Support These Kids

[Sarge25]

i’m not a hoops fan and have maybe attended 5 games my entire life. I don’t even normally watch the games as I prefer to watch the Penguins instead even if it costs me a lot more to attend.

That being said, Pitt has a large enough fanbase to fill the Pete on a regular basis. These kids are out there against an opponent they have no business hanging with busting their ass. The least you basketball fans can do is showup for some games. You don’t have to like Stallings, but support the kids and the program.

 

[JD1976]

i’m not a hoops fan and have maybe attended 5 games my entire life. I don’t even normally watch the games as I prefer to watch the Penguins instead even if it costs me a lot more to attend.

That being said, Pitt has a large enough fanbase to fill the Pete on a regular basis. These kids are out there against an opponent they have no business hanging with busting their ass. The least you basketball fans can do is showup for some games. You don’t have to like Stallings, but support the kids and the program.

Good post. Team is showing heart tonight and is hanging in a game they have business being competitive in. Down 20 and cut it to as little as 2.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

I don’t like basketball.

You’re the one who loves basketball but will be a cry baby because they escorted your boyfriend out the door.

Stallings is building a hell of a team and deserves the support from Pitt basketball fans. You’re obviously not one.

You don’t like basketball,
But are seeing a hell of a team?


I don’t like stallings.
I don’t like him or his no defense and no rebounding,chuck up 3s style.
We’re 5-5.
I’m okay with that.

 

[Sarge25]

You don’t like basketball,
But are seeing a hell of a team?


I don’t like stallings.
I’m okay with that.

No, I don’t like basketball, I don’t watch every game. I’m casual at best and only because they wear the name Pitt across their chest.

A bunch of 18 year olds just hung with a veteran lead #19 team in the country. If you don’t think that is a hell of an effort and a bright sign for the future, I don’t know what to tell you.

 

[DT_PITT]

i’m not a hoops fan and have maybe attended 5 games my entire life. I don’t even normally watch the games as I prefer to watch the Penguins instead even if it costs me a lot more to attend.

That being said, Pitt has a large enough fanbase to fill the Pete on a regular basis. These kids are out there against an opponent they have no business hanging with busting their ass. The least you basketball fans can do is showup for some games. You don’t have to like Stallings, but support the kids and the program.

Since the Pete opened I have missed only 5 games at the Pete, including the last two because I coach my 12 year old son and his team and our practices are on Tuesdays (as scheduled by the league).

I believe I will be at every other game at the Pete this year supporting the team and the coaching staff.

Unfortunately, I do not agree that Pitt Hoops has anywhere near enough of a fanbase to fill the Pete on a regular basis. The entire premise of your post makes this point.

On a larger scale, do not underestimate how much this is NOT a hoops town.

 

[steel_curtain]

Since the Pete opened I have missed only 5 games at the Pete, including the last two because I coach my 12 year old son and his team and our practices are on Tuesdays (as scheduled by the league).

I believe I will be at every other game at the Pete this year supporting the team and the coaching staff.

Unfortunately, I do not agree that Pitt Hoops has anywhere near enough of a fanbase to fill the Pete on a regular basis. The entire premise of your post makes this point.

On a larger scale, do not underestimate how much this is NOT a hoops town.

-Steel City supports winners, not losers. Teams in Pittsburgh are expected to win, we are known as the City of Champions going back to the 70's. That's not called fairweather fans, its called expectations.

-The Pete was the most feared, most intimidating home court in the entire Big East. Now after Barnes, its a ghost town. Maybe thats a strong word, I have not been there in years, but I know its not what it used to be.

-I think Pitt can get back. I dont believe in the argument that Pitt cant recruit against so and so, has nothing to offer against so and so, and so forth. I think our administration is garbage and royally screwed everything up. I dont think we will be a punching bag until we are both in the ground as long as the athletic department finally steps up to the plate.

-Athletics are like stocks. Invest and pay winners, not losers. And if you have to gamble, take the OTC stock or Coach from the midmajors that is red hot that can recruit and is hungry, not a guy on the tail end of his career. Thats me. Barnes was a joke, the end with that. If Stallings turns this around great for him, and Ill be happy. But I have major doubts he will do it.

-He's pushing 60, if someone can show me they are happy with the current results, Ill differ. He's not hungry, he's passing his time imho.

-SMF thinks we have 4 pieces in place for the future. If those 4 pieces win a total of 14 games in 2 seasons combined, we are the equivalent to dogshit. Thats reality.

 

[Pittx9]

The one thing pitt has going for them though.... you now have about 17 graduating classes (ever since Heinz opened) that pitt basketball was the big event during their college careers. Pitt needs to focus on selling season tickets to graduates from that timespan. It may not be a hoops town, but for the graduating classes of 2001-onward Pitt was a basketball school to them. Building the Pete back up to what it was is not an impossible task at all.

 

[BuffetParrothead]

The one thing pitt has going for them though.... you now have about 17 graduating classes (ever since Heinz opened) that pitt basketball was the big event during their college careers. Pitt needs to focus on selling season tickets to graduates from that timespan. It may not be a hoops town, but for the graduating classes of 2001-onward Pitt was a basketball school to them. Building the Pete back up to what it was is not an impossible task at all.

They should have special pricing for recent grads as they start their careers, buy houses, buy cars, have kids, pay college loans, etc. Maybe for a five year period after graduation?
It would be an investment in the future for Pitt basketball!

I know for a fact lots of our sons friends had tickets after they graduated but dropped their basketball tickets after grad because they were to expensive. Now they're in their early and mid thirties, things are going well and are thinking of getting back to the Pete with season tickets. But Pitt missed 8-10 yrs of attendance for many and not all will come back.


Pitt isn't great at planning and building for the future they seem to only think of today!

If Pitt had kept those kids "in the game" immediately after grad they would be solid Pitt basketball fans attending games not thinking about attending!

 

[Ski11585]

Hey.... I’m not gonna do this thing, and you can’t make me. But I’m also going to shame all of you for not doing the thing.

 

[Las Panteras]

It tells me you want to be a hypocrite.

How is he a hypocrite if he states he is a casual fan only?

Listen Danny.....I would say ur better than that....

But that would be hypocritical......

 

[Thee Jackie Treehorn]

Criticizing others for something from which you excuse yourself (by whatever internal reasoning) is pretty much the definition of hypocrisy.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

How is he a hypocrite if he states he is a casual fan only?

Listen Danny.....I would say ur better than that....

But that would be hypocritical......

Telling people to go to the games, while not attending himself, is hypocritical.

Fairly simple

You all need to be there to support the kids!
I won’t,but shame on you for not being there!

 

[IRoar4Pitt]

Amazed, that in one recruiting cycle, Stallings has pulled together a foundation that can eventually win championsips. Incredibly well coached, enthusiatic play last night! To get first year guys to play defense like that is special, much to look forward to.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Amazed, that in one recruiting cycle, Stallings has pulled together a foundation that can eventually win championsips. Incredibly well coached, enthusiatic play last night! To get first year guys to play defense like that is special, much to look forward to.

We did rebound the best we have...

But, wvu shot over 45% from the field and 40% from 3.

Wvu only had 9 total turnovers, Pitt had 3 steals.

We got to the ft line 22 more times than wvu.

 

[levance2]

The one thing pitt has going for them though.... you now have about 17 graduating classes (ever since Heinz opened) that pitt basketball was the big event during their college careers. Pitt needs to focus on selling season tickets to graduates from that timespan. It may not be a hoops town, but for the graduating classes of 2001-onward Pitt was a basketball school to them. Building the Pete back up to what it was is not an impossible task at all.

I hate to break it to you, but Pitt severed ties with many of those fans by chasing out the architect of that run and replacing him with a dud. I was a student of that era and pretty much any other grads who I talk with can't wait until he's canned.

Pitt did a horrible job of turning students into STH because of their fabricated waiting list, and now anyone that had tickets has pretty much given them up. Students of that era have never seen Pitt as a total loser. Fans during the 70s-90s saw plenty of bad teams, but 2000-2016 wasn't like that.

 

[eastcoasthoops]

I hate to break it to you, but Pitt severed ties with many of those fans by chasing out the architect of that run and replacing him with a dud. I was a student of that era and pretty much any other grads who I talk with can't wait until he's canned.

Pitt did a horrible job of turning students into STH because of their fabricated waiting list, and now anyone that had tickets has pretty much given them up. Students of that era have never seen Pitt as a total loser. Fans during the 70s-90s saw plenty of bad teams, but 2000-2016 wasn't like that.

You just described an entitled perspective that I've seen you crucify on this board more than once.

You either have passion for the Panthers or you don't. Those who choose to withhold donation dollars or refuse to attend games are simply hurting the thing they suggest they love.

Fans can only control one thing...their participation. And if you love those colors and the men and women who wear those colors, your support of them should be independent of your jaundiced views of the changing faces of the administration and/or coaches.

 

[levance2]

You either have passion for the Panthers or you don't. Those who choose to withhold donation dollars or refuse to attend games are simply hurting the thing they suggest they love.

Fans can only control one thing...their participation.

They aren’t “withholding” anything. It’s not like other generations focused on colors and logos. They just aren’t interested. Pitt made no effort to convert these kids upon graduation and an 0-18 team isn’t a selling point to bring them back. If someone hasn’t attended a game in 5+ years, you expect them to spend $500 per seat to watch this team lose all year?

 

[Pittfan85]

You just described an entitled perspective that I've seen you crucify on this board more than once.

You either have passion for the Panthers or you don't. Those who choose to withhold donation dollars or refuse to attend games are simply hurting the thing they suggest they love.

Fans can only control one thing...their participation. And if you love those colors and the men and women who wear those colors, your support of them should be independent of your jaundiced views of the changing faces of the administration and/or coaches.

Entitled? If feeling that pitt should be a n NCAA bubble team at worst makes me entitled, then I am entitled.

Entitled is wanting to run off a coach because he didn’t make a FF. Entitled is when you stop going to games of a team that made the tournament most years because 8 and 9 seeds were beneath pitt as a fanbase.

 

[eastcoasthoops]

Entitled? If feeling that pitt should be a n NCAA bubble team at worst makes me entitled, then I am entitled.

Entitled is wanting to run off a coach because he didn’t make a FF. Entitled is when you stop going to games of a team that made the tournament most years because 8 and 9 seeds were beneath pitt as a fanbase.

You are literally too stupid to understand the irony in the context of this discussion.

 

[TD_istheman]

Dixon and Pitt needed the change. Dixon was trending down, he didn't like the ACC, couldn't recruit to play in the ACC, and went back to his Alma Mater. Dixon seems rejuvenated, and Pitt is seeing sign of life as well now

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

You just described an entitled perspective that I've seen you crucify on this board more than once.

You either have passion for the Panthers or you don't. Those who choose to withhold donation dollars or refuse to attend games are simply hurting the thing they suggest they love.

Fans can only control one thing...their participation. And if you love those colors and the men and women who wear those colors, your support of them should be independent of your jaundiced views of the changing faces of the administration and/or coaches.

And you’ve controlled not attending-
While chastising those who don’t either.

 

[eastcoasthoops]

And you’ve controlled not attending-
While chastising those who don’t either.

Come again friend?

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Come again friend?

Apologies- quoted your message , by mistake. Was a reply to sarge

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

I hate to break it to you, but Pitt severed ties with many of those fans by chasing out the architect of that run and replacing him with a dud. I was a student of that era and pretty much any other grads who I talk with can't wait until he's canned.

Pitt did a horrible job of turning students into STH because of their fabricated waiting list, and now anyone that had tickets has pretty much given them up. Students of that era have never seen Pitt as a total loser. Fans during the 70s-90s saw plenty of bad teams, but 2000-2016 wasn't like that.

Yawn. And DT, continued takes by this poster and his like are getting old also. No??

 

[Ski11585]

Yawn. And DT, continued takes by this poster and his like are getting old also. No??

That’s the nature of the boards isn’t it? One group of posters always hammers home the same thing over and over. Sometimes it’s hupercrticial stuff about KS.

Other times it’s posters making the same comment about Bill Barton over and over.

We just need to roll with the punches and move on.

 

[levance2]

Yawn. And DT, continued takes by this poster and his like are getting old also. No??

"my like"? I am telling you why all these former Zoo members aren't coming back. It's no different than ripping Penguins fans for bottoming out prior to 2008.

If I am wrong, why is the building not full of students from the past decade? 1200 students in the Zoo times 10+ years means we should be able to sell out the Pete, right?

 

[Pittfan85]

"my like"? I am telling you why all these former Zoo members aren't coming back. It's no different than ripping Penguins fans for bottoming out prior to 2008.

If I am wrong, why is the building not full of students from the past decade? 1200 students in the Zoo times 10+ years means we should be able to sell out the Pete, right?

I think it is two fold. Ticket prices are pretty high..SMF is correct. If you are a recent grad making 50k and 300-400 dollars a month in loan payments, justifying tickets is hard.

Second though, and I think this is the second one, a lot of people are ticked about the Dixon situation. I’m 33, and didn’t start following pitt sports until my middle tennage years. I never knew anything other than Dixon/howland to be honest, and a lot of others didn’t as well.

Also, unlike a lot of people older than me (which confuses me) I understand The context of pitt’s Historical place in the b-ball world. I understand that even dixon’s last 5 years would still be one of the best stretches in pitt history.

Pushing him out already angered many of us. Hiring stallings, a retread with no upside, pushed most of us over the edge.

 

[BuffetParrothead]

"my like"? I am telling you why all these former Zoo members aren't coming back. It's no different than ripping Penguins fans for bottoming out prior to 2008.

If I am wrong, why is the building not full of students from the past decade? 1200 students in the Zoo times 10+ years means we should be able to sell out the Pete, right?

I mentioned this in a prior post.
Recent Pitt grads maybe up to five years should recieve a special price season or single game ticket offer.

This will get them by five tough years after graduating at which point they should be "hooked" on Pitt basketball and purchase full price tickets along with their friends.

As far as the Penquins go our kids participated in the Penquins "student rush" line up and get free tickets for all PENS home games. The PENS players would bring out pizza as they waited to get in on cold days and nights and many returned the favor by being loyal PENS fans!

After graduation they were "hooked" on PENS hockey and now have season tickets!
Pitt can't seem to get their arms around promo stuff that is actually an investment in future fans!

 

[levance2]

I think it is two fold. Ticket prices are pretty high..SMF is correct. If you are a recent grad making 50k and 300-400 dollars a month in loan payments, justifying tickets is hard.

Second though, and I think this is the second one, a lot of people are ticked about the Dixon situation. I’m 33, and didn’t start following pitt sports until my middle tennage years. I never knew anything other than Dixon/howland to be honest, and a lot of others didn’t as well.

Pricing problems are secondary. I think almost any marketer would tell you that it is easier to keep extracting money from someone after the initial sale is completed. The primary issue is one that I have echoed dozens of times here in the past. Pitt was not interested in turning graduating students into STHs because they were making more money in donations from old people. Pitt had no "recent grad" discount until recently, and many posters on here scoffed at the idea that anyone should get in cheaper than they were. Pitt was not invested in mitigating this risk, and now the Pete is empty.

To the idiots who think this is some kind of pro-Dixon agenda, the problem had already surfaced in his final seasons here. The upper ends were mostly empty for at least a year or two. After only a few years of not competing for championships, Pitt fans had already begun to lose interest, and the Pitt athletic department had done nothing in advance of that to try to win back former Zoo students or convert the current students.

I had long characterized the mythical waiting list as a house of cards, designed to maximize profit in the short-term, but doomed to collapse the minute that demand fell below supply. Here we are.

 

[Pittfan85]

Pricing problems are secondary. I think almost any marketer would tell you that it is easier to keep extracting money from someone after the initial sale is completed. The primary issue is one that I have echoed dozens of times here in the past. Pitt was not interested in turning graduating students into STHs because they were making more money in donations from old people. Pitt had no "recent grad" discount until recently, and many posters on here scoffed at the idea that anyone should get in cheaper than they were. Pitt was not invested in mitigating this risk, and now the Pete is empty.

To the idiots who think this is some kind of pro-Dixon agenda, the problem had already surfaced in his final seasons here. The upper ends were mostly empty for at least a year or two. After only a few years of not competing for championships, Pitt fans had already begun to lose interest, and the Pitt athletic department had done nothing in advance of that to try to win back former Zoo students or convert the current students.

I had long characterized the mythical waiting list as a house of cards, designed to maximize profit in the short-term, but doomed to collapse the minute that demand fell below supply. Here we are.

I will say that the pitt admin could have done more reaching out to
Encourage new ticket holders.

What I will say though is that if pitt’s Fanbase finds years like jamie’s Last year beneath them, there isn’t much pitt can do. There are plenty of teams that had less success than a typical Jamie year during his last 5 years that didn’t have the attendance issues we did.

I mean, look at SMF and his explanations for the Purdue fans. It was late, it was a weeknight, there was a pens game. Pitt wasn’t bad, and had just played well in their shortened game against Gonzaga...and we couldn’t sell out.

In short, pitt could do more, but the fanbase is spoiled and entitled as well.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Pricing problems are secondary. I think almost any marketer would tell you that it is easier to keep extracting money from someone after the initial sale is completed. The primary issue is one that I have echoed dozens of times here in the past. Pitt was not interested in turning graduating students into STHs because they were making more money in donations from old people. Pitt had no "recent grad" discount until recently, and many posters on here scoffed at the idea that anyone should get in cheaper than they were. Pitt was not invested in mitigating this risk, and now the Pete is empty.

To the idiots who think this is some kind of pro-Dixon agenda, the problem had already surfaced in his final seasons here. The upper ends were mostly empty for at least a year or two. After only a few years of not competing for championships, Pitt fans had already begun to lose interest, and the Pitt athletic department had done nothing in advance of that to try to win back former Zoo students or convert the current students.

I had long characterized the mythical waiting list as a house of cards, designed to maximize profit in the short-term, but doomed to collapse the minute that demand fell below supply. Here we are.

This is news Levance2 aka Sunshine ( my new nickname for you ) doesn't put the blame on KS for something !
Going to games is entertainment after all and blaming fans for not being entertained and spending there money and time
( hassle to go and leave Oakland ) to attend games is just excusing Pitt from not putting the same product on the court. The last few yrs of JD ball weren't up to snuff compared to his BE teams and fans decided to spend their entertainment dollars elsewhere like the Pens .
I've been an advocate of reduced ticket prices for recent grads and for having entire sections dedicated to recent grads , but that would require some actual thought coming out of Pitts athletic department .

 

[levance2]

Going to games is entertainment after all and blaming fans for not being entertained and spending there money and time
( hassle to go and leave Oakland ) to attend games is just excusing Pitt from not putting the same product on the court. The last few yrs of JD ball weren't up to snuff compared to his BE teams and fans decided to spend their entertainment dollars elsewhere like the Pens .

I agree. Nobody is morally obligated to attend a sporting event. The only people who should be labeled "entitled" are idiots that say they won't donate money until we wear mustard yellow, or people who say they refuse to buy basketball tickets until the OOC schedule is harder.

The original point in question was that filling up the building should be easy because of how many students funneled through the Zoo, and my response was that the large majority of those kids are lost forever because the athletic department showed no interest in retaining them as fans, and now they have lost all "linkage" with the program they once cheered for. The coach is gone. The style of play is different. All the players are new. Even if they sold season tickets for $100, I don't think that many former students would be enticed into buying that. I would buy it, but I'm a weirdo.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

I agree. Nobody is morally obligated to attend a sporting event. The only people who should be labeled "entitled" are idiots that say they won't donate money until we wear mustard yellow, or people who say they refuse to buy basketball tickets until the OOC schedule is harder.

The original point in question was that filling up the building should be easy because of how many students funneled through the Zoo, and my response was that the large majority of those kids are lost forever because the athletic department showed no interest in retaining them as fans, and now they have lost all "linkage" with the program they once cheered for. The coach is gone. The style of play is different. All the players are new. Even if they sold season tickets for $100, I don't think that many former students would be enticed into buying that. I would buy it, but I'm a weirdo.

Pitt can't look back because it doesn't help unless you want to see how to wreck a good thing . Looking forward they need to start with the current students making both fb and bb games a can't miss event . They need to take little steps in rebuilding attendance and maybe it takes 10 yrs but 400 /500 student conversion/yr to Sth means 4/5000 over ten yrs . In ten yrs maybe their spouse or children start coming to games . It has to start somewhere if only they had anyone in that dept. with any horse sense .

 

[eastcoasthoops]

I agree. Nobody is morally obligated to attend a sporting event. The only people who should be labeled "entitled" are idiots that say they won't donate money until we wear mustard yellow, or people who say they refuse to buy basketball tickets until the OOC schedule is harder.

The original point in question was that filling up the building should be easy because of how many students funneled through the Zoo, and my response was that the large majority of those kids are lost forever because the athletic department showed no interest in retaining them as fans, and now they have lost all "linkage" with the program they once cheered for. The coach is gone. The style of play is different. All the players are new. Even if they sold season tickets for $100, I don't think that many former students would be enticed into buying that. I would buy it, but I'm a weirdo.

You're right, there is no "moral obligation" to attend games and support the athletic department. And I certainly understand that those who are in financial distress have far more important things to concern themselves with than season tickets for a struggling basketball team.

But the arguments detailed above taste a little bit like shallow excuse making.

As to the alienation of recent graduates...how is it possible that those who aren't Pitt graduates figure out how to engage with the Pitt athletic department? My diploma doesn't have University of Pittsburgh on it. Somehow I didn't need to be led by velveted gloved AD employees to become a season ticket holder. Those who should be emotionally committed to the program (i.e.: current/former Pitt students) seem to need their collective rear ends kissed before they will engage, by your own admission. Why? Would it be nice to be glad handed from the very beginning of Panther Club membership? Sure. Is it necessary? C'mon. Be serious. Has the Athletic Department been lacking in cultivating younger supporters. Absolutely. But, I do get the feeling that the current administration recognizes this and is attempting to address it.

As to the complaints about pricing...the price point for supporting the basketball program really is a low hurdle. You can get season tickets for about $150 a month through the available payment plans. The fragile Millennials referenced throughout these debates spend that on filtered water each month. Is that really an offensive price for Division 1 athletic entertainment?

What unfortunately sets Pitt fans apart from the vast majority of college sports fans is that Pitt fans are always finding reasons to say No.

I don't like the coach.
I don't like the uniforms.
I don't like the schedule.
I don't like the price.
I don't like visitor fans.
I don't like AD.
I don't like the other boosters.
I don't like that things have changed.
I don't like that things aren't changing enough.

If Pitt fans were as loud at games as they are at voicing their constant litany of complaints and excuses, we would have deafening, overflow capacity venues.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

I mentioned this in a prior post.
Recent Pitt grads maybe up to five years should recieve a special price season or single game ticket offer.

This will get them by five tough years after graduating at which point they should be "hooked" on Pitt basketball and purchase full price tickets along with their friends.

As far as the Penquins go our kids participated in the Penquins "student rush" line up and get free tickets for all PENS home games. The PENS players would bring out pizza as they waited to get in on cold days and nights and many returned the favor by being loyal PENS fans!

After graduation they were "hooked" on PENS hockey and now have season tickets!
Pitt can't seem to get their arms around promo stuff that is actually an investment in future fans!

if the pens missed the playoffs, lost Crosby and Malkin years ago and had relatively no hope compared to their recent championship runs, attendance would be in the shitter

 

[levance2]

But the arguments detailed above taste a little bit like shallow excuse making.

As to the alienation of recent graduates...how is it possible that those who aren't Pitt graduates figure out how to engage with the Pitt athletic department? My diploma doesn't have University of Pittsburgh on it. Somehow I didn't need to be led by velveted gloved AD employees to become a season ticket holder. Those who should be emotionally committed to the program (i.e.: current/former Pitt students) seem to need their collective rear ends kissed before they will engage, by your own admission. Why? Would it be nice to be glad handed from the very beginning of Panther Club membership? Sure. Is it necessary? C'mon. Be serious. Has the Athletic Department been lacking in cultivating younger supporters. Absolutely. But, I do get the feeling that the current administration recognizes this and is attempting to address it.

It isn't about butt kissing, it is about how they were entirely counter-productive for years. The AD felt it was more important to broadcast (literally) about the thousands of people on the waiting list rather than taking cash from graduates. It was drilled into people's heads that you are at the end of this line of thousands of names, and even when your turn comes up, you must have donated for years to even place high enough to buy them. The truth is, it was never hard, and after I graduated I got tickets one year later, just by meeting the minimum donation, because I called them, nobody called me. Can you not recognize that what was spewed from the AD literally led directly to the disinterest of graduating students about entering that system? The entire point of that charade was to milk the old people for higher annual donations at the expense of bringing in new customers.

You can label with whatever pejorative you want, but if there were people out there willing and interested to pay $500 for a ticket to see this team lose all year, the place wouldn't have a measly 2,000 fans every night. I agree that some of the excuses you list are nonsense, but clearly some of them are real, because the place is empty. You are just denying reality.

Hell, the student tickets are only $5, if that at this point, and there have been games lately where there couldn't have been 100 students in the building. WVU may be the first time all season they've actually occupied all of the sections on the floor. That's pitiful, but what can you do about it if the kids just don't care?

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Going to games is entertainment after all and blaming fans for not being entertained and spending there money and time
( hassle to go and leave Oakland ) to attend games is just excusing Pitt from not putting the same product on the court. The last few yrs of JD ball weren't up to snuff compared to his BE teams and fans decided to spend their entertainment dollars elsewhere like the Pens .

I agree. Nobody is morally obligated to attend a sporting event. The only people who should be labeled "entitled" are idiots that say they won't donate money until we wear mustard yellow, or people who say they refuse to buy basketball tickets until the OOC schedule is harder.

The original point in question was that filling up the building should be easy because of how many students funneled through the Zoo, and my response was that the large majority of those kids are lost forever because the athletic department showed no interest in retaining them as fans, and now they have lost all "linkage" with the program they once cheered for. The coach is gone. The style of play is different. All the players are new. Even if they sold season tickets for $100, I don't think that many former students would be enticed into buying that. I would buy it, but I'm a weirdo.

I think price has a lot to do with it. I believe upper deck endzone/corners should cost $150 per season without a donation. That's in line with many programs better than Pitt. If that were the price, and if it were marketed like billboards saying Pitt season tickets including games vs Duke, Syracuse, and WVU for $150, I honestly think they would have sold them all. Now, maybe they sit empty for most games, but they'd be purchased and you'd have some people in them all the time instead of 0 people.

 

[eastcoasthoops]

It isn't about butt kissing, it is about how they were entirely counter-productive for years. The AD felt it was more important to broadcast (literally) about the thousands of people on the waiting list rather than taking cash from graduates. It was drilled into people's heads that you are at the end of this line of thousands of names, and even when your turn comes up, you must have donated for years to even place high enough to buy them. The truth is, it was never hard, and after I graduated I got tickets one year later, just by meeting the minimum donation, because I called them, nobody called me. Can you not recognize that what was spewed from the AD literally led directly to the disinterest of graduating students about entering that system? The entire point of that charade was to milk the old people for higher annual donations at the expense of bringing in new customers.

You can label with whatever pejorative you want, but if there were people out there willing and interested to pay $500 for a ticket to see this team lose all year, the place wouldn't have a measly 2,000 fans every night. I agree that some of the excuses you list are nonsense, but clearly some of them are real, because the place is empty. You are just denying reality.

Hell, the student tickets are only $5, if that at this point, and there have been games lately where there couldn't have been 100 students in the building. WVU may be the first time all season they've actually occupied all of the sections on the floor. That's pitiful, but what can you do about it if the kids just don't care?

And you, and those like you, are fixated on people who aren't here anymore. What happened then matters not. It's about now. Hence the title of this thread.

THESE kids deserve OUR support.

 

[eastcoasthoops]

I think price has a lot to do with it. I believe upper deck endzone/corners should cost $150 per season without a donation. That's in line with many programs better than Pitt. If that were the price, and if it were marketed like billboards saying Pitt season tickets including games vs Duke, Syracuse, and WVU for $150, I honestly think they would have sold them all. Now, maybe they sit empty for most games, but they'd be purchased and you'd have some people in them all the time instead of 0 people.

Maybe $150 for first time season ticket holders. But $8 a ticket is pretty ludicrous. The Athletic Department has to maintain the value of the ticket, even when the product on the court is below what has been customary.

Now, developing new and creative ways to engage new Panther Club members...there you are on to something.

 

[Pittfan85]

Maybe $150 for first time season ticket holders. But $8 a ticket is pretty ludicrous. The Athletic Department has to maintain the value of the ticket, even when the product on the court is below what has been customary.

Now, developing new and creative ways to engage new Panther Club members...there you are on to something.

SMF has constantly harped for low prices, because he wants to buy them. I think 250 is fair for end zone season tickets, but 150 is ludicrous.