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Pilots/Vikings rivalry

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Dionnfan

Member
I guess this could be a more general topic, but since the only sport UP and PSU really compete in is basketball (no offense, but women's soccer just isn't really competitive right now), I thought I'd put it under here.

I'm just curious as to everyone else's thoughts on how we could make this into a bigger rivalry. I mean seriously, how many other cities have two D-I schools five miles from each other? Part of it will come as both programs get better, but I still think that with new ADs on both sides of the river, this is a real golden opportunity to get something started.

Here's my first idea. Instead of playing the game at Stott and Chiles on alternating years, why not permanently move it to Memorial Coliseum. It's actually about halfway between the two campuses with good access, and with only 12,000 seats (as opposed to the Rose Garden's 19,000) there's actually a decent chance we could fill it in the future. Take out ads (BIG ads) in all the Trib and the O, maybe even some TV spots, and give away some tickets to area schools. This would afford a lot of media exposure - maybe even get KOIN to show our highlights for once!

I think UP might actually be willing to buy into this. Larry Williams has proven that he's willing to sink a lot of money into basketball, evidenced by the $400K buyout of Holton's contract. Chisholm seems like the right kind of guy on the PSU side.

Anyway, just some ideas. I just think this rivalry has potential written all over it. What does everybody else think?
 
I've been advocating this for a while now. Portland's a basketball city, we should be able to create some excitement for this game.
 
I was gonna start a thread on this myself, but you beat me to it!
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You've hit one very difficult question. Honestly, I don't see this as something that could be created right away. This is something that probably just has to evolve over time. Seems to me that it would be a heck of a lot easier if UP had football; but, that won't EVER happen. No, I actually think that soccer actually has the best chance of developing into a big rivalry. The key is getting PSU to start a men's soccer program and then put a ton of resources into women's and men's soccer. Don't ever see it happening, though. . .

With basketball, I just don't see attendance increasing long term. Personally, I actually think it might decrease. The quality of the game just isn't there anymore, and I don't just mean locally. Did you notice how many empty seats there were during the NCAA tournament? I also noticed a lot of empty seats in may regular season games for the big juggernauts like Duke, North Carolina, and others. Anyway, that's just my /users/31/07/37/smiles/681496.gif .

-SciFi
 
All of that is irrelevant for one game per year though...Look at how much hype rivalry games get. If this became a major rivalry between the two, don't you think they could draw 12,000 for one night? The Blazers could fill an arena consistently in Portland not that long ago.
 
WiViking is right - Portland is a basketball town. Over the last couple of years, UP and PSU had a real chance to make some headway with the fans here while the Blazers were down. It's really too bad that both programs hit a rough patch.

Attendance is very much tied to success. When the Pilots went 21-8 in 1994-95 and made the NCAAs in 1995-96, the Chiles Center could have 3-4,000 fans on any given night. Every year since then, attendance has been awful. If PSU can start winning 20+ games on a consistent basis - which is not out of the question - I have a tough time believing Stott won't fill.

I agree that this can't be something that's created overnight. In fact, if it were to happen this year it would probably flop. I don't think it's out of the question for the next couple of years. PSU could very well make the NCAAs next year, and Portland will be much better than this past season. Throw in all the local guys on the two teams, and there could be a little hype.

We also need to think of a name for the game. They tried "River City Rivalry" for a while, but it didn't stick and I didn't like it. Any other ideas?
 
Dionnfan said:
WiViking is right - Portland is a basketball town. Over the last couple of years, UP and PSU had a real chance to make some headway with the fans here while the Blazers were down. It's really too bad that both programs hit a rough patch.

Attendance is very much tied to success. When the Pilots went 21-8 in 1994-95 and made the NCAAs in 1995-96, the Chiles Center could have 3-4,000 fans on any given night. Every year since then, attendance has been awful. If PSU can start winning 20+ games on a consistent basis - which is not out of the question - I have a tough time believing Stott won't fill.

I agree that this can't be something that's created overnight. In fact, if it were to happen this year it would probably flop. I don't think it's out of the question for the next couple of years. PSU could very well make the NCAAs next year, and Portland will be much better than this past season. Throw in all the local guys on the two teams, and there could be a little hype.

We also need to think of a name for the game. They tried "River City Rivalry" for a while, but it didn't stick and I didn't like it. Any other ideas?
Click to expand...

Rose City Rivalry?
 
Rose City Rumble

River City Rumble

Rose War

War of the Roses (Borrowed from British history)

The Appocalypse

Armageddon

(The last two are a play on the fact that UP is a private Catholic school, while PSU is not. . . probably too offensive though)

I'd much rather see a multi-sport rivalry like the Oregon/Oregon St. rivalry, not just one only in basketball. I still maintain that that such a rivalry be VERY interesting if PSU was ever to get successful in soccer (complete with a men's program.)

By the way, one potential strike against any rivalry here is that the schools are not in the same conference. They can't knock each other out of contention for a playoff spot, etc.

-SciFi
 
War of the Roses is my favorite so far - not just because I'm a history major!
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A multi-sport rivalry would be fantastic, though the fact that both schools aren't in the same conference is one strike against it. Correct me in case I'm missing anything, but currently UP and PSU both field teams in Women's Soccer, Volleyball, Men's and Women's Basketball, and Track (just running for UP). Did I miss anything?

PSU fielding competitive teams in soccer would require an enormous investment that I honestly think would be better put to use in upgrading football or fielding a baseball team. If PSU ever does decide to bring back baseball, that could be a lot of fun. For now though, I see the most potential in basketball. How about adding a second dimension to the Memorial Coliseum idea: have the women and men play back to back in a doubleheader setting? UP used to do this with the Gonzaga game back in the 90s and it did wonders for the attendance at womens' games.
 
As a graduate of both schools, I like to think I have a unique perspective on this issue. I certainly have an interest in the success of both basketball programs. My idea is to tie it into high school basketball. Portland is an underrated recruiting ground for high school basketball, and crowds for games at Jefferson, Benson, and a few other schools can be quite large. Why not hold a an event where a high school game serves as an opening act for the PSU-UP game? Such an event, wherever the location, would expose some great young talent to the local colleges and possibly draw some local basketball fans into the fold. In addition, keep in mind the aspect of media coverage. For all its ignoring of UP and PSU, the Oregonian covers the heck out of prep sports. Perhaps an event with a prep tie in would attract coverage to the colleges.
 
There's a big rivalry in Cincinatti between Xavier and U of Cincinatti that has parallels with Portland. I like the idea of getting a Benson/Jefferson or Lincoln/Grant game to pair with PSU/UP at the MC. It has to be a long term commitment. The PSU/UP rivalry hasn't been consistently supported by either side.
 
VikThunder said:
The PSU/UP rivalry hasn't been consistently supported by either side.
Click to expand...

Great point. UP had some pretty decent advertising for their men's hoops this year on the radio and tv, but PSU's was null.

The joint high school / UPvPSU idea is great, but PSU has to enable it by marketing their product.
 
This maybe more of a football thing but they give out a trophy for the winner of football games. The Axe for Stanford-Cal, Apple Cup for UW and WSU.

So why not a Rose Trophy for the winner of the Vikings-Pilots game?
 
MaxViking said:
This maybe more of a football thing but they give out a trophy for the winner of football games. The Axe for Stanford-Cal, Apple Cup for UW and WSU.

So why not a Rose Trophy for the winner of the Vikings-Pilots game?
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Wyoming has/had trophy games.

Bronze Boot with Colorado State since the late 1960s.
Paniolo Trophy with Hawaii from 1979-1997. series ended when Wyoming and 7 others left the WAC to form the MWC. Been trying to get the ADs of both Hawaii and Wyoming to restart the series, was almost successful this year but things fell thru.
 
Wyoming...
I actually quite admire you folks.
My buddy and I cheered at Captain Ankeny's as you beat the Bruins.

There was also a season...early 90s...you guys shot out to, was it 8 wins in a row?
Played every weekend...had more wins than any other team in the country...
How did that season turn out?
 
dystopiamembrane said:
Wyoming...
I actually quite admire you folks.
My buddy and I cheered at Captain Ankeny's as you beat the Bruins.

There was also a season...early 90s...you guys shot out to, was it 8 wins in a row?
Played every weekend...had more wins than any other team in the country...
How did that season turn out?
Click to expand...

That was the 1996 season. We went 10-1, won the WAC Pacific Divisioon title but lost to BYU in the first-ever WAC Championship in OT, but couldn't go to a bowl game. I have an idea why but it hard to explain real quick. Just that had Nebraska won their Big 12 title game against Texas like everyone thought they would, BYU would've gone to the Fiesta Bowl, Wyoming would've gone to either the Holiday Bowl or the Cotton Bowl, and Utah was already locked into the Copper Bowl before that weekend of the conference championship games.
 
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