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Topic: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Topic: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

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OU_Country
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Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/28/2015 8:58:50 AM

Many of the seasons in the recent past, I've spent a good number of weekends during the basketball season in Athens. While I intend to do that this year, I also want to make a plan to visit other arenas and watch other teams besides just OU.

I wanted to solicit opinions, and start conversation about two thoughts:

1) What arenas/campuses would you recommend for a visit that are outside the MAC, or where Ohio will play?

2) What MAC Road Trips, besides Athens, do you think are the best?

Consider the program's history, arena history, gameday atmosphere, things to do before and after the game, great beer spots, etc. Whatever suits you.

OU_Country
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/28/2015 9:04:28 AM

I'll start with a couple trips I took last year:

I went to UD Arena once on a weekend Ohio was on the road. A worthwhile trip if you've never been able to make it. There are no better basketball fans anywhere in the midwest than the Flyer Faithful, and their arena is truly outstanding. The drawback to a game at UD Arena is that it's a pretty sizeable walk from anything else that you might be doing pre/post game. I'm sure Ted can add to this, but we enjoyed Flanagan's prior to the game, and my sister's old off campus favorite Kramer's after the game.

We also went up to BG for OU at BG last year. While the game was bad for Ohio, and the atmosphere is terribly lacking, the pre/post game options in town are excellent. Campus Pollyeyes (sp?) is a must visit, City Tap is a good beer spot, and the huge new BW3 is a short walk to the Stroh. Oh, and they sell beer in the arena.

GoCats105
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/28/2015 9:20:10 AM

Xavier is always a good place to go watch a game. Too bad they don't have Dayton on the schedule anymore, those games were always fun. But they do get Butler now and the Crosstown Shootout with UC is back on campus, so those will be good.

I went to the Belmont/OU game a couple years ago to watch that travesty. Good, small arena and it's located in Nashville, which is always fun.

I've been to both Notre Dame and Michigan for games and their arenas are OK. I haven't been to Michigan since 2000 and it has been updated since then and I'm sure Notre Dame has updated the Joyce Center since I went in 2001. Either place is a good visit just to walk around the campuses and see the history and architecture.

We actually walked onto the Notre Dame Stadium field when it was covered in about 3 feet of snow, so that was cool. And even if you don't like Michigan football, you have to step foot inside Michigan Stadium at least once just to see how massive it is. It's basically like a crater on the moon with stands and field goal posts.

Duquesne has an interesting arena that kinda reminds me of the JAR in Akron. Not sure if you're a fan of the city of Pittsburgh, so there's that.

I'm sure Louisville's new arena is very nice, but going to see OU play down there at Freedom Hall was pretty awesome. I love the old barns like that.

shabamon
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/28/2015 10:21:07 AM

I went to a Dayton game for the first time last year and loved it. You can't say enough about their fans. The game I attended was non-con against Boston U. I can't imagine what it's like for Saturday conference game. My only drawback was parking. The arena is plopped in the middle of a huge concrete parking lot slab and I still had to park at a nearby hotel and take a bus.

It may be one of the least visited MAC venues for Ohio fans, but I kinda liked Buffalo's arena. There's little campus life at UB and no uptown, but the building has a lot going for it. Great sound system, HD scoreboard, cool lighting, and it feels a lot bigger than its listed capacity.

I made a trip to the Palestra to see a Penn/Cornell game. That building is a treasure and an absolute must entry on any basketball followers bucket list. The entire concourse is a shrine to basketball, and you really get the feeling that everybody who's anybody has played under that roof. It's also really cool to see people wearing corduroy jackets and slacks (obviously successful Ivy League alumni) get loud and mouthy at the games.

Xavier's a decent trip. The surrounding area has come a long way. There is a concerted effort to build an "uptown" area right next to campus, and you're not far from the cool bars and restaurants in Rookwood, Hyde Park, and Oakley. The only big drawback to Xavier is that there are no entrances or exits other than at the front, so leaving the Cintas Center is like leaving New Year's Eve on Times Square.

I hate watching a game at the MAC Center, but the city of Kent has really been built up around the campus in recent years.

I represented us at a college fair at Duquesne's Palumbo Center a few years ago. Oldish building but deceptively big. I don't know what kind of fan support they get, but the arena could really roar with a big game and crowd. The campus is about the most compact campus I've ever stepped foot on. Built along a hillside next to skyscrapers, I have no idea how they squeezed in a football stadium.

Last Edited: 10/28/2015 10:33:06 AM by shabamon

GoCats105
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/28/2015 11:30:55 AM

shabamon wrote:

Xavier's a decent trip. The surrounding area has come a long way. There is a concerted effort to build an "uptown" area right next to campus, and you're not far from the cool bars and restaurants in Rookwood, Hyde Park, and Oakley. The only big drawback to Xavier is that there are no entrances or exits other than at the front, so leaving the Cintas Center is like leaving New Year's Eve on Times Square.

You don't know there's two other exits? Other than the main entrance/exit to the South, you can also exit by going up the stairs on the East side or down the stairs on the West side. You can also enter from the East.

Now that I think of it that's not very surprising. They kind of block off those exits like you can't get through and there is no signage, but they are available. That's also where you can find the elevators to the top concourse of the arena rather than walking up the steps.

Going out the West exit gets you a slight glimpse of the practice gym in the back of Cintas and the entryway towards the locker room. There's usually an old man sitting there who you could probably give a candy bar to and he wouldn't even notice you walk past.

The East side exit is where a lot of the people go who would have been gathering in the banquet center before the game. That's probably another reason why people don't know this. They more or less keep that area for the big donors and alumni.

OU_Country
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/28/2015 11:38:48 AM

shabamon wrote:

Agreed on UD. I've been to a number of games there given that my sis is an Alumna. I've also seen NCAA Tournament games there. Spectacular basketball venue!

The MAC Center is actually a place I debated visiting this winter since we play up there on a Saturday.

I think Pittsburgh will be on the agenda at some point in the future. I have a buddy who is a Dukes graduate, and he's spoken highly of the "old gym" feel of the Palumbo Center. We thought about trying a Duquesne and Pitt double header if we could pull it off.

greencat
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/28/2015 1:21:31 PM

The women's team is playing a couple of late Nov. games at historic 60 year old Memorial Gym in Nashville on the campus of beautiful Vanderbilt University. If you don' mind spending Thanksgiving on the road.

doubledribble
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/28/2015 1:33:16 PM

UD Arena is a good basketball venue and fun place to play. Thank heavens they junked out the synthetic floor that was in place for a number of years back in the day. The ball made a strange pinging noise off the dribble, and there were "dead" areas in some spots where the ball would not always come all the way back to your hand. Very strange, and slick. The Flyer fans have always been very supportive of there teams which makes for a loud, Convo like atmosphere. I would like to see our 'Cats try to schedule a series with the Flyers!

Tyler
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/28/2015 4:57:03 PM

I need to make it to the Palestra soon. I usually head out to Jersey to visit family around the holidays, so I need to find a way to make it to a game while I'm out there.

OU_Country wrote:

I think Pittsburgh will be on the agenda at some point in the future. I have a buddy who is a Dukes graduate, and he's spoken highly of the "old gym" feel of the Palumbo Center. We thought about trying a Duquesne and Pitt double header if we could pull it off.

January 16. Boston College at Pitt at 2. St. Bonaventure at Duquesne at 6.

RSBobcat
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/28/2015 10:51:04 PM

ANYWHERE but Millet/Fiami. Dark-Empty-Horrible seating 90% of the place.

Looval - Freedom Hall was great historic venue - New YUM center is pretty fantastic - Venue, Hall of Fame/Museum inside, concessions (BOURBON!), lot of easy parking nearby options, right in downtown revival/great taverns, bars, restaurants area.

RS Bobcat

Alan Swank
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/28/2015 11:18:05 PM

Asheville.

Eagle66
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/29/2015 11:13:00 AM

I enjoyed the trip to Memphis a few years ago, mostly for the non-basketball related attractions though. I also thought the atmosphere at Central last year was great... of course it helps when you are having a season like they had.

This year I'm planning on going to the games at Cleveland State, St. Bonaventure, Akron and Kent. Maybe Buffalo, work permitting.

Last Edited: 10/29/2015 11:13:36 AM by Eagle66

OU_Country
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/30/2015 10:33:42 AM

Alan Swank wrote:

Asheville.

Alan, I love Asheville as a city. How was it as a place to watch basketball? And the campus?

OU_Country
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/30/2015 10:35:56 AM

RSBobcat wrote:

I haven't been to Millet since I was about 15, before Bobcat basketball was the huge obsession it is for me now. It's not a good looking venue, but what I like about it is that there's plenty of room for opposing fans to come and make noise. ;) I'm thinking hard on going there in March, and then going up to UD or XU on Saturday.

OU_Country
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/30/2015 10:37:17 AM

The one place in the MAC I want to go the most is to WMU. Something about their old barn looks cool to me on TV, and I'd be happy to spend a fair but of time at Bell's Brewing Co.

bobcat695
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/30/2015 11:15:58 AM

I've been to a lot of road games, but my two favorite were UNC Asheville and the Sweet 16 game in St. Louis. Asheville is a great city and their arena is nearly perfect for their program. I'd also like to watch Ohio play in more Sweet 16 games.

I like the atmosphere in Akron, but the JAR is not great. It's still one of my favorite games each year. I've also had enjoyable trips to WVU, Marshall, Kent and Robert Morris. It's harder for me to make it to road basketball games than football, but we've enjoyed almost every road trip.

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mcbin
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/30/2015 5:12:49 PM

OU_Country wrote:

The one place in the MAC I want to go the most is to WMU. Something about their old barn looks cool to me on TV, and I'd be happy to spend a fair but of time at Bell's Brewing Co.

And they roast almonds in the arena. They're awesome.

And I think they flipped the basketball court 90 degrees at one point, for some reason I cannot remember. Kinda odd.

Alan Swank
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/30/2015 5:26:11 PM

OU_Country wrote:

Alan Swank wrote:

Asheville.

Alan, I love Asheville as a city. How was it as a place to watch basketball? And the campus?

Great venue to watch a game and a pretty campus but nothing spectacular (we are spoiled in that regard here in Athens). Asheville High School is a gorgeous old building though. One thing I really liked about UNC Asheville was the display of plaques for their hall of fame. It puts ours to shame. The plaques that these inductees are holding are actually mounted on the wall behind the inductees and they have a performance picture as well as pertinent facts about the athlete's performance. I showed the OU folks this but they went ahead with what I consider a very lame hall of fame listing/plaque in the lobby of the Convo.

http://www.uncabulldogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=19...

Last Edited: 10/30/2015 5:27:40 PM by Alan Swank

gbur
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/30/2015 9:26:26 PM

If you're ever in Dallas, Moody Coliseum at SMU is a great place to watch a game. It has all the modern amenities but has an intimate feel. The low ceiling really echos the crowd and it can get loud in there.

Monroe Slavin
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 10/31/2015 6:37:35 PM

UCLA's Pauley Pavilion is a large arena with good sight lines from every seat even though it probably holds about 12k. I haven't been there since the remodeling which was finished a year or two ago. But UCLA fans are still spoiled, still not particularly excited unless their team is highly ranked...and so is the opponent. It's an okay arena, at best.

The arena attached to and behind the New Orleans casino in Las vegas (saw Ohio vs Kansas, Ohio vs. Santa Clara, Kansas vs. Arizona there about 4 years ago) is a good arena. Must seat 8-10k with all seats having good sight lines. But no real character as it's not the home court of any team.

How would you all review The Convo in Athens, Ohio if you were a visitor there?

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OU_Country
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 11/2/2015 10:41:13 AM

Monroe Slavin wrote:

Someday, I'd love to go to Pauley, but it's not the sort of road trip I have in mind right now.

It's probably hard to objectively review The Convo as a visiting fan. I pretty much base my feelings of what a basketball road trip should be based on Athens and The Convo.

Here's what's great about Athens and The Convo:
-Abundance of interesting places to pre and post game.
-Good place to visit for a whole weekend with plenty of outdoors activities for those interested in hiking and biking (until it's too cold)
-Great arena with great sight lines, good value on ticket cost, and very good atmosphere on the weekends at least.

Needs improvement:
-Making the town aware that it's gameday - some places don't have a clue why they're swamped for lunch just before a game and are not prepared.
-Arena needs concession improvements
-Arena needs audio/video improvements
-Arena needs the concourses "dressed up" to really, really say "Welcome to Bobcat Country".

Those things in mind, I'm looking at road trips with the following "requirements", and Athens would fit that bill.

-Good basketball environment
-Interesting arena I've not yet been to (obviously have here, but it's interesting)
-Options for adult beverages, particularly unique local options like Jackie O's, Cider House, Little Fish, Shade Winery, etc.
-A plus is a campus area bar that has some gameday atmosphere. In Dayton, see Flanagan's. In Athens....uhhmmm?

Ted Thompson
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 11/2/2015 10:54:44 AM

OU_Country wrote:

Those things in mind, I'm looking at road trips with the following "requirements", and Athens would fit that bill.

-Good basketball environment
-Interesting arena I've not yet been to (obviously have here, but it's interesting)
-Options for adult beverages, particularly unique local options like Jackie O's, Cider House, Little Fish, Shade Winery, etc.
-A plus is a campus area bar that has some gameday atmosphere. In Dayton, see Flanagan's. In Athens....uhhmmm?

If it doesn't have to be an Ohio game, I would suggest Memorial Gymnasium at Vanderbilt. Unique arena. The area around Vandy is nice. Downtown Nashville, etc.

Memorial Gymnasium: http://www.vucommodores.com/facilities/memorial-gym.html

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Recovering Journalist
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 11/2/2015 11:22:55 AM

Of the MAC trips I've done, here's how I rank 'em:

- Kalamazoo is tremendous if you're a microbrewery fan. Not just Bells, but several others in and around the city. The arena is pretty unique and has a decent feel when the team is good.
- Toledo would probably be first if I liked the town better. Great post-rehab arena.
- Kent has come so far in the last 10 years. Some great dining options and a true connection from the campus to the town now. The campus is still a Mike Brady special, but it's a fun day trip. The MAC Center pretty much sucks but it has easy parking and reasonable prices.
- Bowling Green's new arena is tiny, but that means any seat is a good one. It's modern and nice. I actually like the town of Bowling Green, which has charm and some good food and drink options near campus. The campus itself is awful.
- A surprise non-last-place to EMU, which would maybe have the best arena in the league if more than three hundred people ever attended a game. The town and campus are kind of sad, but you can get a great meal at the Wurst Bar in the shadow of the infamous water tower.
- Akron has free and fairly close parking and a handful of decent joints around campus. The JAR is horrid in almost every way.
- Millett Hall is as foul as the campus it serves. I used to live within walking distance when Wally played there, and I still only went to a few games... and that was when they could fill the thing. Even then, with its stupid red carpets, terrible sight lines and clear uselessness as an actual sporting arena, it seemed like a place to catch a second-rate circus as opposed to a basketball game. Now it's just as crappy but empty. Living there also made me hate Miami more than I ever did as a student in Athens.

OUbobcat9092
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 11/2/2015 9:25:30 PM

If you're on the West Coast and want to check out some lesser known arenas you should visit "The Kennel" at Gonzaga. It is as loud and intimidating to opponents as Cameron is for Duke.

Also, in the same conference, the other one I would want to visit is McKeon Pavilion at St. Mary's. The Geals see. To have an awesome atmosphere every time I watch them late night on ESPN, especially against Gonzaga!

Last Edited: 11/2/2015 9:26:07 PM by OUbobcat9092

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OU_Country
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RE: Basketball Road Trips outside of Athens

Posted: 11/3/2015 12:38:20 PM

I like the idea of visiting The Kennel, though I'm not sure I'd ever consider a trip to Spokane for anything else. If far out west venues are in the conversation, I'd have to say that Viejas Arena at SDSU should be on the list.

Not as far west, there's The Pit, which should be on any hoops fan's list. I'd love to be able to visit Gallagher-Iba Arena, Allen Field house, and Hilton Colesium in the Big 12. The Koch Arena in Wichita, and whatever the building Creighton plays in would be great places. Frankly, I don't think any MVC venue would be a bad visit. I'm sure I could go on, but I'll stop for now.

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