Flying Dutchmen Fans

Let’s make it into the top four. At this point, nothing else matters. Finishing fifth or below is a doomsday scenario in terms of winning the CAA tournament.


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A big welcome and thank you to 82hawk - you validated what I and some others have said / been saying for years. HU has enough resources to succeed, but lack 2 major components to do so: a real strategic growth plan and the leadership to execute it. UNCW will be another university in a very long line of others who will eventually pass over HU and move on to better pastures. Kudos to the W for being a school of action - you deserve the success you earn. Praying we can find real leaders one day to do so for us. We are a fanbase that deserves SO much better.

Listen, this was the expected outcome for anyone being honest, the W is simply better - we are extremely streaky and unpredictable and out top guy isn't a POY like we've had in the past, but we have numerous weapons and our guys truly fought hard and played the best team in the league this year on their own hostile floor in a monster game with a raucous crowed to a 4 pt difference. Yes the win would've been awesome, but this was still a reasonably positive outcome - it proved HU could conceivably beat them, especially on a neutral floor.

I really didn't want HU trying to carry some crazy win streak all the way to dancing - this team isn't doing that. Felt like we needed to get just 1 more L out of the way, and this is certainly the most conducive game for it. Now the key is they need to win these last 4 extremely winnable games and head into the CAAT as a top 4 seed with the confidence and momentum and health to give it a real shot.

No moral victories, you know I'm not that guy, but I don't believe HU is dancing this year anyway, so taking what we can get - this was the needed confidence building road trip all desired. Just want that top 4 spot, get to DC, bring all they can, and fight to make the champ game for a rematch. That's the goal right now.

Time to TCB to finish out the regular season. These guys should go out every one of the last 4 with a chip on their shoulders to get it done and show they are ready and able to chase that crown.

I have no idea where they come from, but Hofstra produces legit scoring guards year after year like there's a printer making them. I also think that may be your achilles heel. I posed this question to CofC fans and the answer is telling. Which CAA teams have had the POY and also won the CAA tournament and went to the NCAA? Not positive, but I don't think it has happened often. And on that line, UNCW has ZERO player of the week awards in conference play, yet we have a two game lead in first place, in a conference where most teams have at least 6 losses. And, we've only lost to one team(although it was twice). In other words, mid level scoring from every position is better than superstars when it comes to winning. What I see y'all need is a legit scoring big man. The CAA has, out of nowhere, become a conference loaded with some serious talent in the post. We lost our two big men to the Big 12 that really led us to the CAA title, and both were dominant in the post. This year we have Wessler who is the best big man in the CAA. And if you look around the conference, it's the teams with bigs who can score in the post and rebound that are rising.
As far as attendance. UNCW is the centerpiece of Wilmington, especially in the winter. And, the surrounding area is expecting a 50% population growth in the next 20 years. I'm assuming Hofstra is battling for attention in NYC and may never reach 5k average. But, do y'all see a path to that type of attendance?

Hawk82-you said it perfectly with feast or famine. You either dance or it’s a failure and that’s y’all’s mindset. On the other hand, Hofstra who has had the resources and will continue to get the resources is pretty okay with being a “good team” that competes and is at the top of the conference. Unfortunately, this has also trickled down to the fans. Don’t even get me started on our pathetic lacrosse team. I am like UNCW where it’s either dance or it’s a failure. I don’t keep up with and support the team to just being “good”. I don’t care about that. We’ve done that for many many years now and it hasn’t done anything for us or me. It’s time to win and we need to win now. I hope that we make it dancing this year.

As far as attendance goes, I don’t see that ever happening. I could possibly see it happening if Hofstra got to the dance two or three years in a row and it got the school really excited about sports and the men’s bball team in general because at the end of the day our men’s bball team is our flagship just like it is for UNCW due to not having a football team.

As far as having players of the year etc…I think for the most part Hofstra men’s bball (pretty much last 10 years or so) has been a top heavy team meaning we don’t rely on a bench and we have one guy who basically handles all the scoring. The problem with this is if your guy has a rough night or is playing against great defense you don’t have anyone to rely on. I think that’s been our issue recently.

However, I believe our team this year is much more spread out meaning we have multiple guys that can score some points and I think we have a legit shot of winning and making the dance. I didn’t get to see the game against y’all but I know the environment was tough for us down there and I think we can be a real threat to your team.

Our team in 2015 or 2016 (can’t remember) was also a great team that had multiple guys who could score but of course we lost UNCW in the championship game when we were favorites.

82hawk wrote: ↑Sun Feb 15, 2026 3:11 pm Which CAA teams have had the POY and also won the CAA tournament and went to the NCAA? Not positive, but I don't think it has happened often.

In the 24 complete seasons since the northern schools joined:

UNCW's Brett Blizzard in 2001-2002
UNCW's Brett Blizzard in 2002-2003
VCU's Domonic Jones in 2003-2004
Old Dominion's Alex Loughton in 2004-2005
VCU's Eric Maynor 2008-2009

It happened in the first four seasons, but not in any of the last 16 seasons. I wonder what conference has the longest streak of the POY not being on the tournament champion.

Pbdutch wrote: ↑Sun Feb 15, 2026 4:22 pm Our team in 2015 or 2016 (can’t remember) was also a great team that had multiple guys who could score but of course we lost UNCW in the championship game when we were favorites.

That was in March 2016 in 2015-2016.

dutchPride86 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 15, 2026 11:05 am Wags sorry for your loss.

Thank you, dutchPride.

dutchPride86 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 15, 2026 11:05 am To me Speedy was thinking about 1 of 2 things there... the refs (which would have been a weak excuse imo, the officiating was not the difference in the final 5 mins), or he was actually gonna say something along the lines of well Cruz missed shots we expect him to make, but thought better of it.

Also if Speedy is gonna say publicly that Hofstras one of the top 2 teams in the CAA... better back it up and win all 4 of these games comfortably to close out the regular season. We've all seen too many times over the years Hofstra takes a late Feb game off and gets picked off by an inferior team.

In fairness, he was asked, so it's not like he put it out there on his own. And, they're currently the 4 seed, could be the 3 tonight, split with #2, and nearly beat #1. So, it's not unreasonable at all to think they might be one of the top two at this point. I doubt he would have said the the same weeks ago.

Another question I have. Where is your student section and what kind of seating do they have? I catch alot of crap for this, but i've said since I graduated many moons ag that students courtside on bleachers like we have is a show in itself. It's the most critical difference for the students really enjoying the games they attend, and it also makes or breaks the atmosphere for everyone who attends. If every school designed their arenas with students in mind like we have, their home attendance and home court advantage would explode.

82hawk wrote: ↑Sun Feb 15, 2026 9:56 pm Another question I have. Where is your student section and what kind of seating do they have? I catch alot of crap for this, but i've said since I graduated many moons ag that students courtside on bleachers like we have is a show in itself. It's the most critical difference for the students really enjoying the games they attend, and it also makes or breaks the atmosphere for everyone who attends. If every school designed their arenas with students in mind like we have, their home attendance and home court advantage would explode.

I've always envied UNCW's setup along the sidelines. It makes a lot more sense for the students to affect the game. When Hofstra has a Lion's Den (it's normally mostly empty), it's always behind the basket closest to the visiting bench.

Wags wrote: ↑Mon Feb 16, 2026 12:53 am

82hawk wrote: ↑Sun Feb 15, 2026 9:56 pm Another question I have. Where is your student section and what kind of seating do they have? I catch alot of crap for this, but i've said since I graduated many moons ag that students courtside on bleachers like we have is a show in itself. It's the most critical difference for the students really enjoying the games they attend, and it also makes or breaks the atmosphere for everyone who attends. If every school designed their arenas with students in mind like we have, their home attendance and home court advantage would explode.

I've always envied UNCW's setup along the sidelines. It makes a lot more sense for the students to affect the game. When Hofstra has a Lion's Den (it's normally mostly empty), it's always behind the basket closest to the visiting bench.

82hawk great to have your perspective. It doesnt matter where Hofstra puts its student section, the students here unfortunately just don't care at all about the basketball team.

And to the idea that if Hofstra made the tourney more fans would come... we hosted Cincinnati in the 2nd round of the NIT on a Saturday afternoon coming off a dramatic OT nationally televised road win at Rutgers a couple years ago and the building was more than half empty.

By boarding off most of the upper sections to make "fan zones" and calling a crowd in the high 3000s a "near sellout," when the building can actually sit over 5,100, it shows to me that the administration has given up on trying to fill the arena.

But I know there are many here better connected to the university who may feel differently or have more educated insight into this.

Man that's rough then. I still think the administration needs to do what they can to turn it into a great experience for the students. Far too many schools have turned the area that would be great for students into a high donor seating area. It has to start somewhere, and the one thing you do have is a program that wins and competes for championships pretty much every season.

If I ran a program, using UNCW as a nice template for a mid sized midmajor i'd do the following in this order.

1. I'd put students right behind the team benches, with bleachers if possible. Students love heckling and behind the opponents bench is the prime time heckling zone.
2. We have what i'd call a "student mascot" we call Teal Suit Guy. He's the master of ceremonies and runs all the fun stuff at the games. Started as just a guy in the stands and turned it into a gig that can now be passed on to the next Teal Suit Guy
3. We really take advantage of our cameras and scoreboard to feature the students on TV and in the arena. Again, they crave this kind of stuff.
4. Just let them raise hell unless it is completely out of bounds. The swim team showing up in their swim suits is pure comedy.
5. Cheap concessions. We have all knids of deals in food up until 30 minutes before tip off. Gets people there early and works great for students.
6. When you go to the NCAA tournament, set the campus on fire. We have cancelled classes for games and shown the game on the jumbotron in the arena with cheerleaders and the band. Free entry for everyone and free pizza for the students. I took my daughters once, and I remember going home ready to watch it recorded on TV. The experience was so real it felt like we had been to the game.

I don't think a university should ever throw in the towel and give up. The basketball program is awfully expensive and alot of the income is from student fees. If schools would focus solely on the experiennce belonging to the students(it does, we're all just spectators) they may be surprised by the results.

82hawk, you've hit on lots of hot topics for us over the many years - and unfortunately these are sore spots as our beloved athletic programs have failed us time after time.

Student fees are interesting - a key, often controversial revenue driver in college athletics, yet they’re barely discussed up here. I’m not even sure how HU’s compare, but I'd bet they’re not on par. Like it or not, they’re often necessary - just need responsible governance and sustainability.

Attendance issues at HU stem from several factors. The student body has shifted (not for better, IMO), enrollment has declined / stagnated shrinking both the fan base and available $, and there is virtually no meaningful marketing strategy. If it’s not free social media, little gets done. Investment is minimal. The result is many LI'ers and even HU students don’t know the school is DI. It's astonishing, sad, and unacceptable to me.

No offense meant here, but there’s also a regional reality: NYers simply don’t care about the CAA. Many don’t know what it is or the schools in it. This market is driven by “big time” culture - pro sports, major college brands, national recognition. LIers aren’t packing an arena to see HU play W&M, Towson, or whoever. Things should absolutely be better - 3,500 fans a game is fully achievable with better leadership. But there is a ceiling.

Bringing me to one of the biggest hurdles: Making the NCAAT is treated as an unrealistic dream rather than a standard goal. For too many at HU, winning a few regular-season games equals success. Meanwhile, other programs make the tournament every few years and view that as normal. That difference in mindset is very telling, and explains exactly why we are where we are and others are where they are.

Ultimately my position is that HU has lacked the leadership expertise and full commitment required to compete and succeed in modern college athletics. Instead of anticipating the changes most saw coming a mile away and developing a strategic plan, HU has been and continues to be reactive and complacent. Total lack accountability in the AD - no clear championship standards and no consequences for underperformance. Barring a police matter, no one is held responsible. Programs fall off a cliff while the admin hosts celebration dinners for...?... Friggin' groundhog day.

The diehard fan base deserves better. The frustration is overwhelming, and there’s little optimism that any meaningful change is coming. So enjoy your ride 82hawk being part of a U that at least shows public ambition and a path for growth - jealous. It could be worse—you could be us!