"raucous, sold-out Jordan Center crowd"

[dcf4psu]

Must be a misprint. Raucous sold-out crowd at BJC? I thought that building was dreadful? MBB shouldn't be playing there because the atmosphere is so awful. Imagine if MBB was really good and drawing sell-out crowds. Would the atmosphere still be awful? By this report of the wrestling there last night the answer is no.

 

[OhioLion]

Imagine if MBB was really good and drawing sell-out crowds.

This is the point ^^^^^. They aren't really good and are not drawing sell-out crowds. Therefore, I concur with those who have spoken previously; for the much smaller crowds that currently attend the games, the Field House would likely produce a better home-court advantage atmosphere.

OL

 

[NittanyLion15]

Must be a misprint. Raucous sold-out crowd at BJC? I thought that building was dreadful? MBB shouldn't be playing there because the atmosphere is so awful. Imagine if MBB was really good and drawing sell-out crowds. Would the atmosphere still be awful? By this report of the wrestling there last night the answer is no.

Touche, .....The next time Penn State basketball is ranked #1 in the nation, has a record of 9-0 (5-0 B1G) heading into a top ten matchup at a sold out BJC against Michigan, who is also 9-0 (5-0 B1G) and are ranked #5... AND the bball team is riding a crazy winning streak, like a 55-straight regular season winning streak.... going 16-0 3 years ago, 14-0 in 2 years ago, and 14-0 the prior season... then maybe we can compare.

Basketball and wrestling are completely different sports, with different levels of fan interaction. With Basketball, fans generally get loud in hopes of unsettling the other team. The players are required to scan the entire environment, as the dynamics of the game include 4 teammates and 5 defenders to keep track of... while covering a field of play that's twice the size. With wrestling the crowd reacts to what happens on the mat. The fans have 1 thing to focus on, and the athlete has one focus. The house lights are dimmed off and on between each bout, flood lights illuminate the mat, which draws 16,000 eyes to the exact same thing.

The seating is also different. The wrestling floor plan gets more people closer to the action. I'm not sure how many, but the tighter playing surface certainly gets more people on the floor, on top of the action. I looked for a wrestling seating map on the BJC's website for wrestling to compare,...and of course, it's out of date.... Sold out event, and the official site of PSU's athletic venue doesn't even have a chart for the event.

But look at all the options!

I rest my case.

 

[UncleLar]

Touche, .....The next time Penn State basketball is ranked #1 in the nation, has a record of 9-0 (5-0 B1G) heading into a top ten matchup at a sold out BJC against Michigan, who is also 9-0 (5-0 B1G) and are ranked #5... AND the bball team is riding a crazy winning streak, like a 55-straight regular season winning streak.... going 16-0 3 years ago, 14-0 in 2 years ago, and 14-0 the prior season... then maybe we can compare.

Basketball and wrestling are completely different sports, with different levels of fan interaction. . .

You were doing great, right up until here. People were backed in to the BJC not only because of the team's unsurpassed stellar record, but also because Central PA is wrestling country - not because they had some floor seats. Central PA is not basketball country. It will take one helluva lot more than good seats to pack fans in to watch hoops.

 

[NittanyLion15]

You were doing great, right up until here. People were backed in to the BJC not only because of the team's unsurpassed stellar record, but also because Central PA is wrestling country - not because they had some floor seats. Central PA is not basketball country. It will take one helluva lot more than good seats to pack fans in to watch hoops.

Yeah, it takes more than 2 winning seasons in a decade to keep people's interest. Looking back at the early 90s, there was certainly some excitement building for the new arena that would be double to size of the current building as well as a whole slate of new opponents with the Big Ten looming...

Actually, from 1990-2001 the support wasn't half bad. Didn't take a ton of time evaluating every season, but at first glance (minus the final four appearance) the late 80s through 2000 is probably "the golden years" of Nittany Lion Basketball. We averaged the highest attendance in both venues at that time, yet didn't even win 60% of our games. (3 NCAAs 6 NITs). The team was 259-190 (57.6%)

 

[Sproul]

You were doing great, right up until here. People were backed in to the BJC not only because of the team's unsurpassed stellar record, but also because Central PA is wrestling country - not because they had some floor seats. Central PA is not basketball country. It will take one helluva lot more than good seats to pack fans in to watch hoops.

Central PA is not going to be wrestling country for too much longer. State college high school can’t even fill all their weight classes without pulling shenanigans. It’s 1 or 2 wrestlers a year that keep them afloat.

 

[bdgan]

This is the point ^^^^^. They aren't really good and are not drawing sell-out crowds. Therefore, I concur with those who have spoken previously; for the much smaller crowds that currently attend the games, the Field House would likely produce a better home-court advantage atmosphere.

OL

Looking to go back to the A10?

 

[TheBumble]

The basketball court always looks best when it's covered with a wrestling mat.

 

[psugisher]

Yeah, it takes more than 2 winning seasons in a decade to keep people's interest. Looking back at the early 90s, there was certainly some excitement building for the new arena that would be double to size of the current building as well as a whole slate of new opponents with the Big Ten looming...

Actually, from 1990-2001 the support wasn't half bad. Didn't take a ton of time evaluating every season, but at first glance (minus the final four appearance) the late 80s through 2000 is probably "the golden years" of Nittany Lion Basketball. We averaged the highest attendance in both venues at that time, yet didn't even win 60% of our games. (3 NCAAs 6 NITs). The team was 259-190 (57.6%)

I've been in there when it's relatively full and the basketball team is competitive. It's a fun, loud atmosphere. The BJC isn't why the basketball program is where it is. Win just a little bit and fans will show up. What they're doing now is painful to watch. Hopes were up because the talent has improved and then the hopes are dashed because the coaching staff isn't getting the results needed. They had to make the tournament last year or this year with the talent on the roster to really get people interested. NIT can't be the peak every 8 years..

 

[psu00]

Fans can be loud anywhere if motivated. That said, the BJC is just a lousy basketball arena. The seats behind the baskets are so far back with poor sight lines and there’s lots of wasted space in the 4 corners down low. Having a more dedicated basketball arena would definitely help compared to the cavernous BJC.

An arena like at Colorado or Washington would be better and make it more of a snake pit like Rec Hall used to be.


Colorado (11,064)-

Washington (10,000)-

 

[NittanyLion15]

Fans can be loud anywhere if motivated. That said, the BJC is just a lousy basketball arena. The seats behind the baskets are so far back with poor sight lines and there’s lots of wasted space in the 4 corners down low. Having a more dedicated basketball arena would definitely help compared to the cavernous BJC.

An arena like at Colorado or Washington would be better and make it more of a snake pit like Rec Hall used to be.


Colorado (11,064)-

Washington (10,000)-

Amen... It's amazing what a home court advantage can do for your program. It doesn't win you championships, but it can get you the kinds of players that do.

Utah St. 10k

 

[NittanyLion15]

I've been in there when it's relatively full and the basketball team is competitive. It's a fun, loud atmosphere. The BJC isn't why the basketball program is where it is. Win just a little bit and fans will show up. What they're doing now is painful to watch. Hopes were up because the talent has improved and then the hopes are dashed because the coaching staff isn't getting the results needed. They had to make the tournament last year or this year with the talent on the roster to really get people interested. NIT can't be the peak every 8 years..

No, but the BJC doesn't help either. There is no question that our fans will start to show up if we win. Every season in the past 20 years where we have been in contention to make the tournament the last few games had great attendance. The students want to support Penn State basketball, it's just frustrating when you buy into it and the team methodically lets you down year after year. As mentioned above it would simply take consecutive tournament appearances to get people excited. Hell, if we made the NIT in three straight seasons you'd see a following start to fill whatever arena the team is playing in.

My Senior year there was one game that I felt had an environment that could be compared to other basketball schools who bring it. Illinois 2008. The win should have gotten us into the big dance, it didn't.




Facilities your program offers and the environment you play in is a huge component to recruiting. The schools who are getting the good players treat their home court like a sanctuary. Penn State, in the Basketball Media Guide issued yearly by the University talks about the benefits the BJC has on the central PA region, not what the BJC does for the program. 3/4 of the full page spread is a writeup on the OTHER things that are held in the home of Penn State Basketball? Would you want to go to a school that blatantly cares so little about the sport you play? I wouldn't.

 

[psu00]

Amen... It's amazing what a home court advantage can do for your program. It doesn't win you championships, but it can get you the kinds of players that do.

Utah St. 10k

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Utah State is another great example. It’s hardly a basketball powerhouse but has a great atmosphere that attracts a lot of fans.

 

[auxgym]

You were doing great, right up until here. People were backed in to the BJC not only because of the team's unsurpassed stellar record, but also because Central PA is wrestling country - not because they had some floor seats. Central PA is not basketball country. It will take one helluva lot more than good seats to pack fans in to watch hoops.

Not to mention, the two best players to ever come out of State College were basically not even recruited by PSU.

 

[Langmuir]

Central PA is not going to be wrestling country for too much longer. State college high school can’t even fill all their weight classes without pulling shenanigans. It’s 1 or 2 wrestlers a year that keep them afloat.

I wouldn't make that statement based on one school in the county. There are 4 public schools in Centre County. Back when I was in school in the 80's, Bald Eagle and State College were the powerhouses, with Bellefonte and Penns Valley pretty much getting crushed by everybody. Now Bellefonte and Penns Valley are the powerhouses and State College and Bald Eagle are not very good. Central PA is more than just State College.

 

[MilesBarkley]

Must be a misprint. Raucous sold-out crowd at BJC? I thought that building was dreadful? MBB shouldn't be playing there because the atmosphere is so awful. Imagine if MBB was really good and drawing sell-out crowds. Would the atmosphere still be awful? By this report of the wrestling there last night the answer is no.

I think more importantly than being good and not being good, is the day of the week. State College is not so much a booming city in regards to population (outside of students), so no matter how good MBB is, they aren't going to sell out anywhere near 16k for a game on a Tuesday night.

If wrestling was in the BJC on a week night, they aren't putting anywhere near 16k butts in seats either.

Penn State alumni and fans travel well for sporting events, however when there is good attendance, most are traveling from more than just the surrounding State College area. This is mainly done on weekend sporting events (Football, wrestling, and have even been to some nice attendance MBB games on a Saturday).

Penn State football plays an average opponent on a Thursday night in Beaver, I'm going with somewhere near 75k. Most people aren't going to take off at least one day of work and possibly two, to travel from MD, VA, eastern PA for an average event, especially if broadcast on TV.

Answer to MBB attendance and atmosphere issues: Play majority of games in Rec, and move key games and weekend games to BJC when expecting larger attendance.

 

[WDLion]

Must be a misprint. Raucous sold-out crowd at BJC? I thought that building was dreadful? MBB shouldn't be playing there because the atmosphere is so awful. Imagine if MBB was really good and drawing sell-out crowds. Would the atmosphere still be awful? By this report of the wrestling there last night the answer is no.

It was a dark and gloomy environment.

 

[WDLion]

I wouldn't make that statement based on one school in the county. There are 4 public schools in Centre County. Back when I was in school in the 80's, Bald Eagle and State College were the powerhouses, with Bellefonte and Penns Valley pretty much getting crushed by everybody. Now Bellefonte and Penns Valley are the powerhouses and State College and Bald Eagle are not very good. Central PA is more than just State College.

Five, you're forgetting P O.

 

[Langmuir]

Five, you're forgetting P O.

Yeah I was not sure what their official designation is. Back in the 80's there was a Centre County Wrestling tournament and they were not included. I guess it is because they are partially in Clearfield
County. </shrug>