Eamonn Brennan

[Upstate]

Anyone have a clue how well SU fans have traveled for previous Maui tourneys?

 

[dollarbill44]

Anyone have a clue how well SU fans have traveled for previous Maui tourneys?

I think typically by air. [rimshot]

Better to be a smartass than a dumbass

 

[DoctorBombay]

Its the same narrative every single year, & it always plays out the same way.
By BE season, all of this is moot...until NEXT season when it'll come up once again.

FWIW, even when we do play a tough schedule early, its always mentioned- ie: " Syracuse usually plays a soft schedule, & close to home, so its good to see them finally play a good team". Or, "They have yet to play a "true" road game". Or, " They won't leave the Eastern Seaboard until January"... etc, etc
It has a cumulative affect, in that we are the poster child for cupcake scheduling. SMDH

 

[OttoMets]

This could easily be resolved by scheduling one tough road game a year with one of the elite programs in the country like the other elites do. But we don't do that at Syracuse because JB doesn't really see the value in it which is his prerogative as head coach. Again this is one of those things that I hope changes when Hop takes over, I remember we used to play at least 2 tough non conference games a year, one at home one on the road. I'm not sure why we've gone away from it.

Obviously the loss in football revenue since the late 1990s has made the athletic department more dependent on the gate from home games, so we're less likely to give one of them away. Also, Boeheim hates the idea of playing nonconference games after league play has started, so those St. John's-UCLA and Georgetown-Duke February series are out.

Finally, we've had a bit of bad luck. When we were scheduling two-year home-and-homes with Kentucky and Arizona in the '90s, those teams were good. In recent years we've scheduled two-year series with Memphis and North Carolina State, each of whom could be expected to be good, but isn't (don't mean to jinx Saturday - State's good enough to beat us, but far from a marquee matchup). It's a nice get for Dr. Gross when he signs Memphis and they're playing for the national championship; two years later when they're bad and playing in front of 20,000 at the Dome during Christmas break, not so much.

None of that changes the fact that we've gone from playing two name nonconference teams to one, but a lot of the problem is understandable.

 

[EastCoast2]

Its the same narrative every single year, & it always plays out the same way.
By BE season, all of this is moot...until NEXT season when it'll come up once again.

FWIW, even when we do play a tough schedule early, its always mentioned- ie: " Syracuse usually plays a soft schedule, & close to home, so its good to see them finally play a good team". Or, "They have yet to play a "true" road game". Or, " They won't leave the Eastern Seaboard until January"... etc, etc
It has a cumulative affect, in that we are the poster child for cupcake scheduling. SMDH

To be fair, SU hasn't left the continental US in a long time. Until we play in Maui or Atlantis, our OOC schedule will be weak. :rolling:

 

[stuckinbig11]

Of course it was only a matter of time before these started rolling in:

Brennan on places to be this week:

Raleigh, N.C. (Syracuse at NC State): Hallelujah, hallelujah -- Jim Boeheim's team is finally going on the road. The Orange have yet to leave the state of New York this season, so it will be interesting to see how they handle a game they should win, but one whose location presents distinct challenges this particular team has yet to face.

Stupid teams pay for air travel half way across the world to play in front of 10,000 fans. Smart teams play at home in front of 20,000 fans or in the Garden. Most all other teams don't have that choice.

 

[PoppyHart]

Since Sendek left, NC State has finished in the ACC: T-10, T-11, 10, T-9, T-10. So lets not spin this like it was a good team we scheduled that had an unexpected year.

Playing in Maui will help perceptions. Unfortunately, that's 2 years from now, and the field kinda blows from what I recall.

People love to pull the "we have the BE gauntlet" to prepare us line. Well, the BE is nowhere near as strong as it has been the last few years. It's probably a 7 bid league this year. And the fact that the conference seems to embarrass itself every March lends credence to the argument that you need to step out of conference and play some more demanding games.

Also, the BE has not always been perceived as the best conference (and many think the Big-10 is better this year). Nevertheless, the scheduling pattern has been the same. I doubt there will be a significant change in scheduling practices upon moving to the ACC. I would bet that JB, if still coaching, will try to convince everyone that the ACC is just as demanding.

Bottom line is JB and DDG can change national perceptions if they choose. As someone said, it's their prerogative to schedule as they same fit. Similarly, it's the media and public's prerogative to call them out on it.

 

[Cusefan95]

Bottom line is JB and DDG can change national perceptions if they choose. As someone said, it's their prerogative to schedule as they same fit. Similarly, it's the media and public's prerogative to call them out on it.

They continue to focus more on the athletic department staying in the black (or losing as little as possible), which is exactly what they've done since football revenues dropped off. I'd expect slightly better scheduling once Syracuse is in the ACC and getting the significantly higher revenue from that.

The bottom line is that suggesting that Syracuse lose money to placate the idiots in the media doesn't have much likelihood of happening.

 

[jekelish]

Anyone have a clue how well SU fans have traveled for previous Maui tourneys?

I have it on good authority that our ball boys have always had a strong presence in Maui.

 

[GoSU96]

As long as they are not at home ie. Carrier Dome, MSG, Jersey, Philly or DC. Throw in LA too because George Hicker lives there.

Any game in Florida as well.

 

[Upstate]

this thread is officially famous