Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

[KaMiGo]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

We may be stuck with the big football conference but it doesn't change the fact that it sucks and there are next to zero Wisconsin hockey fans who care about Ohio state, penn state, Michigan state or even Michigan when compared to north dakota, Denver, Duluth, nmu, et al.

Not only does the new conference suck in terms of losing some games (used to have 4 games against these teams annually) against rivals but it appears Denver, nodak and St. Cloud are all fairing better post big football conference while Wisconsin and now Minnesota are sucking.

Tell me, how is ncaa hockey OR Wisconsin individually better off on this situation?

But...exposure on the BTN...
But...Penn State showing how to create a new D1 program (Hint: with a ton of money)...
But...Fans coming into UW hockey how will have a known quantity for their conference, they already know to root against MN, MI, Mi State, OH State, PA State. They may be more inclined to come to a game because they recognize the name. An average person on the street who follows college sports in general is likely going to be more interested in playing against MN or MI than they would be against Denver or SCSU.

I think if you amend your statement to be "There are next to zero Wisconsin hockey fans in my generation who care about..." then you would be correct.

There is a new generation of fans coming through, and all that they will know is the Big Ten conference with the 6 teams (maybe 8 in the not too distant future).

You don't like it, and you never will...I understand that, we all understand that. But that doesn't mean that other people can't like it

 

[WiscTJK]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

But...exposure on the BTN...
But...Penn State showing how to create a new D1 program (Hint: with a ton of money)...
But...Fans coming into UW hockey how will have a known quantity for their conference, they already know to root against MN, MI, Mi State, OH State, PA State. They may be more inclined to come to a game because they recognize the name. An average person on the street who follows college sports in general is likely going to be more interested in playing against MN or MI than they would be against Denver or SCSU.

I think if you amend your statement to be "There are next to zero Wisconsin hockey fans in my generation who care about..." then you would be correct.

There is a new generation of fans coming through, and all that they will know is the Big Ten conference with the 6 teams (maybe 8 in the not too distant future).

You don't like it, and you never will...I understand that, we all understand that. But that doesn't mean that other people can't like it

You can like it but your statements don't match what is happening.

Penn State - good story but I don't really care that much and they had a huge donor that other schools don't have right now

BTN - we had more games televised when we had FS Wisconsin and the Wisconsin channel / WPT. Sure the BTN stream is available at a cost that few will pay extra over their cable/satellite.

More inclined to come / known qty? Attendance has slipped each year of the Big Ten Hockey conference. And you are losing lifers like the guy that sat next to me last year and gave up his tickets after 39 years in a row.

New generation is going to bouncy ball and football and even volleyball. They aren't coming to hockey games - just look at the student section.

 

[WiscDC]

More inclined to come / known qty? Attendance has slipped each year of the Big Ten Hockey conference. And you are losing lifers like the guy that sat next to me last year and gave up his tickets after 39 years in a row.

New generation is going to bouncy ball and football and even volleyball. They aren't coming to hockey games - just look at the student section.

These issues don't have to do with the new confernce alignments. That's not the overriding factor, anyway. Remember the first year of the Big Ten? Despite the terrible attendance early, fans started filling the place in the second half.

Students without season tickets were working hard to get some, DESPITE the ridiculous lack of promotion of that good team. Students who chose not to buy hockey tickets because of the new opponents could probably fit in an ordinary walk-in closet.

 

[Almington]

We may be stuck with the big football conference but it doesn't change the fact that it sucks and there are next to zero Wisconsin hockey fans who care about Ohio state, penn state, Michigan state or even Michigan when compared to north dakota, Denver, Duluth, nmu, et al.

Not only does the new conference suck in terms of losing some games (used to have 4 games against these teams annually) against rivals but it appears Denver, nodak and St. Cloud are all fairing better post big football conference while Wisconsin and now Minnesota are sucking.

Tell me, how is ncaa hockey OR Wisconsin individually better off on this situation?

Meh, other than UND, the other 4 big ten schools are a push vs the other 9 former WCHA teams. Michigan or DU, UMD or Mich State, SCSU or Ohio State, MTU or Penn State. Even as a hockey fan, none of the old match ups are any more exciting to me than the new ones. That's not even considering the likes of UAA, UNO, BSU, MN State, or CC.

Wisconsin Hockey has plenty of problems, a three season old conference is not the cause of any of them. It may be exacerbating the issues because no one likes change, but the issues were evident even before the conference change.

 

[solovsfett]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

But...exposure on the BTN...
But...Penn State showing how to create a new D1 program (Hint: with a ton of money)...
But...Fans coming into UW hockey how will have a known quantity for their conference, they already know to root against MN, MI, Mi State, OH State, PA State. They may be more inclined to come to a game because they recognize the name. An average person on the street who follows college sports in general is likely going to be more interested in playing against MN or MI than they would be against Denver or SCSU.

I think if you amend your statement to be "There are next to zero Wisconsin hockey fans in my generation who care about..." then you would be correct.

There is a new generation of fans coming through, and all that they will know is the Big Ten conference with the 6 teams (maybe 8 in the not too distant future).

You don't like it, and you never will...I understand that, we all understand that. But that doesn't mean that other people can't like it

what exposure on btn? if bo ryan sneezes it gets more coverage than if uw hockey actually plays and wins a game (against a football conference opponent or not).

who cares about penn state other than the guy who donated? seriously, across the entirety of all ncaa hockey fans, does anyone look forward to psu coming to town?

new fans know to root against mn, mi msu and osu why? because they're good in football and or basketball? that never translated to hockey (see the prior ccha/wcha showcase). the powers that be are making yet another grave mistake in thinking they can force hockey to be like football or basketball. VERY different fanbase, VERY different history.

by your 2nd to last paragraph are you saying new fans are unaware of the history of the team? a history that ended a scant 3 years ago in terms of scheduling? that's a pretty serious case of myopia.

i'm also not saying YOU can't like the football conference. go ahead, dig in, love it.

i think it's stupid and will ultimately stagnate and in 10 years they may just revisit this idea and break-up the football-biased hockey conference

 

[WiscDC]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

Crossing threads here, but #1 Wisconsin hosts #3 Minnesota at LaBahn Arena this weekend. The Badgers are freakin' great right now, the band will be there, and so far I haven't seen double-weak links in the zebra jerseys this year, which has been a problem in the few years. But really, you guys should help make the LaBahn Arena atmosphere as good as it can be. (Fans tend to be fairly passive even when they fill the arena.)

 

[gwhinwi]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

Crossing threads here, but #1 Wisconsin hosts #3 Minnesota at LaBahn Arena this weekend. The Badgers are freakin' great right now, the band will be there, and so far I haven't seen double-weak links in the zebra jerseys this year, which has been a problem in the few years. But really, you guys should help make the LaBahn Arena atmosphere as good as it can be. (Fans tend to be fairly passive even when they fill the arena.)

My daughter and I greatly enjoyed the experience at Labahn when I was visiting up there. The fans are reserved (might have been because it was an afternoon game though,) but certainly involved in the action. Hoping for good results against the Gophers.

 

[Wisko McBadgerton]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

Luke Kunin at #24 in December ISS Hockey Draft Prospect Rankings. http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/131787/2016-nhl-draft-matthews-maintains-hold-top-spot-change-elsewhere-iss-december-rankings/

 

[oldtyme25]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

As there is no current topic that is being debated, I thought I would vent about the athletic department. Now I know this has been discussed before, but today was my first interaction with purchasing tickets online from the UW website.

Since I was scheduled to be in town on Friday, I thought I would catch the Badgers vs Gophers Women's game, as it should be one of the best women's series of the year. That being said I went to the UW Athletic Ticket Office site and put a single general admission ticket in the cart. When I went to checkout this is what I saw:

Ticket: 5.00
Convenience Charge: 1.00
Order Charge: 4.00
Total Cost: $10.00

Now my compaint has nothing to do with the cost, as I consider $10 for an evening of good hockey pretty cheap entertainment, but come on 100% service charge for ordering online is just a little too greedy for an automated transaction!

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

As there is no current topic that is being debated, I thought I would vent about the athletic department. Now I know this has been discussed before, but today was my first interaction with purchasing tickets online from the UW website.

Since I was scheduled to be in town on Friday, I thought I would catch the Badgers vs Gophers Women's game, as it should be one of the best women's series of the year. That being said I went to the UW Athletic Ticket Office site and put a single general admission ticket in the cart. When I went to checkout this is what I saw:

Ticket: 5.00
Convenience Charge: 1.00
Order Charge: 4.00
Total Cost: $10.00

Now my complaint has nothing to do with the cost, as I consider $10 for an evening of good hockey pretty cheap entertainment, but come on 100% service charge for ordering online is just a little too greedy for an automated transaction!

Those charges are SO ridiculous. A convenience fee...for print at home tickets, am I not making THEIR lives more convenient at the ticket booth by using my paper and ink to print them? Order charge? What's that for? Really, what a bunch of greedy terds. I'd love to see how much money UW makes on the order charges for all the sports.

 

[Wisko McBadgerton]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

It may very well be too high, I can't say. But you are using their server, their website, their software, their data entry and IT people. This stuff doesn't just appear by magic.

 

[gwhinwi]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

I talked to their online people about the service charges the other day and they informed that it was in my best interest to buy them at the gate, so that's what I did when I came to town for both the Men's and Women's game.

 

[WiscTJK]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

It may very well be too high, I can't say. But you are using their server, their website, their software, their data entry and IT people. This stuff doesn't just appear by magic.

I talked to their online people about the service charges the other day and they informed that it was in my best interest to buy them at the gate, so that's what I did when I came to town for both the Men's and Women's game.

Yes Wisko, but when you go in person you are doing much of the same, eating up someones time, their printer, and there is no extra charges.

You can do it at the gate, but Minnesota will be a sell out so best to buy ahead and pay their fees. Making a special trip down there for most folks isn't practical, so again you pay the fees.

 

[Almington]

Yes Wisko, but when you go in person you are doing much of the same, eating up someones time, their printer, and there is no extra charges.

You can do it at the gate, but Minnesota will be a sell out so best to buy ahead and pay their fees. Making a special trip down there for most folks isn't practical, so again you pay the fees.

Or at least the cost of the trip will exceed the $4 order charge just in gas and parking.

 

[Wisko McBadgerton]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

Yes Wisko, but when you go in person you are doing much of the same, eating up someones time, their printer, and there is no extra charges.

You can do it at the gate, but Minnesota will be a sell out so best to buy ahead and pay their fees. Making a special trip down there for most folks isn't practical, so again you pay the fees.

That is true. Let me put it another way. If UW didn't provide online ticket purchase there would certainly be complaints as to why, when everyone else does it. I can't see UW answering that it's a significant cost to provide going over very well. It's an extra service with a cost. Whether what they charge is reasonable, I have no idea. I do doubt 10% on a $5.00 purchase would cover costs though as commercial websites are fairly expensive to have and maintain.

Regardless, I'm glad to hear that fans are going to the games. Really, for those nostalgic for the old days, Women's hockey is very much like men's used to be way back in the day. A very few super elite teams, a handful of pretty good teams, and a bunch quite a bit behind the curve. These girls are good and fun to watch. Wish I could be there for 5, or even 10 bucks. I might even go to $11 for the goofs!

 

[WiscTJK]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

That is true. Let me put it another way. If UW didn't provide online ticket purchase there would certainly be complaints as to why, when everyone else does it. I can't see UW answering that it's a significant cost to provide going over very well. It's an extra service with a cost. Whether what they charge is reasonable, I have no idea. I do doubt 10% on a $5.00 purchase would cover costs though as commercial websites are fairly expensive to have and maintain.

Regardless, I'm glad to hear that fans are going to the games. Really, for those nostalgic for the old days, Women's hockey is very much like men's used to be way back in the day. A very few super elite teams, a handful of pretty good teams, and a bunch quite a bit behind the curve. These girls are good and fun to watch. Wish I could be there for 5, or even 10 bucks. I might even go to $11 for the goofs!

I really want to go, but have wrestling meets for my son, so I don't get to unfortunately.

 

[WiscDC]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

Remember that a "convenience fee" can be considered to be a fee that you pay for the extra convenience, similar to how convenience stores can charge more for the same things at grocery stores.

It certainly is ridiculous, but it's worse on some sites where they have a charge for "printing," which is a more direct slap in the face.

Speaking of tickets, getting a totally free volleyball ticket today was nice. Living a couple of blocks from the ticket office also helps.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

It may very well be too high, I can't say. But you are using their server, their website, their software, their data entry and IT people. This stuff doesn't just appear by magic.

That's all called overhead and should be built into the price of the ticket. Luckily I was smart (haha I know) and bought 2 extra Friday rodent tickets at the box office when I was at the Dartmouth game Friday night. Most of the time I will just buy extra women's ticket at the gate on the day of the game when I take more than I have tickets for (3), so yeah, no big deal, except I expect the rodent games to sell out.

 

[Almington]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

FYI: Kohen Olischefski has decommitted from Wisconsin and committed to Denver.

 

[Wisko McBadgerton]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey XXXIV: A Season without Chuck

Not really a surprise there, is it. Figured it would be coming at some point.