Please NCAA: no permanent hosts for the final four

[Badger Alum]

Before I get into my post, I want to congratulate the Huskers for their National championship. Excellent team. Well coached. They deserve it. Also, major kudos to the crowd. That was loud and it's wonderful to see 17,000 people attending a volleyball match. That's fantastic.

The point I want to make is that it would be ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS to even consider Nebraska as a permanent host for the Final Four. I know the NCAA has at least heard that argument from some folks at Nebraska. I really hope common sense will prevail. If they ever did anything that stupid, it would set back Women’s Volleyball 50 years. They need to continue to rotate the Final Four venues each and every year. It helps the sport grow. Almost as important, it also makes a more competitive playing field.

I’m glad Nebraska got to host this year. Their fans did a wonderful job showing their support. But even the most bias Husker fan has to admit that it was a tremendous advantage for Nebraska to play at home in the Final Four. All 4 teams playing in the Final Four were excellent teams and competitively, they were all very close. When you can put one of those 4 teams on their own home court, you definitely impact the competitive balance and you significantly favor one team over the other 3. That’s unfair to all the other schools out there. You can’t tell me that 17,000 people cheering against Cynthia Barboza didn’t have something to do with her off night. Sure, Nebraska had a lot to do with it too. But when two teams are so evenly matched, home court does play a significant role. If the NCAA would be so stupid as to allow Nebraska to host an inordinate number of times (or worse, a permanent host), it would be hurting Women’s Volleyball at an epic level. As a volleyball fan, that really disturbs me. I’d like to continue to see the sport grow.

Here’s hoping that the NCAA has better judgment than that and it will continue to rotate final four venues in a fair and equitable manner.

[itsallaboutme]

Badger fan....NO worries, it's not going to happen. I think this was a big moment for women's VB but the goal is to grow the event across the country and it's my understanding that they want to get 4 or 5 sites to rotate the event

Yes, it will be in Omaha in 2008 however after that I think they will have be every 4 to 5 years.

[beachman]

Even though contrary to what the NCAA folks say, IT REALLY IS ALL ABOUT MONEY, not the student-athlete experience. I can NOT imagine the representatives from the Big 10, PAC-10 WAC, Big West, WCC, and others allowing a permanent site for this event to be held in Nebraska or anywhere else. It, simply put, is too big of a home court advantage no matter what anyone says. I am sure that Nebraska, based on attendance only, will be in the permanent rotation but I wouldn't expect them to get it again, after 2008 for a number of years.

[brybry]

beachman said:

Even though contrary to what the NCAA folks say, IT REALLY IS ALL ABOUT MONEY, not the student-athlete experience. I can NOT imagine the representatives from the Big 10, PAC-10 WAC, Big West, WCC, and others allowing a permanent site for this event to be held in Nebraska or anywhere else. It, simply put, is too big of a home court advantage no matter what anyone says. I am sure that Nebraska, based on attendance only, will be in the permanent rotation but I wouldn't expect them to get it again, after 2008 for a number of years.

How did they get it in 2008 in the first place? It worries me that they'll be rewarded hosting rights w/ too much frequency.
If the NCAA permanently placed the Final Four in Omaha, the attendance numbers would only be huge if Nebraska makes it all the way.

[BearClause]

brybry said:

How did they get it in 2008 in the first place? It worries me that they'll be rewarded hosting rights w/ too much frequency.
If the NCAA permanently placed the Final Four in Omaha, the attendance numbers would only be huge if Nebraska makes it all the way.

I think Nebraska (as in the state) volleyball fans would just snap them up every year.

[Tiruray2004]

There is no such thing as a permanent site because natural disasters can occur, e.g. torandoes, hurricanes, earthquakes!

[TheRange]

I think it would be a mistake as well. Despite the fact that Omaha did a nice job, I think attendance would eventually fall off and even the almighty dollar would become an issue. (No, not with the NCAA?) Also, to not build upon this great moment in the sport's history would be a huge mistake. Moving the sites helps with popularity and interest. As has already happened, any championship won by a host school, let alone a permanent host school, would be seen as tainted by some due to the home court "advantage". And lastly, I need some warm weather.

[OverAndUnder]

I've attended many FFs by myself and have taken friends and family to three FFs in the last ten years. Several of those guests have since become volleyball fans, and a couple have become players. If the location did not rotate around the country every year, most people would go through their entire life not even knowing there is such a thing as the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship. This is the best way to showcase the top programs year in, year out, and get people personally connected to and excited about the sport, schools, and athletes.

A permanent site at this point in time would be euthanasia.

[bearwatch]

What if... because of the exposure of the sport held in Omaha, more people are introduced to the sport more than ever, across the nation, via T.V. and the excitement everyone witnessed there like no time before?
If this happens and the sport grows more from this event than ever before does your arguments hold up?

[clivehusker]

Even as a Husker fan, and loving that they could win at home this year, agree that a rotation would most likely be better for the sport as far as exposure.

I just hope this is the start of a string of attendance records, all over, for a sport I love.

[SaltNPepper]

I just got back and haven't read most of the threads written in the last several days, but one thing everyone needs to remember, is that besides the Final 4 matches themselves, this event is the AVCA's annual clinic and conference and their membership will have some inputs on where future Final 4's are held.

So if your school is interested in hosting the Final 4, they'll need to have a convention center maybe with a local organization to take care of the 1001 details that are necessary to have a well run convention. The lack of adequate convention facilities in Lincoln is the reason Lincoln has never been able to hold a Final 4 in the past.

And that basically was the only question I asked to several visiting AVCA members in some short elevator talk after the championship match, "Other than the volleyball match itself, how was the convention?" All comments were very complementary of the people running it this year including a "This was the the best clinic (of 4) they've ever attended as far as logistics of the arena, convention center & hotel, friendly hosts, etc. Food & lodging costs here in the Midwest are relatively reasonable and transportation costs to Omaha works for much of the middle part of the country. Not everyone that goes to these things are from a top 20 program with a large athletic budget.

I don't think most AVCA members would be interested in going every year to the same place so having their annual convention in different parts of the country on an annual basis would seem to make a lot of sense. But some rotation that would include Omaha on a periodic (say 3 to 5 years) basis I think could be a definite possibility if this logic has any merit.

And in 26 years, this was the 4th time the host school has won the Final 4 - so it is going to happen once in a while. The Huskers have won 1 of 3 NC's now as host (compared to 2 of 3 for UCLA) so this isn't really anything new or limited to Nebraska.

[bigfan]

overandunder said:

I've attended many FFs by myself and have taken friends and family to three FFs in the last ten years. Several of those guests have since become volleyball fans, and a couple have become players. If the location did not rotate around the country every year, most people would go through their entire life not even knowing there is such a thing as the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship. This is the best way to showcase the top programs year in, year out, and get people personally connected to and excited about the sport, schools, and athletes.

A permanent site at this point in time would be euthanasia.

Great post....I feel the same way

[nodisrespect]

College baseball and now volleyball? Why should Nebraska fans get all the glory? I say no to permanent sites. Nice try.

[SakiBomb25]

The thing that bothered me the most was that during the Stanford-Washington match, so many people ended up leaving the stands. My one concern is that if it stays in Omaha and Nebraska doesn't get to the Final Four, then there won't be a lot of people showing up. Yes, tickets wiil be sold, because they will be bought ahead of time, but if the 'Huskers don't get to Omaha, will there still be butts in the seats?

I understand that the match was boring and that it was getting late... but I really wonder if it would have been a sell-out if UCLA had beaten Nebraska. Now we'll never know.

Congrats to Nebarska though on their title... sucks as a Stanford fan, but that's the way things go. Hopefully Stanford can rebound and challenge Nebraska next year - though Penn State, Texas, USC, and Florida will definitely be ready to take the crown as well.

[Deleted]

How is that different from other sites, except that the fans aren't there in the first place?

I'm fine with rotating sites, maybe every 4-5 years, but they need to also keep trying new sites. See how it goes.

I also have to wonder how many schools _want_ this event.