Building future home schedules

[STGWildcat]

I don't know too much about Northern Iowa, but I know that Weber State is capable of being on their level. How in the hell did they get #1 UNC to visit their home floor today? P.S. Northern Iowa won by four (71-67).

Edit: Northern Iowa opened their season at home against Colorado State (but lost 78-84). Sure, Colorado State is nowhere near the level of UNC, but that is still a desirable opponent at home for Weber State's standards.

 

[sacstateman]

I'd bet Roy Williams isn't making any reservations to come back....

 

[flylikeasparrow]

I don't know too much about Northern Iowa, but I know that Weber State is capable of being on their level. How in the hell did they get #1 UNC to visit their home floor today? P.S. Northern Iowa won by four (71-67).

Edit: Northern Iowa opened their season at home against Colorado State (but lost 78-84). Sure, Colorado State is nowhere near the level of UNC, but that is still a desirable opponent at home for Weber State's standards.

I am sure that even though the Wildcats have been "down" the last couple of years, because of the rich tradition that comes with Weber State basketball, teams won't come calling. Both UNC and Michigan St wont play us since we beat them on the biggest stage. Now a days, the big schools will just buy their wins and wont go on the road (ala the mighty mutes on the hill).

 

[STGWildcat]

Apparently Roy Williams schedules road games that are near his seniors' home towns. So, I guess this is how we solve the scheduling issues--try to get some Ogden area high schoolers to get recruited by UNC (/sarcasm).

 

[Webergrad02]

1. Did anyone catch coaches comments in the pre-game on Wednesday? Steve asked coach if they were spending any time at the Gulf Coast Showcase trying to build relationship for future scheduling purposes. Coach said that there wasn't a lot of time for that and he wasn't sure that he would want to play any of the teams in the future. He said that they are too good and aren't that closely located. I really wish we would start taking the Gonzaga and Witchita State model, anyone... anywhere.

2. Sac State might be on to something. This weekend they had a little showcase where they brought in Eastern Washington, Pacific and South Dakota. Sac and Eastern didn't play each other and SD didn't play Pacific. But it got me thinking. What if you had each Big Sky school do one of these events with their travel partner. So we would host it in Ogden one year and bring in Idaho State and two regional D1 schools and the next year we hold it in Pocatello. You would offer return home games to the two regional teams you bring in. In the years that it is in Pocatello, you have a fun little event that fans would travel to. When it is in Ogden you get two D1 on home games.

 

[wsucatfan]

1. Did anyone catch coaches comments in the pre-game on Wednesday? Steve asked coach if they were spending any time at the Gulf Coast Showcase trying to build relationship for future scheduling purposes. Coach said that there wasn't a lot of time for that and he wasn't sure that he would want to play any of the teams in the future. He said that they are too good and aren't that closely located. I really wish we would start taking the Gonzaga and Witchita State model, anyone... anywhere.

2. Sac State might be on to something. This weekend they had a little showcase where they brought in Eastern Washington, Pacific and South Dakota. Sac and Eastern didn't play each other and SD didn't play Pacific. But it got me thinking. What if you had each Big Sky school do one of these events with their travel partner. So we would host it in Ogden one year and bring in Idaho State and two regional D1 schools and the next year we hold it in Pocatello. You would offer return home games to the two regional teams you bring in. In the years that it is in Pocatello, you have a fun little event that fans would travel to. When it is in Ogden you get two D1 on home games.

Or even better work it out with USU. Even closer school and better name brand than ISU.

 

[n.ogdencat]

If Sac can have a tournament on their crap court, then YES, Weber can have one too. But, we all have to admit that someone or some company dropped some serious cash for Sac to have been able to pull off that tournament. I think Weber's motto should be, if Sac can, why can't we? There are a lot of deep pockets in the area and Northern Utah. Just takes a little imagination and effort.

Sad that Randy doesn't want to try to build scheduling opportunities. We need to be playing more of these types of games. These are the games that will really help the Cats get ready for conference. These are the types of teams the Cats will face in conference.

 

[SWWeatherCat]

...These are the games that will really help the Cats get ready for conference. These are the types of teams the Cats will face in conference.

As important, when they make the Dance, these are the games will help the Cats prepare to be able to compete and not get run off the floor, which in turn will help with brand recognition and recruiting efforts.

I had not heard these comments but considering that Rahe doesn't seem too concerned with OOC results it makes no sense whatsoever to not take the "play anyone, anywhere" approach unless you don't believe you can build the program and become competitive against tougher opponents-- very say commentary if that's the case.

 

[n.ogdencat]

I wouldn't exactly say that Rahe isn't concerned about OOC games. I'm pretty sure he wants to win them, what coach doesn't want to win every game they play?

By saying he isn't that concerned, he is keeping his team on a specific path. Teams, if they put to much into an OOC game and then lose, could lose a lot more than the game. It could hurt the entire season because of one loss. Conference games are far more important. He is right about how those contests are the truly important ones. We don't win a championship for having the most wins in the OOC. Yes, we all want to see wins in the OOC and I'm pretty sure he does too, but lets agree that it is easier, after losing, to say, "well, this game doesn't matter that much. What matters is whether or not this team is getting better or not, and how prepared are we for those games that really matter." By saying this, he keeps his team focused on the bigger goal. Every win in the preseason is an added bonus. An opportunity to build confidence and togetherness.

Yes, the OOC is necessary. It helps come tournament selection time. If Weber doesn't make the Dance or is on the bubble, a strong OOC could help the Cats get an at-large invite or a better seed in whichever tournament it gets invited to. RPI is the all important guide that will help the Cats or not. But why put all of your eggs in the OOC basket. It is far more important to take care of business in Jan, Feb, and March. Beating BYU and Utah State is important, and I want to see it happen more often. Fact of the matter is that those programs have grown a lot more than Weber has. We just can't keep up and compete on that level like we use to.

By the way, I really miss the Bracket-Buster.

 

[Webergrad02]

The Conference as a whole needs to get their crap together in regards to the OOC schedule. All the D2 and D3 wins are not helping us.

Here are the Kenpom ratings so far:
Weber State 124
Montana 181
Sac State 202
Eastern Washington 211
Northern Arizona 219
Portland State 234
Idaho 294
Montana State 307
North Dakota 309
SUU 315
Idaho State 331
Northern Colorado 334

We have 6 teams among the lowest 50 ranked teams in D1. Interestingly 4 of the 6 are newer members to the conference. I think that way too much money, time and energy has been spent on the "Road to Reno" when the conference faces much bigger issues.

 

[Skippy]

The Conference as a whole needs to get their crap together in regards to the OOC schedule. All the D2 and D3 wins are not helping us.

Here are the Kenpom ratings so far:
Weber State 124
Montana 181
Sac State 202
Eastern Washington 211
Northern Arizona 219
Portland State 234
Idaho 294
Montana State 307
North Dakota 309
SUU 315
Idaho State 331
Northern Colorado 334

We have 6 teams among the lowest 50 ranked teams in D1. Interestingly 4 of the 6 are newer members to the conference. I think that way too much money, time and energy has been spent on the "Road to Reno" when the conference faces much bigger issues.

Idaho State has the tenth rated strength of schedule in the country, according to Ken Pom. It's not the schedule that's hurting our RPI -- it's the losses.

 

[Webergrad02]

The Conference as a whole needs to get their crap together in regards to the OOC schedule. All the D2 and D3 wins are not helping us.

Here are the Kenpom ratings so far:
Weber State 124
Montana 181
Sac State 202
Eastern Washington 211
Northern Arizona 219
Portland State 234
Idaho 294
Montana State 307
North Dakota 309
SUU 315
Idaho State 331
Northern Colorado 334

We have 6 teams among the lowest 50 ranked teams in D1. Interestingly 4 of the 6 are newer members to the conference. I think that way too much money, time and energy has been spent on the "Road to Reno" when the conference faces much bigger issues.

Idaho State has the tenth rated strength of schedule in the country, according to Ken Pom. It's not the schedule that's hurting our RPI -- it's the losses.

My point is that the D2, D3 & NAIA wins don't count for anything and I am not sure how much real experience they give a team.

 

[Skippy]

The Conference as a whole needs to get their crap together in regards to the OOC schedule. All the D2 and D3 wins are not helping us.

Here are the Kenpom ratings so far:
Weber State 124
Montana 181
Sac State 202
Eastern Washington 211
Northern Arizona 219
Portland State 234
Idaho 294
Montana State 307
North Dakota 309
SUU 315
Idaho State 331
Northern Colorado 334

We have 6 teams among the lowest 50 ranked teams in D1. Interestingly 4 of the 6 are newer members to the conference. I think that way too much money, time and energy has been spent on the "Road to Reno" when the conference faces much bigger issues.

Idaho State has the tenth rated strength of schedule in the country, according to Ken Pom. It's not the schedule that's hurting our RPI -- it's the losses.

My point is that the D2, D3 & NAIA wins don't count for anything and I am not sure how much real experience they give a team.

I agree with you, Webergrad, I'm just not sure how to fix the problem that very few D-1 programs want to travel to play Big Sky schools. I like the Sac State tournament concept. I'm sure schools that recruit in California might be attracted to playing in Sacramento. Not too sure you'd get anybody to come to Pocatello, at least not without a guarantee that is well over our heads. Maybe you guys at Weber could make it happen more readily.

Back when Joe O'Brien was the ISU coach, he took the "anybody, anywhere" approach. He played just about every major program in the country during his tenure: UCLA, Arizona, Kansas, Iowa, BYU, Utah, Arizona State (with James Harden), Notre Dame and on and on. The results were ISU made a lot of money in guarantees; they typically started the conference season with a terrible record, and fan interest was just about dead before we even got to conference play. There were some benefits -- one year ISU finished 9-7 in league after starting 3-10 against an absolute killer non-conference schedule.

So it can toughen you up for league play -- but you better have some talent, and some kids with a tough hide. And don't expect your fans to understand why you're 3-10 because they are not interested in "excuses." Weber would certainly be better suited to such an approach just from the perspective of having more talent and a program with a history of success. Not sure the Power Five schools would be as anxious to have you come visit them as ISU, because the Bengals are a "scheduled win" most seasons.

 

[weberwildcat]

and when ISU played all those big schools they were even able to get the 10th ranked team in the nation to holt arena. i went to the game since wazzuwildcat really wanted to attend it.

 

[RunnerJoe]

I don't know if this would work but what if Weber State tried contacting the teams that are coming to play BYU and USU and see if they would stay another night and play in Ogden. I know that some teams would decline but it might be something to think about.

 

[n.ogdencat]

I don't know if this would work but what if Weber State tried contacting the teams that are coming to play BYU and USU and see if they would stay another night and play in Ogden. I know that some teams would decline but it might be something to think about.

I think that is a great idea. Only problem, most of those teams have been bought and are coming to play for a major payday. Also, they know that they are "technically" playing a high major, or top mid-major program. Whereas, Weber is in a conference that is considered as being "low-major."

No matter, why not try? I'm thinking if Weber could guarantee at least 40K (that is about what we were offering teams this year), then maybe after a payday that only a Utah or BYU could pay out, another 40K for a game up the road wouldn't be that bad of an option; especially if the Cats are willing to pay hotels. Teams could end up making 130K or even 140K in a weekend instead of 80K or 90K.

I do know that NAU went out East last year and played two games one weekend. Part of that agreement was that both of those schools agreed to visit NAU this season. Maybe Weber needs to expand its geographic zone and play teams that aren't necessarily from the West Coast. I don't know why we don't try to play more Southland teams.

 

[wsucatfan]

I don't know if this would work but what if Weber State tried contacting the teams that are coming to play BYU and USU and see if they would stay another night and play in Ogden. I know that some teams would decline but it might be something to think about.

I think that is a great idea. Only problem, most of those teams have been bought and are coming to play for a major payday. Also, they know that they are "technically" playing a high major, or top mid-major program. Whereas, Weber is in a conference that is considered as being "low-major."

No matter, why not try? I'm thinking if Weber could guarantee at least 40K (that is about what we were offering teams this year), then maybe after a payday that only a Utah or BYU could pay out, another 40K for a game up the road wouldn't be that bad of an option; especially if the Cats are willing to pay hotels. Teams could end up making 130K or even 140K in a weekend instead of 80K or 90K.

I do know that NAU went out East last year and played two games one weekend. Part of that agreement was that both of those schools agreed to visit NAU this season. Maybe Weber needs to expand its geographic zone and play teams that aren't necessarily from the West Coast. I don't know why we don't try to play more Southland teams.

I'd work with USU before the Y or U. It seems like we do this with pre-season games, a team will play locally then us. It make sense, especially if we can get two teams to do it, one plays Th here, then Sat. Logan, other plays there Th. and here Sat. they would also save on airfare, one trip for two games. With returning games from us and the aggies the following year.

 

[hdqweber]

1. Did anyone catch coaches comments in the pre-game on Wednesday? Steve asked coach if they were spending any time at the Gulf Coast Showcase trying to build relationship for future scheduling purposes. Coach said that there wasn't a lot of time for that and he wasn't sure that he would want to play any of the teams in the future. He said that they are too good and aren't that closely located. I really wish we would start taking the Gonzaga and Witchita State model, anyone... anywhere.

2. Sac State might be on to something. This weekend they had a little showcase where they brought in Eastern Washington, Pacific and South Dakota. Sac and Eastern didn't play each other and SD didn't play Pacific. But it got me thinking. What if you had each Big Sky school do one of these events with their travel partner. So we would host it in Ogden one year and bring in Idaho State and two regional D1 schools and the next year we hold it in Pocatello. You would offer return home games to the two regional teams you bring in. In the years that it is in Pocatello, you have a fun little event that fans would travel to. When it is in Ogden you get two D1 on home games.

SacStateMan: Any insight on how that multi-team event was funded?

 

[sacstateman]

I have no idea how they pulled it off....I didn't see any big corporate banners that would have insinuated a big sponsor.....nothing looked any different than an ordinary game at the Nest....it was a nice weekend of hoops and next year it will be hosted by EWU with 2 different teams coming to Cheney to play against....BTW, U of South Dakota is a pretty good team that is very well coached....

 

[SWeberCat02]

BTW, U of South Dakota is a pretty good team that is very well coached....

Yes, as are NDSU and SDSU. The Big Sky ended up with the stepchild of the Dakotas in UND. Well played Fullerton :thumbdown: .