Breaking CAA News

[Wags]

Doesn't anybody see what's going on here? NOBODY ELSE BID FOR THE TOURNEY....NOT BALTIMORE NOT THE NASSAU COLISEUM....THEY TOOK THE BEST DEAL THEY HAD.

Of course. That's what I meant in my earlier comment when I said it's about money. But I also doubt the CAA went out of its way trying to solicit bids either. Knowing they'd likely get a bid only from down south in North Charleston was probably fine with them, even if the northern half of the conference be damned.

[HofstraMathew]

Go to the Charleston thread, and look at the series of tweets between JetBlue, the HofstraMBB account, and the HofstraU account. I assume that's what he means by "relationship". SGA hosts the bus trips, and they definitely do subsidize it. It's only $25 for the entire trip, including transportation, hotel, and game tickets. The only students that I know of that go completely for free are the spirit support teams. I know people on them, and they've said that the school pays for everything, including giving them per diem money. I'm not sure exactly what department pays for this though. And that may change, since it'll be way more expensive to fly them all down than it is to put them all on a bus or two. If the school markets a trip for the students correctly and offers a good price, you might get people willing to go somewhere warm. Baltimore isn't typically that much warmer than Long Island is, but Charleston certainly is warmer.


Also, the press conference with the official announcement is at 2:30 on CAA.tv

so they tweeted at each other and now we are getting major discounts? im lost.

those were bus trips (baltimore, richmond). this is a whole different animal guys.

I don't think anyone is referring to major discounts. I just looked at Jet Blue prices this year for March 4th to March 8th and it came to $212.20 per person and I bet it may be even lower if you booked earlier than this. You don't think if Hofstra bought around 100 tickets that Jet Blue would give it to them for in the $150-$180 range. Then maybe subside that by $50 per ticket and sell to the students for $100-$130 per student. Then let's say assume the hotel rooms they can get for $100 per night for 4 nights and put 4 students per room; so that would be another $100. I know if I was a student I wouldn't have any problem paying $200-$230 to go to a warm location for an extended weekend and watch some basketball. And You probably could even shave the price some more if you flew there Saturday morning instead of Friday.

[Wags]

what do you mean relationship? do you all think that if our teams fly jetblue they fly for free? what world do you live in. there is no way the school pays for students to FLY to a conference tournament.

Go to the Charleston thread, and look at the series of tweets between JetBlue, the HofstraMBB account, and the HofstraU account. I assume that's what he means by "relationship". SGA hosts the bus trips, and they definitely do subsidize it. It's only $25 for the entire trip, including transportation, hotel, and game tickets. The only students that I know of that go completely for free are the spirit support teams. I know people on them, and they've said that the school pays for everything, including giving them per diem money. I'm not sure exactly what department pays for this though. And that may change, since it'll be way more expensive to fly them all down than it is to put them all on a bus or two. If the school markets a trip for the students correctly and offers a good price, you might get people willing to go somewhere warm. Baltimore isn't typically that much warmer than Long Island is, but Charleston certainly is warmer.

Yes, exactly. I was referring to the earlier tweets and the relationship the team had with flying JetBlue to a game down there this season, thinking that perhaps based on that relationship, a discount could be passed along to HU students. However, I still don't think that would be significant enough for the students to be able to go, nor (judging from the Lion's Den attendance this year) do I think the students would go there even if that were the case.

[stuball888]

This is still a $750 to a grand for fans that are not students.

[Flying Dutchmen]

I don't think anyone is referring to major discounts. I just looked at Jet Blue prices this year for March 4th to March 8th and it came to $212.20 per person and I bet it may be even lower if you booked earlier than this. You don't think if Hofstra bought around 100 tickets that Jet Blue would give it to them for in the $150-$180 range. Then maybe subside that by $50 per ticket and sell to the students for $100-$130 per student. Then let's say assume the hotel rooms they can get for $100 per night for 4 nights and put 4 students per room; so that would be another $100. I know if I was a student I wouldn't have any problem paying $200-$230 to go to a warm location for an extended weekend and watch some basketball. And You probably could even shave the price some more if you flew there Saturday morning instead of Friday.

Exactly. Obviously there would be some cost, but we've had a good relationship with JetBlue for years, if we blocked out 100 tickets on a flight we would get some type of discount, then the school could subsidize some of the cost, leaving the student with something reasonable in the $100-$200 range.

You can create the list of students going to Charleston via a points system for showing up to athletic events throughout the year. Start the tally for spring events the year before, and make the reward a cheap trip down to Charleston in March. I just think you would get at least 100 students to buy into some type of loyalty points system, larger schools do it all the time. It's a great opportunity for the school to drum up some support for both Men's Hoops and all of the other programs.

This is still a $750 to a grand for fans that are not students.

I definitely agree Stu, but honestly, how often is the money the barrier for attending or not attending the CAA Tournament? I'm going down to Baltimore with "Hofstra" and some friends, the whole trip including food and tickets will be about $300. If we're in first, yes, we might get a decent crowd, but if the support is anything like it was the past two years, the CAAT could be in Baltimore, Charleston or Los Angeles and the Hofstra crowd would be nearly identical.

[stuball888]

Plane tickets after taxes and fees about $250. Hotel about $350. Food drinks and tickets another $300. So by my calculations its about $900. If you are renting a car another 150 or cab fare to the arena if a walk is too far another 100.

[Polito]

I think there are a couple of different points here.

1) I believe very few locations bid for it, that has been a challenge even yrs ago. Although I do wonder how much of that was BS and just Yeager and Richmond making cool little back office deals. I also believe the CAA still hasn't really done much to proactively improve things post-big 3 leaving, esp under Yeager, who I believe was one of the biggest perpetuators of the southern bias - smart guy, used the northern schools to stabilize and therefore strengthen his southern conf, he played the game, and played it well. Even if there WERE other places willing to bid but were shut out due to side deals, those places are off the table now that the conf has lost some of the biggest fanbases in the big 3. Now the CAA is SOL on that front.

2) Taking HU out of the equation, Charleston is likely a very good location for this event - known to be a nice city to travel to, plenty to do/see/eat, an overall solid destination type place with a lot to offer a weekend tourney. They will likely treat the event very well, and of course for the biggest fanbases it's a great place.

3) Now, what's good for HU is very different. This does not benefit HU in any way shape or form. It essentially forces fans into a flight/rental/hotel plus the normal ticket/food/etc. That's a lot to ask for a mid major fanbase. I don't think the CAA is out to screw HU specifically, but they damn sure don't give a rats ass about this school, and I think it's high time HU makes a stand and makes a move. If HU is not going to be treated as a valued member, then it's time to go. Same for every 'northern' program. The CAA used us 4 for the greater benefit of their southern members, and holy cow did it ever benefit them by launching them to super success and bigger conferences - well, now it's HU's turn to do what's best for them.

4) Format: Scheduling needs to change to Thur-Sun. I like a neutral site, but playing the champ game on a Monday night is brutal. That only worked when it was in Richmond and the big 3 won most of the time and had fanbases who could drive their in back the same day/night. It doesn't work anymore, and hasn't since they left.

Bottom line for me, I think it's time to put some pressure on this conf to operate appropriately for ALL members. I would really like to see the 4 northerns band together on that front and make some collective noise about how the CAA is run. And if they can't or won't, then it's time to go. I have no interest in a 42 page thread on what conf to move to, that's not the point. The point is I think it's time to let this conf know that the value of this partnership is under question. And behind the scenes, its high time HU's AD did some of his own wheeling and dealing and get HU in the best position possible.

[ProudofPride]

1) I believe very few locations bid for it, that has been a challenge even yrs ago. Although I do wonder how much of that was BS and just Yeager and Richmond making cool little back office deals. I also believe the CAA still hasn't really done much to proactively improve things post-big 3 leaving, esp under Yeager, who I believe was one of the biggest perpetuators of the southern bias - smart guy, used the northern schools to stabilize and therefore strengthen his southern conf, he played the game, and played it well. Even if there WERE other places willing to bid but were shut out due to side deals, those places are off the table now that the conf has lost some of the biggest fanbases in the big 3. Now the CAA is SOL on that front.

Let's not forget that this is Yeager's last year as commissioner. He's retiring at the end of this season. So it's almost as if this is his "last words" to the Northern schools. Hopefully the new commissioner will realize this is dumb, and that a primarily mid-atlantic centered conference shouldn't be having the tournament in Charleston, where the southern-most school is.

[hualum]

can you imagine how empty that place would be for a Hofstra vs. Northeastern final??

seriously...can we leave this league? PLEASE?

[Hofstra]

Not for nothing but very few people even on this board come to the tournament anyway. Like someone said earlier, regardless of where it is held, people won't come. Most likely leaving Baltimore because Royal Farms Arena/CAA conference didn't profit enough here. Hofstra, Udel, and Towson don't have the fan base to anchor this tournament in Baltimore. Someone mentioned earlier that Charleston's attendance numbers are highest in CAA. Makes sense to put the tourney here.

Just don't think it's worth losing sleep over if people didn't plan to go anyway. Charleston is an awesome city, and if people want to go to tourney, it's a great trip to do.

[The Shadow]

As been stated previously, the reasons why the CAAT in in South Carolina is MONEY. You cannot make fans come to games that they have no interest in. Fans go to games in person for specific reasons, otherwise just turn the TV on. HU,NU,DU,TU,and UD at this time do not have a large enough number of fans that would travel a few hours and spend approximately hundreds to thousands of dollars on college basketball over a long weekend. As far as a conference switch, I believe that HU and the other northern colleges without football(NU and DU) should band together as a group. In this manner they offer more to a possible new conference. All of these colleges have their unique histories and strengths. Exploring other options cannot hurt. Maybe this will cause the new CAA administration to look at things differently. You still have to look out for all the other sports that HU, DU, and NU excel in. I wonder how the fans of NU and DU feel about the CAAT relocation.

[ProudofPride]

CAA annoucement: http://caasports.com/news/2016/1/28/MBB_0128165613.aspx
It figures that the only school they got a quote from is CofC, and they didn't even put a picture of the arena.

I just don't understand how the conference will make money from this if half of the schools bring even less fans than they already do.

[stuball888]

PoP 3,000 from Cof C and 3,000 from UNCW and maybe 2,000 from all the other schools and you have 8,000.

[ProudofPride]

PoP 3,000 from Cof C and 3,000 from UNCW and maybe 2,000 from all the other schools and you have 8,000.

Very true, but on the off chance that all 3 of those schools lose their first games, the place will be dead. As hualum said, imagine how empty a championship game between HU and NU would be. I would assume that making it more central to most schools would bring more fans, but maybe not. I guess it worth a shot, it's only for 3 years.

[Wags]

4) Format: Scheduling needs to change to Thur-Sun. I like a neutral site, but playing the champ game on a Monday night is brutal. That only worked when it was in Richmond and the big 3 won most of the time and had fanbases who could drive their in back the same day/night. It doesn't work anymore, and hasn't since they left.

You'll have to wait until at least 2020 for that one.

The press release says:

"The first CAA Men's Basketball Championship in Charleston will be held March 3-6, 2017. Future tournament dates are March 2-5, 2018 and March 8-11, 2019."

[HofstraPride1]

can you imagine how empty that place would be for a Hofstra vs. Northeastern final??

seriously...can we leave this league? PLEASE?

I understand the frustration and wanting to leave, but to where? MAAC is not option because of limits it would place on other sports and Atlantic 10 doesn't want us. Patriot League would be cool but don't see us being picked there either.

[joeg1]

A final with two old AE teams would draw <1000

[dutchalum01]

I'll say this, the distance to travel sucks, but if the team has a shot - people will make the trip. It's on our university to promote our team and make it a product people want to see. We (fans on the board) are definitely the minority, hell, I live in Minneapolis, stream every game and am catching a flight to Baltimore for the tournament. If our university does its job, our coaches do their job, we should charter some busses and get students down there. If they can't afford it, so be it - Charleston then looks a lot like Baltimore or any other non New York market.

[The Shadow]

HofstraPride1: That's why I think the administration of the three northern nonfootball colleges should look as a unit. What conference wants to expand and gain these three? Remember, HU's travel in the CAA is not as difficult as NU. These three are good schools that are misplaced now. Another option is the CAA becoming larger. This is probably the least likely to occur for northern colleges. What do the rest of True Blue Dutch fans think may be a solution?

[HUSID80]

Add Albany and SBU and make two divisions but it will never happen