I think the university figures the die-hards aren't going anywhere, so decisions like this aren't critical in a push to increase attendance. The problem is that die-hards are your grass-roots, unpaid marketing department - which the university continues to show no inclination to cater to in any way, shape, or form. Which I imagine means our die-hards are less "die-hard" than fans at other schools, and less interested in acting as the unpaid marketing arm for the school. Which then makes bringing in new fans much harder and dependent on a spectacular season (or more likely, two) to get attendance back up.
I started supporting the athletics department at UAlbany after I got a Masters from there, and UAlbany has consistently worked much harder at making me feel my support was appreciated and valued than Syracuse has. I thought that might be because they competed at a lower level and both had to and could work harder. Then I married a Penn State grad who supported PSU athletics, and after getting catered to by the Nittany Lions endlessly I realized that Syracuse University is just utterly clueless at lower level donor creation/maintenance. It really does seem the only thing SU is willing to put any effort into is the gigantic "grand slam" donations. Those folks don't really care about open football practices...and therefore neither does Syracuse.
It's been this way for 20+ years - it seems to be deeply imbedded in the institutional culture at SU. I doubt it's going to change any time soon.
