2023-24 Schedule

[Walter]

Not a fan of playing WVU in a charity exhibition. It makes us look like a little sisters of the poor type school.

 

[jessej]

From a fan of Mason basketball perspective, it shouldn’t matter who we’re playing.

agreed
and how has that been reflected in home game attendance over the last 20 years?
Season ticket sales
Game day ticket sales
and actual butts in the seats

and the same for student attendance?

 

[tblack33]

From a fan of Mason basketball perspective, it shouldn’t matter who we’re playing.

So I take it you are going to make the trip up for these games then?

It's one thing for us to say that, and in theory I don't disagree with you, but in practice when you show up to these games and there's 800 geriatrics knitting with 6 mins to go in the second half the realist in you realizes we need to schedule better to get people back in the seats.

 

[EXpatriot13]

From a fan of Mason basketball perspective, it shouldn’t matter who we’re playing.

I certainly agree with this, I just wish we had enough die hards where it didn't matter.

I know scheduling is incredibly difficult and the landscape has changed, but instead of scheduling 5-6+ sub-300 teams it would be cool to explore the below in a given season:

- Mix of old local/CAA matchups: JMU/ODU/UNCW/Towson/etc.
- Target higher profile/successful mid-majors: CofC/Iona/ORU/etc.
- We used to schedule multiple A10 schools, what's that equivalent now? MVC? CUSA?

 

[mkaufman1]

So I take it you are going to make the trip up for these games then?

It's one thing for us to say that, and in theory I don't disagree with you, but in practice when you show up to these games and there's 800 geriatrics knitting with 6 mins to go in the second half the realist in you realizes we need to schedule better to get people back in the seats.

Lol, I usually target the first week of December to make a trip to Fairfax. Not only does Mason not host anyone but they don't have a game that is good for my schedule until like the 16th against Loyola. I'm not running down to Fairfax for that. I'll bitch and moan from afar and save my energy for a Homecoming trip.

 

[gmujim92]

So I take it you are going to make the trip up for these games then?

It's one thing for us to say that, and in theory I don't disagree with you, but in practice when you show up to these games and there's 800 geriatrics knitting with 6 mins to go in the second half the realist in you realizes we need to schedule better to get people back in the seats.

I’m a bad example because a 4-hour round trip during the work week is a big ask. But I really do enjoy the games I get to attend regardless of who we’re playing.

agreed
and how has that been reflected in home game attendance over the last 20 years?
Season ticket sales
Game day ticket sales
and actual butts in the seats

and the same for student attendance?

Win and people will show up (as much as they ever will, recognizing the Mason community isn’t sports-crazy). We’ve been so meh for so long now, of course the attendance is shite.

 

[gmujim92]

Not a fan of playing WVU in a charity exhibition. It makes us look like a little sisters of the poor type school.

Disagree, this is the type of game that used to be played exclusively as a secret scrimmage. Now it’s basically a public scrimmage with a charitable benefit. Good for our guys to get on the floor against a quality opponent in front of an audience.

 

[GMU79]

From a fan of Mason basketball perspective, it shouldn’t matter who we’re playing.

Yeah, the Dean Dome, Cameron, etc., are packed regardless.

 

[GMUgemini]

So I take it you are going to make the trip up for these games then?

It's one thing for us to say that, and in theory I don't disagree with you, but in practice when you show up to these games and there's 800 geriatrics knitting with 6 mins to go in the second half the realist in you realizes we need to schedule better to get people back in the seats.

We are a mid-major school…the solution you are looking for is to play fewer home games OOC and go on the road/neutral more often.

I don’t know that it matters whether you’re playing Cornell or Drake in the OOC.

Here’s an example from last season:

Toledo (82 NET): 3,041
American ( 262 NET): 3,114

 

[tblack33]

We are a mid-major school…the solution you are looking for is to play fewer home games OOC and go on the road/neutral more often.

I don’t know that it matters whether you’re playing Cornell or Drake in the OOC.

Here’s an example from last season:

Toledo (82 NET): 3,041
American ( 262 NET): 3,114

Fair point. Maybe it's just a me problem -- but it's getting harder to justify doing full season tickets to watch us play the blind and deaf sisters of the chesapeake bay 9 times November - December when I can probably buy my same seats just for conference play for half the price. I usually can't even give away my second seat and gold room pass for free to our OOC games, people just don't want to go through the hassle of going out to watch these games in person.

We'll see how this season goes -- might be time to downgrade next year if the W/Ls don't look like they are going to improve or the soft product (Gold room, season ticketholder perks) don't improve.

 

[GMUgemini]

I hear you on the scheduling. I think we should avoid scheduling as many Q4 games as possible in the OOC and try to get more Q2 and Q3 games.

I did a breakdown of Utah State’s schedule and that basically what they did. They only had 3 Q4 games all season.

So if you compare them to, say, Fordham who finished with a similar record but with vastly different NETs (18 for USU compared to 134 for Fordham).

USU had 10 Q2, 13 Q3 games, and 3 Q4 games.

Fordham had 3 Q2, 10 Q3 and 18 Q4 (which was basically their entire OOC schedule).

Would Fordham finished 25-8 with a much harder schedule? Maybe not. But they were a much better team than the one that played 28 out of 33 games against teams in the bottom half of NCAA. They did themselves no favors.

Mason also only had a combined 5 Q1 and Q2 games and 13 Q4 (which is way too many).

 

[jessej]

Miami has a somewhat similar OOC schedule
look at the number of 300+ teams and a Non Div 1 team in an exhibition

 

[phoenix-arizona]

Stonehill sounds like the prep academy setting of a CW PG-13drama about vampire teenagers.

 

[mkaufman1]

LIU NJIT and Stonehill are all sub 300 net schools from what I looked into. That is a pretty low amount for a power 5 program.

However, this is the epitome of a nice balanced schedule in my mind. You have a great MTE (probably at least 2 top 75 opportunities), plus Kentucky and Colorado will be good games. Georgia isn't great, but they'll probably be at worst, top 150.

They bought a game against Lasalle which again will be probably a top 150 or 200 program. Not a killer by any stretch.

If Mason put together a schedule where they had a few cupcakes, a solid MTE and a solid neutral game like this, sign me the hell up. For a power 5 program, this is pretty good if you ask me. Hopefully this is the direction Mason can go with improvement on the court.

 

[jessej]

Fair point. Maybe it's just a me problem -- but it's getting harder to justify doing full season tickets to watch us play the blind and deaf sisters of the chesapeake bay 9 times November - December when I can probably buy my same seats just for conference play for half the price. I usually can't even give away my second seat and gold room pass for free to our OOC games, people just don't want to go through the hassle of going out to watch these games in person.

We'll see how this season goes -- might be time to downgrade next year if the W/Ls don't look like they are going to improve or the soft product (Gold room, season ticketholder perks) don't improve.

I understand your point of view - and it is not just you

I have had Georgetown Partial Season Tix for 15 years
I buy the 10 pack which usually translates to 8 of the Big East Games and 2 OOC games
5 years ago their ticket office called me to sell me an upgrade to season tix
I politely told them that as long as they scheduled glorified high school teams it wasn't worth the parking and subway fare for me, let known the ticket cost.

This is what i have for this OOC Season
Georgetown - 1 game vs Syracuse
GWU - 2-4 December games vs HBCUs, depending upon start time conflicts
GMU - Monmouth, Cornell for sure, and NCA&T if there is no start time conflict
(once the regular season dates/times are set I may buy the 10 game voucher pack - or I will be buying the excess tix from a few of you)

UMD - 1-2 December games vs HBCUs, depending upon start time conflicts
Howard - OOC schedule not complete - vs Yale for sure
Big 5/Classic 6 Triple Header at Wells Fargo in Philly
Empire Classic at MSG in NYC

I am not a graduate of any of the local schools, but consider myself a fan of the game and like to see "games of personal interest"

 

[MasonFanatic]

Our opening opponent in the Jacksonville Classic will be Charlotte (98 NET).

 

[GMUgemini]

Our opening opponent in the Jacksonville Classic will be Charlotte (98 NET).

And the winner/loser of UCF/SD State

 

[GMU79]

Fair point. Maybe it's just a me problem -- but it's getting harder to justify doing full season tickets to watch us play the blind and deaf sisters of the chesapeake bay 9 times November - December when I can probably buy my same seats just for conference play for half the price. I usually can't even give away my second seat and gold room pass for free to our OOC games, people just don't want to go through the hassle of going out to watch these games in person.

We'll see how this season goes -- might be time to downgrade next year if the W/Ls don't look like they are going to improve or the soft product (Gold room, season ticketholder perks) don't improve.

For me, the biggest hassle is the electronic ticket thing. My one game last year (the vcu fiasco), my tickets were "lost in the the electro world" and my brother and I had to stand in a stupidly long line just to prove I had the tickets that I had purchased weeks before.
Mason needs to do something to make ticket access more available across the board. Like allowing us to print the when we buy them.
I am pushing 70 and a 4 hour round trip on I-95 is a pain in the rear.

 

[mkaufman1]

For me, the biggest hassle is the electronic ticket thing. My one game last year (the vcu fiasco), my tickets were "lost in the the electro world" and my brother and I had to stand in a stupidly long line just to prove I had the tickets that I had purchased weeks before.
Mason needs to do something to make ticket access more available across the board. Like allowing us to print the when we buy them.
I am pushing 70 and a 4 hour round trip on I-95 is a pain in the rear.

I'll refrain from giving you a hard time but for what its worth, it might not be Mason who can't let you print tickets. They use ticketmaster as a vendor, and they may not allow it. If I recall they had some help videos out to show how to retrieve tickets. Sucks that the trouble still happened, but hopefully next time it wont.

 

[MASONscott]

I tend to go to 90% of each season's home games.

Maybe it's just me, but this schedule seems on par with the pre-conference schedules I've been to over the last 17 years, especially in year one of a new coach.