Game 26: GMU (20-5 / 11-1) vs St. Joe’s (15-9 / 6-5) on Saturday, February 15, at 12:30 PM.

[GSII]

As a student in ‘01-‘05 I almost never saw games advertised on campus and didn’t really know where to go to claim my tickets. Nothing was prominently displayed or promoted so none of this shocks me. Driving attendance was never a priority it seemed.

If you knew we had a team, why does someone have to market the games to you? This is my point. Admit kids that seek out the games, have unwavering pride in their new college, and want to create a hostile environment for opposing teams. We want specialists in the stands. Not just warm bodies.

The students Mason attracts now are those who don’t care about athletics. If athletics were a priority, they wouldn’t have applied to Mason.

The 2011 run drew great crowds because many students chose Mason due to the excitement of the 2006 run

I doubt Sally, applying to Ole Miss, cares about their offensvie line, or if Kiffin is gonna bring in a 5 star QB, but I would bet she is down for the partying on Saturday Game Days and being apart of that football culture. IF we can mantain that culture of winning, and avoid The Virus and Lil Dave type years, then we can build on it. See vcu...maintain success and student body stays with you.

 

[Falco]

I doubt Sally, applying to Ole Miss, cares about their offensvie line, or if Kiffin is gonna bring in a 5 star QB, but I would bet she is down for the partying on Saturday Game Days and being apart of that football culture. IF we can mantain that culture of winning, and avoid The Virus and Lil Dave type years, then we can build on it. See vcu...maintain success and student body stays with you.

I choose Mason Over vcu, and ODU because of the final 4 run. I had my priorities right at 18 lol.

 

[GMU79]

If you knew we had a team, why does someone have to market the games to you? This is my point. Admit kids that seek out the games, have unwavering pride in their new college, and want to create a hostile environment for opposing teams. We want specialists in the stands. Not just warm bodies.


I doubt Sally, applying to Ole Miss, cares about their offensvie line, or if Kiffin is gonna bring in a 5 star QB, but I would bet she is down for the partying on Saturday Game Days and being apart of that football culture. IF we can mantain that culture of winning, and avoid The Virus and Lil Dave type years, then we can build on it. See vcu...maintain success and student body stays with you.

Yes. Maintain success. vcu has. We haven't.
Thanks TOC

 

[GMUgemini]

Yes. Maintain success. vcu has. We haven't.
Thanks TOC

They had a better fanbase than we did even before 2011.

As above I’ve said it again and again you turn the home basketball games into a social event. Students want to feel connected to the school and this is one of those avenues. I would be happy with a solid 1,500 students per game, which is about 3-4% of the student population. That doesn’t seem to be that much to ask, but the admin need to put in the work to turn these game days into a carnival-like atmosphere and get the students to come out.

Remember Mason Day in its heyday? Bring that energy to every home game.

Edit: to add I’m pretty sure right now 1,500 students is the current record at Mason so I am looking at raising the floor to what our current ceiling has been.

 

[GMU79]

They had a better fanbase than we did even before 2011.

As above I’ve said it again and again you turn the home basketball games into a social event. Students want to feel connected to the school and this is one of those avenues. I would be happy with a solid 1,500 students per game, which is about 3-4% of the student population. That doesn’t seem to be that much to ask, but the admin need to put in the work to turn these game days into a carnival-like atmosphere and get the students to come out.

Remember Mason Day in its heyday? Bring that energy to every home game.

You are right. They did. They were even good when they were in the Sunbelt back in the '70s. I think their coach was Sonny Smith.
Ah, Mason Day! I remember the night they had a wet tee shirt contest behind the then new Robinson I and I tried to get my girlfriend to enter. Tried, being the operative word.
But hey, I'm stepping out of character here!

 

[jmckend1]

If you knew we had a team, why does someone have to market the games to you? This is my point. Admit kids that seek out the games, have unwavering pride in their new college, and want to create a hostile environment for opposing teams. We want specialists in the stands. Not just warm bodies.


I doubt Sally, applying to Ole Miss, cares about their offensvie line, or if Kiffin is gonna bring in a 5 star QB, but I would bet she is down for the partying on Saturday Game Days and being apart of that football culture. IF we can mantain that culture of winning, and avoid The Virus and Lil Dave type years, then we can build on it. See vcu...maintain success and student body stays with you.

I went to games. The point is the school never seemed to make an effort to bring it to anyone’s attention that there was a home game coming up. It was never a matter of having to “market the games” to me or anyone else. You can’t walk down a random street in Richmond without seeing a vcu basketball poster on every block; someone is putting the word out. Sure the poster is soaked in some heroin addict’s pee, but it’s there.
People can bitch about attendance forever but until someone in admin makes even a minimal effort to let people know what’s happening on campus you might as well just be yelling at the clouds.

 

[GMUgemini]

The A10 commissioner was on A10 Insider and apparently she was at this game. She talked about them having conversations about the home-and-home schedules and hopefully Skinn got in her ear again about making GMU-vcu a permanent thing.

Another tidbit: she’s pro-expansion.

 

[2011WinOverVillanova]

I went to games. The point is the school never seemed to make an effort to bring it to anyone’s attention that there was a home game coming up. It was never a matter of having to “market the games” to me or anyone else. You can’t walk down a random street in Richmond without seeing a vcu basketball poster on every block; someone is putting the word out. Sure the poster is soaked in some heroin addict’s pee, but it’s there.
People can bitch about attendance forever but until someone in admin makes even a minimal effort to let people know what’s happening on campus you might as well just be yelling at the clouds.

I went to games. The point is the school never seemed to make an effort to bring it to anyone’s attention that there was a home game coming up. It was never a matter of having to “market the games” to me or anyone else. You can’t walk down a random street in Richmond without seeing a vcu basketball poster on every block; someone is putting the word out. Sure the poster is soaked in some heroin addict’s pee, but it’s there.
People can bitch about attendance forever but until someone in admin makes even a minimal effort to let people know what’s happening on campus you might as well just be yelling at the clouds.

Didn’t the city of Fairfax do something when we had the shooting star logo? They put it on roads or near bus stops?

 

[Verdad]

The A10 commissioner was on A10 Insider and apparently she was at this game. She talked about them having conversations about the home-and-home schedules and hopefully Skinn got in her ear again about making GMU-vcu a permanent thing.

Another tidbit: she’s pro-expansion.

Expansion should be so easy - do away with first four, and have x amount of at larges have one game playoffs with the winner getting into the bracket. Maybe rank the last 6 in and the first 6 out, and have the last 6 in host.

 

[MasonSAE4]

The A10 commissioner was on A10 Insider and apparently she was at this game. She talked about them having conversations about the home-and-home schedules and hopefully Skinn got in her ear again about making GMU-vcu a permanent thing.

Another tidbit: she’s pro-expansion.

Tournament or conference?

 

[Bsutterl]

If you knew we had a team, why does someone have to market the games to you? This is my point. Admit kids that seek out the games, have unwavering pride in their new college, and want to create a hostile environment for opposing teams. We want specialists in the stands. Not just warm bodies.


I doubt Sally, applying to Ole Miss, cares about their offensvie line, or if Kiffin is gonna bring in a 5 star QB, but I would bet she is down for the partying on Saturday Game Days and being apart of that football culture. IF we can mantain that culture of winning, and avoid The Virus and Lil Dave type years, then we can build on it. See vcu...maintain success and student body stays with you.

Thats cause Football is OM culture haha I love that school but their whole social calendar is built around football.

 

[GMUgemini]

Tournament or conference?

Tournament.

Conference expansion is 14 is a good number, willing to expand up to 16 if the fit is right. No pressure to expand currently. This was in reference to “is Charleston going to join the A10?”

 

[MasonSAE4]

Tournament.

Conference expansion is 14 is a good number, willing to expand up to 16 if the fit is right. No pressure to expand currently. This was in reference to “is Charleston going to join the A10?”

Yeah 14 is the sweet spot for me. That being said, we gotta figure out how to trade Fordham for Charleston.

 

[undertherock]

Yeah 14 is the sweet spot for me. That being said, we gotta figure out how to trade Fordham for Charleston.

The Rose Hill Gym is basically a historical site and deserves to stay in the A10

 

[MasonSAE4]

The Rose Hill Gym is basically a historical site and deserves to stay in the A10

Ok? They drag the league down year after year but I’m glad three of our fans get to experience sitting on bleachers every other year, I guess.

 

[Verdad]

The Rose Hill Gym is basically a historical site and deserves to stay in the A10

That's fine, Charleston can play their home games there.

 

[GMU79]

Ok? They drag the league down year after year but I’m glad three of our fans get to experience sitting on bleachers every other year, I guess.

Yeah, but this is the same Fordham that has kicked our butt's in the tourney several times in the recent past.

 

[mkaufman1]

Ok? They drag the league down year after year but I’m glad three of our fans get to experience sitting on bleachers every other year, I guess.

I appreciate the kind words on the topic, lol. And usually its me @gmubrian and then like 3-5 other randoms (sometimes a parent of a player). I dragged a friend of mine to the last one. I normally have the honor and privilege of watching mason finding a new way to lose at Rose Hill (1-3 all time with the 1 win occurring before the world shutting down in 2020)

 

[MasonSAE4]

Yeah, but this is the same Fordham that has kicked our butt's in the tourney several times in the recent past.

I mean yes. But also they drag the NET down. Even a slightly less middling program would be a nice little boost towards getting the A10 towards being a consistent multi-bid league. I’d say we could trade La Salle, but at least they come with an automatic game every year against Temple or Villanova.

 

[GMUgemini]

I mean yes. But also they drag the NET down. Even a slightly less middling program would be a nice little boost towards getting the A10 towards being a consistent multi-bid league. I’d say we could trade La Salle, but at least they come with an automatic game every year against Temple or Villanova.

I’m less concerned about the bottom of the conference than I am the top 6 shooting itself in the foot all the time.

Last season it was St. Joes coming in with a great non-con and ending with a mediocre 9-9.

This season it’s Dayton and to a lesser extent Mason and St. Bonaventure and of course St. Joes again, who has the best win in the A10 but is mediocre again.

We need a solid 6-8 teams (Dayton, vcu, St. Joes, Davidson, St. Bonaventure, Loyola-Chicago, anyone else, and of course Mason) who can perennially be top 100 with 3-4 being Q1 material (25-50 range).

Edit: this is basically the current Mountain West (4 top 50 teams, 6 in the top 100, 1 just outside—UNLV at 108–and it doesn’t matter that they have two sub-300 teams at the bottom of the conference).