Chester Coins Top 5 Toughest Arenas to play in in the NCAA
Feb 23, 2024 15:47:08 GMT -5
TheReignman, smallasianmale, and 10 more like this
Post by chestercoins on Feb 23, 2024 15:47:08 GMT -5
There was a time a few years ago, where I bid farewell to the port and the land. As I traveled away from brave England's white sands, to search for long ago forgotten friend, to search for a place I hear all sailors end, I was pondering my time in the NCAA. Like Drake in that Sprite commercial in 2011, a realization hit me. I needed to make a list of the Hardest places to play across the NCAA.
Now before I get started, this is coming from someone who actually played in these arenas, not some fan sitting in the crowd and making assumptions about how hard it is to play somewhere. In my evaluation, I take several key factors into account: Court set up, arena size, fans, color of arena, location, location relative to mississippi river, facilities, etc. With all of these things in place, I believe I can accurately place the toughness of these arenas FROM A PLAYERS PERSPECTIVE.
Before we get started, here are some honorable mentions:
Loyola- Dumb video board 10 feet above net gets hit 5 times a game
Princeton- On 3rd floor of Hogwarts
Ball State- Muncie Indiana, ridiculous ceiling and no fans, showers facing each other for maximum player eye contact
Here are my top 5!
6.) St Francis Arena (Pennsylvania somewhere)
Now I know what you all may be thinking. Why does this Chester cat start with a random arena out in Pennsylvania somewhere? Fans on volleytalk from hawaii/west coast have probably never even heard of what St Francis has cooking. I will now break down why this arena is so hard to play at.
St francis arena is nudged in the corner of the most absurd gym setup i've ever seen. It is a massive T shape that houses close to 6 basketball courts. On one end of the court, you have about 8 feet to the back wall to serve. Tight, but nothing out of the ordinary! On the other side, you have about 75 yards to the back wall (Not even joking, very absurd court). this throws off every team when it comes to depth perception while serving and passing.
Luckily, there arent a ton of fans going after you at the stadium and they got a dope sandwich spot right down the street so that gives the arena some clicks. Also generally a team of cool dudes which helps arena vibes and concludes why they are number 6
5.) BYU (Provo, Idaho, at like 5000 feet above sea level)
BYU is a tough place to play for a few simple reasons. 1- you need to travel 30+ miles to find a gas station that sells beer. 2- The fans behind the service lines talk %*$# to you in very polite ways and say stuff you would say on a playground in 4th grade 3- your playing at cruising altitude for most commercial jets, making timing your swing and hitting the volleyball so much different than in normal arenas. Also, it is tough to catch your breath. 4- Fan base is always showing out which is dope but they will dig up your past as well and find a sore spot to pick on. 5- Have heard stories of students catfishing visiting teams via tinder/bumble
4.) Hawaii (Hawaii by Maui on the campus of Hawaii)
No brainer, this arena is very difficult to play at. Not only does it involve alot of travel to get to, but the ever present fan base lights up that arena on a night in night out basis. This arena gives you the closest feeling of what it would feel like to play for a real D1 college basketball team with fan engagement.
The Hawaiians do a great job of lulling visiting team to sleep as well. First they welcome you with smiles and leis, they are very complimentary of your team and teams accomplishments. You are put up in a great hotel on the ocean with great weather. Then you go in and almost guarenteed get slaughtered in the first set. It is exactly how a butcher would kill an animal for wagyu meat, making sure the animal is taken care of, treated like a king, and then boom slaughtered.
As far as the arena goes, the layout is very nice with the roof not being to tall and it being very wide. Serving and passing arent as difficult in that arena as you would think. The toughest part it is the sound the announcer makes when you get housed ("Ruumpphh") and the drum beat when it happens (Demoralizing). Super fun to play there just tough.
3.) GCU Small Arena (Arizona somewhere in the desert)
Small arena that they can pack out for fans. Tough place to play for other reasons. Fans on the floor standing the entire time getting super close to you on your approaches is one issue. Secondly they are the only team in all of Arizona so they are in all of the Refs pockets (Unfounded allegation, 0 evidence however true). Current team has an edge to them which makes them super fun to watch (especially setter), older teams also had an edge to them but werent as good so was just annoying. Would be sick to have their fan base for your teams fans but as an opponent its tough.
Its a tough arena to play in but in the same way as Hawaii it is super fun to play there, easy serve and pass conditions and the 1980s visitor locker room is a nice Homage to Animal House (1978).
2.) Pepsi Arena (Quincy, Illinois, 39.9356° N, 91.4099° W, 1.9 Miles from Mississippi River)
Ive said it many times. This place just has something to it. Located directly between the schools field house and some class rooms, Pepsi arena boasts the square footage of a common arena in the midwest. But make no mistake, there is nothing common about it. Starting with its name, no one knows how the arena got a sponsorship from Pepsi. Rumors have exchanged mouths through the generations of how this came to be. The common theory is the Chicago Mob of course, while other theories point to the carbonation trade that runs through Quincy port (cc portofquincy.org/).
The Arena itself boasts a video board set to 200% brightness that burns your eyeballs. The 10s of fans in attendance are ruthless, sometimes digging up past history with the team. The walls, as ive mentioned before, are a solid Dark brown color, similar to a nice beat up football after its been in a few mud/rain filled days. The stands on one side stretch to the roof, making it a marque venue for the next final 4 that goes to the MIVA.
the visiting locker room screams luxury, hosting those lockers from 1970 that are made of cold rolled steel, guarenteeing safe possessions during your on court battle.
Proximity to the Mississippi give the home team a 15% power buff on all bic sets and slide attacks out of the middle. Headwinds out of the west also create a swirl in the arena that only players that play in those conditions become accustomed too.
If you can get through the people heckling, the proximity buff, headwinds and temporary blindness, you can get through playing at Quincy, of course not taking in to account the bumps and bruises you will likely sustain.
1.) Long Beach (Long Beach, California, One of 4 true pyramids in the United States)
Long Beach is by far the hardest place to play in the NCAA. If you have never played there, then you have no idea how the ceiling affects those who's first time it is playing. The 4 ceiling walls gradually sloping up to a point with all of the Trusses completely throws off your depth perception, especially when setting, jump serving and hitting highballs. When they pack it out the crowd can be ruthless and with the teams current shape they have all the right to be. The locker room, hotel and location are first class as well, making you comfortable right before going into a very uncomfortable place to play. Proximity to Mississippi is a drawback, but not enough to nock it from the #1 spot of hardest place to play.
What are your top 5? Do you agree with my list? Comment Below!!
"A good day for the crows. remove your army from my land. I like your land, I think ill stay. I like your soldier too. They wont fight for you Agamemnon." -Coins
-Coins
Now before I get started, this is coming from someone who actually played in these arenas, not some fan sitting in the crowd and making assumptions about how hard it is to play somewhere. In my evaluation, I take several key factors into account: Court set up, arena size, fans, color of arena, location, location relative to mississippi river, facilities, etc. With all of these things in place, I believe I can accurately place the toughness of these arenas FROM A PLAYERS PERSPECTIVE.
Before we get started, here are some honorable mentions:
Loyola- Dumb video board 10 feet above net gets hit 5 times a game
Princeton- On 3rd floor of Hogwarts
Ball State- Muncie Indiana, ridiculous ceiling and no fans, showers facing each other for maximum player eye contact
Here are my top 5!
6.) St Francis Arena (Pennsylvania somewhere)
Now I know what you all may be thinking. Why does this Chester cat start with a random arena out in Pennsylvania somewhere? Fans on volleytalk from hawaii/west coast have probably never even heard of what St Francis has cooking. I will now break down why this arena is so hard to play at.
St francis arena is nudged in the corner of the most absurd gym setup i've ever seen. It is a massive T shape that houses close to 6 basketball courts. On one end of the court, you have about 8 feet to the back wall to serve. Tight, but nothing out of the ordinary! On the other side, you have about 75 yards to the back wall (Not even joking, very absurd court). this throws off every team when it comes to depth perception while serving and passing.
Luckily, there arent a ton of fans going after you at the stadium and they got a dope sandwich spot right down the street so that gives the arena some clicks. Also generally a team of cool dudes which helps arena vibes and concludes why they are number 6
5.) BYU (Provo, Idaho, at like 5000 feet above sea level)
BYU is a tough place to play for a few simple reasons. 1- you need to travel 30+ miles to find a gas station that sells beer. 2- The fans behind the service lines talk %*$# to you in very polite ways and say stuff you would say on a playground in 4th grade 3- your playing at cruising altitude for most commercial jets, making timing your swing and hitting the volleyball so much different than in normal arenas. Also, it is tough to catch your breath. 4- Fan base is always showing out which is dope but they will dig up your past as well and find a sore spot to pick on. 5- Have heard stories of students catfishing visiting teams via tinder/bumble
4.) Hawaii (Hawaii by Maui on the campus of Hawaii)
No brainer, this arena is very difficult to play at. Not only does it involve alot of travel to get to, but the ever present fan base lights up that arena on a night in night out basis. This arena gives you the closest feeling of what it would feel like to play for a real D1 college basketball team with fan engagement.
The Hawaiians do a great job of lulling visiting team to sleep as well. First they welcome you with smiles and leis, they are very complimentary of your team and teams accomplishments. You are put up in a great hotel on the ocean with great weather. Then you go in and almost guarenteed get slaughtered in the first set. It is exactly how a butcher would kill an animal for wagyu meat, making sure the animal is taken care of, treated like a king, and then boom slaughtered.
As far as the arena goes, the layout is very nice with the roof not being to tall and it being very wide. Serving and passing arent as difficult in that arena as you would think. The toughest part it is the sound the announcer makes when you get housed ("Ruumpphh") and the drum beat when it happens (Demoralizing). Super fun to play there just tough.
3.) GCU Small Arena (Arizona somewhere in the desert)
Small arena that they can pack out for fans. Tough place to play for other reasons. Fans on the floor standing the entire time getting super close to you on your approaches is one issue. Secondly they are the only team in all of Arizona so they are in all of the Refs pockets (Unfounded allegation, 0 evidence however true). Current team has an edge to them which makes them super fun to watch (especially setter), older teams also had an edge to them but werent as good so was just annoying. Would be sick to have their fan base for your teams fans but as an opponent its tough.
Its a tough arena to play in but in the same way as Hawaii it is super fun to play there, easy serve and pass conditions and the 1980s visitor locker room is a nice Homage to Animal House (1978).
2.) Pepsi Arena (Quincy, Illinois, 39.9356° N, 91.4099° W, 1.9 Miles from Mississippi River)
Ive said it many times. This place just has something to it. Located directly between the schools field house and some class rooms, Pepsi arena boasts the square footage of a common arena in the midwest. But make no mistake, there is nothing common about it. Starting with its name, no one knows how the arena got a sponsorship from Pepsi. Rumors have exchanged mouths through the generations of how this came to be. The common theory is the Chicago Mob of course, while other theories point to the carbonation trade that runs through Quincy port (cc portofquincy.org/).
The Arena itself boasts a video board set to 200% brightness that burns your eyeballs. The 10s of fans in attendance are ruthless, sometimes digging up past history with the team. The walls, as ive mentioned before, are a solid Dark brown color, similar to a nice beat up football after its been in a few mud/rain filled days. The stands on one side stretch to the roof, making it a marque venue for the next final 4 that goes to the MIVA.
the visiting locker room screams luxury, hosting those lockers from 1970 that are made of cold rolled steel, guarenteeing safe possessions during your on court battle.
Proximity to the Mississippi give the home team a 15% power buff on all bic sets and slide attacks out of the middle. Headwinds out of the west also create a swirl in the arena that only players that play in those conditions become accustomed too.
If you can get through the people heckling, the proximity buff, headwinds and temporary blindness, you can get through playing at Quincy, of course not taking in to account the bumps and bruises you will likely sustain.
1.) Long Beach (Long Beach, California, One of 4 true pyramids in the United States)
Long Beach is by far the hardest place to play in the NCAA. If you have never played there, then you have no idea how the ceiling affects those who's first time it is playing. The 4 ceiling walls gradually sloping up to a point with all of the Trusses completely throws off your depth perception, especially when setting, jump serving and hitting highballs. When they pack it out the crowd can be ruthless and with the teams current shape they have all the right to be. The locker room, hotel and location are first class as well, making you comfortable right before going into a very uncomfortable place to play. Proximity to Mississippi is a drawback, but not enough to nock it from the #1 spot of hardest place to play.
What are your top 5? Do you agree with my list? Comment Below!!
"A good day for the crows. remove your army from my land. I like your land, I think ill stay. I like your soldier too. They wont fight for you Agamemnon." -Coins
-Coins
