Press Conference Video

In case you haven't seen video of Wes Miller's introduction press, here is the video from the UNCG's YouTube channel.

Floor Unveiling Event

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(Thanks to Steven @ UNCGfans.com for taking and posting those pictures)

The first UNCG home game is November 20th against Clemson. I can't wait. Especially after last Thursday's VIP (first time I've been called that) event at the Greensboro Coliseum. Several hundred people turned out to eat catered food, see the new playing surface, look at the new lockers rooms and listen to speeches from Terry Holland, Linda Brady, and Mike Dement. Let me just say that I was quite impressed with the turnout and impressed with the show put on.

I owe everyone an apology for not checking the batteries in my camera before sprinting out of the house. I was very disappointed when I hit the power button Thursday evening, to have it turn on and then right back off again. So I guess I will just have to describe the things I got to see throughout the night.

First off, the food was very good. I did spill my wife's red wine on my yellow polo shirt, which is kind of par for the course for me. Thank god that the basketball team showed up about a minute later handing out blue & gold scarfs.

The staff members walking around selling tickets were very nice and spent time talking to everyone. Apparently, UNCG has already sold double it's normal season tickets, and it's only the end of August! I assume there will be a media blitz in the next few months to really turn up the heat. I also found out the seat selection proccess should start in the next few weeks for those who had already purchased season tickets (that's me).

The speeches were nice, but I was not the target of those speeches. Most of the points were intended to be heard by businesses and community leaders who need to get behind this move to the coliseum in the way of sponsorship and ticket sales. Terry Holland was very entertaining, though. His story about looking like Tom Smith of Food Lion commercial fame brought back some memories. Plus, he made a good point about the "big" guys from the ACC needing schools like UNCG and ECU just as much as we need them.

The light and music production surrounding the actual floor unveiling was cool. I hope this is the type of introductions that take place before every game. Plus, it was great to see the UNCG name and logo on the ribbon going around the coliseum and above the scoreboard.

As for the court and locker rooms, I will just have to let the pictures and stories linked to above here speak for themselves. It was a great touch to let everybody wander through the locker rooms and offices to see what it will be like for the players and coaches on game day.

All-in-all, it was a wonderful event and it left me a little sad that the games won't start for another 2 1/2 months. But it also left me with something to be excited about until then too.

New Year's Wish List

It's the end of the year. With that will come those stupid New Year's Resolutions lists that everyone makes. I've decided to break away from that a little bit. We'll just call this a Wish List. Here's a 2009 wish list for Spartan basketball. Also, I've got a few personal wishes for myself that I'll throw in at the end.

1. That UNCG chancellor Linda Brady will continue to push this athletic department hard to accomplish more. She has hit this job hard in her first 4-5 months. She's injected excitement all over the place. Her basketball announcement is the lone bright spot so far this basketball season. I hope she keeps it up.

2. That someone will step up at PG and become a leader and a player. Many of UNCG's problems have come from a lack of production at the PG spot. This has to change for the Spartans to start winning.

3. That attendance numbers will really pick up. They are going to have to pick up. UNCG is moving to a larger building and it needs to be filled with UNCG fans. Notice I said UNCG fans, not just people. It's the job of the people in the sports marketing department and ISP to figure out how to not just get fans to come watch 1 game a year, but to become UNCG fans and come back many times.

4. That UNCG and the Greensboro Coliseum handle this change over well. Hopefully, they won't over charge for tickets, parking or concessions. I would love to see this move turn out great and look back as the turning point of UNCG basketball.

5. That donations to the Spartan Club get to the point where they can sustain all of the athletic scholarships given out. I think that if all the UNCG alumni and fans out there gave at even the lowest level, this could happen in a hurry. Let's hope that the energy this move will generate can be translated into a larger financial support for our university.

6. And finally ... that the Spartans start winning. Generating campus-wide excitement, stopping all of the conversations about Dement's future and filling Fleming up with fans would be awesome effects of a winning streak.

Here are a few of my personal ones ...

- I gave up cigarettes about 5 months ago and I've have felt like complete shit ever since. Everyone told me that this would be the case. One of my wishes for 2009 is that I will finally start feeling better.

- I had 3 major injuries playing sports this past year. I pulled a muscle in my chest (that still isn't 100%), sprained my knee and tore my calf muscle. I really think this is my body telling me that I'm not young anymore. Might be time to stop playing softball like it's my job and start to just enjoy it for the exercise and friendship. Another of my wishes for 2009 is to stay injury free.

- I need to sit up straight. My posture has been screwed up my entire life. As far back as middle school, friends would pick on me for walking with my head down and slumping shoulders. Fast forward 15 years and my back is always in knots. My final wish for 2009 is that I can pretend that there's a string attached from the ceiling to the top of my head.

Happy Blue & Gold Day

I started writing this blog for a couple of reason. Some of those I have already talked about in a previous post. One that I didn't point out was that I really thought that big things were going to happen at my alma mater and I really wanted to keep up with them.

After last night's tough loss, (and what is turning into a tough season) Spartan fans need something to feel good about. Today came some news that UNCG fans, students and alumni can get excited about. I posted a quick blurb about the possibility of a UNCG move to the Greensboro Coliseum yesterday. During a noon press conference, all of this was confirmed.


Article Links:
- News & Record (yesterday)
- News & Record (today)
- University Homepage
- Athletics Homepage
- News & Observer (Raleigh)

You can watch the press conference on demand on Spartan all-access. Here's what I took away from watching.

- Linda Brady gets it. I have no idea where this woman came from, but I'm glad she's here. She understands that athletic success plays a huge role on the image of the university itself and the pride that the alumni take in the school. This woman has a big vision for UNCG and I like it. Hearing her speak just fires me up. Please go give some halftime speeches.
- Fred Barakat is going to deliver us a #1 in strength of schedule. He made it quite clear that we're going to have 4-5 ACC games on our schedule (home and away) and games against A10, CAA and CUSA teams.
- The coliseum is going to try very hard to make this a home court for the Spartans. I really like the idea of cutting the seating down to ~7,300. Also, I like that the floor will have UNCG's logos and locker rooms.

My concerns are over some of the ticketing and pricing issues. I really hope that the UNCG administration understands not to bite the hand that's already feeding it. I think everyone is aware that prices will change, but it can't be that dramatic. The parking prices will have to be reasonable also. Right now, I can park on campus for free and go to the game $10. UNCG can't change that to $15 tickets and $5 parking and expect all of the fans that follow them now to just move down the street with them too.

Right now, UNCG's season tickets were priced in some of the oddest ways possible. I could buy a walk-up ticket to every game and pay the same price that I would if I'd have bought season tickets a month ago. There's no reward for buying all games early. Plus, you could (and I did) buy a SoCon ticket package for $75. That's easily the best deal they offered this year. I hope they offer a reward to UNCG fans that buy season tickets next year. Give a 25% break in the full price and offer some kind of season parking pass for a reasonable price. That means that when 5,000 NC State fans buy their tickets the day of the game, they won't be sitting court side and will pay more than your loyal Spartan fans. Plus, selling these season tickets assures UNCG of nice crowds when we're not playing ACC schools.

I like the idea of selling beer at the games. It will get casual fans from the Greensboro community interested in attending games. Case in point, my wife has said repeatedly that she'd love to go to basketball games with me as long as she could drink. Now this really says more about my behavior at games than anything else, but you get the point.

Also I hope the administration and coliseum officials get the students involved by putting them in the first 2-3 rows all the way around the court, or let them have the risers right behind the baskets. That's how you get a home court advantage. Also, have the full band there for all of the games.

UNCG also hired ISP to do their sports marketing. I'll have to devote an entire upcoming post to this move because it might be the best news of the day.

Happy Blue & Gold Day !!!