I love hoops too but I disagree and think we would get ranked if we were undefeated in football.
Liberty went undefeated about 5 years ago playing no power 4s and they were a fraud but they were ranked until Georgia (I think) beat them by 60 in the Peach Bowl
I do agree that the NCAA tournament first four experience last year was superior to the Arizona Bowl and I was at both
Fair, but which is more feasible within the current landscape? I think hoops and it is because of this ability to get national recognition that students have any remote interest in the program. That is why hockey will be perennially interesting to Miami students. We are in a conference where we are already nationally recognized. Even when we only win 3 games there are students that show out each time. That cannot be said for football or even basketball prior to last year.
Hoops isn’t cooked like football is. The increased roster limits make it easy for big schools to pay and stack guys in football. Basketball with 15 scholarships makes it more equitable as there are 300 plus teams out there so more chances to play.
Does the venue size make any difference? 300 students at Yager is 1% of the stadium; at Goggin 11% of the lower bowl of the rink; at Millett 3.3% or 4.7% of the arena (depending if the black tarps are out). Asking for a nerd statistics friend who does realize winning is the answer
atmosphere is just bad at Yeager. Echo from the PA/speakers coming only from the scoreboard. Food is mid. Team is underwhelming. Boring opponents. I’m a big fan but the bar scene was a far better time, as a student. Also wednesday night 40* in the dark is a tough outing
The “ Ground Chuck” offense.
BG averaged over 22k at Saturday home games last year. Roughly same sized town and student body. Not a good team last year. So why the difference?
The party/greek life/bar scene is prioritized and much more popular/fun
OU, WMU, & Toledo also have much better attendance than Miami. I consider them our peers. CMU also has crowds in the 20,000s.
I disagree… I’ve gone to other MAC games like BG this season and OHIO last season where they packed out their stadium nicely! They are not “winning” at a higher level than Miami. At OHIO they did. Tshirt toss AND they gave away tuition at the end of the 3rd qtr.
BG (homecoming) was impressive because they had more fans than Miami did for our homecoming but they were also loud and proud!!! Their support for their team was way better than what our boys get!
Miami is different. BG is a pillar of its community. Ohio is a pillar of southeast Ohio. Miami…is not. People in Hamilton and Middletown don’t give a shit about Miami, let alone Cincy or Dayton.
People were talking about App State in another thread. Like Ohio and Marshall, these schools in Appalachian Ohio/WV are the lifeblood of their regions. Miami just doesn’t have that type of connection being sandwiched between two metros that have teams of their own.
There just isn’t a strong local connection and that can’t be fabricated. Miami is unique for a variety of reasons where the only way we can get fans is to win. We don’t have local support. You could probably write a sociology dissertation on why Miami is different than schools like Ohio or BG. Lots of factors: stereotypes, wealth, location.
Sounds like we fit into Ohio like Duke fits into North Carolina. It’s located in North Carolina but it’s not really a university of the people of North Carolina. A great many people from outside Ohio assume we’re a private school.
A good number of people in Ohio assume we’re a private school too.
Obviously Miami is important to Butler county, but that doesn’t translate to the locals caring about the university and especially the sports teams. And I’d be curious how that would compare to employers in Athens county. I’d assume Ohio University is 10x bigger than the next employer.
At one point in the mid-70s, 39% of Butler County residents were actually born in Kentucky. While that number is probably significantly lower now, there is still a strong cultural affinity to Kentucky among the locals. You are far more likely to find a UK shirt at the local Walmart in Hamilton or Middletown than a Miami shirt. That’s part of the problem. But until fairly recently, I don’t think Miami Oxford made much of an attempt to imbed itself into the county’s community. I think the huge growth that has occurred in Fairfield and Wedt Chester has increased awareness of Miami. My continuing concern is for the deep school spirit apathy among the student body. I also think we could do a bit more to entire the Middletown and Hamilton student bodies to feel a part of the Oxford football culture.
Sadly, a similar chart isn’t available via the googles. However, I was able to ascertain that Ohio U employs 3,974 people. It doesn’t note where those employees reside, but you could assume the vast majority live in Athens county.
According to this publication, there are approximately 24,500 residents of Athens county actively employed. Of which 84.59% work within the county (approximately 20,725). So if every Ohio U employee resides in Athens county, that would be approximatley 19%.
phew
You’re right, of course, that just because one works for a university does not automatically equate to them supporting their athletic programs. However, I would assume that the majority of Miami empoyees, and their families, which reside in Butler county do in fact “give a shit” about Miami in some capacity. Perhaps the university should do a better job reaching out to them about attending games. Free/discounted tickets for friends and family, promotions, et cetera.
You know, if Miami had better relations with the working class people who make up the majority of those employed at the school, if we’d have better local attendance at sporting events
It’s worth noting that I caught some of the Memphis-ECU game the other night, and to say that stadium was even half full would be generous. So even big market schools in the American conference have attendance struggles.
NC State played at Stanford last night and I think mid week MAC games have more fans. There may have been more people on the field than in the stands.
