Dear John Cohen

[Sickdawg]

20% it’s one baseline

 

[Drewbowski]

When you quit

 

[PreacherDog]

Not even close.

Not counting students:

Tuscaloosa: 2016 census 96k; BHam-212k is not even an hr more like between 30-45.
Auburn: 60k largest city in eastern alabama, the Metro area including Opelika is 90k If you count columbus, GA- 30 min a way, another 200k.

Starkville: 2016 census population: 49k. Could not find a metro area. So include columbus: 24k

Not even close.

I assume that does not count students. So Starkville is 75k. Starkville/Columbus is 100k

Out of 100k I would hope we could get 10% though.

There is no way Starkville's population is 49k. That has to include students. The last census was high 20s.

 

[dawgstudent]

Looks to be about 20%. Gray is the students.

 

[GTAT]

Agree, but that's not what he was suggesting.

That's EXACTLY what I was suggesting.

Again, I was hoping I wouldn't have to list the benefits of playing in Biloxi, one of the most fertile recruiting grounds in the state. But like patdog said, it's more for the fans and getting big crowds. It's also warmer down there during February/March.

Biloxi can/should host a neutral site tournament every couple of years, with us, Ole Miss and Southern as the anchor. Would be awesome.

 

[Go Budaw]

I haven't been to the Hump since 1996 and I don't watch that many basketball games, but every time I tune in I never see actual students. Reaction shots during the broadcast are always of 50-60 year white dudes.

What percentage of the lower bowl is students?

Somewhere between 20%-25% of the lower bowl is students. Probably closer to 20%. They have the 5 sections at end-court on the north side out of 20 sections total, but the two smallest sections in the lower bowl (109 and 113) are two of those 5 sections. So it isn’t exactly proportional. Before the reseating, they had sections 106-110 in the lower level (I think). 106 is midcourt, so it looked a lot better on TV, and there was a lot more incentive to get there early and get good seats.

 

[Go Budaw]

UAT has almost twice as many students as MSU does and Auburn is about 40% larger. That makes a difference. But it still doesn't accunt for the fact that the Hump used to be full, and now it's not.

This is the key point. 15 years ago we packed the place out with about 25% fewer students than we have now, and a smaller Starkville population as well.

I stand by my theory for the non-student fanbase, which is that there is a limited amount of emotional capital that our fairly small fanbase has for MSU sports. As good as we now are in MBB, it is still probably the worst of the 4 sports in terms of overall achievements for the past few years. 3 straight super regionals in baseball, with last year’s team getting within one game of the NC series. Women’s basketball, 3 straight sweet 16’s, two straight national runner up finishes, SEC title. Football has been ranked in the Top 20 for most of the past two seasons, and is always going to command a huge fanbase commitment no matter what. Right now we simply have a case of baseball and women’s basketball attendance cannibalizing men’s basketball attendance.

Now, for the students, that is a totally different story. They should fill their seats, or lose them. I’d go ahead right now and take the upper sections away and open it up for season tickets and GA starting next season, if I were Cohen.

 

[GloryDawg]

Ole Miss Basketball is getting a boost because their football sucks, the most talented baseball team they ever fielded couldn't get out of the regional and their fans are hungry for something good. Basketball is it. I don't see the football getting better any time soon and the Baseball team is going to keep dangling that carrot on a string in front of them leaving them disappointed again.

 

[Spidey.sixpack]

Somewhere between 20%-25% of the lower bowl is students. Probably closer to 20%. They have the 5 sections at end-court on the north side out of 20 sections total, but the two smallest sections in the lower bowl (109 and 113) are two of those 5 sections. So it isn’t exactly proportional. Before the reseating, they had sections 106-110 in the lower level (I think). 106 is midcourt, so it looked a lot better on TV, and there was a lot more incentive to get there early and get good seats.

^this. i was there from 2008-2012. and i remember waiting in line and getting there early for section 106. About five rows in front of jack and jim. and i was disappointed that i didn't see a baseball game in biloxi this year. i live in mobile, AL and i'm going to try and make one weekend series, but having a midweek game in biloxi that me and my son can attend would be great.

 

[HotMop]

This is not a terrible idea. I want to play more baseball games there and Biloxi. Problem is, weekday games are the ones with attendance problems, and you'd have to shuttle the players there to miss classes.

I would definitely like to play MORE basketball games during the holidays at Jackson (or Tupelo, Southaven, Biloxi), since school is out. And maybe play a weekend series at Biloxi, along with the typical Governor's Cup game in Pearl. Problem is, you really want to play as many games as possible at DNF, especially if you're going to play in a tournament like the one in Frisco.

Maybe we could host a neutral site tournament in Biloxi? I actually think that would be a great idea. Great venue and location.

Yeah, best baseball facility in the country, let's play away games. You are a special kind of stupid.

 

[Dog316]

when you gonna fix the basketball atmosphere already dickhead?

People who call other people d***heads usually need to look at the man in the mirror to see one up close.

FWIW, I’m all for moving the students.

 

[thekimmer]

That's a BINGO! Our (lack of) attendance is horrendous. It's embarrassing and something needs to be done LAST YEAR. I touched on this with Cohen years ago, and he stated they are working on a solution. If MSU athletics were a business, Cohen's lack of delivery of said solution would not be accepted as casually.

The women's team play in the same arena, run the same cheesy promotions, and have the same fan travel issues as the men's team and they don't seem to have an attendance problem. Looks pretty obvious what the solution needs to be.

 

[GTAT]

Yeah, back in my college days(the early 2000s), student attendance tended to ebb and flow depending on the opponent. However, I can't recall many games at all when the Rowdies weren't out in full force, and as long as we were playing a half decent opponent(Florida, Bama, OM, UT), you had to get there at least an hour ahead of game time to get a good seat.

I get the people that are choosing the SEC network over a 2+ hr drive during the middle of the week, but the issue with student attendance is puzzling me to me. There just seems to be almost zero interest

This is the key issue, I have no idea why we continue to discuss alumni. It's free and 15 minutes maximum drive time door to door. Most can walk.

 

[GTAT]

Yeah, best baseball facility in the country, let's play away games. You are a special kind of stupid.

^^ Typical Tunnel Vision MSU Idiot

I'd say you're from Rankin County Baptist Country, or maybe Okolona....but I see you're just another out-of-state loudmouth.

 

[GTAT]

Ole Miss Basketball is getting a boost because their football sucks, the most talented baseball team they ever fielded couldn't get out of the regional and their fans are hungry for something good. Basketball is it. I don't see the football getting better any time soon and the Baseball team is going to keep dangling that carrot on a string in front of them leaving them disappointed again.

Reminds me of MSU circa 2002-2004