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Post by mkehoops on Mar 14, 2017 20:54:42 GMT -6
There is a huge difference between a "downward trend" (largely the result of the horrible decision to banish the team to the Klotsche) and an attendance implosion. That's 100% on her. 100%. The decision to move back on campus was an awful decision but attendance was slipping well before that. Frankly, you are over-estimating the number of people who care that Amanda did not let the team play in a 3rd tier postseason event last year. Maybe there are a couple hundred of you that did not attend games because of that? I think a couple hundred is being very generous. The problem is that there is no atmosphere at the games. Because of that fewer and fewer "common" fans show up to games. My issue with Amanda and the Athletic department, is that they have not found a way to get more people into the arena. |
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Post by PantherU on Mar 14, 2017 21:08:48 GMT -6
Our program is DYING. Repeat: the D1 Milwaukee basketball program IS DYING RIGHT BEFORE OUR EYES. One win away from the NCAA tournament with a team led by underclassmen and our program is dying? I'm gonna go ahead and respectfully disagree with ya there. Holy sh*t, "you sound like Jimmy. Making excuses blah blah blah." When the fans at games can be counted by hand with bad eyesight from section 323 before halftime, yes. The program is dying. Can ANYONE make anything resembling a coherent argument supporting Amanda Braun as our athletic director moving forward? It might be a fun thought exercise for some would-be trial lawyers out there. "Well, Mr. Foreman, yes the program is dead. Yes, my client was found standing over the program with a shotgun in hand. Yes, the ballistics report does match the killing shot to the shotgun. Yes, my client did lie several times to investigators. But if you just give her a chance..." No. The time for passively accepting that things will never change is done. It's time for us to finally take ownership of this program and quit expecting administrators to take the ball and run with it on their own. Time to get in people's faces and demand change. |
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Post by PantherU on Mar 14, 2017 21:18:47 GMT -6
11-24 overall and 4-14 in the conference with an unexpected three-game tournament run through overmatched, undermanned and dispirited opponents. But let's give credit to LaVall and his players. It's not even about the product on the court. Let's talk about attendance. Take a look around. Where are the people? Show me the people! Maybe Valpo was undermanned and dispirited but I don't think you can say the same for Detroit and UIC. Like said above, attendance has been down for years, not just for us, but for most of college basketball. The main reason attendance was down so far for us this year IMO was losing(Playing multiple games at the K didn't help either). To the casual fan, if you expect to see a loss, you are a lot less likely to come. I'm sure you will see a rise in attendance next season. People will come when they know there are leaders who won't squander the support they give. Yes, winning is first. But people gravitated toward leaders like Pearl and Zimpher because they believed those leaders would make the program better. Isn't this why so many of you were happy to see a new coach take over? Because you didn't believe Jeter could take the program back to lofty heights? How is this that different with Braun? |
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Post by PantherU on Mar 14, 2017 21:19:47 GMT -6
There is a huge difference between a "downward trend" (largely the result of the horrible decision to banish the team to the Klotsche) and an attendance implosion. That's 100% on her. 100%. The decision to move back on campus was an awful decision but attendance was slipping well before that. Frankly, you are over-estimating the number of people who care that Amanda did not let the team play in a 3rd tier postseason event last year. Maybe there are a couple hundred of you that did not attend games because of that? I think a couple hundred is being very generous. The problem is that there is no atmosphere at the games. Because of that fewer and fewer "common" fans show up to games. My issue with Amanda and the Athletic department, is that they have not found a way to get more people into the arena. So join us and demand change in leadership. |
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Post by Super King on Mar 14, 2017 22:10:09 GMT -6
I'm sorry but it is so god damn silly to get angry at Braun for letting the women's team go to a postseason tournament. Everyone knows she only blocked the men's team because she wanted Jeter out. There is not some huge seething evil being revealed in her rewarding Rechliz, a coach she likes, and not Jeter, a coach she forced out.
Jeter's firing was poorly done at every level, but PLEASE do not sit here and honestly try to tell me that losing a FOURTH athletic director in the last SEVEN YEARS is good for the program in any microscopic way. There is nothing good about the optics of a school with AD tenures that last for 1 year, 18 months, and 10 months respectively. How in god's name would the UWM AD position be attractive for anyone of quality?
As for poor attendance, winning culture and media exposure are the only things that will fix it. When Maryland joined the Big Ten, their basketball attendance jumped by 5,169 fans per game. Period. Our attendance is always higher after years in which we are successful. But part of what is driving fans away is chaos within the program, and firing Braun would result in nothing but chaos, especially since opinion on her is divided so factionally.
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Post by Super King on Mar 14, 2017 22:19:25 GMT -6
The other reality about attendance is that all of college sports, and especially basketball, is in a very toxic place right now replete with controversy and terrible product. Last year's national title game was the greatest ever played -- at least since NC State -- but overall the product is wretched, with bad offense, uninteresting scheduling, the horribly corrupt one-and-done system, a facilities arms race that is punishing small schools and rewarding the programs with the wealthiest donors, and uninteresting tournaments devoid of upsets and cinderellas. (Ironic that Wisconsin, the school with the second-highest athletic budget in America, would be considered a feel-good story.) The result is that attendance across all of basketball is falling as fans become apathetic and the NBA emerges into a clear golden age (maybe its best era ever) timed unfortunately to overlap directly with one of college ball's worst periods. The apathy is especially pronounced among young people. Even Duke University can't get its students to go to Cameron to watch them pound teams with RPI in the low-200s by 40 points: balldurham.com/2017/01/19/student-attendance-dropping-duke-mens-basketball-games/And we are certainly also suffering from this trend. |
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Post by 2543nick on Mar 14, 2017 23:11:43 GMT -6
Super. You fellas are back.
So can you provide something new to the story or are you just hear to stand on your soapbox again? It's tired. Either bring something other than name calling or go back to the hole you crawled out of.
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Post by ghostofdylan on Mar 15, 2017 5:42:56 GMT -6
Super. You fellas are back. So can you provide something new to the story or are you just hear to stand on your soapbox again? It's tired. Either bring something other than name calling or go back to the hole you crawled out of. Crawl back into our holes? Fran helped fund the team trip to Italy six years ago. Jimmy traveled to places as remote as Fargo to watch the team play. And I was a fan back in the early 90s, before many posters here were born. Is this any way for a representative of the university to talk? I'm just here to talk to my friends jg, srt, mupanther, mcdade, cactus panther, streaking panther, 'holic, 97, hack, kaygee, et al. Speaking of "holes," let's discuss the bunker mentality that's overtaken our program and the continued disappearance of our intrepid chancellor. Where is he? |
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Post by JG Panthers on Mar 15, 2017 6:31:22 GMT -6
Super. You fellas are back. So can you provide something new to the story or are you just hear to stand on your soapbox again? It's tired. Either bring something other than name calling or go back to the hole you crawled out of. Crawl back into our holes? Fran helped fund the team trip to Italy six years ago. Jimmy traveled to places as remote as Fargo to watch the team play. And I was a fan back in the early 90s, before many posters here were born. Is this any way for a representative of the university to talk? I'm just here to talk to my friends srt, cactus, streaking panther, 'holic, 97, hack, kaygee, et al. Speaking of "holes," let's discuss the bunker mentality that's overtaken our program and the continued disappearance of our intrepid chancellor. Where is he? I'm just glad you're back on the freak board god. I predict that your return will increase attendance next year, and we will win more games. Guaranteed! |
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Post by ghostofdylan on Mar 15, 2017 6:57:06 GMT -6
Do you really think that MY return will lead to more wins, jg? I think that LJ's coaching acumen and a full year to recruit an incoming class will lead to more wins.
I like this young man and I believe that he could lead us to GREAT things going forward, but only if the administration gives him its unconditional support.
Unfortunately, our AD has demonstrated repeatedly that she's incapable of giving unconditional support to anyone.
I'm willing to discuss the matter with civility and without name-calling. Rather, I LIKE the people that I know here!
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Post by DunneDeal on Mar 15, 2017 7:43:21 GMT -6
Brauns Mistakes: 1. Opening her mouth and saying x,y,z are the standards. - These are now the standards, and her words are biting her in the ass. No one outside of this board cares. 2. Firing Jeter - Not the fact that she did, but how she did it, and how ugly it got. Mistakes were made, hopefully she learned from them. I liked Jeter, he was a very good guy, but, he had coaching flaws, its not a knock on him or his character. Had he been the worlds greatest coach, his time in Milwaukee would have 4 years..maybe at best. What we know: 1. Val is our coach. He had 0 returning starters and the top returning scorer was Avg 5 pts (correct me if Im wrong). 2. He COACHED this team to the HLT Finals, yes against a Valpo team without Alec, and YES vs UIC without their So. stud. But he COACHED and they bought in. In year 2 we should see more of the same, a full off season workout program, and full recruiting class. Attendance: 1. Yep it sucked. I will fully admit that I skipped a ton of games this season because, I didnt want to see us get whooped on in our gym and I hate going to the KC. But, as we know from the Bruce years, WINNING, gets the local media out, and stories on the news (see HLT 2017) and in turn people get interested in the program. sh*t even in 2004 when I was a Freshman, the Cell was empty, WE WENT TO THE SWEET 16 that year, but early in the season...empty. Im glad the boys are back (dylan, fran, even you nighthawk!) We need to keep it civil (less get shut down again by the evil Admin  ) |
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Post by BBFran on Mar 15, 2017 8:32:44 GMT -6
So to summarize: "Yeah, she lied to everyone. We know the whole thing was a setup. She did it dishonestly and she did it badly. Our season sucked and our attendance crashed. Major donors won't even look her in the eye. And yeah, the senior players she chased away led their teams to the tournament. But we won three games in an empty decrepit arena in Detroit against terrible opponents. T his time, we can trust her!"  |
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Post by FTA1982 on Mar 15, 2017 8:50:32 GMT -6
Super. You fellas are back. So can you provide something new to the story or are you just hear to stand on your soapbox again? It's tired. Either bring something other than name calling or go back to the hole you crawled out of. Crawl back into our holes? Fran helped fund the team trip to Italy six years ago. Jimmy traveled to places as remote as Fargo to watch the team play. And I was a fan back in the early 90s, before many posters here were born. Is this any way for a representative of the university to talk? I'm just here to talk to my friends jg, srt, mupanther, mcdade, cactus panther, streaking panther, 'holic, 97, hack, kaygee, et al. Speaking of "holes," let's discuss the bunker mentality that's overtaken our program and the continued disappearance of our intrepid chancellor. Where is he? Not even a mention, Dylan? I'm hurt. Welcome back. As for the others, meh. |
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Post by PantherU on Mar 15, 2017 9:19:51 GMT -6
No one outside of this board cares. Really? Because I heard Mark Belling and Bill Michaels both calling for her to be fired yesterday on the air. Last spring, Mitch Nelles made a comment on the air about how their switchboard had never lit up for anything other than the Packers like it did when they were talking about Braun's screwjob. As for who else care, I'll just leave this tweet: Twitter's a great place to learn what people really think without them even having to type a word. Look who likes that tweet. If you think that going to a game and clapping for good play is enough in supporting these young men, by all means continue to do so. But don't get in the way of the people who are taking it further than that just because you're tired of the conversation. |
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Post by theDarkHawkReturns on Mar 15, 2017 9:38:08 GMT -6
There is a huge difference between a "downward trend" (largely the result of the horrible decision to banish the team to the Klotsche) and an attendance implosion. That's 100% on her. 100%. The decision to move back on campus was an awful decision but attendance was slipping well before that. Frankly, you are over-estimating the number of people who care that Amanda did not let the team play in a 3rd tier postseason event last year. Maybe there are a couple hundred of you that did not attend games because of that? I think a couple hundred is being very generous. The problem is that there is no atmosphere at the games. Because of that fewer and fewer "common" fans show up to games. My issue with Amanda and the Athletic department, is that they have not found a way to get more people into the arena. Hmmm....a "couple hundred"....so, let's say 250 people? Fair enough? 250 / 1460 = 17%So....using your numbers, which I believe are on the low side, Amanda Braun is personally responsible for a 17% drop in attendance, most of which is in season ticket holders who buy the more expensive seats, which generate the most revenue, and also therefore contribute to the Panther Fund (some in very large amounts). Furthermore, those people buy things like beer and soda. Furthermore, those people probably also are more likely to be engaged with the University as a whole, and often can be counted on to lobby the state government on behalf of the University. So, yeah, that 17% is kind of important, and they are gone, by your own admission, due to one thing: Amanda Braun. As for me personally, I will not have any affiliation with the University, athletics or otherwise, until she is relieved of her duties. Amanda Braun is in charge of the single most public aspect of UW Milwaukee, and as such is one of the primary representatives of that institution. As such, I will not support either her, or the University, while she is paid to represent it. I have made my reasons clear many times, but I will restate them here again for the record. 1) She is a liar, and this is not open for debate. She lied to players, players families, coaches, University administrators, her employees, donors, fans, and the media. She did so on multiple occasions on a multitude of topics. These were not instances of needing to speak with care due to impending decisions. These were blatant, and in some cases vicious ad hominem, falsehoods that served only one purpose - preserving her own position and destroying any that disagreed with her. 2) She is incompetent. She was not qualified for the position when hired, and has shown absolutely no growth into the position in the time since. Each day under her leadership (and I use that term loosely) has been worse than the one that preceded it. Each decision has been worse than the last. She is simply in well over her head and does not deserve the job she has. 3) She is a vindictive, petty, and immature person who uses her official position to bully, intimidate, and exact revenge on her perceived "enemies". She is incapable of admitting a mistake, and has surrounded herself with "yes men/women" who will never challenge her on any decision, because they have very justified fear for their professional lives. (Please note the lack of any mention of any specific coach {past or present} in the above, for those who believe all opposition to Ms Braun is due to a single decision - it is most clearly not, and is due almost exclusively to her behavior over a long period and numerous examples of deficient character traits, lack of basic understanding of her duties, and in all honesty, a stunning lack of intelligence.) So now the "posters" (read: athletics department employees) can flame away at me, claim I am just another "Jeter Boy", have no facts to support any of my opinions, and conclude that "people like me" (you know - potential donors with a little bit of disposable income) don't matter anyway. |
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