Kent St) before eventually becoming head coach at Kent State, TCU, Ohio, BC, and now Canisius. Career record of 320-286 (.528) with two NCAA and five NIT appearances in nineteen seasons.
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Post by rf1 on Apr 9, 2024 9:31:05 GMT -5
Interesting, if true. Arkansas is a big time program, but not the same level as Kentucky. Seems like moving down the food chain it is moving down the food chain. However, Calipari was on a very hot seat, and might well been fired after next season. Now he locks up a new long-term contract. And he is going to a place where the fans will worship him, as opposed to Kentucky, were most of the fans wanted him fired. I am sure the Kentucky A.D. is ecstatic about this move. I wonder what the buyout, if any, for Calipari leaving Kentucky was. Would UK have been willing to waive it to facilitate a change?
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Post by rf1 on Apr 6, 2024 9:57:56 GMT -5
The CAA wouldn't have taken Bryant if they had a shot at Fordham. A few more media outlets in NYC than North Smithfield, in case lightning strikes and Fordham or Bryant makes a run in the playoffs. They don't have a shot at Fordham. Fordham isn't leaving the A10 for the CAA.
You assume the Fordham move to the CAA would have been for all sports. That was not the case for Bryant. They remained in the America East with only football going to the CAA.
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Post by rf1 on Apr 5, 2024 8:18:44 GMT -5
IIRC those brave few that watched the 33 inning game froze their ass off if the point someone's trying to make is that it's always sunny in Pawtucket.
While it was cold in the wee hours of that April morning, it was warm months later for the resumption of the 33rd inning which I was there to see.
While Pawtucket doesn't have tropical weather by any means, it is typically up to about 7 degrees warmer than Worcester in the colder months. It is at a much lower elevation and gets the effects of being closer to the moderating effects of the ocean (the river there is tidal with a seal actually having been once spotted swimming just below the Main Street falls a few decades ago). The temp difference often puts it south of the snow/rain line for many winter storms. That was the case with the last storm as there was zero snow in Pawtucket. The rain stopped by early afternoon and a game could have actually been played yesterday if the city still had a baseball team.
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Post by rf1 on Apr 4, 2024 11:24:36 GMT -5
It is my understanding that there was once a proposal many years ago for America East to take over control of Hockey East. Hockey East had less members then and AE schools made up a majority of its membership. BU was however not for it and it failed to go anywhere.
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Post by rf1 on Apr 4, 2024 9:43:23 GMT -5
Today's WooSox game has been cancelled for the second straight day due to the weather. It was for rain yesterday but today Polar Park is covered in snow. The home opener was however able to be played on Tuesday as the team reported a crowd of 8,422 in the 9,508 capacity stadium. The loss of two separate gate crowds (one game will become part of a single admission DH and the other will be played at Buffalo) so early in the season is not a good start.
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Post by rf1 on Apr 3, 2024 11:12:09 GMT -5
Would think with the difficulty of both filling the seats and even getting venues to submit host bids, the NCAA would be hesitant to increase the field. 16 of the 60 teams (26.6%) already make the men's hockey tourney. There is a percentage of teams that can make an NCAA tournament and I believe the hockey tournament is slightly over it right now.
As a point of reference, 18.8% (68 out of 362) teams make the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
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Post by rf1 on Apr 3, 2024 10:11:11 GMT -5
Right across the street from WPI at the corner of Salisbury Street and Park Ave. The new Holy Cross President's House is however very close to it.
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Post by rf1 on Apr 3, 2024 10:04:54 GMT -5
Would think with the difficulty of both filling the seats and even getting venues to submit host bids, the NCAA would be hesitant to increase the field. 16 of the 60 teams (26.6%) already make the men's hockey tourney.
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Post by rf1 on Apr 2, 2024 12:07:18 GMT -5
Maryland Heights, MO was the only site to sell out any of its games. It did so for all games as it had the lowest capacity of 3,148. None of the other three venues had a game that was close to selling out. The best attended games at these venues were 5,765 at Springfield (cap 6,800), 6,113 at Sioux Falls (cap 10,678), and 6,988 at Providence (cap 11,273). The Mullins Center up the road from Springfield in Amherst seats 8389 for hockey.
The Mullins Center is the UMass on campus home which is typically frowned upon for the selection of regional sites. Given the attendance at nearby Springfield which had UMass playing there, the Mullins was also far larger than what was needed. Only one session (6,988 at Providence) this year in all the regionals had attendance greater than the Mass Mutual Center hockey capacity of 6,800.
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Post by rf1 on Apr 2, 2024 9:39:57 GMT -5
I will not be shedding any tears for him.
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Post by rf1 on Apr 2, 2024 9:21:01 GMT -5
Maryland Heights, MO was the only site to sell out any of its games. It did so for all games as it had the lowest capacity of 3,148 (which was increased from its normal 2,500 for this event) . None of the other three venues had a game that was close to selling out. The best attended games at these venues were 5,765 at Springfield (cap 6,800), 6,113 at Sioux Falls (cap 10,678), and 6,988 at Providence (cap 11,273).
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Post by rf1 on Mar 30, 2024 9:17:54 GMT -5
These were the numbers for the last three NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament Regionals 2022 First Round Games (2) Worcester, MA 6,002 Albany, NY 2,345 Allentown, PA 2,155 Loveland, CO 3,138 Second Round Final Worcester, MA 2,848 Albany, NY 3,449 Allentown, PA 3,256 Loveland, CO 4,812 Total Attendance (3)
Worcester, MA 8,850 Albany, NY 5,794 Allentown, PA 5,411 Loveland, CO 7,950
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_NCAA_Division_I_Men%27s_Ice_Hockey_Tournament2023 First Round Games (2) Bridgeport,CT 4,462 Fargo, ND 5,061 Allentown, PA 7,067 Manchester, NH 3,631 Second Round Final Bridgeport,CT 4,557 Fargo, ND 5,326 Allentown, PA 8,375 Manchester, NH 7,143
Total Attendance (3) Bridgeport,CT 9,019 Fargo, ND 10,387 Allentown, PA 15,442 Manchester, NH 10,774
2024 First Round Games (2)
Providence, RI 6,988
Sioux Falls, SD 3,748 (1)
Sioux Falls, SD 5,691 (1)
Springfield, MA 3,894 (1) Springfield, MA 5,765 (1)
Maryland Heights, MO 3,148 (1) Maryland Heights, Mo 3,148 (1)
Second Round Final
Providence, RI 5,835 Sioux Falls, SD 6,113 Springfield, MA 4,407 Maryland Heights, MO 3,148
*The attendance is being listed with different numbers for same day games at the same site this year
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Post by rf1 on Mar 30, 2024 9:07:58 GMT -5
BC up 2-1 on Mich Tech. A lot more than 2500 at this location. Looks to be a near full house of Eagle fans
Crowd of 6,988 for the Providence doubleheader. Springfield (which had nearby UMass) had 3,894. Even with hockey popular in New England, the NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament draws far less than its Men's Basketball Tourney when it is in the area. There were 19,144 at the TD Garden for the Men's Basketball Eastern Regional on Thursday. I can guarantee that Providence will have a bigger crowd for the first round of the men's tournament in 2025 than it did for hockey yesterday.
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Post by rf1 on Mar 18, 2024 8:56:02 GMT -5
Worcester North may be the best basketball team at any level in the city of Worcester.
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Post by rf1 on Mar 12, 2024 10:27:15 GMT -5
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Post by rf1 on Mar 11, 2024 19:21:35 GMT -5
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Post by rf1 on Mar 1, 2024 15:15:05 GMT -5
That source is just the musings of a fan and has no real credibility as it is all personal conjecture.
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Post by rf1 on Feb 28, 2024 12:08:50 GMT -5
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Post by rf1 on Feb 27, 2024 18:18:39 GMT -5
For more context on the men's basketball annual budgets for A-10 and MAC schools, I found this link for 2023 data: theresourcenexus.com/budget/A-10 Average $3.95M Dayton $5.98M VCU $5.88M St Louis $5.79M Richmond $4.20M St Joe's $4.14M Duquesne $3.96M Loyola $3.83M GMU $3.69M URI $3.63M Fordham $3.57M GW $3.30M Davidson $3.11M St Bonaventure $2.99M UMass $2.82M LaSalle $2.42M MAC Average $1.75M Ohio $2.45M Toledo $2.19M Akron $2.11M Buffalo $2.01M Bowling Green $1.83M Miami $1.63M CMU $1.58M Kent $1.58M Ball St $1.54M EMU $1.48M NIU $1.33M WMU $1.21M
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Post by rf1 on Feb 27, 2024 16:11:25 GMT -5
Why would the MAC be cheaper in basketball than the A10? No appreciable distance saved in terms of road trips. men's basketball program expenses are far lower in the MAC. A big part of this is head coach salaries but it also includes staff salaries, travel expenses (more charter flights in A-10), recruiting budgets, and many other operations.
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Post by rf1 on Feb 27, 2024 16:07:32 GMT -5
I do not think this is a good sign for the men's basketball program. The A-10's diminishing status probably played a part in the decision. I however also think the relatively weak status of the UMass men's basketball program played a part as well. UMass has been in the A-10 for close to 50 years. Its only real success came during the decade when John Calipari was the coach and the program rose to the very top of college basketball. They built the 9,493 seat Mullins Center back then and regularly filled it for games. Calipari was however the only coach in its entire history to ever win an NCAA game. Calipari Assistant Coach and successor Bruiser Flint did get the team back to the NCAA Tournament but was never able to win a game and the program started to fall off. In the last 25 years, the program has a single NCAA bid (via an at large invite) under Derek Kellogg where they got blown out in the first round. UMass men's basketball attendance has tanked in recent years. They have only had three seasons in the last fifteen years where they averaged over 4k in a 9,493 seat venue. Overall interest in the program has been in a decline for the last 25 years. It may be that the administration at UMass has come to the realization that the Calipari years were an aberration and the program was unlikely to ever achieve a high level of success again save for a breakout year here or there. It is spending a lot of money on the program with little to show for it. The operating expenses of the MAC are far lower than the A-10. The AD may have thought the path to the NCAA via the occasional MAC Tourney auto-bid while spending less was a better option. The steady decline of the A-10 and recent status and future prospects of its men's basketball program may have been such that it no longer made sense to center most of the department's conference emphasis on that sport. Men's hockey today seems to be the most popular fan sport in Amherst. Perhaps, more focus and investment will be put on that. It can be further embraced as the feature winter athletics program at the Mullins Center where it will host familiar local opponents in a sport that is popular in this region. Membership in the MAC will provide a stable conference home for many UMass sports. Membership in it however is not likely to significantly elevate any of its programs and may in fact hurt several of them. None of the teams in the MAC will much excite people in MA and fan interest will be lacking. Why would the MAC be cheaper in basketball than the A10? No appreciable distance saved in terms of road trips.
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Post by rf1 on Feb 27, 2024 16:07:04 GMT -5
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Post by rf1 on Feb 27, 2024 12:11:53 GMT -5
I do not think this is a good sign for the men's basketball program. The A-10's diminishing status probably played a part in the decision. I however also think the relatively weak status of the UMass men's basketball program played a part as well. UMass has been in the A-10 for close to 50 years. Its only real success came during the decade when John Calipari was the coach and the program rose to the very top of college basketball. They built the 9,493 seat Mullins Center back then and regularly filled it for games. Calipari was however the only coach in its entire history to ever win an NCAA game. Calipari Assistant Coach and successor Bruiser Flint did get the team back to the NCAA Tournament but was never able to win a game and the program started to fall off. In the last 25 years, the program has a single NCAA bid (via an at large invite) under Derek Kellogg where they got blown out in the first round.
UMass men's basketball attendance has tanked in recent years. They have only had three seasons in the last fifteen years where they averaged over 4k in a 9,493 seat venue. Overall interest in the program has been in a decline for the last 25 years.
It may be that the administration at UMass has come to the realization that the Calipari years were an aberration and the program was unlikely to ever achieve a high level of success again save for a breakout year here or there. It is spending a lot of money on the program with little to show for it. The operating expenses of the MAC are far lower than the A-10. The AD may have thought the path to the NCAA via the occasional MAC Tourney auto-bid while spending less was a better option. The steady decline of the A-10 and recent status and future prospects of its men's basketball program may have been such that it no longer made sense to center most of the department's conference emphasis on that sport.
Men's hockey today seems to be the most popular fan sport in Amherst. Perhaps, more focus and investment will be put on that. It can be further embraced as the feature winter athletics program at the Mullins Center where it will host familiar local opponents in a sport that is popular in this region.
Membership in the MAC will provide a stable conference home for many UMass sports. Membership in it however is not likely to significantly elevate any of its programs and may in fact hurt several of them. None of the teams in the MAC will much excite people in MA and fan interest will be lacking.
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Post by rf1 on Feb 24, 2024 10:17:33 GMT -5
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