PSAC hoops at the Gate

[Fightingscot82]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

Ironic this topic is up again today.

Late 90s and early 2000s ... if you wanted to see IUP vs Cal ... you were getting in the door before the ladies game.

There's some nostalgia for some of us .... Edwards vs Brown on a Saturday night in a slam-packed MFH or Hamer. You had to be there to experience it.

Ironically, so many hate Kevin Reynolds. Gary Edwards' sideline antics were KR on steroids.

So many see SRU as the rival today. IUP never (very rarely) loses to SRU. Those years ... the IUP vs Cal series was near 50/50. Each school would bring a couple hundred.

LOVED giving Gary Edwards crap when I was a student.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

Ironic this topic is up again today.

Late 90s and early 2000s ... if you wanted to see IUP vs Cal ... you were getting in the door before the ladies game.

There's some nostalgia for some of us .... Edwards vs Brown on a Saturday night in a slam-packed MFH or Hamer. You had to be there to experience it.

Ironically, so many hate Kevin Reynolds. Gary Edwards' sideline antics were KR on steroids.

So many see SRU as the rival today. IUP never (very rarely) loses to SRU. Those years ... the IUP vs Cal series was near 50/50. Each school would bring a couple hundred.

WOW! You are so right. My first experience was January 18, 2003. I was fresh out of grad school and had taken up IUP hoops to fill the time that winter.

I walked into the women's game that night with no idea how PACKED the field house would get for IUP-Cal. It was quite an experience. There was not a seat anywhere! People were even sitting on the steps.

I don't know how many people they had in there but it had to be A LOT! I never experienced anything like that ever again. I guess the Edwards-Brown duel began to ebb sometime shortly after.

But like you said, you had to experience it to fully understand what it was like. It was packed, it was cramped, it was hot, it was CRAZY!

A short time later---I started sitting with the Cal Crazies behind the Cal bench at games and had an absolute blast doing it! I met some really awesome people who knew how to have fun and none of them minded that I was from IUP. Great times!

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[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

IUP gals up 50-27 early third period. Shocking how empty the stands look with what I could deduce.

Snowing like crazy out, already at least two inches.

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[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

IUP gals up 50-27 early third period. Shocking how empty the stands look with what I could deduce.

Snowing like crazy out, already at least two inches.

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The women's game had a nice crowd. The benches side was very light. It was all on the other side. It was fairly loud ... much more than the men's game.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

The women's game had a nice crowd. The benches side was very light. It was all on the other side. It was fairly loud ... much more than the men's game.

Must have been the way the cameras were situated. It looked like a lot of empty seats. 759 was the attendance. I guess a decent crowd for them these days---but still not a great number for a 4,000 seat arena.

I think that they were letting veterans in for free. Gotta get somebody in there. Shame, big game like that should have more of a crowd.

I was just looking through the game attendances of the IUP-Cal WBB games from a decade ago. The regular season game at IUP (MFH of course) drew 1,600 and the PSAC title game a few weeks later brought in 1,200.

As you postulated----big drop in attendance these days.

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[IUPNation]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

I think it's more a perception of value.

Locals see it as D2 and value it as D2.

I buy season tickets and have for a long time. I enjoy it and see value in it.

But, living here I can 100% agree with what IUP Crimson Hawks says. I hear it myself from people all the time. Families aren't spending $80-$90 to take the kids to an IUP game.

Compare it to whatever else ... people value other things higher than D2 sports.

The only things factual are the numbers and they are dropping like wildfire.

As nice as the KCAC is ... the team gets no advantage of playing in front of an arena 25% full and spread out.

IUP had a much bigger homecourt advantage in the Field House (crowd-wise).

I agree with you often and listen to your opinions ... but comparing a D1 Top 5 program in a big market area to Indiana County .... that's a stretch.

Tickets are worth what people will pay for them. If people pay $91 at Nova ... then that's what they are worth. People aren't paying the KCAC prices. That's undeniable.

It's not just the tickets. The $6 popcorn, $4 hot dogs, $4 cokes, $8 beer ... it adds up quick and people are choosing to spend their money elsewhere.

We're not talking down 50 seats a game. This is 1,000 a game from just a few years ago. Not a coincidence.

So if they go to the movies at the Indiana Mall....are they paying any less to be entertained? I doubt it. A family of four could easily drop 100 bucks for a movie night.

That's my point. For a small town with not a whole lot of entertainment options, an IUP game is still a pretty nice choice.

My thing is if you care about something a lot, you overlook how much the cost is because you want to support them and to succeed.

If I was there for a basketball game, the costs of the tickets and concessions wouldn't even be an issue. It's IUP. I must support them.

They are obviously paying the prices when the concerts or shows come to town.

...and where are the students?

[IUPNation]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

It's like I tried many times to explain to you, many area residents DO NOT have a lot of disposable income after having to pay necessities. Throw in the recent tax reassessment that hit the area led by clowns like Rodney Ruddock and Mike Baker and you have major problems with people even being able to keep their head above water. Many folks that I know who own farms in the county were treated very unfairly and if not being ushered into the clean and green agreement there was no way that they could have possibly kept their farms which have been in the family for many generations. None of these folks are exactly in the poor house either, but if you take a $2,000 tax bill and all of a sudden raise it up to $8,000 or $10,000 what do you think happens?

Take a look at all the houses that are up for sale throughout the county. People cannot afford to live here anymore.

BTW---Mike Baker is running for the State House I see. Don't vote for him! He doesn't deserve it!

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Well yinz keep voting for these Republicans and nothing changes out there. I want to knock on every door on every house on 422 between Ebensburg and Indiana that I saw had a Trump sign on their front lawn and then laugh at them. The sad thing is they won't blame him for anything even though he duped them all.

Philadelphia gets called a Democrat cesspool but there are construction cranes all over town and they are bringing on 4000 new apartments in the city this year. I really think the city might land the Amazon HQ2 as well. The location they are being offered will beat the bigger tax breaks other areas are offering. Philly really is on the upswing...

Who is paying a 10 grand property tax bill on a house in Indiana County? That's a tax bill on houses worth 500K in Chester County. That has to be on acres of land and if they were only paying 2 grand on multiple acres....that was dirt cheap.

[IUP24]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

Why just because you live in Indiana do you have to support IUP? Just a general question for Nation to go along with the last couple posts...

I think many of us overestimate how many people truly care about IUP athletics that live in the area, or even identify with IUP in general. Nothing says you have to love, or even like, IUP if you live in Indiana County. How many people in Greensburg care about Seton Hill? Nobody does. How many people in the Mon Valley, where I am from, care about Cal? None. Slippery Rock does well for football, but other than that, they too are just like everyone else. Over the last 5 or so years with the number of incidents and poor publicity, why would any residents of Indiana spend their hard earned money on that university?

In terms of the dollar figure, you can't tell somebody else how to monetarily value the price of entertainment when it comes to their own money. A huge faction of Indiana really doesn't care about IUP athletics. The loyal fan base is old. You reach a point where you simply would just rather spend your money on other things. And ultimately, it's what you see as getting the best value for your dollar for entertainment. I went to Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals last year between the Penguins and Senators. I got a ticket for $190. I thought that was reasonable. My parents thought I was insane. My mom will buy a Kitchenaid mixer for a few hundred dollars when she needs a new one. She thinks that's reasonable. I think she's insane. The valuation of the dollar is in the eyes of each customer.

You may think that taking the wife and two kids to see IUP and Clarion play in an empty arena for over $100 is a reasonable deal. Most people think that valuation is insane.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

So if they go to the movies at the Indiana Mall....are they paying any less to be entertained? I doubt it. A family of four could easily drop 100 bucks for a movie night.

That's my point. For a small town with not a whole lot of entertainment options, an IUP game is still a pretty nice choice.

My thing is if you care about something a lot, you overlook how much the cost is because you want to support them and to succeed.

If I was there for a basketball game, the costs of the tickets and concessions wouldn't even be an issue. It's IUP. I must support them.

They are obviously paying the prices when the concerts or shows come to town.

...and where are the students?

But they're NOT going out to be entertained at all. They are busy choosing between paying for housing, utilities, food, and medical care or paying their property taxes.

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[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

Well yinz keep voting for these Republicans and nothing changes out there. I want to knock on every door on every house on 422 between Ebensburg and Indiana that I saw had a Trump sign on their front lawn and then laugh at them. The sad thing is they won't blame him for anything even though he duped them all.

Philadelphia gets called a Democrat cesspool but there are construction cranes all over town and they are bringing on 4000 new apartments in the city this year. I really think the city might land the Amazon HQ2 as well. The location they are being offered will beat the bigger tax breaks other areas are offering. Philly really is on the upswing...

Who is paying a 10 grand property tax bill on a house in Indiana County? That's a tax bill on houses worth 500K in Chester County. That has to be on acres of land and if they were only paying 2 grand on multiple acres....that was dirt cheap.

Okay, I have to fully agree with you on the first point. How in the world the electorate of Indiana County could possibly re-elect a complete azz like Rodney Ruddock in the midst of a messy tax reassessment is beyond me. That represents a real problem and unfortunately a lot of people had to suffer for it.

I'm not positive on the exact numbers but you get the idea of how bad the reassessment was and how hard it hit folks of the county. The company that the Indiana County Commissioners hired to do it was completely inept and botched the job at every possible turn of the road.

Your problem Nation is that you keep constantly comparing Indiana County to where you live in Philly. Those are two different worlds. If you would only realize that it would be a good starting point for these debates. The next time you are in town take a drive outside of the built up part of Indiana in any direction and tell me what you see. Indiana County is very different from the modern parts of town and campus. You have to understand what you are dealing with here.

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[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

I have to say I took a walk last night and did have to laugh. I walked past one of the concession stands and saw chicken fingers for $9.75 at one of the stands. They'd go great with a $4 coke. I thought of this board.

Lower bowl price at the gate is $14 per. Online it comes out to $21 per.

[IUP24]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

I have to say I took a walk last night and did have to laugh. I walked past one of the concession stands and saw chicken fingers for $9.75 at one of the stands. They'd go great with a $4 coke. I thought of this board.

Lower bowl price at the gate is $14 per. Online it comes out to $21 per.

I could go see Ohio State, ranked in the top 15 in the country, for about 30 bucks. Think about that.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

I have to say I took a walk last night and did have to laugh. I walked past one of the concession stands and saw chicken fingers for $9.75 at one of the stands. They'd go great with a $4 coke. I thought of this board.

Lower bowl price at the gate is $14 per. Online it comes out to $21 per.

I was perfectly happy at the Field House paying $5 to get in for a general admission seat. Heck, reserved seats were what, $6. I had no problem at all with dropping by to catch a half or so even if I had to be somewhere else a little later and couldn't stay for the entire game.

How did this all happen? I guess building an $80 million basketball arena is the most generic of answers. Geez!

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[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

I could go see Ohio State, ranked in the top 15 in the country, for about 30 bucks. Think about that.

That is truly insane! That puts it in perspective rather well.

I'm just glad that I have my niece's elementary basketball to follow. Free admission to all games except the one place did charge us $1. LOL.

If the IUP WBB team does get to host the PSAC tourney at least the ticket prices should be a little cheaper in accordance with conference price mandating. But i'm sure the KCAC will still find a way to jack them up a bit more.

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[IUP24]

Re: PSAC hoops at the Gate

That is truly insane! That puts it in perspective rather well.

I'm just glad that I have my niece's elementary basketball to follow. Free admission to all games except the one place did charge us $1. LOL.

If the IUP WBB team does get to host the PSAC tourney at least the ticket prices should be a little cheaper in accordance with conference price mandating. But i'm sure the KCAC will still find a way to jack them up a bit more.

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And in all honesty, that's likely to help pay the officials. That's how that works at a lot of those places. I can remember it being like that when my little cousin played.