ACC Gaining Momentum with MSG

[Jet915]

The key is support, the fans need to come out and support the tournament. I'm sure the Presidents will mandate that every school buy a certain lot of tickets to ensure that the event is "sold out" but it will look bad if the place is half empty.

[GumbyDamnit!]

I think this article says as much about how Boeheim and Dixon feel about not playing in MSG moving forward, as it is to whether or not the ACC might have some leverage with MSG. Both schools have thrived in NYC recruting. If they both aren't as visialbe and start to become irrelevant in NYC, they may struggle holding onto that pipeline. WVU did well in NYC for years as well and I expect them to fall off considerably b/c kids will rarely see WVU on TV or in person in NYC. Syracuse and L'ville should be fine as both are national programs. But I precidt that Pitt will take a step back in the ACC much like BC did.

I'm not worried. If anything if I am Butler or Xavier I would find a young coach in the NYC AAU circles and see if I can start poaching kids from there. With SJU and Seton Hall playing regularly against these new schools they may be able to parlay it into a greater presence in the #1 recruiting area in the country.

[admin]

Today's title: "ACC and MSG may be a reach; ACC should go after Barclays"

1. The ACC coaches want to get the conference tournament in Madison Square Garden and discussed it at length during the league meetings in Amelia Island, Fla., on Tuesday and Wednesday. But whether or not they can pull that off is out of their control. MSG has long wanted a regular tenant, based on the busy March schedule with outside events, as well as primary hosts the Rangers and Knicks. The ACC is reviewing MSG's deal with the new Big East. MSG is unlikely going to go with a conference that would only make a cameo in the building every so often. The ACC is not going to move the conference tournament out of North Carolina (Greensboro or Charlotte) for more than one year every three or four years. If MSG wanted to maximize the opportunity it has in front of it then it should get the Big East to move its tournament to early in championship week and take the ACC the latter part of the week. If not, then the ACC has to see if it can wedge its way into the Barclays Center in Brooklyn around the A-10, or push the A-10 to play earlier in the week. Meanwhile, as expected, C-USA voted Wednesday at its league meetings to have all 16 teams go to the 2014 C-USA tournament in El Paso.

[yorost]

Based on that, a sort of OT: I think Fox would be furious of the Big East moved its tourney championship off of selection Sunday weekend. I was wondering if they might even want the championship game on Sunday to grab viewers for a selection show, what other tournaments does Fox have that could end Sunday?

[Donnybrook]

The key is support, the fans need to come out and support the tournament. I'm sure the Presidents will mandate that every school buy a certain lot of tickets to ensure that the event is "sold out" but it will look bad if the place is half empty.

What we see on TV is different from reality, there are always many open seats at MSG during these games. That has been my observation as I have attended the last three years of this tournament. The key is that it sells out, looks good on TV and there are enough people in the house buying overpriced beer and hot dogs.

PS: the week of the tournament is beyond awesome in midtown, there is a buzz everywhere you walk around MSG, every bar and restaurant seems packed with college hoops fans. No better venue for our tournment, not even a close second. We need to scratch and claw to hold on to that building.

[redmen9194]

Also, if you have ever watched a hoops game at the garden on TV, it never looks empty. That's because the court is essentially the only thing lit during the games. You can see a few rows up in the lower bowl but that's it. It is something that makes watching a game at the Garden very cool as well.

[Jet915]

The key is support, the fans need to come out and support the tournament. I'm sure the Presidents will mandate that every school buy a certain lot of tickets to ensure that the event is "sold out" but it will look bad if the place is half empty.

What we see on TV is different from reality, there are always many open seats at MSG during these games. That has been my observation as I have attended the last three years of this tournament. The key is that it sells out, looks good on TV and there are enough people in the house buying overpriced beer and hot dogs.

PS: the week of the tournament is beyond awesome in midtown, there is a buzz everywhere you walk around MSG, every bar and restaurant seems packed with college hoops fans. No better venue for our tournment, not even a close second. We need to scratch and claw to hold on to that building.

Sounds great, I will be there next year!

[nyc9291]

I would be terribly disappointed if the Big East ever lost their premier time at MSG. Fans of all Big East teams really need to make an effort to get here.

[ArmyVet]

I would be terribly disappointed if the Big East ever lost their premier time at MSG. Fans of all Big East teams really need to make an effort to get here.

There will be more tickets available to sell because there are fewer Big East schools than there used to be and a couple of major buyers of tickets - Syracuse, UConn- aren't in the league any more. There will be a dropoff but let's hope we have a plan to minimize how significant it will be.

[NJRedman]

The BIg East signed their deal with MSG in March, not October. Essentially it's a new deal for a new conference.

Just remember that neither MSG or Barclays even submitted a big for the ACC tournament just a few months ago.