Re: NCAA Change the Tourney
If all the DU and UND fans had known for months in advance (as they did for the Final Five) that the teams would be playing in Green Bay today, I'm sure many of them would have made the trip. And I think both fanbases would rather have a win today than the one last Saturday. But putting the game in Green Bay (which isn't really convenient for either) on a week's notice didn't help.
For the baseball tournament, the Regionals and Super-Regionals are held at campus sites with a week's notice--and usually of the highest seeded (or largest capacity) team, which guarantees the NCAA more money. LSU, which averages over 10,000/game, will almost always host a regional and Super-Regional, if they qualify which is great for LSU fans (of which I am one) and the NCAA's bottom line, but not necessarily fair for the rest of the field. Hosting the hockey regionals on campus (which has been proposed several times in this thread) will only ensure that teams that can fill a large barn will have an even greater competitive advantage.
And this isn't just a hockey problem. Lots of the first and second-round basketball games were played in front of sparse crowds. Maybe we just notice it more now because fewer fans have the time off and the money to attend games.
If all the DU and UND fans had known for months in advance (as they did for the Final Five) that the teams would be playing in Green Bay today, I'm sure many of them would have made the trip. And I think both fanbases would rather have a win today than the one last Saturday. But putting the game in Green Bay (which isn't really convenient for either) on a week's notice didn't help.
For the baseball tournament, the Regionals and Super-Regionals are held at campus sites with a week's notice--and usually of the highest seeded (or largest capacity) team, which guarantees the NCAA more money. LSU, which averages over 10,000/game, will almost always host a regional and Super-Regional, if they qualify which is great for LSU fans (of which I am one) and the NCAA's bottom line, but not necessarily fair for the rest of the field. Hosting the hockey regionals on campus (which has been proposed several times in this thread) will only ensure that teams that can fill a large barn will have an even greater competitive advantage.
And this isn't just a hockey problem. Lots of the first and second-round basketball games were played in front of sparse crowds. Maybe we just notice it more now because fewer fans have the time off and the money to attend games.
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