I do think some of that has to do with it being the first year of that new arena and them having some flashy names, but also impressive considering the record they have. I think the new sac arena fits well in the Big West.

I also think our (mens) basketball team is a bit stale and has been for a bit. Most people I know who are still in Davis think the team has been "mid" for the last few years. I think some of the new student section stuff has been cool, but I do worry moving into the mountain west that we are gonna really struggle at first (expected with any step up in competitive though). I am okay moving on from Les.

It’s going to get less expensive. This is one of the few things that Davis is playing correctly. The Sacramento corporate dollar, which is not large, ain’t going to Sac State athletics. They are redirecting some of the minimal support they have to sponsor a suicide mission to Tuesday night football on espnu in the MAC.

It’s free tickets and toomey level attendance accuracy. There are less than 2,500 seats in that thing.

Yeah I was gonna say I remember them saying total seating was less than 3000 ...

Just need to let those guys do what they do. What’s your take on hoops as a recent grad? Student participation is well behind UCI, SB, SD, and this is a situation where Davis has the largest venue of the bunch, the most students within walking distance, and pretty solid play.

You are great my man, don't lose your enthusiasm!! Talking Davis sports is so fun today, because we are close to taking the next step. We can all feel it. Wait till next year, I'm telling you 2026 might be the year we break through :)

I think the basketball would be happy with numbers like like. Seems like a good third of our crowd is students (free), and no creative accounting gets us above 2000 except vs Sac. They are packing the place and their home record reflects.

seems like with a little marketing and a down Kings team there could be a push for UCD BB but gotta actually market it AND put some money into the gameday experience. With the Kings having one of the best entertainment products in the NBA it’s a lot to contend even when their basketball is comical, but I’d rather go watch my Aggies than Kings, especially if the experience was elevated a bit. I think the eventual arena upgrades get us there, but we need some in game experience aside from the basketball too.

Not to derail this into a basketball discussion but here’s big west attendance for this season. We’re down about 300/game from last year (we got a big ESPN bump). Hawaii is the outlier. What are SB, SD and Irvine doing to get 600-1000 more per game? Irvine has been a perennial power, but lots of LA completion. How is Poly, who’s been terrible in recent past and decent now, outdrawing us? Be good to have someone research their approach and see what applies to us.

(and I’m going to @LeFan) I think the pr for basketball has been really bad compared to football. I do think that if we can compete in the MW attendance will improve, most people I know like playing the UC schools but don’t really seem interested in watching a Thursday game against Northridge or Bakersfield. The fact that football only has a few home games and recently has been basically expected to provide a really exciting game compared to the basketball team that for almost 10 years now hasn’t done much doesn’t surprise me. I also from personal experience know a lot of people who find the team really stale right now. whether it’s actually stale or not, to me it seems like the lack of star players, stagnant records in recent years and the success of football has people not focused on basketball. When I got to Davis as a freshman and in sophomore year when pepper was on the team I knew a lot of people from a variety of classes that were interested in games and went to quite a few. I also know quite a few people who are former and current students who find Les insufferable for how he acts during games, complains nonstop and just seems “old”. Heck, most people I know find Plough young, energetic (especially since he went here) and innovative, don’t feel the same about Les.

Now out of my personal opinion, I like the promos they have had, but other than that the gameday experience kinda sucks. The concessions stink, the concourse and hallways are depressing and lifeless and parking sucks. I am excited for the renovations in Aggie ascent (which would make it one of the better arenas in our new conference) but for now just improving concessions would be a really good start. Also with football I feel like I am aware whether I am looking for it or not when a game is happening, basketball I have to go and look to see…

Now for my extended families opinion that wanted to join in: “parking isn’t my biggest complaint… concession are lame…. Bakersfield has a basketball team?…. I want to travel to New Mexico for a game…. I’ll miss playing Poly… it feels like my voice could echo when in the arena… why are there big gaps…” (paraphrasing)

Concessions have been better. They have 2 lines now and both seem to move along at a reasonable pace.

I just wish we had more options to be honest. That’s good to hear though, I remember being really thirsty and it taking a while last time haha

Hey, thanks for passing up on your invite :lol:

https://x.com/petethamel/status/2022859718960594983?s=46

insert old man yelling at the air gif :rofl: that’s you.

23 million to join the MAC is crazy. But at the end of the day, the goal has sort of been achieved. But then again Sac State is in. Now SAC State has a head start on securing the SAC market. They already have national attention…

Basketball has had star players in recent years. Chima, Pepper, TY were top players in the conference. Stale from being middle of the pack, sure… but I think that’s a cop out. Did we see a bump the year following March madness? I don’t think so.

I’m not sure what it takes honestly. I mean 90% of the people in this football thread here don’t come over to the basketball thread.

Curious as to why that is?

Have fun playing football on Tuesdays

it’s only one Tuesday a season; it’s the trips to Akron or UMASS in front of a rowdy 6000 that would be a concern.

I can’t imagine when all the SAC12 talk started that anyone envisioned this as the consolation prize. Especially, as is rumored, they aren’t taking TV revenue initially.

how could you not see they’d end up there? They have a vision and they went for it. We have some righteous dream that we will be invited to the SEC for free. If you work for it, if you build it, you will get it. We aren’t doing a damn thing.

Like someone else stated, Sac now has the head start on cultivating the Sac market. Huge mistake on our part and very emblematic of the “staleness” in our basketball program and entire ICA.

Perception is realty. Why donate to UCD for improvement if all they’ll do is talk about how someday sometime…vs having a stated goal and fighting for it? This is certainly a hit to revenue development not only amongst alumni donors but especially corporate/commercial dollars in this region.

Aggie Fight?

More like Aggie Flight….we might have killed our football programs chances with a gamble and foolish belief Sac couldn’t be successful. If I was Rocko I’d beg to get in NOW at today’s cost. It would’ve been much cheaper a year ago and will only become more expensive each year. With Sac having FBS, our program is second tier in the region now and will be stale like basketball with decreasing attendance if it remains FCS.

We hedged this bet and lost. Now, we have to show why we are actually better than Sac or we actually have to give them credit. No choice if we want our program to survive.

Can the people going to the wine tasting fundraising event ask the following questions.
1. What is the timetable for us to move to FBS.
2. How much funding has been secured for football stadium upgrades.
3. What is the timetable for FB stadium upgrades.
3a. How long for the new boxes.
3b. How long for seating expansion and other amenities.

The admin will give answers to those donating money.

how can I not see? Nobody from over there in the past 16 months pushed the MAC, and nobody ever suggested paying over $20M for the pleasure.

Imagine I’m an investor in November 2024 and you are trying to raise millions for SAC12. Sell me on spending $20M to play the likes of directional-Michigan, Akron or UMASS….and agreeing to NOT taking TV money initially. Sell me that ‘vision of the future’. The hope, I guess, is that things go crazy in 5 years, moratorium on FBS entry, and a desparare PAC12 rolls out the red carpet? At what additional cost?

BTW, as current members of the MWC, we won’t have to pay a crazy entry fee just the (current) $5M FBS fee. Seems like that may have been a wise fiscal decision

it was very evident Sac would spend whatever it took to get to FBS wherever they had to spend it. If not, you weren’t paying attention to their statements and actions. For you that’s fine, but I fear our AD was caught with his drawers down as well and that’s NOT fine.

No guarantee we will get a discount from the MWC to add football, or get guaranteed media revenue upon adding football. It’s not in the contract, and even getting to apply first meant absolutely nothing.

The reality is we can’t claim to be top dog in Sac area college football anymore. And if you were a corporate donor you are likely to pull funding away from UCD and move it towards Sac for visibility. Even the local media won’t be covering us next year. Already, they’ve jumped on the sac bandwagon, and rightfully so. This is bigger, even being the MAC, than anyone here is realizing. And that hurts me to say.

UCD supporters are left clinging to “hopes” that things work out for us where NDSU and CSUS made their goals known, excited the fan and donor base, and MADE things happen. Meanwhile we put out glossy ads for facilities (how many stadium brochures with huge designs have we received in the last 2-3 decades) without clearly defined benchmarks and visions. But plenty of excuses, we may laugh at the Ball-Sac situation in the MAC, but in true Aggie fashion we currently look like our mascots arse.

If ‘spending whatever it takes’ makes sense to you, it’s hard to persuade you to the opposite. I don’t think I’m im the minority of non-Sac fans in thi king this is crazy. But, king of the Sac region has a nice ring to it!