Improving our home court experience

[JMM28]

On the hockey horn bit, I'm pretty sure the NCAA has strict rules about music and artificial noise makers during live ball situations.

There must be something about it that is allowed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-m7HA1vPxA

[squirrelgotdead]

There must be something about it that is allowed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-m7HA1vPxA

Dead ball situation.

[JMM28]

Dead ball situation.

Well they've used it since at least 1999. They still do it today on every single three point basket made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxJWnhe0KoA

The :55 mark, 1:40ish, 1:55ish mark. All live balls.

[BUFanatic]

Hard to compare schools of that size, who have students that actually support their team, to a school the size of Bradley.

Was that supposed to make a point? Duke isn't huge, 'Nova isn't huge. My point wasn't big schools, it was schools in general!

[Chico]

Was that supposed to make a point? Duke isn't huge, 'Nova isn't huge. My point wasn't big schools, it was schools in general!

Yes it was. You mentioned mostly schools with huge enrollment. Duke and Nova have students that actually show up for games.

[squirrelgotdead]

Well they've used it since at least 1999. They still do it today on every single three point basket made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxJWnhe0KoA

The :55 mark, 1:40ish, 1:55ish mark. All live balls.

Then my guess is it was probably cleared by the officials before the contest, then.

Here are the playing rules by sport, courtesy of the NCAA, and the text is very clear on the matter:

The playing of musical instruments and/or amplified music and the use of artificial noisemakers while the game is in progress shall be prohibited.

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/2af28d804e0b978e900bf01ad6fc8b25/FAQ.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=2af28d804e0b978e900bf01ad6fc8b25

Thanks to the epic SNL skit, the NCAA further had to go so far as to ban cowbells altogether because fans were bringing them in and using them indiscriminately.

[Double D]

Yes it was. You mentioned mostly schools with huge enrollment. Duke and Nova have students that actually show up for games.

I think you would be amazed how many students would be there for a consistent winner, an ACC schedule and 90% of our games on national television.

[Beninator]

It's really more of a unison to a major chord, although I think the last year the kids have started doing the minor third thing.

It started mostly as a filler for unexpected gaps.

He's at least worked in more new stuff this year.

I noticed the new songs this year and really appreciate that.

As for the Swing March, I know that in the 1970's and even the early 80's the band filled in these gaps by using the bass and trombone sections of the song. IMO, it was an arrangement that got the crowd more involved especially during crucial parts of the game. It would be nice to bring that back.

[squirrelgotdead]

Yeah...they also had the full rock band in the '90's with keyboards and vocals that did Sweet Home Chicago and Beat It.

I agree there is more that can be done. With the new scoreboard though comes more advertisements (and announcements) and less PT for the band. I would look for the time to be better utilized next year. It was also an awkward schedule for the basketball band this year with the majority of the non-con home games being during breaks.

[Braved10]

I think you would be amazed how many students would be there for a consistent winner, an ACC schedule and 90% of our games on national television.

Carver seats over 11,000 and there are only a total of 6,000 students enrolled at Bradley. Even if there were 50-60 percent of the student body at any given game, does that really justify giving them better seats? Students need to prove that they care and get involved before I would give them anything. All these big time places you are talking in the ACC/Big East/Big Ten have students that have taken it upon themselves to make their home courts rock and I dont see that happening here. Usually things backfire when the higher ups try to shove things down students throat. I always hear about the Bradley Greeks and how involved they are but where are the on game days? Where are the big student organizations and why dont those kids care? Show me some initiative from the students and then I would talk about moving their seats or giving them better perks.

[RedSeaElite1]

I like a lot of the ideas posted here. Personally i think more awareness for the students on campus is key. We as the Red Sea were working hard on this but its difficult with the amount of turnover we have seen this year. All but one person working within the Atheletic Department with the Red Sea has quit adn been replaced since the fall. Hopefully that will not be the case next year, and we can implement some more things to let students know about games and what not. And hopefully that and the team playing well will bring the students back and we can create more of a home court advantage for our team.

A couple things I would like to see done next year are.

A large banner made and hung on the student center (where students catch the bus to carver) saying "Basketball Game Tonight" or something like that that will let students know the day of the game that we have a game.

The Incorporation of the Alma Mater. Currently we get maybe a group of 15 of us students who stay after the game, link arms and sing the alma mater. Next year i would either like to see the alma mater moved to half time and the words put up on the board, similar to how U of I does it. or I would like them to make an announcement asking fans to stay and join the band in singing the alma mater after the game.

[amckillip]

We as the Red Sea were working hard on this but its difficult with the amount of turnover we have seen this year. All but one person working within the Atheletic Department with the Red Sea has quit adn been replaced since the fall. Hopefully that will not be the case next year, and we can implement some more things to let students know about games and what not.

This highlights an important and distrubing trend. I personally have moved companies in a very short period, so I have little room to talk, but the 'family atmosphere' that once pervaded Bradley's campus has been diminished in a very short amount of time. In a lot of ways this can be a good thing, it brings in fresh ideas and talent, but a massive upheaval like BU as seen recently, with little respect paid to traditions, and only lip-service to 'Once a Brave, Always a Brave,' may create many more problems than it fixes.

I am a drumbeater for continuous improvement and aligning BU (and BU athletics) with the changing landscape of academia, but I think we need to be careful to avoid shattering it's identity and what makes BU great...

[theBUer]

I will speak from the student perspective. Free food is not going to guarantee success. For those that have gone to Bradley, Greek life only makes up a third of the student body but they are a dominant social and cultural force on the Hiltop. On Move-In Day, consider who helps you with your stuff when you are a freshman. Meanwhile, it's not like you see a basketball player or Jim Les help you schelp your stuff across the dorms.

Certainly there are Greeks who do attend the games, but there is an opportunity cost in which a fraternity or sorority member would much rather do homework, hang out somewhere else, do community service projects, play video games than take the free shuttle and go to Carver (or drive in a car if that option is available). And conflicts such as "i nights"(?) which occur on Tuesday nights.

If the Red Sea has done outreach with the houses (especially sororities), their sales pitch is not helped by the record (even if they finally won some games). Even if there are students who don't give a darn about sports, they will want to be seen around a winner.

The atmosphere at Carver is what it is. If it wasn't for the booze, the actual numbers of people would be lower than it is (not counting tickets sold).

[bigdaddystuck]

Despite what many think, cultivating student interest should be the top priority of the basketball program. Going forward the former students (also known as alumni ) will be the foundation of the program. They will be who donates, and who fills the seats. SFP is right that they need to be lured down here because of all the other distractions and how much easier it is to meet up without 'meeting' somewhere. Students nowadays send a text and can organize easily, making the need to go to a game non-existent.

A very good point. The current group of lowerbowl season ticket holders, for the most part, are people who were students and/or fans when we still played in the FH. I am sure that experience went a long way to those fans signing on when we moved down town and buying season tickets. However, since we the late 80's early 90's, very little has been done up on campus to get the student body involved.

[BuBraves55]

Alright, I got one. Charge the court after every home win, especially versus the last place teams. It will show our dominance.