NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by ATPTourFan »

Scratching, clawing, struggling, and finally winning, this year's Rams made the critically important break-through back to the NCAA Tournament in spectacular Championship fashion. A miss this season with this group would have been difficult to recover from in the short term. Fortunately, all is right in the world and the team has broken the almost two-decades-long NCAA drought with an A10 Championship!!

For Rhode Island to consistently battle Dayton and VCU for the A10 championship, the program must close a significant funding gap. The approximately $1.2 Million they have already earned just by getting in to the NCAA tournament, spread over the next 6 years, is a great first step. A win over Creighton doubles that number. Here's hoping the team continues their winning streak a few more games!

Beyond NCAA Credits, the impact on the fan base which had in many cases taken a wait and see approach, understandably in some cases, should be significant. No longer do fans have to wait. The time is now to re-engage with the program by attending games, finding money to donate to Athletics, supporting Rhody Athletics partners at events like the coach's show and others.

In today's A10, financial support from the fan base is absolutely critical for sustained success. There are so many ways to contribute these days with scheduled donations on monthly, quarterly, or whenever you can basis. While the NCAA money is significant, the fans can easily blow that number away by setting up small monthly donations ("beer money" denominations like $20-50/mo) on their credit cards. If just 1000 fans found a dollar a day to give to Athletics, that's worth almost double the annual value of one NCAA credit -- $365k vs ~$200k.

Please consider giving what you can to the RAMS Fund of the URI Foundation. Remember to check with your employer to see if they offer any matching programs. It's free money for the Rams!

Go Rhody!! Let's keep winning!!
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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What other positive impacts do you anticipate or have already seen in the few days since Rhody won the A10 title?
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by Section104 »

ATPTourFan wrote:What other positive impacts do you anticipate or have already seen in the few days since Rhody won the A10 title?
I've been a very loud and obnoxious URI fan in Chicago the past 6 years. I work with 2000+ people in the 25-35 age range that still remember Tyson and Cuttino - they're all Big 10 supporters that will be pulling for Rhody on Friday. I've received many emails, calls, texts excited about URI making the dance. I know this will bring added support to the University and excitement around the program.

I got married this past Saturday and the wedding planning took up a lot of my time (out of town for Valpo, Dayton, and STL games), but I just booked my flight to Sacramento and couldn't be more excited to witness a game in person for the first time this year.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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These are some of the side effects of winning the A-10 Championship and getting to the NCAA:

Improved Recruiting
Improved OOC Scheduling
Increased/Improved game TV exposure
Increased Share of NCAA monies from A-10
Increased Fundraising
Increased Advertising Revenue
Increased Media Broadcast Rights value
Increased future Ticket Sales
Increased Program Spending (recruiting budget/salaries/travel)
Increased Fan Support & Enthusiasm
Increased pride in URI by students, alumni, staff, and state residents
Increased Media Coverage
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by ATPTourFan »

All those things, RF1. Excellent list. We should be able to get better OOC matchups, invitations to exempt tournaments which provide neutral floor opportunities against top teams.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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ATPTourFan wrote:What other positive impacts do you anticipate or have already seen in the few days since Rhody won the A10 title?
I'm hopeful that we'll continue to see more and better merchandise along with more people sporting said merchandise. Our basketball contract with Adidas comes up June 30th, and while they moved us up to the top tier, I'm curious if making the tournament will have any effect on that.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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Increased pride for URI is a big thing for me. I cannot tell you how many friends (AND a family member) I have who are Rhody Alums and follow PC hoops. Can I blame them? Yes. Bandwagon fan time! But I am still glad to have them back supporting their alma mater.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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Hopefully more interest from some big time recruits from the '18 class. Will have at least 5 scholarships available to replenish the roster with talented players to keep this thing rolling. Critical recruiting cycle which has already begun.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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Right, we know Fatts was enthusiastic about the early season Top 25 rankings the team earned.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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.....Impacts on scheduling; still need to continuing an aggressive approach to playing "up" where we can in the OOC sked, maybe now a home and home agreement an "up" conference?.....because of our reigning champ status(doesn't that sound nice!!)we will be considered in whatever A-10 conference scheduling agreements have been or will be made, example whatever the deal was by moving out of Barclays for two years......maybe a road national TV feature game against a P5 program?

......Impacts on Recruiting; this championship has to at minimum cause some high level players take another look at Rhody.....maybe Rhody coaches try to target players they previously would have no shot at?......the national media coverage and buzz surrounding the program can only help here.....does Dan and other coaches go to the high level camps in the summer to teach and do clinics?....all this helps raise the Rhody profile
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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Section104 wrote:
ATPTourFan wrote:What other positive impacts do you anticipate or have already seen in the few days since Rhody won the A10 title?
I've been a very loud and obnoxious URI fan in Chicago the past 6 years. I work with 2000+ people in the 25-35 age range that still remember Tyson and Cuttino - they're all Big 10 supporters that will be pulling for Rhody on Friday. I've received many emails, calls, texts excited about URI making the dance. I know this will bring added support to the University and excitement around the program.

I got married this past Saturday and the wedding planning took up a lot of my time (out of town for Valpo, Dayton, and STL games), but I just booked my flight to Sacramento and couldn't be more excited to witness a game in person for the first time this year.
Congrats 104! The question is, were you able to watch the semifinal on Sat and the final on Sunday?
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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.....increased awareness etc of the RI Legislators of funding URI.....are we awaiting a GA action wishing PC best of luck in the NCAA and ignoring us??.....didn't that happen years ago?
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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Section104 wrote:
ATPTourFan wrote:What other positive impacts do you anticipate or have already seen in the few days since Rhody won the A10 title?
I've been a very loud and obnoxious URI fan in Chicago the past 6 years. I work with 2000+ people in the 25-35 age range that still remember Tyson and Cuttino - they're all Big 10 supporters that will be pulling for Rhody on Friday. I've received many emails, calls, texts excited about URI making the dance. I know this will bring added support to the University and excitement around the program.

I got married this past Saturday and the wedding planning took up a lot of my time (out of town for Valpo, Dayton, and STL games), but I just booked my flight to Sacramento and couldn't be more excited to witness a game in person for the first time this year.
Over the course of this season, I turned a buddy of mine (UNC fan) into a Rhody fan. URI is now his baby team and he watched several games because of me. He'll be rooting for URI unless they face UNC (which wouldn't be until the final four, God willing). In return, I've sort of become a UNC fan mainly for him.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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Virtually identical fight song and colors, not that hard, right?
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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Just remember - this state that has always favored PC threw their support behind URI in 98. That Elite 8 run got a 65 million dollar bond passed to build the Ryan Center. No one in this state ever wants to spend money on URI, nevermind URI athletics, but everyone voted that bond into law.

A lot of people have complained in the past about PC getting the shine over URI. Some of us argued that it was only because PC won and got to the tournament. Like the Starks of Winterfell, the North remembers. This state has been craving a URI tourney run, and a deep one would do WONDERS for this program from a statewide perspective.

Who knows...maybe they make some serious magic happen and there's a bond floated for a basketball only facility? We can dream :-)
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by Keatgsr07 »

I was talking with a friend over the weekend, and even before winning the A10 on Sunday I said to him that "I believe being the most talked about bubble team all week might be more beneficial to the program than being a quiet #10 at-large."

Obviously that's slightly overstated, but I truly think being talked about in every national at-large conversation proceeding the Selection Show was a huge 'top-of-mind' marketing win for us.

URI wins A10 and I immediately purchased additional gear (ha, albeit a slim selection). #GoRhody
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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RhowdyRam02 wrote:
ATPTourFan wrote:What other positive impacts do you anticipate or have already seen in the few days since Rhody won the A10 title?
I'm hopeful that we'll continue to see more and better merchandise along with more people sporting said merchandise. Our basketball contract with Adidas comes up June 30th, and while they moved us up to the top tier, I'm curious if making the tournament will have any effect on that.

interesting.. so, our Adidas contract was just an annual contract ?
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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section(105) wrote:.....increased awareness etc of the RI Legislators of funding URI.....are we awaiting a GA action wishing PC best of luck in the NCAA and ignoring us??.....didn't that happen years ago?
Yes, in 1978. We beat that hideous, disgusting institution that shall not be named to win the old ECAC New England title and an automatic bid. Naturally, the legislature, dominated by alumni (real and imagined) of that hideous, disgusting institution that shall not be named, passed a resolution congratulating one team that got an at-large bid while ignoring the state university. That became a symbol of how the state viewed its state u.

Do some of us hold grudges forever? Damn right we do.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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section(105) wrote:.....increased awareness etc of the RI Legislators of funding URI.....are we awaiting a GA action wishing PC best of luck in the NCAA and ignoring us??.....didn't that happen years ago?
That happened in 1978. I believe before the ECAC New England Championship nearly 40 years ago, with URI and Providence scheduled to face off with the winner getting an autobid to the Tourney. I think the Projo had a big ad wishing Providence College luck against their game with URI. I big FU to state U in my opinion. Both teams ultimately made the tourney. I might have some of the details off. The ad might have been wishing PC luck in the NCAA and ignoring URI. Either way, the paper was snubbing URI in favor of PC and has been a big reason why a lot of fans think the projo unfairly covers PC over URI to this day. A Lot of it with good reason.

That said, in the late 90s when URI won over 90 games in a 4 year span (1 NIT, 3 NCAAs), the projo had great coverage. When we went to several NITs under Baron, the coverage was pretty good. This year and especially now it is good. The point being is if URI makes the NCAA on a consistent basis, the coverage will be there.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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On Monday morning on my ride in I was listening to 98.5 the sports hub in Boston, and during their every half hour "sports update" they only mentioned that PC was going to the dance.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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Back to the topic at hand... Looking Forward....

I hope one of the impacts of this NCAA season is the major reset of the fan-base psyche.

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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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Rhode_Island_Red wrote:
section(105) wrote:.....increased awareness etc of the RI Legislators of funding URI.....are we awaiting a GA action wishing PC best of luck in the NCAA and ignoring us??.....didn't that happen years ago?
Yes, in 1978. We beat that hideous, disgusting institution that shall not be named to win the old ECAC New England title and an automatic bid. Naturally, the legislature, dominated by alumni (real and imagined) of that hideous, disgusting institution that shall not be named, passed a resolution congratulating one team that got an at-large bid while ignoring the state university. That became a symbol of how the state viewed its state u.

Do some of us hold grudges forever? Damn right we do.
I do not think the environment in state government is quite like that now. While PC still has its share of alumni and supporters in the statehouse (see the DDC purchase, renovation, and increased spending for renovation cost overruns approval from legislature), I believe its support is less today than 40 years ago. PC's enrollment was previously mostly the sons and later daughters of working class RI families (mostly Irish and Italian Catholic descent). Only 10% of the PC enrollment (3,850) today comes from RI. That equates to less than 100 additional RI residents attending PC each year. Rhode Islanders attending the school are few and far between and state residents no longer have family, friends, and neighbors attending the school to the degree seen in the past. This has resulted in PC no longer having as influential an alumni base in government and the local business community that it once did. Its support in the state is increasingly tied to people that have no real connection to PC, the SCHOOL.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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This does pertain to the topic at hand, as that we can hopefully look forward to snubs like that (real and imagined) ending.

But all the things mentioned here will only happen with sustained success...if we don't go back for another 5+ years momentum will be lost.
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I'd like to see a strong NCAA appearance here and carry that momentum through to next December when we host the Friars. Time to end THAT streak.
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Ironically the reason my wife gave me the green light to go this weekend is because it has been such a rare occurrence! If it becomes more of a regular thing I may never get to go again...go figure.
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ElmCityRhody wrote:
RhowdyRam02 wrote:
ATPTourFan wrote:What other positive impacts do you anticipate or have already seen in the few days since Rhody won the A10 title?
I'm hopeful that we'll continue to see more and better merchandise along with more people sporting said merchandise. Our basketball contract with Adidas comes up June 30th, and while they moved us up to the top tier, I'm curious if making the tournament will have any effect on that.

interesting.. so, our Adidas contract was just an annual contract ?
Yes and no. We originally had a multiyear deal with them which expired last summer. This past summer we signed a one year extension, which ends June 30th.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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steviep123 wrote:
section(105) wrote:.....increased awareness etc of the RI Legislators of funding URI.....are we awaiting a GA action wishing PC best of luck in the NCAA and ignoring us??.....didn't that happen years ago?
That happened in 1978. I believe before the ECAC New England Championship nearly 40 years ago, with URI and Providence scheduled to face off with the winner getting an autobid to the Tourney. I think the Projo had a big ad wishing Providence College luck against their game with URI. I big FU to state U in my opinion. Both teams ultimately made the tourney. I might have some of the details off. The ad might have been wishing PC luck in the NCAA and ignoring URI. Either way, the paper was snubbing URI in favor of PC and has been a big reason why a lot of fans think the projo unfairly covers PC over URI to this day. A Lot of it with good reason.

That said, in the late 90s when URI won over 90 games in a 4 year span (1 NIT, 3 NCAAs), the projo had great coverage. When we went to several NITs under Baron, the coverage was pretty good. This year and especially now it is good. The point being is if URI makes the NCAA on a consistent basis, the coverage will be there.
Actually, what Red said is correct. I had the details mostly incorrect. After URI beat PC in the championship game, the State Legislators wished PC luck in the tourney and ignored URI. I have no problem with them wishing both teams luck. (I don't know if they did in 1997 or this year). But to ignore the state university was a travesty.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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RIFan wrote:On Monday morning on my ride in I was listening to 98.5 the sports hub in Boston, and during their every half hour "sports update" they only mentioned that PC was going to the dance.

An unmentionable sports anchor the other night said, "PC and URI" are in the tournament. Like URI is an afterthought.
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RF1 wrote:
I do not think the environment in state government is quite like that now. While PC still has its share of alumni and supporters in the statehouse (see the DDC purchase, renovation, and increased spending for renovation cost overruns approval from legislature), I believe its support is less today than 40 years ago. PC's enrollment was previously mostly the sons and later daughters of working class RI families (mostly Irish and Italian Catholic descent). Only 10% of the PC enrollment (3,850) today comes from RI. That equates to less than 100 additional RI residents attending PC each year. Rhode Islanders attending the school are few and far between and state residents no longer have family, friends, and neighbors attending the school to the degree seen in the past. This has resulted in PC no longer having as influential an alumni base in government and the local business community that it once did. Its support in the state is increasingly tied to people that have no real connection to PC, the SCHOOL.
Very interesting point. In this day and age I can't find applying to PC being appealing. Plus, I had heard it's where a lot of Notre Dame, Villanova, BC, and Georgetown rejects end up attending.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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OK so back to the topic. I guess we can take the previous posts and lump them into increased local media respect for the Rams.

I hope this NCAA berth makes it easier for us to find a new local TV partner to produce our games next year when they're not already nationally televised via the A10's media deal with NBC/CBS/ESPN.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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ATPTourFan wrote:OK so back to the topic. I guess we can take the previous posts and lump them into increased local media respect for the Rams.

I hope this NCAA berth makes it easier for us to find a new local TV partner to produce our games next year when they're not already nationally televised via the A10's media deal with NBC/CBS/ESPN.

Given that Cox dropped local coverage along with the recent news regarding ASN, getting a new partner is important. For those that were unaware, ASN (owned by WJAR parent Sinclair Broadcasting) is rumored to be ending its operations at the end of March. Hopefully the secondary non network station of either WPRI (MyRITV) or WJAR (MeTV) steps in.


American Sports Network to reportedly cease operation at the end of this month
http://awfulannouncing.com/local-networ ... month.html
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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Taylor Swift wrote:
RF1 wrote:
I do not think the environment in state government is quite like that now. While PC still has its share of alumni and supporters in the statehouse (see the DDC purchase, renovation, and increased spending for renovation cost overruns approval from legislature), I believe its support is less today than 40 years ago. PC's enrollment was previously mostly the sons and later daughters of working class RI families (mostly Irish and Italian Catholic descent). Only 10% of the PC enrollment (3,850) today comes from RI. That equates to less than 100 additional RI residents attending PC each year. Rhode Islanders attending the school are few and far between and state residents no longer have family, friends, and neighbors attending the school to the degree seen in the past. This has resulted in PC no longer having as influential an alumni base in government and the local business community that it once did. Its support in the state is increasingly tied to people that have no real connection to PC, the SCHOOL.
Very interesting point. In this day and age I can't find applying to PC being appealing. Plus, I had heard it's where a lot of Notre Dame, Villanova, BC, and Georgetown rejects end up attending.
Actually, they must have something going for them. Among regional universities(universities offering full range of undergraduate programs, some Masters, but few doctorates) in the North(New England, NY, Pa, NJ, Maryland, Delaware), PC ranks #1:

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/ra ... _mode=list

On a brighter side, we got enough votes to rank #28 this week. Get to the Sweet 16, and we will finish our season as a ranked team:

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket ... 017/poll/1
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

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Paleoguy wrote:
Taylor Swift wrote:
RF1 wrote:
I do not think the environment in state government is quite like that now. While PC still has its share of alumni and supporters in the statehouse (see the DDC purchase, renovation, and increased spending for renovation cost overruns approval from legislature), I believe its support is less today than 40 years ago. PC's enrollment was previously mostly the sons and later daughters of working class RI families (mostly Irish and Italian Catholic descent). Only 10% of the PC enrollment (3,850) today comes from RI. That equates to less than 100 additional RI residents attending PC each year. Rhode Islanders attending the school are few and far between and state residents no longer have family, friends, and neighbors attending the school to the degree seen in the past. This has resulted in PC no longer having as influential an alumni base in government and the local business community that it once did. Its support in the state is increasingly tied to people that have no real connection to PC, the SCHOOL.
Very interesting point. In this day and age I can't find applying to PC being appealing. Plus, I had heard it's where a lot of Notre Dame, Villanova, BC, and Georgetown rejects end up attending.
Actually, they must have something going for them. Among regional universities(universities offering full range of undergraduate programs, some Masters, but few doctorates) in the North(New England, NY, Pa, NJ, Maryland, Delaware), PC ranks #1:

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/ra ... _mode=list

On a brighter side, we got enough votes to rank #28 this week. Get to the Sweet 16, and we will finish our season as a ranked team:

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket ... 017/poll/1

I do not dispute that the academic reputation of PC has risen. It has become more selective over the years helped in part by the publicity from its basketball program. My point is merely that the school academically is much less connected to RI given the complete reversal ratio of in vs out of state students.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by ATPTourFan »

We are really straying from the topic of this thread. I'm tempted to scoop up all the PC talk and move it to a thread Down the Line.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by rodfromcranston »

Taylor Swift wrote:An unmentionable sports anchor the other night said, "PC and URI" are in the tournament. Like URI is an afterthought.
TS, are you referring to Frank Crapano?
Last edited by ATPTourFan 7 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by Bigsnoop »

I got some people on this board upset last year when I suggested that URI should drop football, and put the money into basketball and hockey, but I still think that would be the best move. One A-10 championship on NCAA bid is nice, but regular appearances in post season tournaments it's what gets casual fans interested.
If URI had the same financial support as VCU and Dayton, they would be at least as successful. The facilities are good, the campus is nice, the proximity to the beach should be a selling point.
Dan Hurley appears to be staying for a while, and giving him the same or better resources as the competition would make URI a perennial contender in the league. After Providence got its first appearance under Coach Cooley, fans were happy but still skeptical of our long term potential. URI will be in that situation now, but has the potential to return on a regular basis.
I would also love to see URI add D1 hockey. There is a lot of local talent, and they could be competitive quickly. As much as I love college football, there is no reason to believe that it has the resources to complete at the top of their conference.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by theblueram »

Being in the tournament raises the national awareness of the school. Kids in high school usually have no idea where they want to go. The added attention should result in an increase in applications. That's revenue to the school right there. Plus it expands the pool of applicants, thus giving the school the opportunity to be more selective. This in turn raises the profile of the academics of the school.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by Bigsnoop »

theblueram wrote:Being in the tournament raises the national awareness of the school. Kids in high school usually have no idea where they want to go. The added attention should result in an increase in applications. That's revenue to the school right there. Plus it expands the pool of applicants, thus giving the school the opportunity to be more selective. This in turn raises the profile of the academics of the school.

This is true. Providence had their highest number of applications ever last year. URI has a lot to offer, and positive publicity from their athletic programs can only help.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by Puck Frovidence »

RF1 wrote:
ATPTourFan wrote:OK so back to the topic. I guess we can take the previous posts and lump them into increased local media respect for the Rams.

I hope this NCAA berth makes it easier for us to find a new local TV partner to produce our games next year when they're not already nationally televised via the A10's media deal with NBC/CBS/ESPN.

Given that Cox dropped local coverage along with the recent news regarding ASN, getting a new partner is important. For those that were unaware, ASN (owned by WJAR parent Sinclair Broadcasting) is rumored to be ending its operations at the end of March. Hopefully the secondary non network station of either WPRI (MyRITV) or WJAR (MeTV) steps in.


American Sports Network to reportedly cease operation at the end of this month
http://awfulannouncing.com/local-networ ... month.html
We've got to lock in a local carrier for non-national games (MyTV RI works fine), and most importantly they've got to get a decent production setup for streaming games. A new Tri-caster, couple of cameras, and some mics will do just fine as long as there's someone there who knows how to work them at a PROFESSIONAL level. Since there's clearly no one there now who knows how to do that, hire someone who does. Then bring back Frede and Abu for PxP and color and get the games out in quality on a local network (+ online for our expats) and I'd call that huge progress. Either that or just outsource the whole shebang to Learfield, but honestly I'd consider the cash for gear and staff a really positive investment in the program.

On the bright side, it looks like ASN might survive:
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/sports/201 ... -after-all
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by ace »

It's not necessarily a tangible thing, but the fact that every reference to Rhode Island basketball moving forward will not contain the clause "who haven't been to the NCAA tournament since 1999" is certainly nice. Fans, coaches, players- everyone was sick of hearing it. Within the program, that's a heavy burden to carry for the players (for the coaches, too, but they get paid to deal with stuff like that, so I'm somewhat less concerned about them).

It's only one, and there certainly needs to be consistent competitiveness and success moving forward, but it lends a current legitimacy to the program that hasn't been there in some time. It was safe to believe it would happen, but there's something to be said for going out and doing the damn thing. Money and resources- anything that helps bring in more of that is a good thing.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by steviep123 »

Bigsnoop wrote:I got some people on this board upset last year when I suggested that URI should drop football, and put the money into basketball and hockey, but I still think that would be the best move. One A-10 championship on NCAA bid is nice, but regular appearances in post season tournaments it's what gets casual fans interested.
If URI had the same financial support as VCU and Dayton, they would be at least as successful. The facilities are good, the campus is nice, the proximity to the beach should be a selling point.
Dan Hurley appears to be staying for a while, and giving him the same or better resources as the competition would make URI a perennial contender in the league. After Providence got its first appearance under Coach Cooley, fans were happy but still skeptical of our long term potential. URI will be in that situation now, but has the potential to return on a regular basis.
I would also love to see URI add D1 hockey. There is a lot of local talent, and they could be competitive quickly. As much as I love college football, there is no reason to believe that it has the resources to complete at the top of their conference.
Snoop, as much as I may agree with you (I think you are 100% right), I went to an alumni event in Boston a few years ago in which the URI AD was the main speaker. I point blank asked him about division I hockey. He made it clear it was a non starter. I also don't think giving up football is going to happen. That said, I think they either need to commit to football at a high level in CAA or get rid of it completely. None of this middle of the road crap. As much as I'd love to see URI football be successful, it might be time to sh1t or get off the put.

All that said, Basketball is their bread and butter sport. They need to do everything they can to be in position to be at least a bubble team each year. There is no reason why they can not be a perennial top 3 to 4 A10 team. Take lessons from Xavier, Gonzaga, Temple, UMass (in the 90s) and others and play anyone, anytime, anywhere and get that schedule up. Be the class of the A10. It might be easier said than done, but make it happen. Use the Preston Murphy connection and try to get a home and home with Creighton and get home and homes with other strong mid majors. For the P5s, if they won't come to Kingston, then go there or a neutral site. Use this new found fame to your advantage!
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by Bigsnoop »

I would also like to URI be successful in football. I was a regular at their games during the Tom Ehrhardt days. It's just that football can be such a financial black hole, and you really can't field a successful team with local talent. You can easily build a base locally in basketball, and a whole hockey team without leaving New England.
Unless donors and the state are willing to pony up the big dollars necessary to compete in football, it would be smart to reallocate the funds where it can lead to success.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by Blue Man »

A rising tide raises all boats...the important thing is to keep investing in basketball for the next few seasons and try to squeeze out a few more dances to make the program more self sustaining...then invest elsewhere.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by TruePoint »

ace wrote:It's not necessarily a tangible thing, but the fact that every reference to Rhode Island basketball moving forward will not contain the clause "who haven't been to the NCAA tournament since 1999" is certainly nice. Fans, coaches, players- everyone was sick of hearing it. Within the program, that's a heavy burden to carry for the players (for the coaches, too, but they get paid to deal with stuff like that, so I'm somewhat less concerned about them).

It's only one, and there certainly needs to be consistent competitiveness and success moving forward, but it lends a current legitimacy to the program that hasn't been there in some time. It was safe to believe it would happen, but there's something to be said for going out and doing the damn thing. Money and resources- anything that helps bring in more of that is a good thing.
I came here to say that while I agree with everything ATP and RF1 and others said, I'm just so happy to not have to hear the words "1999" in every sentence involving URI after the tournament is over. For now I hope they have reason to keep saying it for the next 3 weeks, but after that never again.
Last edited by TruePoint 7 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by theblueram »

Just think about the students. These are the first students to see the Rams play in the tournament in almost 20 years. Happy for them.
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by reef »

If we keep DH there is no reason we can't strive to be like the Zags of the East

He will get recruits here and we should stay top 3 in conference with NCAA berths consistently
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by Taylor Swift »

rodfromcranston wrote:
Taylor Swift wrote:An unmentionable sports anchor the other night said, "PC and URI" are in the tournament. Like URI is an afterthought.
TS, are you referring to Frank Crapano?

Yes, sir. Almost spit out my coffee reading your response. :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by steviep123 »

Taylor Swift wrote:
rodfromcranston wrote:
Taylor Swift wrote:An unmentionable sports anchor the other night said, "PC and URI" are in the tournament. Like URI is an afterthought.
TS, are you referring to Frank Crapano?

Yes, sir. Almost spit out my coffee reading your response. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Friar Frank!
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by Seawrightspostgame »

NCAA Credits... X2.....
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Re: NCAA Tournament Impact on Rhody Men's Basketball Program

Unread post by rambone 78 »

We keep 75% of the money from our games in the NCAAT.

Now that's about 400K per year for 6 years.....a cool 2.4 million for the program.....and we're not done yet.
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