If roundball is your blood, this is the place to discuss the Flames as they move into the Ritchie McKay era for the 2nd time.

Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke

By GoLU_13_21
Posts
#651170
Hello all!

I haven't been to a sporting event at LU since about 2015 and planning to go to the FGCU game with my family next Saturday. Would anyone happen to know where to park now as I know the campus has changed dramatically. I know they have a parking deck on East is it free? For tickets to the game do I get a discount as an alum, should I buy online somewhere? Thanks for any advice as I don't want to be towed by bee line as the wife had their "service" while we were there 😅.

Thank you!

3x Liberty Alum
User avatar
By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#651208
Sly Fox wrote: January 24th, 2023, 7:03 pm Yeah, they just link it to a credit card. StubHub charges pretty high fees like SeatGeek. I generally use GameTIme these days.
The school is set up pretty seamlessly via StubHub through
By GoLU_13_21
Posts
#651210
Called the office and was able to get four student tickets 🤣

My wife and I, two school age kiddos, and a 3 month old in the student section.

Either this will be fun

or

I've made a huge mistake
By tyndal23
Posts
#651211
GoLU_13_21 wrote: January 25th, 2023, 1:19 am Called the office and was able to get four student tickets 🤣

My wife and I, two school age kiddos, and a 3 month old in the student section.

Either this will be fun

or

I've made a huge mistake
This scenario Sums up the lack of atmosphere in LA. Student section should be primo, south side behind the players ( and much larger ) with students fighting for the last seat and parents with kids who come to 1 game should have that option ONLY on games students are off campus OR paying premium from a season ticket holder on the north side or in the club seats or a handful of GA seats in one of the behind the basket seats. There is no way an ASUN team should be able to come in to our home 4K seat arena and win. Instead of raucous from tip-off to end - it is a mausoleum UNLESS LU is playing well. Seating configuration and philosophy is just wrong - period. You had a year with a full crowd to figure it out, now 2 - fix it. And yes, this is from tv only, but I also hear the complaints from Twitter ( Ellie McKay ).
User avatar
By Ill flame
Posts
#651212
tyndal23 wrote: January 25th, 2023, 1:40 am This scenario Sums up the lack of atmosphere in LA. Student section should be primo, south side behind the players ( and much larger ) with students fighting for the last seat and parents with kids who come to 1 game should have that option ONLY on games students are off campus OR paying premium from a season ticket holder on the north side or in the club seats or a handful of GA seats in one of the behind the basket seats. There is no way an ASUN team should be able to come in to our home 4K seat arena and win. Instead of raucous from tip-off to end - it is a mausoleum UNLESS LU is playing well. Seating configuration and philosophy is just wrong - period. You had a year with a full crowd to figure it out, now 2 - fix it. And yes, this is from tv only, but I also hear the complaints from Twitter ( Ellie McKay ).
I agree. They got it right with football. I'm not sure why they didn't use a similar seating arrangement with basketball. I understand making sure your most loyal fans (season ticket holders) are taken care of but it's not hard to just put them on the same side as the camera so the empty seats are hidden.
By ballcoach15
Registration Days Posts
#651213
There's only so much you can do pertaining to seating, in a small arena. Every seat should be General Admission. This format works well in many high school gyms around the country.
By GoLU_13_21
Posts
#651216
tyndal23 wrote: January 25th, 2023, 1:40 am
GoLU_13_21 wrote: January 25th, 2023, 1:19 am Called the office and was able to get four student tickets 🤣

My wife and I, two school age kiddos, and a 3 month old in the student section.

Either this will be fun

or

I've made a huge mistake
This scenario Sums up the lack of atmosphere in LA. Student section should be primo, south side behind the players ( and much larger ) with students fighting for the last seat and parents with kids who come to 1 game should have that option ONLY on games students are off campus OR paying premium from a season ticket holder on the north side or in the club seats or a handful of GA seats in one of the behind the basket seats. There is no way an ASUN team should be able to come in to our home 4K seat arena and win. Instead of raucous from tip-off to end - it is a mausoleum UNLESS LU is playing well. Seating configuration and philosophy is just wrong - period. You had a year with a full crowd to figure it out, now 2 - fix it. And yes, this is from tv only, but I also hear the complaints from Twitter ( Ellie McKay ).
Yeah I had no idea it was a student ticket till I opened the email. The lady on the phone said it was specific seats but they just say, student section - general admission.

I apologize to any atmosphere I and my family may disrupt 😅.
User avatar
By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#651225
ballcoach15 wrote: January 25th, 2023, 10:44 am There's only so much you can do pertaining to seating, in a small arena. Every seat should be General Admission. This format works well in many high school gyms around the country.
NCAA D1 is a little different then HS basketball...

I do think it is odd where they decided to put the students.
By Chippy
Registration Days Posts
#651226
Aren't the Duke students opposite both benches where they can be seen cheering on their team and seen booing the other team? I like that set up. I sit behind our bench and the opposite side sometimes looks like their watching a sermon. :boring
By ballcoach15
Registration Days Posts
#651228
thepostman wrote: January 25th, 2023, 3:29 pm
ballcoach15 wrote: January 25th, 2023, 10:44 am There's only so much you can do pertaining to seating, in a small arena. Every seat should be General Admission. This format works well in many high school gyms around the country.
NCAA D1 is a little different then HS basketball...

I do think it is odd where they decided to put the students.
I think I've been to 3 games this season. I haven't noticed where they put the students.
By Humble_Opinion
Registration Days Posts
#651238
The students go behind the goals. The band on one side and a section on the other. If enough students would come to the games, perhaps they'd put them on the sidelines. One thing you guys aren't thinking about though is that the students are gone for practically half of the season. This isn't Duke. From Thanksgiving Break on through the middle of January, the campus is pretty empty. If you reserve the sideline seats for only students and sell your season tickets behind the goals, you end up with the same thing you're complaining about.

The problem here is that serious/high-level athletics is still a relatively new thing on campus. Because of that, it's not ingrained in fully in the alumni culture. Most alumni in their 30s-40s with kids aren't showing up to a game rowdy and ready to help their team win. They're just there for family time... something to get out of the house and do with their kids. Now, when they're given a reason to be rowdy, they respond. That's what happened at the CA game. It will get better. If you want to continue to see things improve. Show up and show out. Set an example and don't be shy about it. People will catch on - they want to. They're just not comfortable doing it yet.
Racenut liked this
By tyndal23
Posts
#651248
Humble_Opinion wrote: January 26th, 2023, 9:38 am The students go behind the goals. The band on one side and a section on the other. If enough students would come to the games, perhaps they'd put them on the sidelines. One thing you guys aren't thinking about though is that the students are gone for practically half of the season. This isn't Duke. From Thanksgiving Break on through the middle of January, the campus is pretty empty. If you reserve the sideline seats for only students and sell your season tickets behind the goals, you end up with the same thing you're complaining about.

The problem here is that serious/high-level athletics is still a relatively new thing on campus. Because of that, it's not ingrained in fully in the alumni culture. Most alumni in their 30s-40s with kids aren't showing up to a game rowdy and ready to help their team win. They're just there for family time... something to get out of the house and do with their kids. Now, when they're given a reason to be rowdy, they respond. That's what happened at the CA game. It will get better. If you want to continue to see things improve. Show up and show out. Set an example and don't be shy about it. People will catch on - they want to. They're just not comfortable doing it yet.
Already posted about the non student games - local high school kids are out of school also, that is when you do family night packages / kids flames club promos etc. for the seats students would normally be in- offer them when you offer season tickets. IF you make the student section like it is in football - they will show and be loud. Otherwise - CUSA teams are going to feel like they have a home game compared to arenas/atmospheres they are used to playing in. ( the original 5 )
By Humble_Opinion
Registration Days Posts
#651251
tyndal23 wrote:Already posted about the non student games - local high school kids are out of school also, that is when you do family night packages / kids flames club promos etc. for the seats students would normally be in- offer them when you offer season tickets. IF you make the student section like it is in football - they will show and be loud. Otherwise - CUSA teams are going to feel like they have a home game compared to arenas/atmospheres they are used to playing in. ( the original 5 )
The 2022 Attendance average for CUSA MBB was 3,003, which includes the members that are all leaving the conference. LU's reported avg. attendance for the same year was 3,131. With another year of alumni entering the fray, there's no reason to think 2023's avg (current year), won't improve. Throw in a better schedule in the new CUSA, and there's no reason to think LU won't increase our attendance more in 2024 and be near the top of the league in attendance. I just disagree with the idea that we need to placate to the students more. If the football season was played over the course of the same calendar that basketball is you'd have the same problem with attendance, regardless of where the students sit. Athletics seems to be betting that they have a better chance of selling season tickets and making more $ by selling the better seats and leaving the free student sections behind the goals. I think they're right.

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketb ... Attend.pdf
User avatar
By Ill flame
Posts
#651254
I think some of you need to take a look at how many home games we actually play without students on campus. This is the most we've had in awhile with 4 if im counting correctly. Normally we play more neutral site games over Christmas so it's not as big of an issue. As a percentage of our home schedule it isn't much different than a home football game over Thanksgiving weekend.
By tyndal23
Posts
#651266
Humble_Opinion wrote: January 26th, 2023, 3:15 pm
tyndal23 wrote:Already posted about the non student games - local high school kids are out of school also, that is when you do family night packages / kids flames club promos etc. for the seats students would normally be in- offer them when you offer season tickets. IF you make the student section like it is in football - they will show and be loud. Otherwise - CUSA teams are going to feel like they have a home game compared to arenas/atmospheres they are used to playing in. ( the original 5 )
The 2022 Attendance average for CUSA MBB was 3,003, which includes the members that are all leaving the conference. LU's reported avg. attendance for the same year was 3,131. With another year of alumni entering the fray, there's no reason to think 2023's avg (current year), won't improve. Throw in a better schedule in the new CUSA, and there's no reason to think LU won't increase our attendance more in 2024 and be near the top of the league in attendance. I just disagree with the idea that we need to placate to the students more. If the football season was played over the course of the same calendar that basketball is you'd have the same problem with attendance, regardless of where the students sit. Athletics seems to be betting that they have a better chance of selling season tickets and making more $ by selling the better seats and leaving the free student sections behind the goals. I think they're right.

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketb ... Attend.pdf
All I saw tonight was a beautiful arena with constant view of empty seats directly behind opposing team and announcers - I counted 35 on first 3 rows ( and they stood out like a sore thumb ). Other angles showed decent crowd and other than the band - still not sure where students were except for one quick glance, a few actually standing and in to the game under the goal. Ticket Sales don’t equate to atmosphere - seating arrangement does - trying to squeeze a few dollars more out of a sport by that bleeds $ is ridiculous. Reduce the season tickets - triple the cost and make on campus students compete for tv time via dorm competition, Joker tryouts, Firebirds with paint and Mohawks - student council reps to seat according to best costumes first 5 rows - any empty ticket holder seats on south side go to student overflow 5 minutes after tip-off - this stuff isn’t rocket science.
By Humble_Opinion
Registration Days Posts
#651280
tyndal23 wrote:All I saw tonight was a beautiful arena with constant view of empty seats directly behind opposing team and announcers - I counted 35 on first 3 rows ( and they stood out like a sore thumb ). Other angles showed decent crowd and other than the band - still not sure where students were except for one quick glance, a few actually standing and in to the game under the goal. Ticket Sales don’t equate to atmosphere - seating arrangement does - trying to squeeze a few dollars more out of a sport by that bleeds $ is ridiculous. Reduce the season tickets - triple the cost and make on campus students compete for tv time via dorm competition, Joker tryouts, Firebirds with paint and Mohawks - student council reps to seat according to best costumes first 5 rows - any empty ticket holder seats on south side go to student overflow 5 minutes after tip-off - this stuff isn’t rocket science.
The attendance was 3,591, which is a little better than a "decent crowd". Watching from home, I get what you're saying re: empty seats right behind the announcers. That probably has something more to do with people not wanting to be on camera and the fact that the view right behind the announcers table sucks compared to just a few rows up. According to the ticket office - all season tickets are sold out, including Club level. MBB does not bleed money, as it's one of the few that comes close to paying its own way. The other two are football and men's baseball. I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, but I know because I worked in finance for LU and dealt directly with Athletics on numerous efforts. The students sit behind the goals and last night it was mostly full on both sides - it was a great crowd.

What you're saying regarding a reduction of season tickets and then tripling the price makes 0 sense to me. I could get behind an effort to have students fill in some of the empty seats, especially right behind the announcers, but I also don't think you want a bunch of students moving seats and disrupting the other paying spectators right in the middle of the game. If you're going to do that it has to be before the game starts.
flamehunter liked this
Dondi Costin - LU President

Ive gone there a few times since moving to texas[…]

NCAA Realignment Megathread

Duke Gonzaga B12? https://larrybrownsports.com/co[…]

FlameFans Fantasy Baseball

We are on!!! Hope to see everyone tonight at 9:30[…]

Another player that most people who post on here[…]