How much $ does it take to buy a quality home game?

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Originally Posted by Zeebart21

Hammer got tired of all the bull_____ on the board. Me? I am a glutton for punishment.

Z

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---I might have done the same but too many begged me to stay on to give my insights of Ragin Cajun Athletics----They said that I was the voice of objectivity!!! LOL -----But, I love T-Bines new rule of no "AD HOMINEMS"!!!

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Originally Posted by BirdofParadise

We talk about fund raising. Let's remember when Hud has gone out to raise money it has been for something tangible, like equipment etc.

You're more likely to get donations for something tangible as opposed to asking for money to give to another school to play you at the Cajundome.

Reality is the Cajuns bring in $179-200K per year in guarantees and that money is not being reinvested into scheduling, but rather to balance the budget. Some of you would rather this team not play at home at all rather than play non D-1's. That makes no sense.

And as far as your "at large" bid is concerned, get real. This isn't the 1980's any more...or even the 90s. i can give you countless examples of schools with stellar records that don't get a sniff at selection time.

Louisiana Tech won 26 last year. Murray State won 26 IN A ROW and lost in their tournament. Not even on the bubble.

If you go 27-2 and beat at least two top 50 RPI schools and make it to the finals of your conference tournament then you might have 1/2 a chance.

Now, I'll agree with the seeding thing as far as the regular season is concerned. Its so much tougher if you aren't at least a 13. And, that's where we've fallen short here.

BUt, except for the seeding possibilities it DOES come down to three days in March 98 percent of the time. We scheduled for a good seed this year with games at Miami and UCLA and Alabama and even Pepperdine. BUt we didn't win any of them.

Playing a team at home only gets you .7 wins according to the RPI. Playing two non-D1s does NOT kill you in that regard.

I'd rather play two D-1's. But, and this goes back to something I said earlier....is it worth $150k to buy Prairie View and Nicholls? If your answer is yes, we will agree to disagree.

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Why not start a campaign strictly for buying games? Put together a presentation, show it to Rebounders club, have those guys spread the word, give it 3-5 years, and let's see what happens? Even if we buy 1-2 games a year, even that can create some buzz with possibility of a big win. Meanwhile, continue taking the road games against P5 opponents and get your brand out there.

I know this is probably more complicated, but it doesn't seem to be all that difficult. There are over 350 teams playing basketball. Half of them are recognizable to the lay fan. You're telling me we can't get 1-2 a year to visit us? I just don't buy that.

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Originally Posted by BirdofParadise

We talk about fund raising. Let's remember when Hud has gone out to raise money it has been for something tangible, like equipment etc.

You're more likely to get donations for something tangible as opposed to asking for money to give to another school to play you at the Cajundome.

Reality is the Cajuns bring in $179-200K per year in guarantees and that money is not being reinvested into scheduling, but rather to balance the budget. Some of you would rather this team not play at home at all rather than play non D-1's. That makes no sense.

And as far as your "at large" bid is concerned, get real. This isn't the 1980's any more...or even the 90s. i can give you countless examples of schools with stellar records that don't get a sniff at selection time.

Louisiana Tech won 26 last year. Murray State won 26 IN A ROW and lost in their tournament. Not even on the bubble.

If you go 27-2 and beat at least two top 50 RPI schools and make it to the finals of your conference tournament then you might have 1/2 a chance.

Now, I'll agree with the seeding thing as far as the regular season is concerned. Its so much tougher if you aren't at least a 13. And, that's where we've fallen short here.

BUt, except for the seeding possibilities it DOES come down to three days in March 98 percent of the time. We scheduled for a good seed this year with games at Miami and UCLA and Alabama and even Pepperdine. BUt we didn't win any of them.

Playing a team at home only gets you .7 wins according to the RPI. Playing two non-D1s does NOT kill you in that regard.

I'd rather play two D-1's. But, and this goes back to something I said earlier....is it worth $150k to buy Prairie View and Nicholls? If your answer is yes, we will agree to disagree.

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You are more likely to get donations if you go out and ask than if you don't, just saying.

I think there has always been some underlying frustration that the golden years of basketball from first the Shipley era and then the Paschal era evaporated. Fletcher accomplished more in the NCAA Tournament than Paschal but a lot of people didn't like him.

People want the golden years back and are basically told that for a variety of reasons the sport has passed schools like ours by and it's no longer possible. Fans are tired if hearing that.

It seems like every year a lot of people approach the start of fall practice with great anticipation and are discouraged before the start of the new year. We can't win a map game in December.

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Originally Posted by California Cajun

I think there has always been some underlying frustration that the golden years of basketball from first the Shipley era and then the Paschal era evaporated. Fletcher accomplished more in the NCAA Tournament than Paschal but a lot of people didn't like him.

People want the golden years back and are basically told that for a variety of reasons the sport has passed schools like ours by and it's no longer possible. Fans are tired if hearing that.

It seems like every year a lot of people approach the start of fall practice with great anticipation and are discouraged before the start of the new year. We can't win a map game in December.

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It's a good point, and I'm sorry to speak for all basketball fans, but I think most of the hardcore fan base that remain from those eras would tell you that they don't expect that level of success. But they'll also tell you what we have now is completely unacceptable.

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Originally Posted by ManAboutTown

It's a good point, and I'm sorry to speak for all basketball fans, but I think most of the hardcore fan base that remain from those eras would tell you that they don't expect that level of success. But they'll also tell you what we have now is completely unacceptable.

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I agree our non conference road results are "unacceptable". However our conference results are generally OK. For some reason teams win on the road more often Iin conference play. That is due to officiating somewhat. Also due to competition. However Georgia State is better than mAny of the non conference teams we have played on the road. At this point we cannot go back and replay the non conference schedule. All we can do is get the best seed possible and hope the team is playing at a high level in early March.

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Originally Posted by CajunEXPRESS

Yes Mike but we all suffer the same problems. I guess we more than USM as they can draw teams from the north, south, east, and west while we have almost zero south of us.

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The fact we all suffer the same problems is why I am so perplexed those schools will not play us. Mystery to me

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Originally Posted by Cajunsmike

The fact we all suffer the same problems is why I am so perplexed those schools will not play us. Mystery to me

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Not being argumentative but who is telling you this? Is this coming from the schools? Or the people that don't want to go out and raise money? I refuse to buy that egrtihe is scared to play is when you look on their schedule and see schools similar. Someone is either stretching the truth or is very hard to deal with and unlikeable. We aren't that scary.

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Originally Posted by ManAboutTown

Why not start a campaign strictly for buying games? Put together a presentation, show it to Rebounders club, have those guys spread the word, give it 3-5 years, and let's see what happens? Even if we buy 1-2 games a year, even that can create some buzz with possibility of a big win. Meanwhile, continue taking the road games against P5 opponents and get your brand out there.

I know this is probably more complicated, but it doesn't seem to be all that difficult. There are over 350 teams playing basketball. Half of them are recognizable to the lay fan. You're telling me we can't get 1-2 a year to visit us? I just don't buy that.

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Who are some of the recognizable names that you believe would accept 100 grand to come here? Maybe there is one that would draw well enough to offset the cost of that payment. Remember most schools in the major conferences do not go on the road to mid majors as a matter of policy. Still there may be some others willing to do it as you stated. I was surprised to hear Murray State was not willing to play home and home. Would a school like that draw well enough to warrant a100 grand payment ?

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Originally Posted by crazycajun

Not being argumentative but who is telling you this? Is this coming from the schools? Or the people that don't want to go out and raise money? I refuse to buy that egrtihe is scared to play is when you look on their schedule and see schools similar. Someone is either stretching the truth or is very hard to deal with and unlikeable. We aren't that scary.

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My list of schools who will not play us is info I received from various
staff members in different conversations. Mike Murphy is the main source and I believe him. If you do not feel free to give him a call and question him further. Note these are schools who will not play us home and home. You do not pay anything in these type deals. Would they do a home and home if we paid them a little for the game played here is a question I cannot answer. That would be an interesting approach. Would you donate a few hundred to an effort to raise 50 grand to get Tulane here with the understanding we get nothing for the game we will play there?