The Flyers' game with the Charlotte 49ers drew an announced crowd of 5,939 to 9,105-seat Halton Arena, which didn’t go unnoticed by Gregory, whose teams are 0-3 at Charlotte.
Gregory was asked what makes Halton – which rarely sells out for 49ers games -- so difficult for the Flyers. “No offense, it’s not the venue,” he said. “It’s the players. It’s not a super difficult place to play. Unfortunately, with as much success as his program’s had, (coach Bobby Lutz) should have better crowds. I know it’s a beautiful sunny afternoon. But let’s be honest, the reason it’s a tough place to play is because of Bobby and the players that he has and how hard they play.”
-- David Scott
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Dayton coach Brian Gregory called out Niner Nation on Sunday.
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56 comments:
Hey Gregory, no offense, but how about taking your tail back to Dayton with another L in Halton.
I did not know the board had approved basketball at Charlotte College. Maybe they should play at Brayboy gym or The Grady Cole Center. What an embarrasing program for the city. You get what you pay for. Coach Lost should be in Division III
Not sure how the comments are considered "calling out" Niner Nation (and can you be a nation with only 4 people?)
Funny how a team that has never won a game is Halton is talking smack about Halton. You're an idiot, Gregory.
Great win today, Niners.
congrats to the niners for pulling a big upset, I hope we can keep the momentum going
the reason for the low crowds? everyone in the city thinks UNC Charlotte is a branch campus of UNCCH.
The school has done a poor job branding itself but eventually local citizens are going to figure it out... football will probably be the tipping point in that regard
Dayton coach is correct. Ever since we joined the A-10 how many games have we sold out? He's stating a fact.
"should have better crowds"
yeah, I have to agree with Coach Gregory.
It has nothing to do with this year's W-L. I hope most readers are educated enough to realize this. This "should have better crowds" issue existed in C-USA, except for the days when Cincinnati and Louisville came to town.
THE SOLUTION requires many components, but a key component is for the Charlotte Observer to stop treating the 49ers like an NAIA program. ACC basketball is outstanding. Even though I am a Niner alum, I understand and respect the history of the ACC.
With that said, I am serious in my NAIA observation. It has gone on for years. Duke, Wake, Clemson, Chapel Hill all have their own local papers. McClatchy stock has been suffering recently....why don't you try to publish information of value to Charlotte area readers in your paper? instead of continuing to print whatever you want.
I also hate Davidson, but your treatment of them is pretty poor, except for your homage to Stephen Curry.
Multiple NCAA Men's Division I basketball programs exist in the Charlotte area. But a Charlotte Observer reader must be Sherlock Holmes to find any stories about the schools.
UNC-Charlotte IS a branch of the UNC System.
I doubt very many folks have it confused with a satellite of the Chapel Hill campus.
What your school need is the football team and a switch to The Big East!
Quit acting like an NAIA School and you will quit getting treated like an NAIA school. Although Bobby was very successful in NAIA.
you are showing your ignorance on this subject.
It doesn't matter if Charlotte loses to Monmouth OR beats Louisville. The treatment from the Observer is the same.
The Charlotte Observer provides CONSISTANTLY POOR information on Charlotte 49ers athletics.
the observer is a joke. they fawn over unc-ch and most of their fans cannot read anyway.
COMMUTER SCHOOL.
Coach G is right! It is embarassing and I am willing to bet that 5900 was a generous number. The program is a shell of itself. Our fans were so arrogant and thought the A10 was beneath us when in fact we are beneath the A10. We have not done one thing in basketball. We will never be where we were with what we have. Our own alumni don't support our team. The Observer has NOTHING to do with our success or failures. Our athletic department is run like an intramural program. Having football has nothing to do with being in the Big East. We were seen as a wanna be and they didn't want us. Figure it out, it's all about the admin!
Note that I said "THE SOLUTION requires many components"
Very good, you touched on other missed components. Internally, many things have to change at the school.
However, the media does such a poor job acknowledging that the school exists. Even if the school stopped operating like an intramural program, these issues would still exist.
commuter school? you are an idiot. there are just as many students on campus at Charlotte than unc-r and unc ch.
Charlotte is the biggest secret in this town..i blame the observer and their obsession with all things fairy blue.
They should be kept a secret until Bobby moves on. He's holding the program back.
What is sad is that the 49ers hosted a team that was 21-2 and you had no idea other than to read charlotte49ers.com. The media: Observer, WCNC, WBTV, WSOC, Fox, WFNZ do abolutely nothing to promote the program.
There are about 5,000 people in this city that care about 49er basketball and, like me, they thought twice about watching the Niners today or enjoying a gorgoeus day.
Fact is, they play hard, but they aren't very good. Thank the good Lord today, I rolled the dice and attended. Great game. The good Lord also blessed us with DiJuan Harris and somehow woke up Rashad Coleman today.
Too bad the place was more than half empty. This was a terric game and those who attended made a difference.
Stop being fair-weather fans. Support your school win or lose and maybe you'll be treated like other top college programs.
It's not the media's job to PROMOTE the program. It's the media's job to COVER the program. There is a difference.
Let's be honest, we have very poor athletic programs.
It isn't Observer's fault, what have we won since our conception? nothing!, if you want popularity you should deserve it!
Go niners!
If the media COVERED the Niners, Brian Gregory would not have had anything to say after today's game.
No one said it is the media's fault. I just find it hard to believe that no one knew Dayton was 21-2. 21 and freasking 2! Hell, if Davidson was playing them "What Would Stephen (pronounced "Steff-en") Do" Davidson would have been on the front page. Again. That's all.
I have been attending games for 30 years and we have never been further down the "who cares" meter than this year. The A-10 might as well be the A-Byss.
I really wish I could smack the 1st anonymous poster at 5:59 pm. They're probably some fool from Davidson pissed about losing to Charleston last night... Yes, we started as Charlotte College, but we've also been a 4-year university since 1963 (46 years), and been in the UNC system since 1965. And if you seem to have forgotten, our men's basketball program has had a great amount of success, including our 1977 run to the final four.
So anyway... All the media in Charlotte really don't pay us any mind whatsoever, all college basketball reports are about UNC and Duke and the ACC... They even speak fondly of Davidson (for some God-unknown reason) while leaving us out in the cold.
It's even worse for our women's basketball program. They are on a great 8 game winning streak and are in serious contention to win the Atlantic 10 this year and go to the women's NCAA tournament. Yet, the best attendance we can muster for a women's game is hardly 1,000 fans, if that... I am a sophomore at Charlotte and have only missed very few games, men's or women's, ever since I've been attending this fine institution.
So, I'd like to ask, where the @#$% our fans are??? With 23,000 current students and who knows how many thousand alumni, there should definitely be more than 5,000 some fans for a big game like today's. I really wish more students (and alumni) would open their eyes and see that we have a great program here and need to support our teams, win or lose.
Gezzz! We get a HUGE WIN & NN.N goes down!! That sucks. Hurry up and get it back up!!! Help! Where is everyone else at? Any other forum?
Great Job today 9ers! No way 5900 people were there today. I was there and will be no matter the record... The hell with you anonymous P.O.S. running your mouths. Why even waste your time reading Jims Blog about our small time school. Go to Wal-Mart with the rest of your damn family and buy some more tarhole gear!!
Awesome Job by Dijuan with his 3rd straight double double! Coleman stepped it up today too. Great Job 9ers. Keep it up!
When the midget Gregory wins in Halton he can talk smack. Have fun collapsing again Gregory, what a POS.
Great win today. Those of use who were there in the student section had a blast.
No denying it - today was really week on all parts of students and alumni - but we're nowhere near a winning program. I don't think its acceptable at all that no one shows up, but I think that the reality is that there are few athletic programs out there who would have our record and be filling the seats more than we are.
Need I also remind you that things were definitely on the rise as of last year. Students started coming out in masses when we were winning and returned this year for our first few home games. People have just given up on us this year and I can't blame them.
The athletic department has been doing a great job promoting this year in my opinion. The marketing scheme is very professional and on the same level as top programs across the nation. Very nice production value. We haven't been getting good coverage, there is no denying it. Even when we beat big teams we never score front page on this website - which for many of us is our main source of news throughout the day.
If we beat a top ranked Xavier team in a week and a half I guarantee we'll be lucky to be on the front page of the sports section of the site. If Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, Clemson or Duke beat Boston College, it will be front of the main section.
I agree 100% with Justin's comment about the schools identity. For goodness sakes - put the info out there so that people can be attracted to coming to games. Its clear that people care enough to look at our stuff even if they just make fun of us, just look at the number of comments on this blog today.
And Greg just got his feelings hurt today - and I'm not talking about the loss. The student section showed him nor his team any mercy. Bottom line is that the guy got embarrassed by us after showing up in the same outfit as Lutz.
UNCC should move to Div II and join the Southern Conference. They would have a perfect rivalry with Davidson, plenty of in-state exposure with App State, WCU, etc. and would save boat loads of money on travel costs. They would have a reasonable chance of winning the conference every year and enough overall wins to get into the NCAA tourneyon RPI.
He is 100% correct... our students had their weakest showing today. I missed ONE game in four years!!! Man up students.
Football will not solve these problems. It is essential that the Niners realize that it will take both decades and luck to become even a .500 program in football. App State has played football for almost 100 years and they just in the last few years become champs.
Also, I tried to let as many Dayton fans as possible know that their name is a lie... WE, namely Charlite Coley III are FIRST IN FLIGHT!
I also thanked them for supporting our economy.
If we want to be on the same page of the paper, all we have to do it beat them. Don't worry about Davidson, once Curry is riding the bench on an NBA team and wondering what happened to all of his hype, they will be back to where they have always been. Build me a freaking train to go to campus from downtown. Let the Powder Blue Posers, the darker blue big brother of Davidson, and the all red brick campus team come here, we go there, lets beat them. Easier said than done, but nothing will put us on the front page more than a marque player and a sweet sixteen run.... Bobby, you HAVE TO BEAT THEM!
Posted by Anonymous @ 12:15am---
"UNCC should move to Div II and join the Southern Conference. They would have a perfect rivalry with Davidson, plenty of in-state exposure with App State, WCU, etc. and would save boat loads of money on travel costs. They would have a reasonable chance of winning the conference every year and enough overall wins to get into the NCAA tourneyon RPI"
Dude WTF are you talking about?? Since when did Davidson & the rest of the So Con join D2 ball?? If we did play in the So Con it wouldnt make a damn what our RPI was if we didnt win the Conference we wouldnt be Dancing. The SoCon is a 1 bid D1 (not d2) league. Just because your RPI is above 65 it doesnt mean you are going to the Big Dance. Are you sure you watch college hoops?
Wow, lot of comments... Is this what happens when NNN shuts down now? Good win. Gregory isn't too far off, but when you are 7-14 and it is a Sunday afternoon in the south, how many can you really expect? Oh and like most everyone else has pointed out, Gregory needs too analyze the final score and overall record in Halton before discounting the crowd too much.
Go Niners!
I'm an alumnus, bought season tickets when I got out of school but fell out of love soon thereafter. They are lots of factors in why people don't go to their games now: 1-they don't play in a conference with natural rivals- who cares about any team in the A-10?, 2-they have had an awful season so far, injuries have probably contributed to that but they don't have the established success rate to get support when they have a bad season, 3- they are always very poor offensively. Lutz is an excellent defensive coach and defense is "said" to win games but it is not enjoyable to watch a college team shoot in the 30% range, as often happens.
I wish them luck and hope they can turn it around but winning one big home game a year won't do it.
Ha, this is great. One good win and the lovers and haters for the 49ers come out of the woodwork.
Whatever the reason, be it internal (marketing/promotion), external (lack of media attention), coaching (yes, I know Lutz has some critics) or conference affiliation (C-USA was not filled with regional rivals), the Charlotte 49ers deserve better treatment from the casual sports fans, media, students and alums within Mecklenburg County.
When you have something more than fair-weather fans, then you can complain about not be treated like Carolina and Duke.
We have a really bad team, handing out over 5,000 tickets to see a 7-14 is a pretty decent accomplishment.
For reference - USF had a smaller announced attendance for their game against the number 8 team in the country last week (their arena is slightly larger than Halton and enrollment is almost double UNC Charlotte's).
We aren't alone, it's tough to get people come watch a bad basketball team, no matter the opponent. Our fans are willing to show up, but watching different players make the same mistakes 4 years in a row isn't fun.
FIRE LUTZ! It is the ONLY way! Bring in a coach that excites the school but more importantly excites the city!
USF is a "football school". They play in The Big East. No compairson.
USF has double our enrollment and plays basketball in a conference with an absurd number of ranked teams, it shouldn't be a comparison, they should easily do better for attendance than we do, especially against a top 10 team.
Gregory is right, Halton isn't a tough place to play when it's 1/2 full, but we are not unique with our attendance issues. We are a young university, we don't have a great legacy to fall back on when we stop winning games, few schools in the country do. People will show up when (if?) we start winning games again and actually return to national relevancy. Until then, we should be glad we can even fill half the seats in Halton.
The bottom line is that Students need to fill that place up. I don't see, (Alum 1997), why in the world you cant get at least 7000 students in that place. Outside of that, with the games that I've been to, the band section should be packed, and as organized fans, you can do the most damage to a visiting opponent by "raising" you know what in the second half. Quit crying about coverage from the biased disturber and worry about your ability to support your home team.
Maybe these guys are saying that the lack of media coverage is a contributor for the lack of support for the home town team. If no one in Charlotte know that the 49ers are playing, why should they be expected to show up to the game?
Yes, the alumni and students should be turning out, but the city should be supporting its local team as well, and that includes the Charlotte Observer.
Question to consider:
If the Charlotte 49ers were to put together another Final Four team, would the Charlotte Observer send a reporter to cover the them?
Based on what I've seen in this city, I think the answer is NO.
You guys are 8-14 and you want more coverage?!
And 'What if a 8-14 team made it back to the Final Four!!!'
HA HAH
YOUR TEAM IS A JOKE!
YOUR RECORD IS A JOKE!
YOUR COACH IS A JOKE!
YOUR FANS ARE A JOKE!
AND THE A10 IS A JOKE!
Brilliant post Anonymous @ 12:00 PM, I'm sure whatever school you went to is extremely proud to have such a classy person among their alumni.
niner nation's students and alumni suck. it is really funny that they actually think they are a major basketball program, let alone a mid-major. it's even funnier to think that they think they are loud and have some kind of effect on the other team. they look so pathetic when the first row of the student crowd is jumping up and down with LAME chants. they have a "nation" message board who is a group of losers who have nothing better to do on a friday night and/or never played a team sport and have a clue of what really goes on. give it rest "nation"...youre not duke or wake or state or davidson or CAROLINA! you will always be second rate and sloppy seconds. xavier is going to laugh all over you guys next week.
sincerely.
"...a group of losers..."
So says the person who has made their way to an internet blog dedicated to a team/school that he/she obviously hates, and then takes the time to read the comments on said blog and also to add his/her own comment slamming people who spend time discussing a sports team on the internet...
I know a lot of people who went to "CAROLINA!" and I'm pretty sure all of them know the definition of the word "hypocrite", maybe you should look it up sometime?
"youre not duke or wake or state or davidson or CAROLINA!"
My question is where in the fuck did davidson come from in that group? Im pretty damn sure that the Charlotte 49ers OWN Davidsons sorry little ass. You are a JOKE!!
haha "we have very poor atletic programs" please explain to me how, amongst other programs, but the girls soccer team has 3 straight a10 championships? jackass.
espn2, 7 pm. watch and see.
Yeah it's Bobby and the team, thats why we're 2-8 in conference but play well at home. Taking ACC top-ranked Clemson to the wire this season says something about Halton...Dayton? Where the hell is that? Talk about a shi@*y fan base...What a joke...BG wants to take shots while he still can cuz soon we'll be with the big boys and he'll still be stuck at dead-end Dayton...
I hate to say it. And Bobby is a great guy, but I think he is holding the program back. Thats great that we make the tournament every few years. But how about winning some games. If this team would consistently be near the top of the conference; the crowds would be bigger. Dayton wouldn't have very big crowds if the Flyers were 6-12
Bobby Lutz needs to get the heck out of Charlotte Basketball. All other mens basketball coaching staff needs to be replaced also. As for the players, they are lazy and play like they do not care if they win or lose. The coaching is a huge problem with the team, its pathetic. A better basketball program would help bring more fans and students to the basketball games.
Go NINERS!
We took down Dayton AND XAVIER in Halton. And Xavier is ten times the team Dayton ever dreamed. Dayton and Xavier both lost in front of the NINER NATION, and we don't have that "atmosphere"? Come back again and get another L, F*ck you very much!
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