Can’t nobody tell me there is anything wrong with Carver Hawkeye Arena ever again.

[CerroGordoHawk]

I agree with all of this. And I’ll add that I think there was a sizable portion of the fanbase that walked away after the Pierre Pierce debacle and never came back.

100%. Pierce was the beginning of the end for Hawkeye basketball. Him, Alford’s horrible relationship with the fans, the Northwestern State game, Lickliter, all the second round NCAA blowouts under Fran, plus the Richmond game was the last straw for a lot of people. Unfortunately it’s going to take a regime change to get people excited again; Fran fatigue is getting too deep to overcome.

 

[Muscles1989]

This is because the rabid wrestling fan is one beer away from starting a brawl. Of course they are loud.

Id guess the pool of people that men's BB draws from is way higher than men's wrestling. And there are likely way more old big money people sitting courtside at BB games. Thats what needs to change IMO.

Odd thing to say about fans that would rip your face off for fun huh

 

[littlez]

So regarding Fran fatigue. I get that we’ve way underachieved in the tournament under Fran. We’re also like top 5 in wins in the conference over the last 5-7 years I believe. Blue bloods like OSU, Indiana, Maryland all hiring and firing coaches. Where is it getting them? Some of you love some Kirk for winning the West a few times against the dregs of college football. And then getting destroyed in the game. Basketball you’re not avoiding anyone in conference. No Michigan or Ohio St certain years in football. And yes, we should still move the students behind the court. You can’t compare CC and what’s happening now to the men’s team. It’s a once in a lifetime thing.

 

[doughuddl2]

100%. Pierce was the beginning of the end for Hawkeye basketball. Him, Alford’s horrible relationship with the fans, the Northwestern State game, Lickliter, all the second round NCAA blowouts under Fran, plus the Richmond game was the last straw for a lot of people. Unfortunately it’s going to take a regime change to get people excited again; Fran fatigue is getting too deep to overcome.

Fair weather fans can stay home and post on here.

 

[Kinnick.At.Night]

The kids on here whining about Carver have always amused me. They weren’t alive during the Gable years or early in Dr. Tom’s tenure. 1985-1988…Carver was as loud as Kinnick. It’s still the same arena. And with a quality product, like Lisa Bluder’s team, it rocks every bit as hard today as it did in the past.

 

[83Hawk]

I agree with all of this. And I’ll add that I think there was a sizable portion of the fanbase that walked away after the Pierre Pierce debacle and never came back.

Pierre Pierce was around 20 years ago and is no longer a valid excuse.....if it ever was to begin with.

 

[iowahawkeyes1982]

The kids on here whining about Carver have always amused me. They weren’t alive during the Gable years or early in Dr. Tom’s tenure. 1985-1988…Carver was as loud as Kinnick. It’s still the same arena. And with a quality product, like Lisa Bluder’s team, it rocks every bit as hard today as it did in the past.

Bring back the Halloween movie theme before tip offs.

 

[LaQuintaHawkeye]

Illinois game next week should be packed and just as loud.

Yes it should ...but unfortunately it will probably be due to Ilini fans sneaking in.

 

[littlez]

Pierre Pierce was around 20 years ago and is no longer a valid excuse.....if it ever was to begin with.

Plus 1000. Everyone associated w/that is gone. We're 2 coaches past Alford. It's been forever ago. The 'I'm not going to Carver because of what happened 20 years ago" drives me absolutely insane. Don't want to go, fine. Don't go. But quit using that as an excuse.

 

[ChiPackHawk]

What?! The men had great teams the last 5 years or so. They never got near the same support as the women. People are sick of Fran, the early outs in the dance, wasting elite talent, etc.

Their "great" team came during the COVID black out with no fans allowed.

 

[ChiPackHawk]

I agree with all of this. And I’ll add that I think there was a sizable portion of the fanbase that walked away after the Pierre Pierce debacle and never came back.

That era destroyed relations with the students and it really has not been the same since.

 

[General Tso]

Carver still sucks. 15000 people cheering a generational talent will make any arena loud

 

[littlez]

That era destroyed relations with the students and it really has not been the same since.

So something happened 20 years ago is still keeping students away today? I guarantee if you asked 1000 Iowa students who Pierre Pierce is maybe 25 could tell you who he is or what happened.

 

[jonesy5960]

So something happened 20 years ago is still keeping students away today? I guarantee if you asked 1000 Iowa students who Pierre Pierce is maybe 25 could tell you who he is or what happened.

25 is being generous.

 

[littlez]

25 is being generous.

The Pierre Pierce boogeyman who ruined Iowa basketball attendance. It’s ridiculous.

 

[ICWestfan]

Illinois game next week should be packed and just as loud.

With Illinois fans. They are doing their opponent takeover this Sunday.

 

[Tom Paris]

There are myriad improvements that can (and should) be made to CHA but product on the floor has been the number one issue. Iowa fans have just become so jaded toward the men's program after 20-plus years of heartbreak and horrific post-season results.

More like 50 years…

 

[GunnerHawk]

Do the blue-hairs gobble up all the good seats for womens basketball like they do for mens?

The so called blue-hairs have earned the right to sit there. They have paid big dollars to the university for years. Iowa's students don't show up like they should. Games at that age should be fun to go to.

 

[curtisj157]

This place is jumpin’!

Yes. There’s something wrong. It’s called an anemic men’s basketball program.

 

[ChiPackHawk]

So something happened 20 years ago is still keeping students away today? I guarantee if you asked 1000 Iowa students who Pierre Pierce is maybe 25 could tell you who he is or what happened.

Students and fans from that era are still around, in case you think the world revolves only around 20-30 year old's. Maybe take a minute to do some actual research about what went on during that period. Is it the entire problem, of course not. Students are allocated a specific amount of tickets and that hardly makes up the majority of those available for the general public.

And I never said it was the reason students don't attend. I do believe it part of the reason there is fan apathy.

 

[amahawk]

The Parking!

 

[ChiPackHawk]

The Pierre Pierce boogeyman who ruined Iowa basketball attendance. It’s ridiculous.

Nobody said it alone ruined Iowa basketball. But it was a factor and you're kidding yourself if you don't think it was.

 

[iowahawkeyes1982]

Nobody said it alone ruined Iowa basketball. But it was a factor and you're kidding yourself if you don't think it was.

Yep, couple that with the Lickliter era and Fran's lackluster results and you have a recipe for an apathetic fanbase.

 

[hawkeyeinmo]

I wouldn’t base Carver Hawkeye crowd experience on a game that would be sold out and rocking if it were played in an active hog barn.

 

[Max_Rebo]

The so called blue-hairs have earned the right to sit there. They have paid big dollars to the university for years. Iowa's students don't show up like they should. Games at that age should be fun to go to.

Maybe so. But I am still curious as to how the distribution of seating compares for mens hoops, womens hoops, and wrestling.

 

[Titanhawk2]

Yep. Carver can be upgraded, but it’s perfectly fine. It’s Fran fatigue for men’s basketball.

Like it was Davis fatigue, then Alford fatigue?

 

[iowahawkeyes1982]

Like it was Davis fatigue, then Alford fatigue?

Sure, both for different reasons.

Are you arguing fans aren’t getting tired of Fran?

 

[major tom]

Not sure how much of the Orange Slush is coming over but I was checking Stub Hub and some tickets are going for $50 plus

 

[HerkysDad]

Always been about the product on the floor. Those who have spent years blaming the fans and/or the facility are clueless

And never attended a game at CHA. Just cheap ass rabble-rousers.

 

[IaHawks03]

Game is now sold out from the ticket office

 

[Herky T Hawk]

In the 2000-2001 season we had the largest student section in the country at CHA. The team started hot, then Luke Recker got hurt and the season fell apart until the miracle BTT run. The Indiana game at home that season was incredible. Huge comeback led by Luke and the crowd was excruciatingly loud. CHA was sold out at 15,500 for every game that season.

The 2001-2002 team was pre-season top 10 with a senior Luke and Reggie. That team won 3 games in the BTT but struggled to make the NIT, ending with a 1st round loss. PP was a freshman starting almost every game. The fanbase was impacted from that underwhelming season, but wasn't killed.

The 2002-2003 team started with the PP debacle, and Alford's reaction to it caused protests outside of the arena before games. This really harmed the fanbase, especially the student section which saw plummeting attendance.

The 2004-2005 team saw PP do his thing a 2nd time, this time mid-season, getting kicked off the team finally. The team underperformed, barely squeaking into the NCAA tourney for only the 2nd time in Alford's tenure and losing in the first round.

At this point the damage was done. The student section has never been the same since. Anybody that was a new student moving forward never experienced a large energetic student section at basketball games and so there was no excitement for new freshmen to purchase tickets and go to games to be "part of the club". The following season was the Jeff Horner, Greg Brunner Big Ten runner-up team which non-student fans bought tickets for and the university was glad to sell to since students weren't coming. But of course NW State happened, Alford followed that up with a mediocre year before leaving, then we had the dark years of Lick.

So yes, PP happened 20 years ago. But it was a bullwhip effect that reverberated and grew over the years during bad timing of underperformance by both Alford and Lick, with only one good season that had a catastrophic ending. And now we've had more than a decade of Fran underperforming in the tourney on top of it. Of course the one team that had an opportunity to truly break that negative momentum and turn things around happened during the no fans season.

Bluder has had some great players and seen tourney success with those players over the last several years with 2 sweet sixteens, an elite eight, and an NCAA runner up. That has led to increased attendance that exploded when CC showed up as a must-watch player.

 

[Max_Rebo]

In the 2000-2001 season we had the largest student section in the country at CHA. The team started hot, then Luke Recker got hurt and the season fell apart until the miracle BTT run. The Indiana game at home that season was incredible. Huge comeback led by Luke and the crowd was excruciatingly loud. CHA was sold out at 15,500 for every game that season.

The 2001-2002 team was pre-season top 10 with a senior Luke and Reggie. That team won 3 games in the BTT but struggled to make the NIT, ending with a 1st round loss. PP was a freshman starting almost every game. The fanbase was impacted from that underwhelming season, but wasn't killed.

The 2002-2003 team started with the PP debacle, and Alford's reaction to it caused protests outside of the arena before games. This really harmed the fanbase, especially the student section which saw plummeting attendance.

The 2004-2005 team saw PP do his thing a 2nd time, this time mid-season, getting kicked off the team finally. The team underperformed, barely squeaking into the NCAA tourney for only the 2nd time in Alford's tenure and losing in the first round.

At this point the damage was done. The student section has never been the same since. Anybody that was a new student moving forward never experienced a large energetic student section at basketball games and so there was no excitement for new freshmen to purchase tickets and go to games to be "part of the club". The following season was the Jeff Horner, Greg Brunner Big Ten runner-up team which non-student fans bought tickets for and the university was glad to sell to since students weren't coming. But of course NW State happened, Alford followed that up with a mediocre year before leaving, then we had the dark years of Lick.

So yes, PP happened 20 years ago. But it was a bullwhip effect that reverberated and grew over the years during bad timing of underperformance by both Alford and Lick, with only one good season that had a catastrophic ending. And now we've had more than a decade of Fran underperforming in the tourney on top of it. Of course the one team that had an opportunity to truly break that negative momentum and turn things around happened during the no fans season.

Bluder has had some great players and seen tourney success with those players over the last several years with 2 sweet sixteens, an elite eight, and an NCAA runner up. That has led to increased attendance that exploded when CC showed up as a must-watch player.

In other words, going to mens games stopped being cool in the Pierce Pierce era. Then, a general lack of entertainment value/ticket price/arena experience has kept the popularity from ever fully, or consistently, recovering.

So no, today's students don't give a care about Pierce Pierce. But that's when the slide started.

 

[iowahawkeyes1982]

In the 2000-2001 season we had the largest student section in the country at CHA. The team started hot, then Luke Recker got hurt and the season fell apart until the miracle BTT run. The Indiana game at home that season was incredible. Huge comeback led by Luke and the crowd was excruciatingly loud. CHA was sold out at 15,500 for every game that season.

The 2001-2002 team was pre-season top 10 with a senior Luke and Reggie. That team won 3 games in the BTT but struggled to make the NIT, ending with a 1st round loss. PP was a freshman starting almost every game. The fanbase was impacted from that underwhelming season, but wasn't killed.

The 2002-2003 team started with the PP debacle, and Alford's reaction to it caused protests outside of the arena before games. This really harmed the fanbase, especially the student section which saw plummeting attendance.

The 2004-2005 team saw PP do his thing a 2nd time, this time mid-season, getting kicked off the team finally. The team underperformed, barely squeaking into the NCAA tourney for only the 2nd time in Alford's tenure and losing in the first round.

At this point the damage was done. The student section has never been the same since. Anybody that was a new student moving forward never experienced a large energetic student section at basketball games and so there was no excitement for new freshmen to purchase tickets and go to games to be "part of the club". The following season was the Jeff Horner, Greg Brunner Big Ten runner-up team which non-student fans bought tickets for and the university was glad to sell to since students weren't coming. But of course NW State happened, Alford followed that up with a mediocre year before leaving, then we had the dark years of Lick.

So yes, PP happened 20 years ago. But it was a bullwhip effect that reverberated and grew over the years during bad timing of underperformance by both Alford and Lick, with only one good season that had a catastrophic ending. And now we've had more than a decade of Fran underperforming in the tourney on top of it. Of course the one team that had an opportunity to truly break that negative momentum and turn things around happened during the no fans season.

Bluder has had some great players and seen tourney success with those players over the last several years with 2 sweet sixteens, an elite eight, and an NCAA runner up. That has led to increased attendance that exploded when CC showed up as a must-watch player.

Pin this response for future posts about the subject.

 

[LeroyHawk]

Is it perfect? No. But those of us who attended games in the early 80s when Raveling and Davis were coaching know Carver can rock! There just has to be a good product on the floor!

 

[retrodent]

People don't come to, or stay away from games due to the coach.

Has nothing to do with Fran. Girls game is faster, fewer timeouts, coaches aren’t divas most part, look like they are having way more fun, really cheap tickets so kids can go.. Parking is awful- should have moved baseball field west and added more close parking

 

[littlez]

In other words, going to mens games stopped being cool in the Pierce Pierce era. Then, a general lack of entertainment value/ticket price/arena experience has kept the popularity from ever fully, or consistently, recovering.

So no, today's students don't give a care about Pierce Pierce. But that's when the slide started.

And we’ve done what to get them back? Absolutely nothing. Every team besides Michigan St and maybe Purdue have experienced multiple ups and downs during a 20 year period. We have by far the worst student section in the Big Ten. Show some love to the students and actually pretend to care about them. The 100 students that attend the game is a travesty. If we’re not going to build a new arena, then move the students.

 

[SchwartzUndGold]

Outside the double negative in the title the opinion writer is right, there isn't anything wrong with CHA. Blaming it and Fran for lack of attendance at men's basketball games is pure opinion. I saw my first Iowa in game in the Fieldhouse and it wasn't always filled during the Ralph Miller era. It was noisy because there wasn't any acoustics and had metal seating. Carver has 3000 more seats than the field house and those that complain about them never endured metal bleachers and sitting behind posts. Enough rant.

I blame attendance problems on the Big Ten Conference. Iowa isn't alone in attendance issues. In the late 60's and early 70's Iowa had to only play 14 conference games. Games were at predictable days and times. Saturday night games were common. There were fewer non-conference games and they were competitive. Today it is all about getting into the NCAA tournament. I was reminded the other day that Marquette turned down the NCAA to play in the NIT because it selected only the best teams. When you dilute the quality of opposition you risks losing interest. The games with Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois always generate interest due to history. Not so much with PSU or Maryland.

I'd say that having a pre-season conference tournament among conference members is preferable to playing a bunch of weenies. With 18 teams now it sure would be a way to treat them as non-conference games as far as standings.

 

[lucas80]

With Illinois fans. They are doing their opponent takeover this Sunday.

Fingers crossed the busses with their students slides off the road and into the Mississippi.
Mostly kidding.

 

[SI_NYC]

this

winning = big loud crowds

Kind of. Dr Tom’s early 90’s teams had much better support and those teams weren’t any better than Fran’s last 5 years.