It might be cool if Pitt plays an early away game at St Bony next year. Stay at Pitt Bradford

[mdpitt]

for a bit of a roadshow and MAKE SURE the tv rights are on local TV in both markets ( Buffalo )

There are three ways we win here:

1. This was really the first year in 15 years most people honestly could not name a starting lineup for Pitt. I don't go to a lot of games and few early season games were televised in traditional ways. When ROOT sports had more Pitt, it sure seem like people connected and it feeds future attendance.

2. It would be a thrill for UPB to form the Oakland Zoo with some guaranteed tickets and invite them to Pitt practice on campus in Bradford.

3. st Bonaventure is going to have more cache next year. " hey, Pitt went on the Road to St Bonaventure and was tested in a hostile environment and it helped their RPI"

Just get Pitt out of town early and forget some revenue. We have started conference play sleep walking from staying at home.

We got Julius Page from the Buffalo Market and maybe there is another kid from up there we could have sitting behind our bench to kick the tires so to speak. Pitt has warm weather for those future Panthers from Buffalo.

 

[mdpitt]

If revenue is a worry, play in Buffalo and make sure it's a 50/50 ticket split. Easy drive for all the NW Pa Pitt faithful.

 

[Saboteur]

If revenue is a worry, play in Buffalo and make sure it's a 50/50 ticket split. Easy drive for all the NW Pa Pitt faithful.

I wish there was more of this.

 

[33pitt99]

Just get Pitt out of town early and forget some revenue. We have started conference play sleep walking from staying at home.

We got Julius Page from the Buffalo Market and maybe there is another kid from up there we could have sitting behind our bench to kick the tires so to speak. Pitt has warm weather for those future Panthers from Buffalo.

I don't mind this idea, but we started 3-0 in conference, including winning at ND when they were playing their best, so you may want to come up with a better reason than that.

 

[mdpitt]

I don't mind this idea, but we started 3-0 in conference, including winning at ND when they were playing their best, so you may want to come up with a better reason than that.

Have you not been watching for 15 years ?These guys are bored out of their minds in Nov /Dec. the ND win was on the road which kind of rhymes with my argument. Get that ND performance a few times before Jan 1.

 

[33pitt99]

Have you not been watching for 15 years ?These guys are bored out of their minds in Nov /Dec. the ND win was on the road which kind of rhymes with my argument. Get that ND performance a few times before Jan 1.

So you are saying that starting 3-0 with wins at ND and against Syracuse is sleepwalking? That's an interesting way to look at it.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

So you are saying that starting 3-0 with wins at ND and against Syracuse is sleepwalking? That's an interesting way to look at it.

People have no idea what they are even saying anymore.

 

[rrig5]

Hey, we have a walk-on from UPB - he's from Smethport, I think. And Sealy (chunky blond kid) is from up that way, too- Elk County. Would be cute for them.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

No reason to play at St. Bonaventure, but one zany idea I do have is to play Pitt-Johnstown at the Johnstown War Memorial. They renovated the place with that Hockeytown Contest Money.

Or do a local tripleheader there:

D3: UPG vs St. Vincent
D2: UPJ vs IUP
D1: Pitt vs St. Francis

Would be a cool event, a change of pace. The place only seats 4000 but it would be packed and be the biggest event of the year in that town.....and help out a branch campus. Pitt vs a cupcake at The Pete draws 3000 now.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

For whatever reason Pitt seems to have no interest in helping out UPJ and UPG. I sit right in front of someone that some people here know and many others know who his son is, and I actually said something to him about it one day. He said that at one point the UPJ coach asked the people at Pitt about playing them in one of the non-D1 preseason games some year and he was told that they weren't going to play that year and that he shouldn't bother asking again because they had no plans to ever play UPJ.

It makes no sense to me, but the guy who told me this certainly would have an inside source.

 

[CrazyPaco]

For whatever reason Pitt seems to have no interest in helping out UPJ and UPG. I sit right in front of someone that some people here know and many others know who his son is, and I actually said something to him about it one day. He said that at one point the UPJ coach asked the people at Pitt about playing them in one of the non-D1 preseason games some year and he was told that they weren't going to play that year and that he shouldn't bother asking again because they had no plans to ever play UPJ.

It makes no sense to me, but the guy who told me this certainly would have an inside source.

Pitt played UPJ in an exhibition at the Pete in 2007 (won 97-56).

UPG is Division 3...they won't ever play them or UPB which is also D3.

 

[levance2]

I'm pretty sure Pitt did play UPJ several years ago.

I think it would be cool if Pitt played an annual road game at some lower tier PA school, but for none of the reasons OP listed.

 

[levance2]

Pitt played UPJ in an exhibition at the Pete in 2007 (won 97-56).

There it is. Pitt seems more interested in challenging exhibitions recently. They've been getting pretty good D2 teams lately.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Pitt played UPJ in an exhibition at the Pete in 2007 (won 97-56).

Right. And for some reason has not played them once since, even though UPJ has asked about it and wants to play. The implication that I got was that something happened that displeased people at Pitt and they have no interest dealing with the people at UPJ. I have no idea what this might be, but as I said the person that I talk to has some pretty good inside sources.

UPG is Division 3...they won't ever play them or UPB which is also D3.

Pitt has played D3 CMU on numerous occasions. If they are going to do that (and for the record I have no problem with that) there is no logical reason for them not to also occasionally play UPG.

 

[Pghfan]

I was at a bar in that area, outside of port allegheny, I kid you not there was a woman that worked at a bar that would crush a beer can with her breasts, that was her act. I have a hunting cabin near Kane and was told about this woman and it is confirmed. Think she was on the man show. If she still does this still, that with some fresh straubs at nearby st Mary's makes this a good road trip.

 

[Pghfan]

Ok boys, it's confirmed, she still does this. Turtle point pa, short drive from st Bonny's. Stop at straubs brewery, get weird in parking lot on 7 or 8 cases of straubs, go north to this place then head to st Bonny's for game. Who's coming with me? We could even stop at Indian casino in olean, in case we have any pride left, we can go there and rid ourselves of any remaining self respect.

 

[CrazyPaco]

Right. And for some reason has not played them once since, even though UPJ has asked about it and wants to play. The implication that I got was that something happened that displeased people at Pitt and they have no interest dealing with the people at UPJ. I have no idea what this might be, but as I said the person that I talk to has some pretty good inside sources.





Pitt has played D3 CMU on numerous occasions. If they are going to do that (and for the record I have no problem with that) there is no logical reason for them not to also occasionally play UPG.

I don't know anything about what might might be up at UPJ. Their AD (Pat Pecora the wrestling coach) and their hoops coach have been there forever. These exhibitions are usually bones thrown to colleagues in coaching circles. We've played IUP a couple times, and there is the Lombardi connection and they are actually a better program than UPJ. We played UC San Diego because of Chris Carlson who was a former Director of Basketball Operations for Dixon. Hawaii-Hilo was coached by the son of former long-time Pitt assistant Norm Law. Rollie Massimino coached at Northwood. Coker College's coach worked was an assistant at TCU when Dixon played there. There are often connections with these game set ups.

As far as CMU, that's the only D3 they've played and mainly because they are across the street and have a historical connection with them (actually 124 games in regulation). In fact, they last played in regulation in 1996 because Pitt needed a filler, but they played regularly up until 1971. Pitt hasn't played them in an exhibition since 2006. I don't think you'll see that again unless Pitt needs a last minute fill-in.

BTW, the check for these D2 teams is only around $11,500 (what IUP was paid in 2014). Not exactly a windfall like FCS football paydays, but we might as well make UPJ a regular in whatever rotation so that money gets transferred within the family. But I have no problem not playing them, especially if they don't get more competitive and especially since we may be leaning toward replacing D2 games with super secret scrimmages instead (which may be more beneficial). I'm not for games against the D3 regional campuses. FYI, Delaware got $377,000 in 2014 for football.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

BTW, the check for these D2 teams is only around $11,500 (what IUP was paid in 2014).

The first time they played CMU in one of those exhibition games Pitt paid CMU $10,000. The CMU athletic director was standing right in front of us at the Pete when she told someone that number. She was ecstatic and couldn't believe they got paid that much for the game.

 

[CrazyPaco]

The first time they played CMU in one of those exhibition games Pitt paid CMU $10,000. The CMU athletic director was standing right in front of us at the Pete when she told someone that number. She was ecstatic and couldn't believe they got paid that much for the game.

D1 OOC cupcakes get about $90K

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

D1 OOC cupcakes get about $90K

Yea, and instead of paying a MEAC team to come in for a game that adds $0 to the value of a season ticket package and will be attended by 3000 people, a game in Johnstown against UPJ or some other team would be cool. Honestly, I think Pitt needs to get rid of some home games. They add no value, nobody goes, and if they too some away, the lower amount would increase attendance I think.

If I was Pitt, I'd be looking at outside the box alternatives. For example, what about playing a cupcake in Erie, Johnstown, Scranton, Hershey, or that ridiculously nice new Allentown arena? On a much smaller scale, would be like ND's Shamrock Series, rotating a home game to some smaller PA cities.

 

[NTOP]

For whatever reason Pitt seems to have no interest in helping out UPJ and UPG. I sit right in front of someone that some people here know and many others know who his son is, and I actually said something to him about it one day. He said that at one point the UPJ coach asked the people at Pitt about playing them in one of the non-D1 preseason games some year and he was told that they weren't going to play that year and that he shouldn't bother asking again because they had no plans to ever play UPJ.

It makes no sense to me, but the guy who told me this certainly would have an inside source.

Prior AD?? Nothing would surprise me with that guy.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Prior AD?? Nothing would surprise me with that guy.

For the record, I do not know if it was him or something else. I guess if it was something that came from him we would perhaps see that if they schedule a game sometime in the next couple of seasons.

 

[braves2121]

If revenue is a worry, play in Buffalo and make sure it's a 50/50 ticket split. Easy drive for all the NW Pa Pitt faithful.

Great idea except the fan split would be 95% Bona and 5% Pitt

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

With home attendance down everywhere, not just at Pitt, I think its a good idea for some of these teams to decrease the inventory of home games. They dont add value and to casual fans, the games are meaningless and redundant. The next frontier in RPI gaming is to play cupcakes at neutral sites. Sure, your risk of a loss is greater but come on. You get a bigger RPI bump for a win.

RMU at Consol
St. Francis in Johnstown
Buffalo in Erie
Bucknell in Hershey

 

[ameoba defense]

You don't play at Bona unless it's a 2 for 1, and even then, it's a bad idea. It's for the same reason why Kansas would never come to the Pete. A win doesn't do that much for you, and the chances of a loss are high. When you go on the road, you want to play the best teams you can. Kansas can do better than Pitt, and Pitt can do better than Bona. Bona shouldn't be playing America East teams on the road either. Teams like Bona on the home schedule is a different thing. Pitt ought to be playing more games like that. Bona won't come cheap like a MEAC team, but you ought to be able to sell a few thousand more tickets to make up the difference.

 

[levance2]

Pitt played at the Palestra against Penn as part of that dreadful exempt event a few years ago. That was a fun game to watch, and lots of Pitt fans from eastern PA got to see Pitt for maybe the only time that year. It's a fun idea to "dominate the state" by playing some random place every year. Play it on a Saturday so fans can travel. The idea of making them neutral rather than true road games is also interesting.

Fun idea, but I doubt it ever happens.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

You don't play at Bona unless it's a 2 for 1, and even then, it's a bad idea. It's for the same reason why Kansas would never come to the Pete. A win doesn't do that much for you, and the chances of a loss are high. When you go on the road, you want to play the best teams you can. Kansas can do better than Pitt, and Pitt can do better than Bona. Bona shouldn't be playing America East teams on the road either. Teams like Bona on the home schedule is a different thing. Pitt ought to be playing more games like that. Bona won't come cheap like a MEAC team, but you ought to be able to sell a few thousand more tickets to make up the difference.

Pitt did play St. Bonaventure last year. SBU usually does 1 payday game a year. This year was Syracuse and that loss probably put Syracuse in over them.

Nobody in Pittsburgh ever heard of SBU. The crowd for them was no bigger than a cupcake but they were not scheduled for ticket sales, they were scheduled for gaming and I think we should do more of that in terms of buying A10 teams.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Pitt played at the Palestra against Penn as part of that dreadful exempt event a few years ago. That was a fun game to watch, and lots of Pitt fans from eastern PA got to see Pitt for maybe the only time that year. It's a fun idea to "dominate the state" by playing some random place every year. Play it on a Saturday so fans can travel. The idea of making them neutral rather than true road games is also interesting.

Fun idea, but I doubt it ever happens.

Yea. Pitt is never going to play at Lehigh but why not play them at that gorgeous new Allentown arena? Would be a cool environment and beats a dead crowd at The Pete. Plus you save money since you dont have to pay Lehigh 75K to come in.

I would do a rotating PA neutral site cupcake game every year

 

[ameoba defense]

Pitt did play St. Bonaventure last year. SBU usually does 1 payday game a year. This year was Syracuse and that loss probably put Syracuse in over them.

Nobody in Pittsburgh ever heard of SBU. The crowd for them was no bigger than a cupcake but they were not scheduled for ticket sales, they were scheduled for gaming and I think we should do more of that in terms of buying A10 teams.

Dayton would probably be the best A 10 team with regard to drawing a decent crowd, but they won't come without a return game, and I'm sure Pitt wants no part of that again.

 

[mdpitt]

Pitt played at the Palestra against Penn as part of that dreadful exempt event a few years ago. That was a fun game to watch, and lots of Pitt fans from eastern PA got to see Pitt for maybe the only time that year. It's a fun idea to "dominate the state" by playing some random place every year. Play it on a Saturday so fans can travel. The idea of making them neutral rather than true road games is also interesting.

Fun idea, but I doubt it ever happens.

I like the idea and I think it would be a thrill for Pitt players ( when they are older) to say they played at the Palestra.

I would try to get Nova on the schedule for a game at Wells Fargo and then Neutral at Consol.

 

[NTOP]

Pitt did play St. Bonaventure last year. SBU usually does 1 payday game a year. This year was Syracuse and that loss probably put Syracuse in over them.

Nobody in Pittsburgh ever heard of SBU. The crowd for them was no bigger than a cupcake but they were not scheduled for ticket sales, they were scheduled for gaming and I think we should do more of that in terms of buying A10 teams.

What?? Lots of people know about the Bonnies. The Stith Brothers, Fred Crawford, Big Bob Lanier. Saw all of those guys play at the Palestra. 50 years ago or more. Grew up with a guy who played frosh ball there. I was sorta surprised that they didn't get a BE invite at the startup...but Olean/Bradford Metroplex isn't a big market. Niagara & Canisius were decent, too.

 

[ameoba defense]

What?? Lots of people know about the Bonnies. The Stith Brothers, Fred Crawford, Big Bob Lanier. Saw all of those guys play at the Palestra. 50 years ago or more. Grew up with a guy who played frosh ball there. I was sorta surprised that they didn't get a BE invite at the startup...but Olean/Bradford Metroplex isn't a big market. Niagara & Canisius were decent, too.

They didn't get an invite because in the late 70s, Cuse was in the process of replacing Bona as Central, & Western New York's team, and there was no way that Cuse was going to throw them a lifeline. Once Syracuse got a foot on Bonaventure's neck, they had no intention of taking it off. Bona used to be one of the big games on Duquesne's schedule, back when both teams were part of the eastern elite. Pitt had some very good games with Bona back when we were in the Eastern 8, and Jim Satalin was coaching at Bona.

 

[braves2121]

You don't play at Bona unless it's a 2 for 1, and even then, it's a bad idea. It's for the same reason why Kansas would never come to the Pete. A win doesn't do that much for you, and the chances of a loss are high. When you go on the road, you want to play the best teams you can. Kansas can do better than Pitt, and Pitt can do better than Bona. Bona shouldn't be playing America East teams on the road either. Teams like Bona on the home schedule is a different thing. Pitt ought to be playing more games like that. Bona won't come cheap like a MEAC team, but you ought to be able to sell a few thousand more tickets to make up the difference.

1) Pitt can do better than Bona, but they haven't been! So it would be an upgrade from what we do currently. Home and home with Bona wouldn't bother me at all, bring it on

2) Kansas winning at the Pete wouldn't do much for them? I beg to differ, in most years any win @Pitt shows up on the "quality wins" list of your NCAA resume

 

[NTOP]

1) Pitt can do better than Bona, but they haven't been! So it would be an upgrade from what we do currently. Home and home with Bona wouldn't bother me at all, bring it on

2) Kansas winning at the Pete wouldn't do much for them? I beg to differ, in most years any win @Pitt shows up on the "quality wins" list of your NCAA resume

We played SBU.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

We played SBU.

I think it tells you all you need to know about how much SBU moves the proverbial needle that we've actually played them recently and so few people seem to remember that.

 

[braves2121]

We played SBU.

Not on the road. PLAY ON THE ROAD. our schedule is embarrassing in multiple ways