Post by SaltNPepper on Nov 30, 2004 13:30:08 GMT -5
I get frustrated when businesses (or organizations in this case) have an overall objective and then make up a plan or rules that they think should help when there is really so much more that could be done or done in the right way if they would just spend a little more time thinking through the problem.
Is there anything else the NCAA can to as it relates to the Volleyball Tournament to increase revenue or reduce costs? I’m open for suggestion to be posted here and offer several myself to begin.
1) The 400 mile rule is dumb. It is dumb in the respect that busing travel time is not the same per mile everywhere. What they need to do is determine a maximum travel time that is acceptable and then determine which schools are within that range under normal driving conditions for each of the 317 schools in DI. For example, Minneapolis and Fort Collins are each outside of the 400 mile distance for Lincoln, but Minneapolis is probably around 7 plus hours and Ft. Collins is maybe 8 or so hours away. Is that too far for a teams to travel by bus. I think not. Depending on the roads and traffic conditions, there may be some schools that are within that 400 distance that require much more driving time. This needs to be done on a case by case basis for each of the 317 schools. We don’t need an arbitrary rule of 400 miles. So how long a drive is OK for purposes of this tournament. 10 hours? 12 hours? Is “going slightly cheap” a good trade off for getting the teams that have earned a top seed a chance to play at home. I think it is.
2) Use season average home paid attendance as part of the formula for selecting sites. If Hawaii has a top 16 team and the expected attendance revenue to the NCAA will more than offset the added cost of air travel, why are we so stupid not to take advantage of it? If Bozo University is the 15th best team in the country but only averages 250 people a match during the season, what makes us think that they’ll have 2500 fans show up during the tournament? We’ve got to use our heads here – it just won’t happen.
3) Admit that the Division I Women’s Volleyball Tournament is not yet ready for pre-selection of regional hosting. We can try it again if the sport is a lot different in 10 years. Give it to the top fours seeds. They’re the teams that generally are near the top in attendance dollars anyway. If you are concerned that this gives an advantage to the perennial powers, well, it probably does a little, but I think they’ve earned it.
4) You may also want to loosen up the rules on the tournament site so that you can play in a venue that has a larger capacity. Make it so UNI could host in a larger arena or slightly more distant arena that they hadn’t played in all year if it can help with the attendance. If Nebraska’s a top four seed make them play at Devaney if they want to host a regional – Cook would jump at the chance if that was his only option. Is it fair to make Nebraska move to a larger venue for a regional – maybe not, but it sure isn’t fair to send Hawaii to Colorado State either.
If this whole thing is about money, then let’s say it is about money and make some good business decisions that will turn this thing around. More fans, more money, better seeding, better tournament!
Is there anything else the NCAA can to as it relates to the Volleyball Tournament to increase revenue or reduce costs? I’m open for suggestion to be posted here and offer several myself to begin.
1) The 400 mile rule is dumb. It is dumb in the respect that busing travel time is not the same per mile everywhere. What they need to do is determine a maximum travel time that is acceptable and then determine which schools are within that range under normal driving conditions for each of the 317 schools in DI. For example, Minneapolis and Fort Collins are each outside of the 400 mile distance for Lincoln, but Minneapolis is probably around 7 plus hours and Ft. Collins is maybe 8 or so hours away. Is that too far for a teams to travel by bus. I think not. Depending on the roads and traffic conditions, there may be some schools that are within that 400 distance that require much more driving time. This needs to be done on a case by case basis for each of the 317 schools. We don’t need an arbitrary rule of 400 miles. So how long a drive is OK for purposes of this tournament. 10 hours? 12 hours? Is “going slightly cheap” a good trade off for getting the teams that have earned a top seed a chance to play at home. I think it is.
2) Use season average home paid attendance as part of the formula for selecting sites. If Hawaii has a top 16 team and the expected attendance revenue to the NCAA will more than offset the added cost of air travel, why are we so stupid not to take advantage of it? If Bozo University is the 15th best team in the country but only averages 250 people a match during the season, what makes us think that they’ll have 2500 fans show up during the tournament? We’ve got to use our heads here – it just won’t happen.
3) Admit that the Division I Women’s Volleyball Tournament is not yet ready for pre-selection of regional hosting. We can try it again if the sport is a lot different in 10 years. Give it to the top fours seeds. They’re the teams that generally are near the top in attendance dollars anyway. If you are concerned that this gives an advantage to the perennial powers, well, it probably does a little, but I think they’ve earned it.
4) You may also want to loosen up the rules on the tournament site so that you can play in a venue that has a larger capacity. Make it so UNI could host in a larger arena or slightly more distant arena that they hadn’t played in all year if it can help with the attendance. If Nebraska’s a top four seed make them play at Devaney if they want to host a regional – Cook would jump at the chance if that was his only option. Is it fair to make Nebraska move to a larger venue for a regional – maybe not, but it sure isn’t fair to send Hawaii to Colorado State either.
If this whole thing is about money, then let’s say it is about money and make some good business decisions that will turn this thing around. More fans, more money, better seeding, better tournament!