Getting fans to the games

[Sycamore624]

Women?s Basketball Picked To Finish First in East October 11, 2007, INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Bellarmine women?s basketball team ranked No. 1 in the East Division of the Great Lakes Valley Conference pre-season coaches poll released today by officials from the GLVC office. Drury was selected for the top spot in the West Division.
Bellarmine is coming off a 19-11 season, including an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The team returns all five starters from last year?s squad, including senior guard Angela Smith (Greenville, Ind.), who was an All-GLVC second team selection last year, and junior forward Dana Beaven (Corydon, Ind.), an All-Conference honorable mention choice in 2006-07.

?We?ve been picked in this spot before and it doesn?t necessarily come out that way,? said head coach David Smith. ?What we saw in the poll today was not totally unexpected when you look at the year we had last year and the fact we have five starters back, plus the team that won the division last year (Lewis) really lost a lot.?

?The thing is, now we just have to play up to those expectations.?

The Knights received four first-place ballots in the poll. Coaches could only vote for teams in their division. Northern Kentucky, Kentucky Wesleyan, and Lewis were the other East Division teams that received a first-place vote.

Bellarmine will open their season with three games at the Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic in Orlando, Fla. from Nov. 2-4 before hosting their home opener on Nov. 18 against Grand Valley State at 2:00 p.m.

 

[ssoats]

This sounds like the making of a good game. Still remember I think it was 2 years ago when we played Drury in an exhibition game and nearly got beat. Maybe we did get beat. Cant remember. But do remember that team went far that year and I think our schedule this year is one of the strongest. It will help us down the road. Will we win them all? No. Will we be a better team for playing this tough schedule. Yes. The players just need to keep their heads up and things will fall in place especially come conference. Bank on it!

 

[Sycamore624]

Who's going Sunday???

 

[ssoats]

Ill be there with the family. I like these weekend games. Hopefully the place will be rocking. Also getting excited about our mens game coming up next week.

 

[Sycamore624]

Game has been canceled

http://www.sycamorehoops.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1581#post1581

 

[Pomeroy Fan]

The game was cancelled because there is a NCAA rule prohibiting Division I exhibitions before Nov. 1.

This is idiocy on the part of ISU and the women's program. How could they not know that?

 

[BlueHeart]

At least now the conflict with the Colts game Sunday is resolved. Makes one wonder how a mistake like that can get by the whole staff, but we need to remember that Bellarmine didn't catch it either. Maybe it isn't obvious. I'm more disappointed that I have to wait for action to begin at Hulman Center than I am about the slip up.

 

[ssoats]

I saw in the Trib Star today that the women are still playing Bellarmine but it is closed to the public due to the NCAA Division 1 rule. So I assume family of the players may be allowed in. If anyone out there is able to see the game, please post your thoughts. Thanks.

 

[Pomeroy Fan]

At least now the conflict with the Colts game Sunday is resolved. Makes one wonder how a mistake like that can get by the whole staff, but we need to remember that Bellarmine didn't catch it either. Maybe it isn't obvious. I'm more disappointed that I have to wait for action to begin at Hulman Center than I am about the slip up.

It's not Bellarmine's job to catch it because they're not Division I. It's only a Division I rule. Brain fade by Wiedie, simple as that.

 

[ssoats]

Pomeray Fan you are not a big supporter of the ladies basketball program, are you?

 

[Pomeroy Fan]

Pomeray Fan you are not a big supporter of the ladies basketball program, are you?

Why? Because I'm pointing out the truth?

 

[ssoats]

You didnt answer the question. Are you a fan of the womens basketball program?

 

[CoachTerri]

You didnt answer the question. Are you a fan of the womens basketball program?

In Pomeroy's defense...being a fan has nothing to do with realizing there are things that ISU could do much better on regarding the women's basketball program. Most of them concern marketing and building on what Coach Weidie has done in building his program...the are are administrative folks who drop the ball regularly...like not having a band during semester break...there are local hs bands who would probably jump at the opportunity to play for a game in Hulman Center... face it the women's program takes a back seat to the men's even though they have had much more recent success and have a loyal following

 

[ssoats]

I agree totally with you CoachTerri.The womens program is 2nd behind the mens for alot of people. I guess I was just jumping to the conclusion that pomeroy fan was a mens follower that doesnt like the women because of his 2 negative posts about Coach Wiedie. It was a mistake and thankfully it was found. My bad to jumping to conclusions. I hate people who do this and here I did it. I also agree that the administration could do more for the women. We could bring in more people for the mens and womens game if we had more halftime entertainment with local high school kids. The parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters and other family members would buy tickets and we could get them in the door to watch their high schooler perform at halftime either it be a music presentation as a high school choir or a high school band performing at half time. Once they are in the door and see the way our men and women play hopefully we will have them coming back for more.

 

[CoachTerri]

I couldn't agree more. I particularly think Coach Wiedie's program is one of the best things going in this town. I think last year I ended up getting 16 sycamore squad memberships for kids that I coach and other friends of my son. It's the best $10 anyone can spend on a kid they care about. Maybe some of the administrators are lurking around these boards and will realize the community really will support something good if they will put forth a little bit of effort outside the boundaries of campus.

Coach T

 

[Eleven]

...the are are administrative folks who drop the ball regularly...like not having a band during semester break...there are local hs bands who would probably jump at the opportunity to play for a game in Hulman Center... face it the women's program takes a back seat to the men's even though they have had much more recent success and have a loyal following

Um.... you do know that there are times that the men's game has no band as well right? It's pretty tough to do when all of your students are away on vacation. DK tries to put together an "Alumni Band" during the breaks.... but it's gotta be pretty tough to organize that as well.

Having HS bands play during ISU Games... I don't know... it would take a lot of effort on both sides to get a band "game ready" for all of our songs, and learning the timeout rules, etc...

 

[ssoats]

Eleven-I know there is no band for the mens game as well as the womens when they are on vacation. And what I am complaining about is during halftime during any given game,to bring more people into the games, especialy I guess the mens game because people are consistantly complaining about the lack of people at these games. Why not try to get high school choirs or bands or other high school activities there at half? They dont have to play our songs,know our timeouts,etc. because they are entertainment at halftime only. Parents of high school kids follow their kids as well as grandparents and brothers and sisters. They will be buying tickets to the games and putting bodies into the seats every game their kid is there. And then hopefully once we have them in the door they will come back for more. This is just my thoughts and you all have your own opinions which is why we post on this forum.

 

[CoachTerri]

Eleven,
The band thing is just one example of something that could do...putting forth some effort is the job of the administration!! They should know when there are games that the ISU band is not going to be there and arrange other things to draw a crowd from the community. DK does a great job and our band is the best in the MVC but there is room for other entertainment when the opportunity is there. There is no reason another band would have to play the same songs...there is opportunity for someone in the outfit to get out of the box and actually think of things to do. John Sherman has been doing a great job but he can't do it all by himself. If good things are going to keep happening then the folks in the fund raising have to go for the audience they have...not only the big $$ fish but the average family in our community who can fill the seats in Hulman Center. We should lhave more butts in the seats for both men's and women's games...not just when the men play IU or Purdue...Perhaps Coach McKenna will be more of a community builder than Waltman was. Having the men's team at the Big Blue BBQ was a step in the right direction. He's smart enough to see what Coach Weidie has built. Although it was a bit telling when several people left Hulman Center after the Lady Sycamores finished their scrimmage. We stayed to watch the men and were pleasantly surprised.

The people dropping the ball for both programs are not Coach Weidie, DK or the folks running the sycamore squad...the people who should have the organizational skills to know where the weak spots are and do something to improve them...starting at Prettyman and his associate athletic directors...The coaches are doing their job now it's the JOB of the atheltic directors to put butts in the seats...the coaches are doing theirs by giving us good teams...now we need some marketing and promotion to get not just the ISU campus but the Wabash Valley community supporting ISU athletics.

OK...I'm off of the soap box for now

Coach T

 

[BlueSycamore]

Wasn't sure what a pomeroy was..................but lo & behold:

What is a Pomeroy?
The name "Pomeroy" is not so much a thing, but a spirit of athletic excellence and sportsmanship. The team name is proudly worn by athletes in remembrance of an outstanding woman and her contributions to The Woods community. Mary Joseph Pomeroy, SP, a 1921 graduate of SMWC, served the college for nearly half a century as a student, teacher and administrator. She shone her light through her dedication to the Sisters of Providence and the goal of education for women.

Her service to the College community continues to this day through the Sister Mary Joseph Pomeroy Scholarship and the Sister Mary Joseph Pomeroy Faculty Excellence Award. Sister Pomeroy's dedication to excellence in education continues at the College and the athletic teams proudly display her love of sports. The next time someone asks you, "Hey, what is a Pomeroy?" with all the pride, knowledge and confidence that Sister Mary Joseph represents, answer their question.

 

[Sycamore624]

You guys & gals are bringing up some great points and I have to agree with 99.9% of it. The coaches are doing everything they can and they have thier time filled with coaching and recruiting to have to worry about promoting thier squads. This is where the Athletic Office needs to step up and put some effort behind the product we (ISU) has to offer. There is no reason we can't or shouldn't be getting 7,000-8,000 fans per game (both men & womens). The one big thing outside of the lack of marketing and promoting is the Wabash Valley community itself I feel. Terre Haute over the past 10 years or more has been a entertainment nightmare for promotors. A town the size of TH with all the students between ISU,Rose and St. Mary's should be drawing big time concerts and other events. There is a reason the Mellencamp concert last week was the first in several years, no one shows up for them. It has amazed me several years ago when HI 99 use to get the biggest names in country music to show up and there would be 5,000 people here for the show. Just this past Summer the WWE came to town and as huge as it was there was maybe 3,000 fans. Look at what has happened to the Action Track. The only thing that brings fans out in TH is Colts Camp and about 40% of that crowd is from outside the Wabash Valley. Our biggest crowds like mentioned before is against IU and Purdue and half the crowd are there fans. The culture of TH needs to change before we can change attendence at ISU game and other events.