The state of Carver
- Thread starter ObeseMuffins
- Start date
Don't get me started on the City of Iowa City driving all the new development to the various suburbs. The flooded out art building could be torn down and a raised arena with parking around and even underneath, flood ready and coupled with Hancher's parking. The footbridge would give students pedestrian access. They could even cover and heat the bridge like the U of Minnesota does the pedestrian bridge over the Mississippi. HCA was built if I remember for like 22M. They thought it wasn't going to be big enough...
I think a lot of the apathy has to do with TV times. Growing up in Iowa you knew Iowa played on Tuesdays and Saturday. Alfraud and Lik killed Iowa basketball and Fran has not made it over the hump.
I think a lot of it is Covid. Not to say there weren’t issues before Covid. Baylor is #1 in the nation and had an AWFUL crowd tonight. Their new arena is also only 7,000 capacity. I think they understand the future
Someone in another thread referred to it as Carver Hawkaisle Arena, and last night I couldn't stop looking at all those aisles. It really is unfortunate.
Oh, I also couldn't stop looking at the fans that were nearly falling asleep and partially reclined in their seats in the final eight minutes of a hotly contested B1G match-up. And these weren't blue hairs.
I'm not sure what the solution is, but it's too bad that it isn't a better home court advantage at this point.
Is there any coach or athletic director that this forum is happy with? You seem to think we should win a national title every year in every sport. After 100 years I'd think you would wise up. It isn't going to happen.
Cold weather, small population, so it isn't going to happen. Keep bitching but it isn't goin to change.
Well it could happen if you had a billionaire on your side who would be will the buy NIL players. Not many of them from Iowa...
attendance isn't the only reason to build a new arena. sometimes you are also trying to invest in a program, make sure you are being proactive about keeping fans and attracting recruits, and not falling behind other schools.
to say that enough people are still coming so we should do anything isn't a great long term strategy. If we care about the program and want to reward and keep the fans we have then we will do something.
I would say that when you still have good interest that is the time to invest...not the time to ignore and be complacent.
also, I don't think the under 40 crowd understands out basketball tradition and the way we used to care about the basketball team. Any attendance figure outside of the top 15 is BAD for Iowa. That's how much we have historically cared about our team.
I have fair greater expectations for fan support because I have seen it and know it is possible. I also know it isn't something that happens out of nowhere. You have to nurture it or it can disappear.
And, looking at the attendance ranking is a good measure because it is relative as all fanbases are subject to the big TV, bad start times, covid, other option phenomena. It isn't just "happening everywhere". We are being left in the dust.
We've been in a code red situation for too long now and somebody is asleep at the switch. We are more than football. We are equal parts football and basketball. If Barta won't figure it out then I want an AD who will.
years leading up to and post Carver opening attendance numbers:
1978 - 16th
1979 - 15th
1980 - 11th
1981 - 13th
1982 - 12th
1983 - 8th
1984 - 8th
1985 - 8th
1986 - 9th
1987 - 12th
1988 - 10th
1989 - 9th
1990 - 12th
1991 - 13th
1992 - 13th
1993 - 10th
1994 - 9th
1995 - 12th
1996 - 11th
1997 - 10th
1998 - 14th
1999 - 17th
2000 - 13th
2001 - 12th
2002 - 12th
2003 - 20th
2004 - 23rd
2005 - 22nd
2006 - 25th
2007 - not in top 25
2008 - not in top 25
2009 - not in top 25
2010 - not in top 25
2011 - not in top 25
2012 - not in top 25
2013 - 21st
2014 - not in top 25
2015 - 20th
2016 - 19th
2017 - 23rd
2018 - not in top 25
2019 - not in top 25
2020 - not in top 25
* someone please feel free to slide this under Gary's door
to say that enough people are still coming so we should do anything isn't a great long term strategy. If we care about the program and want to reward and keep the fans we have then we will do something.
I would say that when you still have good interest that is the time to invest...not the time to ignore and be complacent.
also, I don't think the under 40 crowd understands out basketball tradition and the way we used to care about the basketball team. Any attendance figure outside of the top 15 is BAD for Iowa. That's how much we have historically cared about our team.
I have fair greater expectations for fan support because I have seen it and know it is possible. I also know it isn't something that happens out of nowhere. You have to nurture it or it can disappear.
And, looking at the attendance ranking is a good measure because it is relative as all fanbases are subject to the big TV, bad start times, covid, other option phenomena. It isn't just "happening everywhere". We are being left in the dust.
We've been in a code red situation for too long now and somebody is asleep at the switch. We are more than football. We are equal parts football and basketball. If Barta won't figure it out then I want an AD who will.
years leading up to and post Carver opening attendance numbers:
1978 - 16th
1979 - 15th
1980 - 11th
1981 - 13th
1982 - 12th
1983 - 8th
1984 - 8th
1985 - 8th
1986 - 9th
1987 - 12th
1988 - 10th
1989 - 9th
1990 - 12th
1991 - 13th
1992 - 13th
1993 - 10th
1994 - 9th
1995 - 12th
1996 - 11th
1997 - 10th
1998 - 14th
1999 - 17th
2000 - 13th
2001 - 12th
2002 - 12th
2003 - 20th
2004 - 23rd
2005 - 22nd
2006 - 25th
2007 - not in top 25
2008 - not in top 25
2009 - not in top 25
2010 - not in top 25
2011 - not in top 25
2012 - not in top 25
2013 - 21st
2014 - not in top 25
2015 - 20th
2016 - 19th
2017 - 23rd
2018 - not in top 25
2019 - not in top 25
2020 - not in top 25
* someone please feel free to slide this under Gary's door
Getting to Carver as a student is not easy. Carver is not near most dorms, most students do not have cars, and the Cambus, unless it's changed in the last 10 years, is not very convenient. I would sometimes take the Cambus to the game, but I was usually better off walking downtown to catch a bus there to take me back to Mayflower. But making a long walk in the dead of an Iowa winter is not appealing for most students. Literally between trying to get to Carver and getting home, even as a student, it takes an hour total.
Kinnick's location is more than fine because you have nice weather and a fun atmosphere close to the stadium before games. There's no fun atmosphere near Carver before or after games.
All this said, Iowa still has decent overall attendance numbers. Tearing down Carver to build something downtown doesn't make much economic sense and simply isn't going to happen.
Kinnick's location is more than fine because you have nice weather and a fun atmosphere close to the stadium before games. There's no fun atmosphere near Carver before or after games.
All this said, Iowa still has decent overall attendance numbers. Tearing down Carver to build something downtown doesn't make much economic sense and simply isn't going to happen.
The last game I went too there we so few students at the game that I sat in their section, I probably looked ridiculous but the seats were front row and this was before the break. There were a few girls behind me that were more into socializing than the game and there was a young man who sat in the row with me that didn’t look up from his phone very often. I don’t think moving their seats is going to help much and we don’t need a bunch of empty seats behind the visitors bench. This isn’t the rowdy Hawks Nest like it was back in the day.
I agree with the post above me, the location of Carver compared to where the dorms are make it very inconvenient for students. Back when they played in the Fieldhouse it was just across the river. So they are probably going to need extra incentives to make the walk or trip on the Cambus, yes the trip on the Cambus is still a long ride.
I agree with the post above me, the location of Carver compared to where the dorms are make it very inconvenient for students. Back when they played in the Fieldhouse it was just across the river. So they are probably going to need extra incentives to make the walk or trip on the Cambus, yes the trip on the Cambus is still a long ride.
Yes, spoken like a true aww shucks Iowa fan.
We have a good basketball history and foundation- we should expect winning at a higher level than what we do. Fran has had 11 years and we haven't had a sweet 16 or even sniffed a conference title. Let that sink in.
There are plenty of "low population" states that have better basketball programs than ours currently.
Spend $10M a year on players. Money better spent.
Start up a bogus Ltd and you unhappy sob's can start putting your money where your mouth is.
If it's just a matter of convenience, the university should throw the needed resources at the problem and run a constant stream of Cambuses from the dorms to the arena before and after the game. Unfortunately, I don't perceive that to be the real problem and you would most likely have half empty buses at best. The students here just don't care about the basketball program. We had the NPOY candidate for the past two seasons and another this year and they just don't show up and support the team. I guess the allure of TikTok and Fortnight are too much to ignore.
It's not THEE problem, just a part of it. The location has always been an issue since Carver was built and there have been times where the student section was full. Put a good enough product on the court and make the games exciting to come too and they will show up.
Right, the location is just one issue amongst a variety of issue. Design of the arena with all the aisles, large capacity, distance from the floor, inconvenient parking, etc. are all contributing factors as well, with no single issue being the primary issue, IMO. It obviously would also help if it hadn't been 20+ years since Iowa has been to the Sweet 16.
I think identifying and ranking all the problems isn't as important as accepting the statistics that prove there is a problem and coming up with a plan to address it.
I disagree, the rank may not matter but identifying the problems is the way to fix it.
We can't get rid of the weather, the phones, the TVs, or the new start times. The most important thing now is to figure out what we can do to rekindle interest. Coaching and facilities are the levers that you look at first. Hoping we make a bunch of tourney runs to get people excited again and flooding to Carver at all costs isn't the best plan.
If I am the manager of the Iowa Basketball Interest Department, people had better not just be coming to me with excuses, reasons, causes, and roadblocks. You'd better have some proposed solutions, roadmaps, strategies, and success metrics that you want to impact otherwise I will find somebody else that does.
A solution to these problems probably involve more than just a couple of guys on a message board. Fortunately this is just a forum, I have no meetings scheduled with the Iowa Basketball Interest Department.
Did you see other games this week? In some cases with teams with worse rankings/records than us? Fan support for basketball is crap right now. Student section the worst.
If we are only have 7 k show up then after the 5 minute mark let the move as close to the floor as they would like. It is truly a big problem for the program.
Valpo is at UNI now and there aren't 1k there.
Probably all at home wearing their masks
There were several of them actually. Not the difference maker between the last two home games, but more than I expected.
I blew my kid’s mind when I told them I was a Leatherneck 20 years ago, but a Hawkeye a lot longer than that.
Wrong. Iowa should be winning at home by twice the points they normally do because the refs can’t get the calls correct. It’s astounding how Iowa has to beat everyone 5 vs. 8. Complete bullshit!
I was really disappointed with our fans Monday night. I know it’s cold and an 8 pm start, but come on. When we pulled into Hancher lot a half hour before tip off and it looked like a ghost town, hardly any cars there. Our fans at all age levels frankly just suck.
I’ve thought about squatting in the big $$ donor seats from now on and if they try to get me to move I’ll tell them to get an eviction notice from the sheriff because I’ve been sitting there all season so I claimed possession of their abandoned property. Where have you all been?
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If you don't think Carver would have been packed quite often last year with a top ten ranking and NPOY the fans adored you would be wrong. Fran's hideous display of coaching and blind nepotism gutted the enthusiasm of lots of fans like myself and my friends and he's picked up where he left off. If he couldnt make a sweet 16 last yr it might never happen.
Congrats on creating Nepotism U, Gary.... I feel bad for the players but this is all on those two. Frans psychotic episodes and tirades are the exact thing Iowa fans ridicule other coaches for
I hope Fran got the Garzas something nice for xmas
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It's a miracle Fran ever wins a recruiting battle given the depressed environment he's working with.
What's up with wooded area directly west of the arena between CHA and Hawkins Dr.- behind Ronald McDonald house? Is it protected wildlife area? I know it's a bit of slope but still, seems weird it's not developed.
What's up with wooded area directly west of the arena between CHA and Hawkins Dr.- behind Ronald McDonald house? Is it protected wildlife area? I know it's a bit of slope but still, seems weird it's not developed.
I did not. But I also couldn't watch it, thanks big ten network for peddling your garbage "plus" platform.
We were like 5 rows from the court for that exact reason and yes, it was amazingly loud. LOVED it.
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