I hate vcu was disrespected because we scheduled them for homecoming. We've been doing homecoming in Feb for over a decade now (more on that later), so its always going to be a conference game. Its not like in football where we can schedule a non-conference game of our choosing for homecoming. Yes, the conference knows we need a home game in Feb on a Saturday at 4pm, but we are not able to hand select the date and our opponent. If we were, why wouldn't we pick this coming weekend? Monday is a holiday and would allow more flexibility for alums who want to travel back for the game.
I hate we haven't tested a fall homecoming. Our typical schedule has been to start the first Tuesday in November and play another game on that Friday. Move the Friday game to Saturday. A lot of positives by doing this:
1. Most homecomings are in the fall. While November 13 is a bit later than schools who hold them in October, it still provides that homecoming-in-the-fall experience.
2. We had great weather on Saturday but that hasn't always been the case. The avg high temp for Fairfax in Nov is 56 degrees; its 45 degrees in Feb. That doesnt mean we don't get cold days in Nov or warm days in Feb, but odds are we get better weather in Nov.
3. Homecoming attracts fans that don't typically come to games regularly; a lot of them living in the area. But if you came on Saturday and had a good time (regardless of how bad we played), you have exactly 2 more home games this season to come back for a game. If homecoming was game in November, you'd have 13 more games this season to buy a ticket. I was never good in math, but 13 is better than 2.
4. We can pick our opponent. I won't re-hash 20 pages of the vcu game thread, but it sucked losing on homecoming.
Having it in the fall isnt perfect, but I think the pros out weigh the cons.