Did the Thunder hurt OU/OSU BB

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buttermaker1

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Bad attendance for both and the Thunder dominate the headlines and pack the house. Would OU/OSU be better off without the Thunder? How can the Thunder pack the house every night and OU can't even pack the house for Texas or KU.

I look at places like ISU with a packed house and shake my head at OU and OSU attendance.

What went wrong?
 
personally its just another excuse/crutch used to explain why the attendance is low. Yes, there is more competition but people not going to OU basketball games has been going on long before the Thunder arrived. At OU going to the games because the Sooners are playing is not part of the culture as it is in other places. People seem content watching it from home.
 
buttermaker1 said:
Bad attendance for both and the Thunder dominate the headlines and pack the house. Would OU/OSU be better off without the Thunder? How can the Thunder pack the house every night and OU can't even pack the house for Texas or KU.

I look at places like ISU with a packed house and shake my head at OU and OSU attendance.

What went wrong?
Click to expand...

The Thunder have hurt both OU and OSU. But, OU struggled to draw even before the Thunder arrived. OSU always drew better but their attendance has fallen way off.

OU has a small but loyal fan base, always has and always will. That's sad for a program that's had some measure of consistent success.
 
sdcloud9 said:
OU has a small but loyal fan base, always has and always will. That's sad for a program that's had some measure of consistent success.
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If you are right then it is incumbent on Joe C to build that small but loyal fan base. Develop a program for Norman kids. If they maintain X grades, give them tickets say 200 per game. If they graduate with the required GPA attended Y% of games and go to OU with a required GPA give them free tickets during college (attendance being mandatory). Do this for 20 years and you will have a bunch of loyal fans.

Perhaps you don't like this program so come up with your own. The point is to do something.
 
The teams not winning at the rate they did under Kelvin and Eddie hurts too. In OSU's case, the end of the Sutton era hurt OSU way worse than the Thunder.
 
Dignon003 said:
The teams not winning at the rate they did under Kelvin and Eddie hurts too. In OSU's case, the end of the Sutton era hurt OSU way worse than the Thunder.
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I think three things hurt OSU and I am not sure what order I would rank them. The larger stadium makes tickets much easier to get. Therefore, people don't value the opportunity to attend as much. The Thunder adds another option. OSU has not been as strong since Sutton's retirement. For OU I think the team being down and the Thunder impact attendance. OU always had the larger stadium so that is not as much of an issue.
 
The Thunder have hurt ALL OU sports, not just basketball. When the media isn't talking about college sports and spends about 90% of its time on the Thunder, it's going to hurt.
 
IndySooner said:
The Thunder have hurt ALL OU sports, not just basketball. When the media isn't talking about college sports and spends about 90% of its time on the Thunder, it's going to hurt.
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it has hurt OU football .. 0%
 
DenverSooner said:
If you are right then it is incumbent on Joe C to build that small but loyal fan base. Develop a program for Norman kids. If they maintain X grades, give them tickets say 200 per game. If they graduate with the required GPA attended Y% of games and go to OU with a required GPA give them free tickets during college (attendance being mandatory). Do this for 20 years and you will have a bunch of loyal fans.

Perhaps you don't like this program so come up with your own. The point is to do something.
Click to expand...


You can get incredibly cheap tickets now outside the arena, and don't students get free student tickets anyway (only contingent upon attending 90% of all home games?). They did that a few years ago, and that was during Blake's sophomore year which was easily the best attended season in the last decade.


Thunder have hurt, Lloyd Noble (structurally and location-wise) hurt, but the most important thing (and this hurts attendance everywhere) is television coverage and the quality of TVs. A seat in your livng room has become better than a non-top-tier seat at the arena. Thunder gaems are seen as a social event, like OU football games. OU basketball games aren't, and won't be unless the experience is improved dramatically at the games. Until then, many people will opt for the better view in their La Z Boy, where they can also drink a brew, eat decent food, and not worry about getting in and out of the parking lot.
 
A great TV quality hasn't hurt the Thunder attendance. I wonder what will happen to thunder attendance when they are average or below average.

I bad Thunder team would be good for OU and OSU. Maybe the sports radio guys would talk about something else.
 
I agree LNC needs a makeover. Jam thousands of students on top of the court.

Tighten the venue make it more vertical for starters.
 
Asking students to pay for tickets is insane, frankly. When I was at Maryland tickets were free and I'm pretty sure they still are, when my friend was at UNC student tickets were free. Why are you making it harder for students to attend?
 
This isn't just an OSU/OU thing.

Attendance for college basketball is down across the board... pretty much everywhere except for the super elites like Kansas, Kentucky, etc.

But yes, I'm certain that the Thunder hurts both teams' attendance.
 
Donations might be up and tickets sold but folks aren't using the tickets. It's baffling and embarrassing to see 4000 empty seats when we play UT or KS.

I agree attendance is down across the board for college hoops but ours is terrible

How do recruit you when you stadium is empty, we had maybe 4000 show for non conference games. It's crazy
 
buttermaker1 said:
Donations might be up and tickets sold but folks aren't using the tickets. It's baffling and embarrassing to see 4000 empty seats when we play UT or KS.

I agree attendance is down across the board for college hoops but ours is terrible

How do recruit you when you stadium is empty, we had maybe 4000 show for non conference games. It's crazy
Click to expand...

It is not much different than any time in the last 20 years
 
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