Like a broken record I sadly have to share the following article

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/69155046/san-diego-state-coach-steve-fisher-built-aztecs-into-college-basketball-power?tcid=tw_share

2 things stand out here....

A) Getting on Leonard early. Fisher is so right. It is about evaluating and finding talent that no one really sees. Program changing

B) "It took a long time and lot of hours he'll never get back, though. While worth it now, Fisher estimates he spoke 73 to 75 times in a 365-day period in trying to convince people to buy into the local basketball team. He went to coffee houses, fraternity houses, Kiwanis Club groups, local watering holes, the student union."

That is what it will ultimately take. If you want to really build a program you have to have a leader and coach do that kind of work.

BTW - great news on the November invite to the tournie at MSG. That is good for raising the national profile. Now need to not get blown out.

SCT, we have all said what we have to say on this matter...

That is not the same as saying we have heard the end of this 'discussion."

Go Bears!

Quote:

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He gave away tickets and took a hit in the short-term just to get people to show.

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I don't know why we don't have some sort of system (Stubhub) where unused tickets can be made available to students at no cost after a certain time, or for a price to non-student participants.

We do use Stubhub. As for students: we can't even fill the student section as is.

And I don't want this to be about Monty - who is who he is. I know if I was Sandy for the day I would definitely be talking to future candidates (both in hoops and, I pray, next year in FB), what THEY will do to help market the program and put folks into the stands. Fisher during his first few years was RELENTLESS....and was a fixture at not just SDSU hoops events but the "stuff" around town where the sports nuts/supporters hung out (hall of champions, Holiday Bowl, Football Celebrity golf tournies, etc. etc.). And honestly Steve F's personality is just so so. Monty is SO much funnier and engaging. But as woody alan says, 90% of life is just showing up.

Again, if you are in NoCal (or even SoCal) it is easy to overlook what Steve F. has done. But here in LoCal it is remarkable just how much he has changed (in a positive way) the conversation about sports. I REALLY don't enjoy SDSU fans sometimes (they can make Zonies look like civilized and well meaning aficionados of the game) but it is remarkable what Fisher has done. I do think there are lessons to be learned.

socaltownie;842291658 said:

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Like a broken record I sadly have to share the following article

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/69155046/san-diego-state-coach-steve-fisher-built-aztecs-into-college-basketball-power?tcid=tw_share

2 things stand out here....

A) Getting on Leonard early. Fisher is so right. It is about evaluating and finding talent that no one really sees. Program changing

B) "It took a long time and lot of hours he'll never get back, though. While worth it now, Fisher estimates he spoke 73 to 75 times in a 365-day period in trying to convince people to buy into the local basketball team. He went to coffee houses, fraternity houses, Kiwanis Club groups, local watering holes, the student union."

That is what it will ultimately take. If you want to really build a program you have to have a leader and coach do that kind of work.

BTW - great news on the November invite to the tournie at MSG. That is good for raising the national profile. Now need to not get blown out.

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I agree, and I agree Monty is not going to be that coach. However, for a number of (mostly good) reasons, I do not see us getting rid of Monty. Monty will leave when he is ready. Until then, what you see is about what you will get. We might as well enjoy it for what it is, instead of what it isn't.

When Monty retires I agree with you--I will want a young, charismatic and energetic coach who will put in long hours on the recruiting trail and meeting with alums and media to build excitement for the program. Until then let's try to enjoy the Monty era for what it is.

socaltownie;842291683 said:

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And I don't want this to be about Monty - who is who he is. I know if I was Sandy for the day I would definitely be talking to future candidates (both in hoops and, I pray, next year in FB), what THEY will do to help market the program and put folks into the stands. Fisher during his first few years was RELENTLESS....and was a fixture at not just SDSU hoops events but the "stuff" around town where the sports nuts/supporters hung out (hall of champions, Holiday Bowl, Football Celebrity golf tournies, etc. etc.). And honestly Steve F's personality is just so so. Monty is SO much funnier and engaging. But as woody alan says, 90% of life is just showing up.

Again, if you are in NoCal (or even SoCal) it is easy to overlook what Steve F. has done. But here in LoCal it is remarkable just how much he has changed (in a positive way) the conversation about sports. I REALLY don't enjoy SDSU fans sometimes (they can make Zonies look like civilized and well meaning aficionados of the game) but it is remarkable what Fisher has done. I do think there are lessons to be learned.

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Good to see you hoping for the football team to suceed.

SRBear;842291697 said:

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Good to see you hoping for the football team to suceed.

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I hope but I am realistic. If you didn't think Sonny was WAY over his head last year you were simply not watching. I know I know...historic injury bug, new system, frosh QB, etc. etc. etc. Guess what. A coach not over his head would have figured out that was a SERIOUS problem and decided to shrink the game - limiting possessions and working clock. Instead, we didn't do that. You all know the results.

UrsaMajor;842291672 said:

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We do use Stubhub. As for students: we can't even fill the student section as is.

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If I understand the way that Stubhub works, a season ticket holder has to [U]opt-in[/U] to selling their tickets through the CAL secondary ticket market. I think it would be much better for game attendance and the game experience if season ticket holders had to [U]opt-out[/U] from having their tickets sold after a certain date before a game.

I thought I also heard that a few ATOs have policies where some unsold tickets (think nose bleeds) are made free to current students within 10 minutes of the start of the game.

CALiforniALUM;842291713 said:

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If I understand the way that Stubhub works, a season ticket holder has to [U]opt-in[/U] to selling their tickets through the CAL secondary ticket market. I think it would be much better for game attendance and the game experience if season ticket holders had to [U]opt-out[/U] from having their tickets sold after a certain date before a game.

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HA. Wait, you want to take a season ticket holder's ticket from them a couple days (or even a day, or even the same day) as a game UNLESS I proactively "claim" them? That is seriously insane. What if I'm busy or out of town and don't have a chance to do that? What if I'm older and don't use computers or don't know about the program you're suggesting? What happens then? I show up to the game and my tickets aren't good anymore and I'm SOL? Yes, that's a GREAT way to engender renewals. C'mon man.

The only thing that will happen is ticket scalpers will claim the tickets and then try to sell them at a profit. Sorry, this is a bad idea - but luckily it has exactly a 0% chance of ever happening.

grandmastapoop;842291842 said:

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HA. Wait, you want to take a season ticket holder's ticket from them a couple days (or even a day, or even the same day) as a game UNLESS I proactively "claim" them? That is seriously insane. What if I'm busy or out of town and don't have a chance to do that? What if I'm older and don't use computers or don't know about the program you're suggesting? What happens then? I show up to the game and my tickets aren't good anymore and I'm SOL? Yes, that's a GREAT way to engender renewals. C'mon man.

The only thing that will happen is ticket scalpers will claim the tickets and then try to sell them at a profit. Sorry, this is a bad idea - but luckily it has exactly a 0% chance of ever happening.

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Yeah - I doubt that happens. Maybe single tixs could be given away to students....but demand is pretty low for our undergrads. Sad really - can't imagine a better way to spend a couple of hours than watching Pac-12 hoops.....can't study ALL the time ;-)

Why not let any student enter for free within 10 minutes of tipoff? The serious students (the ones who show up now) would pay the $55 or whatever it is to get a near-guaranteed spot on the bench. Cheapskate students would be allowed to take any open seat.

Maybe, as a variant of the opt-out proposal above, there's a way to assign the cheapskate students to paid seats, if the holder hasn't entered Haas by 10 minutes before tipoff?

Stubhub may be popular and I won't knock them for making money, as I believe they are successful - but only because they cater to lazy consumers.

It's a rip-off!! They take a vig on both ends from the buyer AND the seller. There are free alternatives (craigslist) and the Cal ATO does offer a free ticket exchange. I've used it here to GIVE my unused tickets to fellow bearinsiders.

I really like CALiforniALUMs idea - I think the key is finding the students that want to go, but don't have tickets and connecting them with those that have extra tickets. The mechanism for exchange exists - but not enough contact.

And yes - Sonny is in over his head :p

BeachedBear;842291966 said:

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Stubhub may be popular and I won't knock them for making money, as I believe they are successful - but only because they cater to lazy consumers.

It's a rip-off!! They take a vig on both ends from the buyer AND the seller. There are free alternatives (craigslist) and the Cal ATO does offer a free ticket exchange. I've used it here to GIVE my unused tickets to fellow bearinsiders.

I really like CALiforniALUMs idea - I think the key is finding the students that want to go, but don't have tickets and connecting them with those that have extra tickets. The mechanism for exchange exists - but not enough contact.

And yes - Sonny is in over his head :p

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Stubhub is a lot easier than Craigslist. And they guarantee the validity of your ticket - something you sure as hell don't get on CL or on the street. I will still sometimes seek out tickets on CL and from scalpers, but your convenience and peace of mind, Stubhub provides a nice service.