attendance for Valpo games...

[vu72]

around the conference.  Somehow the interest on campus' in the Horizon League is really piss poor.  Tonight, while hosting the best team in the conference, a school with 16,000 kids draws 1985? Huh?  Valpo, with a student body of 4000 draws 5000 for the Detroit game.

When we played at Detroit, with the two best teams playing, they drew 3418 (not bad!) At Cleveland State they drew 2403.  If, you can believe the box scores.

Here's my point:  These are major cities with absolutely no interest in the Horizon League.  We should hope for an eventual departure to the Valley where folks in smaller towns seem to really back their teams.  1985? A third full for a league leader? Sad.

[okinawatyphoon]

72, I agree with your points but I do want to point out that the 16,000 students of Loyola are spread across all of their campuses. The main campus has significantly fewer than that (maybe someone knows the actual number?).

[letsgovu]

Valpo, with a student body of 4000 draws 5000 for the Detroit game.

I think we should acknowledge the great job that has been done promoting this game to students and the general public.  The t-shirt contest among a ton of social media has really increased the student turn out!

[talksalot]

From their Lake Shore Campus website:    "Residence halls that house more than 3,200 students"... with 85,000 alumni living in Chicago.

DePaul is drawing about 7500 per game this year...

[valpotx]

So Loyola's enrollment includes IL, MD, etc?

[a3uge]

Loyola just isn't good and hasn't been good for quite some time, so you can kind of see how they'd have bad attendance. They have the biggest endowment numbers in the Horizon, and they are a decent private school. Being in an urban setting might have something to do with it. Detroit has mediocre attendance, despite being a smaller Jesuit school with a large metro area.

Everyone else in the Horizon is a commuter school. It's not all that surprising school spirit is low among a school like UWM... I'm not even sure half their student population is aware they have a D1 basketball team. They'll chalk up excuses like "there's more to do in our big city" but really, not a lot of alumni pride with these schools. Valpo is 4th in the Horizon in endowment, despite being the smallest school (UWGB's is 209,947 lol). I believe if YSU ever became a decent basketball program, they'd have okay attendance. Their football team is generally well supported, and they 15k kids that go to the school

[agibson]

So Loyola's enrollment includes IL, MD, etc?

No, that's all Chicago.  But, a bunch is grad students.  And, it's all spread around ~6 campuses around the Chicago area.

Apparently 3,200 students live on the Lakeshore campus.  I bet most of the rest of the 10,000 undergrads are on or around the Rogers Park campus?

[truth219]

I think while the students are on break that local high schoolers should get free admission with a student id. Just to have some people where the student section is.

[wh]

around the conference.  Somehow the interest on campus' in the Horizon League is really piss poor.  Tonight, while hosting the best team in the conference, a school with 16,000 kids draws 1985? Huh?  Valpo, with a student body of 4000 draws 5000 for the Detroit game.

When we played at Detroit, with the two best teams playing, they drew 3418 (not bad!) At Cleveland State they drew 2403.  If, you can believe the box scores.

Here's my point:  These are major cities with absolutely no interest in the Horizon League.  We should hope for an eventual departure to the Valley where folks in smaller towns seem to really back their teams.  1985? A third full for a league leader? Sad.

There are still a lot of codependent HL fans that miss Daddy Butler.  He abused them unmercifully for years, both physically and emotionally, belittled them, mocked them, but he was all they knew.  Suddenly Daddy deserts the family and they act like there's no longer a reason to get out of bed in the morning. I've never seen a group of people so infatuated by someone else's success - and so lost without it.  Maybe it IS time to move on to a place with less dysfunction and dependency.

[a3uge]

I think while the students are on break that local high schoolers should get free admission with a student id. Just to have some people where the student section is.

I take it Valpo's 2-week spring break is soon since it's the middle of February... is it Feb 23rd to March 9thish? Or does it start March 2nd? If we win regular season, I'd hate to see the student section on spring break during the championship game. And I think LaBarbera should be fired if he allows an opposing student section to fill twice as many seats as the home team again. Maybe not LaBarbera, but someone should get fired for that monstrosity last year.

[KL31NY]

I take it Valpo's 2-week spring break is soon since it's the middle of February... is it Feb 23rd to March 9thish? Or does it start March 2nd? If we win regular season, I'd hate to see the student section on spring break during the championship game.

From the Valpo Registrar site: Fri. Mar. 1 - 6:30PM: Spring recess begins --- Mon. Mar. 18 8:00AM: Spring recess ends

Also wh, I decided to check out this guitar solo in your signature... the video's been taken down

[valpotx]

When did that happen?  I believe for the conference tournament, each school has equal access to tickets/seats

[ValpoHoops]

Keep in mind that even though we are the home team, it is "technically" a neutral site game hosted by the Horizon League. Tickets are set up in a certain way...and the students are placed near their team benches...hence why Deteot hs their students in the student section last year.

[zvillehaze]

around the conference.  Somehow the interest on campus' in the Horizon League is really piss poor.  Tonight, while hosting the best team in the conference, a school with 16,000 kids draws 1985? Huh?  Valpo, with a student body of 4000 draws 5000 for the Detroit game.

When we played at Detroit, with the two best teams playing, they drew 3418 (not bad!) At Cleveland State they drew 2403.  If, you can believe the box scores.

Here's my point:  These are major cities with absolutely no interest in the Horizon League.  We should hope for an eventual departure to the Valley where folks in smaller towns seem to really back their teams.  1985? A third full for a league leader? Sad.

First of all, if Valpo has a chance to bolt for the MVC, I'd say to go for it.  It seems odd that that would happen at the same time Evansville is looking to move to the Horizon, but I admittedly haven't been following it very closely.

Despite being mediocre last season (your evaluation, not mine), almost 5,300 on average showed up to see Butler play their 9 road games in the Horizon.  Strange that suddenly fans around the Horizon have lost interest in watching basketball.

On a related note, Butler has played six A-10 road games in front of six sellouts.  VCU will be #7 and UMass (nearly 10,000 capacity) will either sellout or be very close.  Butler has also faced at least two "t-shirt" games so far, so apparently Valpo isn't their only "rival".     I guess their timing was impeccable ... moving on just as they were beginning to be "dominated" by Valpo.  Tip of the hat to Barry Collier for being a visionary.

[a3uge]

When did that happen?  I believe for the conference tournament, each school has equal access to tickets/seats

For Detroit and Butler last year, they bussed in students and filled them in the spot where the student section normally sits, and then placed Valpo fans in the makeshift bleachers under the opposing basket.

Already at a disadvantage as it is with the spring break schedule.

And I don't care what stupid rule they come up with why it has to be that way, flip the benches around or something. It shouldn't be this difficult.

[wh]

Also wh, I decided to check out this guitar solo in your signature... the video's been taken down

Fixed. Thanks for pointing it out.   

[zvillehaze]

There are still a lot of codependent HL fans that miss Daddy Butler.  He abused them unmercifully for years, both physically and emotionally, belittled them, mocked them, but he was all they knew.  Suddenly Daddy deserts the family and they act like there's no longer a reason to get out of bed in the morning. I've never seen a group of people so infatuated by someone else's success - and so lost without it.  Maybe it IS time to move on to a place with less dysfunction and dependency.

Don't exempt Valpo fans from this ... 5,237 showed up to see Butler last season, yet just over 3,000 have shown up to see the best team in the Horizon play this year.  I encourage Valpo to explore their options, because the quality of opponents does make a difference.  Butler is drawing significantly bigger crowds for A-10 games than they did for Horizon opponents. 

[crusaderjoe]

around the conference.  Somehow the interest on campus' in the Horizon League is really piss poor.  Tonight, while hosting the best team in the conference, a school with 16,000 kids draws 1985? Huh?  Valpo, with a student body of 4000 draws 5000 for the Detroit game.

When we played at Detroit, with the two best teams playing, they drew 3418 (not bad!) At Cleveland State they drew 2403.  If, you can believe the box scores.

Here's my point:  These are major cities with absolutely no interest in the Horizon League.  We should hope for an eventual departure to the Valley where folks in smaller towns seem to really back their teams.  1985? A third full for a league leader? Sad.

You've stated on this board many times in the past that there is no reason to expand the ARC capacity-wise.  Yet we should now hope for an eventual departure to a higher rated conference where fan support is stronger than the HL and whose membership may actually draw more fans to games.  Thanks for clearing that up.

[vu72]

around the conference.  Somehow the interest on campus' in the Horizon League is really piss poor.  Tonight, while hosting the best team in the conference, a school with 16,000 kids draws 1985? Huh?  Alpo, with a student body of 4000 draws 5000 for the Detroit game.

When we played at Detroit, with the two best teams playing, they drew 3418 (not bad!) At Cleveland State they drew 2403.  If, you can believe the box scores.

Here's my point:  These are major cities with absolutely no interest in the Horizon League.  We should hope for an eventual departure to the Valley where folks in smaller towns seem to really back their teams.  1985? A third full for a league leader? Sad.

You've stated on this board many times in the past that there is no reason to expand the ARC capacity-wise.  Yet we should now hope for an eventual departure to a higher rated conference where fan support is stronger than the HL and whose membership may actually draw more fans to games. Thanks for clearing that up.

Huh??  The reason not to expand the ARC (in any significant way) is the keep the atmosphere intact.  The point is to not have a 10,000 seat arena and have 3000 in attendance.  Most importantly, I was referring to other schools lack of interest.  If we joined the Valley OTHER schools would have better attendance and so would we.  As a result instead of 2500-3500 for lesser teams we sellout.  Not such a bad thing.  Does that "clear things up" for you??

[vu72]

There are still a lot of codependent HL fans that miss Daddy Butler.  He abused them unmercifully for years, both physically and emotionally, belittled them, mocked them, but he was all they knew.  Suddenly Daddy deserts the family and they act like there's no longer a reason to get out of bed in the morning. I've never seen a group of people so infatuated by someone else's success - and so lost without it.  Maybe it IS time to move on to a place with less dysfunction and dependency.

Don't exempt Valpo fans from this ... 5,237 showed up to see Butler last season, yet just over 3,000 have shown up to see the best team in the Horizon play this year.  I encourage Valpo to explore their options, because the quality of opponents does make a difference.  Butler is drawing significantly bigger crowds for A-10 games than they did for Horizon opponents. 

On average, yes.  The draw for the rest of the conference is about the same as when Butler was around.  Yes, the Butler game was always pretty much a sellout but so was the Detroit game last week,and a very solid  showing(over 4000) for the Green Bay game.  The point is Valpo fans show up for league leaders (Butler or Detroit), and the other schools could care less.

[truth219]

If valpo went to the MVC, that would be awesome. I can't see any negatives from that

[oklahomamick]

I like the idea of the mvc.  It would be longer bus trips though (not much, but longer) 

I heard Detroit fans state that their players are the like the fab 5 when it comes to reacting and playing in front of crowds.  They play much better in front of large passionate crowds.

[valpotx]

I just don't see us going anywhere in the next few years.  Other teams have more of a claim to the MVC than us, mainly NDSU or SDSU.  Larger schools that already dominate that football conference, and show that they are committed to successful D-1 sports

[KL31NY]

I like the idea of the mvc.  It would be longer bus trips though (not much, but longer)

I would assume MBB would fly to the longer ones, but most of the other sports probably wouldn't be so lucky. Could you imagine going from Valparaiso, Indiana to Wichita, Kansas by BUS?!?!? oofta!

I just don't see us going anywhere in the next few years.  Other teams have more of a claim to the MVC than us, mainly NDSU or SDSU.  Larger schools that already dominate that football conference, and show that they are committed to successful D-1 sports

As a member of the UNI Panther message board as well, I've seen a few discussions like this already. We'd be a good fit in the conference from a competition standpoint, but some UNI fans like the Dakota schools due to proximity and the football connection. I'm one of the few people this year that has even mentioned Valpo on that board in general, let alone adding us...

[oklahomamick]

If the Dakotas leave, thats it for the summit.  I only want the MVC because it would be closer to myself.  I don't want a water down A-10 with more travel.  Hopefully we can make the HL stronger.  We need higher RPI ranking teams and fans that attend the games.  Detroit is a fun team to watch with nba talent and they never get close to selling out.