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Our new fearless leader.

That's an excellent point.

Who buys tickets for halftime entertainment at a mid-major college?

It's happening from what I hear.

A bit different, obviously, but Ryan Gosling recently said this regarding theater-goers - "It’s not your job to keep them open, it’s our job to make things that make it worth you coming out.” Seems fitting anytime we talk about Akron and attendance.

Likely there's less generational consistency in a lot of these areas, causing at least the high school issue. How many of us live in the same high school district we graduated from? I know I don't!

You can probably add in the if you're not first, you're last mentality that has made people less compelled to support teams unless they're not national title contenders. Also, the loss of community in sports at a local level. Attendance in high school, college, and even pro sports is down all across the country. Particularly at the lower levels there appears to be less pride in where one lives.

Probably a bit torn. On the other side likely rejoicing that the bald man will no longer be hurting them.

whatever deal better come with better: concessions, halftime entertainment, and a nee Playlist for the band otherwise Zips are the next NIU.

I brought up the attendance issue because this board is wondering why Groce is making a lateral move. The only time I have heard him express his frustration is with the attendance so I checked the attendance for the college of Charleston. I understand Groce's frustration is that the Zips had their highest win total, the longest home winning streak, and three out of four years we went to the NCAA tourney and he is playing in a half empty jar. I would also be frustrated. Every person likes to know that there hard work is appreciated and Akron fans just do not show up to support this team. I really hope that Groce stays but I could also understand why he would want to leave and play in front of 4900 fans instead of 2200 fans.

The purposeful devaluation of college basketballs regular season by those who run it. Make everything about March Madness and nobody pays attention until March Madness. There are many other problems, but I think that's a big one.

The Dustin Ford era is about to begin. Bobcat Attack has to be in shambles to hear that lol.

Being in Richmond I saw what a tournament run did for bb attendance at VCU firsthand. Prior to that VCU was not that much different than Akron…mostly a commuter college. I think Akron came within minutes of turning bb attendance around in the UCLA game. Been a Zips fan since 2012 and I think the band has been playing the same songs in the same order for that long…maybe that’s the problem…everything on game night has become too stale! But what do I know

This is the real issue imo. Zips Nation shows out for meaningful games (ie Kent and MAC tourney). Beating EMU by 20 just isn't that interesting anymore. That said, we should still be able to get more than 2K.

No.

And what you just pointed out is the other HUGE problem that plagues the MAC is nobody cares about the Directional Michigans, NIUs, and Balls. Not to mention there is a residual effect from rarely allowing your local HS boys basketball demographic to attend games. How are we to expect kids/families to root for Zips basketball when they can't attend the games in their own backyard because of scheduling conflicts? I'm not saying these two pieces are the entire pie, but they're the two largest chunks. The networks control the flexing schedule. Not sure why the MAC wouldn't be able to get similar revenue deals, though, with a Monday/Thursday schedule (flex Thursday games to Fridays still, but at least you're not playing games on Tuesdays) or Wednesday/Sunday.

I'm in agreement with you. It shouldn't be a challenge to get 3,500-4,000 people to an Akron game given their success. It's not like the JAR is some oversized Wolstein Center that we need to get 9k to in order to make it an exciting atmosphere. IMO the larger problem is apathy and small STH base. Need a larger, more dedicated fanbase. Not just people who show up for just Kent and the MAC tournament. It's more a matter of how can that be achieved. I also kind of enjoy the Friday games, particularly when the Zips are on the road, as it's nice not being on ESPN+. The production quality is better.

Maybe?

How does revenue from broadcasting fit into this picture? Do decisions based on tv viewing negatively impact attendance? Maybe games get flexed to Fridays for TV purposes.

Did something get finalized?

Friday home games EMU 1,843 (winter break) Kent 4,847 Umass 2,125 NIU 2,768 Saturday WMU 2,396 Small sample size obviously. I don't see it

Hopefully, with the switch to a new coach we won't see the drop-off in fans we saw when KD left.

Why?

Not to derail the convo even further, but a huge part of the problem is the MAC schedules their conference games on Tuesdays with the top Saturday games typically flexed to Friday nights. HS boys basketball players would likely be the demographic most likely to attend a quality DI hoops game right? Ohio HS boys basketball is played on Tuesdays and Fridays. A conference schedule change would be the most cost effective first logical step in attempting to boost attendance. Wouldn't cost the University a dime. The MAC and Steinbrecher are that stupid, though.