The ACC men's basketball tournament's move back to a Saturday night finish means an earlier start to the event, which is "inconvenient, if not untenable, for many spectators hoping to attend early-round games," but the "overarching benefits prevail," according to David Teel of the Hampton Roads DAILY PRESS. The move back to the old format that the ACC had before '82 means the finale "isn’t suffocated two hours later by Selection Sunday’s NCAA tournament bracket unveiling." ACC Commissioner John Swofford: "The comments that I’ve gotten back have been nothing but positive, certainly from coaches, and from fans as well. ... Based on the ticket requests, I can already tell you the demand for semifinal and final tickets is beyond anything I’ve seen in a long time. I think that has something to do with the Friday-night, Saturday-night format, as well as the anticipation of the teams that could be playing." Teel notes with ESPN as the ACC's sole national broadcast partner, the conference "didn’t have the Friday-Saturday option for decades," but after the old Big East, which used to play during that time slot, splintered, the ACC "wisely jumped in, much to its coaches’ liking" (Hampton Roads DAILY PRESS, 3/10). In Raleigh, Luke DeCock writes Tuesday at the ACC tournament "is the saddest day." It is like Wednesday "used to be, but sadder because of the unfamiliarity." There "are few fans, few media, no good teams." But if everyone had "known the basketball would be" as entertaining as it was yesterday at Greensboro Coliseum, "watching the teams at the bottom of the ACC standings play on a Tuesday afternoon wouldn’t have been such a tough sell, as evidenced by the billboard on Interstate 40 near Mebane touting ACC 'Opening Day' as 'Better Than Work.'" Attendance yesterday "was down slightly from last year’s first day," but there were "only two games instead of three" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 3/11). ESPN's Dick Vitale said that it is a "shame" that the men's tourney is in Greensboro this year for the last time until '20 (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 3/11).
HERE KITTY, KITTY: In Nashville, Lance Williams cites SeatGeek data as showing that fans have so far "paid an average of $924 for a full set of tickets" to the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena, "by far the highest average price of the six major conference tournaments this season." That price "is nearly double the average resale price" for a full strip to the '13 event in Nashville. Much that of demand "is being driven [by] fans of Kentucky, which is unbeaten." More than 40% of secondary-market tickets "have been sold to buyers in Kentucky" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 3/11).
DOUBLE THE FUN: In Michigan, Graham Couch wrote under the header, "Big Ten Men's, Women's Tourneys Should Coincide." Both events "should be the same week and in the same city, so a collective fan base can take advantage of having both teams in one place." There is "nothing wrong with leaning on the men's game for exposure and experience." From a fan perspective, it is "simply what is sensible and most enjoyable." The MAC, WAC and MWC "are among those pairing the two tournaments." Michigan State AD Mark Hollis said that the Big Ten "has looked into it to the extreme of playing both the men's and women's tournaments simultaneously on opposite ends of Lucas Oil Stadium." He added, "It's finding the right city, with the right venues and the right hotel rooms to make it possible." The women's tourney "is slated to return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse" from '16-22, but that is when the men are in DC ('17), N.Y. ('18) and Chicago ('19, '21) (LANSING STATE JOURNAL, 3/10).
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CAA officials are hopeful the conference
tournament can stay in Baltimore long term
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SECOND TIME'S A CHARM: In Baltimore, Jon Meoli noted as the second CAA men's basketball tournament at the city's Royal Farms Arena "wrapped up Monday night, commissioner Tom Yeager praised the city's reception of an event he said ran 'much better than last year.'" Attendance for the four-day event "was nearly the same as last year." Yeager said that "there are 'real foundational elements in place here that would sustain a long-term relationship.'" Yeager: "We just need to sit down and ask each other for a date" (BALTIMORESUN.com, 3/10). Yeager hopes that he "can work out a long-term agreement beyond 2016, the final year of the conference's initial contract in Baltimore" (Baltimore SUN, 3/10). Yeager: "This is the kind of tournament for the casual basketball fan. It's a show; it's not just another game" ("The Scott Garceau Show," WJZ-FM, 3/9).
TALE OF TWO CITIES: SPORTING NEWS' Ryan Fagan wrote this year’s Southern Conference tournament in Asheville, N.C., was "a shining example of the stark contrast between essential, basic elements of every mid-major conference tournament." This "is the fourth year the tournament has been back in Asheville, and this event has been embraced by local businesses as the unofficial kickoff to tourism season." SoCon Commissioner John Iamarino said, "They’ve done everything they promised to do, and it’s been a great partnership. This is the way it ought to work. They did the renovations because we committed, and we committed because they were going to do the renovations." Fagan noted the tourney "is locked into Asheville for two more years." But Iamarino said that "both sides have expressed a desire to extend" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 3/8). Meanwhile, in Albany, Mark Singelais reports total paid attendance for the MAAC's tournament "was 27,417 for nine men's and women's sessions spread over five days." That is "about half the record 53,569 who bought tickets the last time Albany hosted the event" in '10. Times Union Center GM Bob Belber, who predicted the tournament would bring it at least 32,000 fans, said, "We're a little disappointed the numbers aren't stronger." Belber: "The ticket prices were definitely affordable. I don't think it was that at all." Despite the lower-than-expected sales, Belber said that the tournament "was still close to breaking even." Singelais noted it "was the third-lowest showing for a MAAC Tournament in the 16 years the event has been played in Albany" (Albany TIMES UNION, 3/11).
GIRLS ONLY: In Arkansas, Jeremy Muck noted the SEC "has played its women's basketball tournament four times at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock." If venue officials and the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau "get their wish, the tournament could return for a fifth time" as early as '17. Despite "inclement weather affecting the first two days of this year's tournament, total attendance was higher than the last time the event was held in North Little Rock" in '09 (ARKANSASONLINE.com, 3/10). Meanwhile, in Richmond, Vic Dorr Jr. reported the Atlantic 10 women’s tournament "will return" to Richmond Coliseum in '16, but "it could return with fewer teams." A-10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade said that bringing eight teams to a neutral site "would eliminate two sparsely-attended days" from the schedule. Circumstance also "hurt" this year, as an "ice/snow storm chilled Friday’s quarterfinal attendance." McGlade "offered praise for Richmond’s performance as a tournament host." But she said that the attendance issue "is, and will remain, a concern." She added that advertising and outreach "will be essential as the league turns its attention to 2016 and beyond" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 3/10).
