I noticed that all other WCC schools had or will have some sort of tip-off or hype event, and so far, I haven’t seen anything for the Broncos. I remember someone saying last year that even Jalen Williams commented on social media about how he wished we had one. Has anyone seen/heard anything for the Broncos? Any idea why we would not host one to try to build some momentum with students and the community? Maybe they believe there would be little interest, but I’d love to take my kid to one of those.
Honestly beats me. I could see the concern of having a relatively sparse crowd. But there are other ways around that if the Athletic Dept would get creative. And clearly it’s something that Pacific, USD, LMU, etc. are willing to invest in–those aren’t exactly schools where the crowds are in the rafters at their games. A few of these seem more like scrimmages for the season ticket holders and boosters, which…eh…
I would do something in Malley or even in the new training facility. That way, a smaller crowd would fill the space. And center basketball but have it be bigger than basketball. Have the women’s soccer players run goofy halftime games. Get the student body president/VP to do the latest TikTok competition. Obviously do a dunk contest and have one of the popular gym rats go one-on-one with a guy from the team. Etc. etc. There are ways to make these things fun. But it requires investment and creativity and some understanding of what is fun. These are things that the Athletic Dept has historically been pretty bad at.
I have also noticed all other teams have had their media day and photos of all team players - I have yet to see that. I am trying to go with the notion they are just working our boys to have a breakout season, so they are grinding hard and laying low. lol
That being said. I am going to make an inquiry to see if we could have some kind of HYPE event. We need one! “Madness in Malley”!
What Patty said…suspect it’s a concern of throwing a party and having no one show up. But also agree they just need to creative and get students and a few non-student fans to show up…free swag, throw a concert outside after the game, and so on. Doesn’t have to be a packed house as long as you get 2k+ to show up and make it fun. I’ve seen video of LMU and Pepp’s events from the past few years and looked like fun for the fans and players.
During KK’s time I think he did try a couple of these events but pivoted to an open practice and chalk talk with fans, typically held on Grand Reunion weekend…I attended a few. They were putting on show so ran and lot of easier, higher energy drills then scrimmaged; not much of practicing offensive sets or inbounds plays, etc…for obvious reasons since it was open to the public.
I agree. There are many things the A.D. could do before the start of the season to bring the players, students, and community together, and being the only WCC school left out doesn’t look like a good strategy for the program.
I have also seen some videos from the other schools’ events, and some bring food trucks, rent attractions for the kids, distribute light-up apparel/accessories (necklaces, wristbands, wands, etc.) for the crowd to wear, bring local breweries, have a band play outside the venue, have giveaways, bring special guests, etc., etc.
If they are concerned with attendance, you can start with something small, as some people have suggested, and then ask for feedback from attendees to improve the experience for the following years until you have something really cool in place that would attract more and more people. Anyway, I think the point here is whether the A.D. wants to invest time and money in this and whether they believe the ROI would be positive… I think it would in the long-run, but that’s just my humble opinion as a fan…
Don’t know that I’d solely blame the AD, I’m sure Sendek has just as much say in the matter. If Sendek wanted it, I’m sure the Athletic Dept would make it happen.
Some coaches aren’t excited about these type of events…they worry about guys getting hurt trying to show off in dunk contests or run and gun scrimmages intended more to entertain…Sendek is likely in this camp.
It’s kind of pathetic to be the only WCC team to not have a tip-off event. What’s even worse is to be the only team in the league that didn’t get a single player from the transfer portal this season.
Modern basketball is not Sendek’s cup of tea I guess.
