Update on Post Season Tourney Situation

[weberwildcat]

so that is at least 2 reasons.

1. more time to prepare for the hoster
2. save money by arranging travel months in advance instead of hours or days.
(3. is getting rid of the sky tourney a possiblity?)

 

[AlumniWSU]

Interesting to bat this around...does anyone think the conf. office is paying attention to us fans? In reading all the articles, no one involved has mentioned NOT having a tourney is an option. Costs?, I remember back when Boise St hosted it (planned a yr ahead) it was partly because a Idaho bank based there agreed to sponsor it with $--if it was set up a year ahead for all the logistical reasons mentioned (& also the conf. offices were located there). Doubtful that selling tickets will ever cover all the costs of hosting, it takes a sponsor with $ to help out! That's why Reno & Billings are interested, their visitors bureau or chambers are behind it.

Last yr, didn't America First Cr Un step in as a sponsor to help Weber? My recollection was that the only outside fans, other than a dozen or so, were maybe 100 fans from UND for the finals. In the BSC, attendance is not a cash cow anytime (except for maybe WSU & UM).

Like Bengalvisitor said, TRAVEL is the main bellyache lately (like last minute travel to UND last yr). It's valid. And I agree, if they MUST have a tourney then:

if still determined to have a post-season, go to a one-game deal -- No. 1 hosts No. 2, put it on TV and winner take all.

Football brought about the conf. expanding to the Dakotas & not wanting to offend UND fans, but now the Big Sky is reaping the painful, costly travel issues. But is the conf. office listening to us fans...NAH!!

 

[Skippy]

I will say this -- and I have been pretty critical of the league office in the past -- but Fullerton is in favor of leaving the tournament as it is. I believe it is the coaches (miserable travel) and ADs (cost) who are driving this train. We'll see how the Presidents vote.

 

[SDHornet]

Wow, what a terrible picture this interview paints of the conference. Schools that can't host because of their inadequate gyms, no one can get OOC home games, attendence is the worst it's ever been, and there are no real good options for a postseason tournament. Depressing. Football has ruined college basketball.

FWIW a local news channel ran a story on the situation (can find the video link since they uploaded a different video) and the mayor said this on camera: “Oh we’ll find a venue, don’t worry about it. If they do their part, we the City will do ours.”

This is the same guy that wrangled deals to get a new downtown arena that kept the Kings in Sac. I'm not too worried about the Hornets finding a place to host...that said it may not matter if we don't win Thursday night. 1st place up for grabs and the winning team also probably gets to claim the BSC POTY too.

 

[Kadeezy]

CBS 13 in Sacramento is reporting that Sac State have selected the Reno Events Center as the alternate BSC Tourney location should Sac State win the regular season title. This of course is the kiss of death for Hornet hoops as I now fully expect the season to spiral out of control in true SAC fashion. If by some miracle we do host, it could be a good dry run for the Conference should Reno become the fixed tourney location.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reno_Events_Center" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[SDHornet]

Sac Bee article claiming Reno is the place if we hang on:

http://www.sacbee.com/sports/college/mens-basketball/article9700892.html

“At this point, unless something comes up between now and then ... Reno is the one in play,” Big Sky Senior Associate Deputy Commissioner Ron Loghry said Tuesday.

Sophia said Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has gotten involved in the search for an alternative, and university officials said they’re anxious to keep the tournament in the area.

“We’re going to try to find a solution that works locally,” said Bill Macriss, interim athletic director at CSUS . “That’s the best option for our student-athletes ... and our fans.”

The final outcome could depend on the Hornets’ on-court performance; if the Hornets don’t win the regular season title, the tournament automatically goes elsewhere and the issue becomes moot. But even though the team has seven games left, and the regular season doesn’t end until March 7, the clock is winding down quickly on CSUS . Loghry said Big Sky officials need to know within 10 days or so which venue the university has designated for hosting the tournament.

“We’re trying to give them as much leeway as possible,” Loghry said. If the Hornets win the regular season but can’t or won’t host the tournament, the team that finishes second would take over.

Macriss said CSUS President Alexander Gonzalez’s plan is to have the university host the tournament, “regardless of where that would be.”

Even if the games are played in Reno, being the home team might still give the Hornets a better chance of winning the tournament – and catapulting the Hornets into their first-ever spot in the NCAA basketball tournament. Reno is a two-hour drive, close enough that CSUS fans could attend.

Macriss said a Sacramento-area location obviously would be preferable to taking the games outside the region.

“Knowing we still have some time, we haven’t stopped the process,” he added.

Sounds like the search isn't over yet. No mention of the wild card in any articles...that being the Well. Still a lot of games left so all this speculation might be pointless anyways.

 

[LarrytheFarmer]

Sac Bee article claiming Reno is the place if we hang on:

http://www.sacbee.com/sports/college/mens-basketball/article9700892.html

“At this point, unless something comes up between now and then ... Reno is the one in play,” Big Sky Senior Associate Deputy Commissioner Ron Loghry said Tuesday.

Sophia said Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has gotten involved in the search for an alternative, and university officials said they’re anxious to keep the tournament in the area.

“We’re going to try to find a solution that works locally,” said Bill Macriss, interim athletic director at CSUS . “That’s the best option for our student-athletes ... and our fans.”

The final outcome could depend on the Hornets’ on-court performance; if the Hornets don’t win the regular season title, the tournament automatically goes elsewhere and the issue becomes moot. But even though the team has seven games left, and the regular season doesn’t end until March 7, the clock is winding down quickly on CSUS . Loghry said Big Sky officials need to know within 10 days or so which venue the university has designated for hosting the tournament.

“We’re trying to give them as much leeway as possible,” Loghry said. If the Hornets win the regular season but can’t or won’t host the tournament, the team that finishes second would take over.

Macriss said CSUS President Alexander Gonzalez’s plan is to have the university host the tournament, “regardless of where that would be.”

Even if the games are played in Reno, being the home team might still give the Hornets a better chance of winning the tournament – and catapulting the Hornets into their first-ever spot in the NCAA basketball tournament. Reno is a two-hour drive, close enough that CSUS fans could attend.

Macriss said a Sacramento-area location obviously would be preferable to taking the games outside the region.

“Knowing we still have some time, we haven’t stopped the process,” he added.

Sounds like the search isn't over yet. No mention of the wild card in any articles...that being the Well. Still a lot of games left so all this speculation might be pointless anyways.

Im sorry but this is down right embarrassing IF you can't even host the tourney in your own damn state. hno:
This might be a good reason why the Tourney should go to a fixed location to ensure that schools that can't handle this type of event don't end up hosting.

Can you imagine how much dumber the Big Sky will look when on the ESPN broadcast the tv guys have to explain why the tourney is in Reno is because Sac st has shit facilities. :thumbdown:

 

[sacstateman]

I'm not embarrassed at all.....just means we do more with less.....I would love to have a beautiful arena like yours but we don't so we will have to do what we can with what we have....

 

[Webergrad02]

I agree that it doesn't make the conference look good but give these Sac fans a little bit of a break. They wait all of these years to contend and then they can't find a suitable place to host. They want to build a new arena but the students don't give a rats A. I like Reno better than a make shift ballroom. That would probably give Northern Colorado the advantage. They play in a similar gym. Of the acquisitions of the last 20 years into the Big Sky, none have had great facilities. North Dakota's are fairly good and SUU's are mediocre at best. But UNC, Sac and Portland State are not good.

The truth is that only 4 or 5 of our arenas are going to look good on ESPN. I think this is a mute point, Sac plays 5 of 7 on the road to finish. Tomorrows game is a must win.

 

[catscratched]

Moot point.

And besides, Sac is playing the best of anyone in the BSC right now. They have a great chance to host. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[AlumniWSU]

SUU's basketball arena is above mediocre I would say, it's nice & seats 5,000 plus...would be great if Sac St & PSU had a like sized place for BB. Being Sacramento State's BB program is on the upswing, does this issue give cause for a increased incentive to build a new arena there?

Offhand, my guess is EWU wins out & while their facility is OK, doesn't it seat just 3,500? Maybe the posted idea of setting up the best 4 Big Sky arenas to host on a predetermined, rotating basis isn't such a bad idea. Might provide the push for the remaining members to improve their facilities. :twocents:

 

[WeberSki]

Moot point.

And besides, Sac is playing the best of anyone in the BSC right now. They have a great chance to host. :thumb: :thumb:

EWU will win this thing. They swept the Montanas without Harvey. Sac can dream all they want...

Cheney won't be bad. I think they seat 6,500. More than Gonzaga. Just a little high schoolish with some bleachers.

 

[oldrunner]

Thursday's game between EWU and Sac. is huge. If Sac. wins that game, they will be in the drivers seat. If they lose, EWU still has a couple of tough roadies. Not the least of which, is at our place.

 

[n.ogdencat]

I've gotta agree with alumni, The Centrum is a pretty nice arena. SUU is lucky to have such a nice facility. I'd say it is in the top half of arenas. Of course it isn't comparable to the Dee, but it is a nice facility.

From top to bottom:

The Dee Weber
Montana
Montana State
Southern Utah
Eastern Washington
North Dakota
Northern Arizona
Idaho
Idaho State
Northern Colorado
Portland State
Sacramento State

As for the Sac dilemma. I feel for the Hornets. This is their best team ever, and could be their best team for a very long time, and there isn't a place in a major city for them to host the tournament. Why are they not searching spots in the Bay Area? Why Reno? Is the conference pushing for Reno? I'd rather see the games played in California than in Reno. Maybe the conference is saying something. This might have more to do with the conference than the school or the city of Sacramento.

 

[oldrunner]

If you were to take those top 5 or 6 venues and then rate the transportation and lodging, factor in attendance, and gauge their willingness to host, you could pare it down to a nice little rotation list. At that point you could just draw straws to get the order of rotation. It isn't totally neutral, but nothing really is. :nod: :nod:

 

[AlumniWSU]

If you were to take those top 5 or 6 venues and then rate the transportation and lodging, factor in attendance, and gauge their willingness to host, you could pare it down to a nice little rotation list. At that point you could just draw straws to get the order of rotation. It isn't totally neutral, but nothing really is. :nod: :nod:

Outta be thrown to the conference offices to consider as another alternative in their deciding? Maybe too late as they seem to be set on selecting one of the seven bids? Main key here is keeping it at a conference member college venue, thereby saving on costs of facility rental, and they could have both men's/women's together by starting the tourney on say Tues, then alternating days until the finals double header on Sat. I believe that is how it works in Vegas for the WCC & WAC, maybe even the MWC? :twocents:

 

[Webergrad02]

I've gotta agree with alumni, The Centrum is a pretty nice arena. SUU is lucky to have such a nice facility. I'd say it is in the top half of arenas. Of course it isn't comparable to the Dee, but it is a nice facility.

From top to bottom:

The Dee Weber
Montana
Montana State
Southern Utah
Eastern Washington
North Dakota
Northern Arizona
Idaho
Idaho State
Northern Colorado
Portland State
Sacramento State

As for the Sac dilemma. I feel for the Hornets. This is their best team ever, and could be their best team for a very long time, and there isn't a place in a major city for them to host the tournament. Why are they not searching spots in the Bay Area? Why Reno? Is the conference pushing for Reno? I'd rather see the games played in California than in Reno. Maybe the conference is saying something. This might have more to do with the conference than the school or the city of Sacramento.

I think I would put North Dakota in front of SUU based on their ability to host the conference tournament in the "Ralph", their big hockey arena. I do believe they play their game against NDSU there. I actually like Reese court, some of the bleachers may make it feel like high school but you are close to the action there. Watching games in the 3 football domes drives me nuts. I almost want to put Northern Colorado over those 3.

The mentality in Sac is just different than we have here. Getting things done within the Cal State University system is very difficult.

 

[sacstateman]

That webergrad02 is the biggest understatement of the year here. Getting things done within the Cal State U system is IMPOSSIBLE.... UNLESS IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH LIBERAL CAUSES !!!!!

 

[oldrunner]

That webergrad02 is the biggest understatement of the year here. Getting things done within the Cal State U system is IMPOSSIBLE.... UNLESS IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH LIBERAL CAUSES !!!!!

Sounds like you need to sell it as a multiple use facility and push the idea of concerts, art exhibits, community events, conventions, larger religion gatherings, graduations, etc. You might want to look for corporate donors and other community partners. Obviously, the students can't and shouldn't be counted on for much. However, given the uses they may get out of it, they may want a piece of the action. It really needs to be something that the community has ownership in, even if it is managed by CSUS. I believe that there must be some untapped resources in Sacramento that need to be explored. It's the Capital of California and a great city. You've got a sleeping giant there! :wall:

 

[Back2WSU]

It's Northern California. Only way Sac State gets a new stadium is if it's some multi-million super duper eco-friendly stadium.

Or they could just say they are building a high-speed train and get the taxpayers to pay for it

Fucking Jerry Brown...