One early win for the new AD would be something like this. The Rupp atmosphere could be much improved. I think the whole side of the court opposite the TV cameras should be students or at least standing room only.
Indiana doubles their student section around the court
- Thread starter Blue Jesus
- Start date
One early win for the new AD would be something like this. The Rupp atmosphere could be much improved. I think the whole side of the court opposite the TV cameras should be students or at least standing room only.
Good luck getting people willing to pay $20K a year for seats to move to a worse seat so some college kids who may or may not show up can sit down there.
With the university pushing budget cuts and fiscal responsibility, they’re not losing that money to create a marginally better “atmosphere.”
With the university pushing budget cuts and fiscal responsibility, they’re not losing that money to create a marginally better “atmosphere.”
When I was at UK in the late 80s we students had seats courtside, same side as team benches. You had to go to the ticket lottery to get the really good seats, but I had some great ones during my time there. I hate Indiana but I'll tip my hat to them for this.
I agree with you, but in Rupp those are such high revenue seats. Booster politics, Rupp Arena (owned by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, operated by the Lexington Center Corporation, and managed by Oak View Group), and the UK Athletics Dept. will never allow it to happen.
UK does allocate up to 1,500 seats for students. Locations are just not great outside of the Eruption Zone. My seats are in the upper part of Sec. 21. I would gladly move if they wanted to ever create a second Eruption Zone. Ticket prices and seat licenses would have to go up across the board by a lot to cover the lost revenue though.
Preference is to have students from baseline to baseline, but not going to happen at Rupp.
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Maybe I'm just old school but when I see someone at Rupp standing or making noise I call the cops.
I accept it’s very unlikely. I think if it were to ever happen it might be during a change in leadership. I threw in the “standing room only” alternative to an expanded student section… offer the blue hairs two choices. Stand in a bleacher-style section, or relocate to a very nice seat that isn’t on the TV broadcast. I bet there would be other lower level ticket-holders who would like to be on that side that could swap with those who don’t.
Again, fully acknowledging it’s unlikely. A man can dream can’t he?
I am pretty sure that can't be done as you described. I think the SEC has a rule that the student section can no longer be behind the benches and in Rupp the benches are on the side opposite the cameras.
Cats take a 15-year hiatus from Assembly Hall due to its imbecile fans, especially their students, and they double the student section upon our return. IU might get put back in timeout for another 15 years if they act a fool again.
I have said for 35 years that UK should put the students in the first 6-10 rows all the way around the court!
UK needs to build a new arena. Nobody cares about Rupp arena anymore. It’s old as a dinosaur and recruits these days have no idea (or care) who Rupp even is.
I hate that I have to agree with this, but you nailed it. That's exactly how they'll view it.
Theyre paying tuition higher than that so.
This is why rupp desperately needed boxes to shove those ppl in there so they could feel important
Holy **** another school changing to benefit their program. Let's not piss off the knitters tho. Need them blankets.
That makes absolutely zero sense. If they built a new arena logic would tell you that ticket prices would be higher for the new arena. I guess being smart and logical is not your thing though. Probably comes from being born of incest. Seems like that causes a bunch of problems.
Here's why it's smart and not a value loss. The seats at Assembly Hall that they're converting to a student section are great seats, but they're the bleacher seat sections behind both baskets. The seats that were student section seats that will now be non-student seats are from a close-up/mid level sideline section.
So they are getting the students closer to the court and at the same time freeing up cushy seatback chairs for the oldsters,
So they are getting the students closer to the court and at the same time freeing up cushy seatback chairs for the oldsters,
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This is true.
Then in the 90s the students b*tched and moaned incessantly about wanting to move to the endzone like they saw on TV at some other programs. Eventually UK made that happen and moved the students from the courtside seats to the endzone, thus creating the eRUPPtion zone. I never understood this, because the courtside seating the students had at the time was friggin awesome.
Not so long after that, complaints began yet again about wanting to be courtside, just like what is proposed in the OP of this thread.
Long story short, it never ends, and no one is ever satisfied, unless it involves folks who actually pay through the nose for their tickets no longer having any of the choice seating.
Not exactly. They relocated the section 32 & maybe 31 seats, and the band, to the end zone during the seat replacement renovation. UK wanted this. Students got 'double' the spots in the lower section going from 350 or so seats to 700 spots.
Correct, they took 32, 31, and the band from the sideline to the endzone. And yes, it only happened because UK wanted it too, but the students were begging for years to be in the endzone because they somehow thought that would be a more ideal location for them. So students were thrilled with the relocation at the time.
I just find it interesting, after observing this over many years, how it doesn't really matter where students are located. Eventually they think they should be entitled to someone else's seat.
IU plays on campus, so greater student seating makes slightly more sense. I still hate it though.
Maybe someone should remind students here that Rupp Arena is not on campus, is not owned by the university, and the students are not owed any seating except what they are willing to pay for. The fact that student seating exists at all is a concession to some of the most obnoxious people in attendance. Ditch the students and the beer and Rupp might be a great place to catch a game again
Maybe someone should remind students here that Rupp Arena is not on campus, is not owned by the university, and the students are not owed any seating except what they are willing to pay for. The fact that student seating exists at all is a concession to some of the most obnoxious people in attendance. Ditch the students and the beer and Rupp might be a great place to catch a game again
Thanks for the explanation of how that happened. I didn't know why the students were moved, I figured it was a unilateral move by the university to move more money into the courtside seating. What a shame.