Come watch Volleyball

[DFW HOYA]

Georgetown was one of the first schools in the nation to tier its programs by a program's ability to compete on a national, regional, or local level.

The "national" sports are those which have the resources to compete at a national championship level--sports like basketball, track, and lacrosse. For the most part, each of these teams have been in the NCAA mix, with the exception of women's basketball.

The "regional" sports are those that compete for conference titles, not necessarily national ones. Sports in this category include football, soccer, golf, and rowing, among others. These sports are not full scholarship and depend on its support clubs for the ability to grow and to compete against schools with more budget support (e.g. Lehigh football, ND soccer, etc.).

The final group was the "local" sports, those that compete but not necessarily at a conference championship level, such as baseball, tennis, swimming, and field hockey. These are generally non-scholarship teams.

Volleyball is a regional sport--it has competed at a Big East title level and went to the NCAA's in 1999 and 2000, but not since. What's really hurt the team this year is the home court: the Hoyas are 0-9 at home vs. 9-2 last year.

[Jack]

I will be curious to see if the new AD continues to maintain those types of distinctions among the teams. I know there has been a commitment to bring several of the programs up to the maximum level of scholarships over the next few years, although I am not sure if that decision is being directed more by the folks in McDonough or the Big East central offices.

[jerseyhoya34]

dfw said:

What's really hurt the team this year is the home court: the Hoyas are 0-9 at home vs. 9-2 last year.

This is a silly argument. Facilities and the nature of the court don't lose games for teams. Teams lose games. Our record on hostile courts this year is better than our record at home, so how could degree of support at home be the major contributor to success/failure?

Injuries are what has killed this team.

[DFW HOYA]

I meant to write home court record. If the team's home court mark matched last year's marks (9-2) or was even comparable to its 2005 record away from McD (6-9), the overall totals would be considerably more competitive. As it stands today, Georgetown has dropped from 7th (of 12) in 2004 to 14th of 16 in 2005.

Jack's point above is important. Georgetown is able to compete against much larger programs despite a level of funding which is near the bottom across most competing programs. That's certainly an issue in sports like football, but it also affects a lot of other sports where the financial support can make a huge difference.

[RBHoya]

dfw said:

Jack's point above is important. Georgetown is able to compete against much larger programs despite a level of funding which is near the bottom across most competing programs. That's certainly an issue in sports like football, but it also affects a lot of other sports where the financial support can make a huge difference.

I would love to see us move some of our sports programs to another level. Namely football and soccer. I don't know where the money would come from, though.

[FLHoya]

Okay, so just to throw it out there and see if we're all on the same page...

That article I wrote a year or so ago that RBHoya's referring to is the one where I talk about there being all these different "categories" of sports fans at GU. The point being that you have to recognize that (part of that, as RB points out, is recognizing that at this point about half the campus doesn't give a crap) and use different promotional strategies to reach those people. The goal in the end is to move everyone "up a level"--people only interested in a good time become actual fans of the teams, casual fans become die-hards, die-hards end up hanging out with 007 on the "whole 'nother level" (whatever THAT means ;D).

Apparently Georgetown thinks of its athletics programs in a similar way when it comes to funding, with this whole "national", "regional", "local" thing.

So are we cool, given that fact, with recognizing that when it comes to promoting games, some sports are going to "matter more" for lack of a better term to Hoya Blue?

First, let me point out that Hoya Blue made a committment this year to do at least one event for every on campus sport--which is a massive improvement to start with. In years past--maybe since that mythical game against Long Beach State in 1998 (you know I think Misty May might've played on that team)--you weren't getting any event for a volleyball game out of a Hoya Blue PERIOD.

But there's still clearly a hierarchy of how you promote games--and there should be, I think.

Basketball's the #1--you've got an entire event (Midnight Madness/Hoyapalooza) devoted to the opening of the season, several away game roadtrips planned, pep rallies, lots of flyers and signs every game, away game TV viewings, and a ton of coordinated effort in a massive student section. As many students as are going to show up for anything GU-sports related come to the MCI Center, it's a given.

Football and soccer right now are on the next level down. Hoya Blue has done BBQ's for most games. They do flyering for each. They've tried to create a defined student section at each sport (Hoya Hooligans and Pots n' Spoons: Shotgun Draw Brigade) that has had the effect of increasing what used to be sparse attendance and made it a heck of a lot more rowdy. But most students still aren't checking it out (save Homecoming) despite the new hardcore following of student fans who do show up every game. Lacrosse figures to fall into this category in the spring.

Below that you've got your field hockey, volleyball, swimming, etc. You'll get an occassional "event" like the one on Friday--probably hastily planned, probably oriented around something ELSE (like a costume contest or an afterparty incentive). The goal seems to be--ANYBODY that shows up is better than no one, and if they have a good time that's a plus.

I don't think it's a bad thing even if "only" 10-15 HB kids did show up on Friday (although RB's right IMO that 20-25 is a good safe guess). Nor does it sound like anyone in this thread feels that way. I think the disappointment was with an ill-advised decision of some genius in the AD to pull a "let's break a 1,000 plus attendance record that we obviously set with a big promotion when our team was nationally competitive and playing a traditional powerhouse back in 1998...but let's NOT PROMOTE IT AT ALL until a day before." Based on what I asked of HB people on Friday, that wasn't their idea and I don't think they knew enough to do any better than they did promoting.

I should point out that one of my criticisms of Hoya Blue this year has been that they've been slow in getting volunteers involved past their core "group of 20 or so" that I always see at games. But there's actually a built-in advantage to having a "group of 20 or so"--your attendance at just about any event has a built-in floor of...oh...about "20 or so". Worked out well Friday.

The common thread in all of the examples above though is that HB has successfully taken the attendance at these sports and "bumped it up a level". That's really what they should be aiming for. And having afterparties that go past 11...just saying. RBHoya's right again (he does that a lot) that building that "culture" HB wants on campus isn't going to happen overnight. It has to come incrementally, one level at a time.

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

As I remember you didn't leave the after party until around 3:30am ...

[Joe Hoya]

stpetersburghoya said:

As I remember you didn't leave the after party until around 3:30am ...

You wouldn't leave either if you lived in Foggy Bottom.