Imarino Stepping Down

[gman]

We need someone who is more vocal, approachable and personable to be the head of the SoCon

Not someone who only speaks when spoken to

And that person is not JJ.

[DungeonRealm]

We need someone who is more vocal, approachable and personable to be the head of the SoCon

Not someone who only speaks when spoken to

And that person is not JJ.

Funny, that was in my mind as well 100%

[MidlandsPaladin]

Since he's been a punching bag on here for a while, I'll come to his defense. Anybody that has spent more than 5 minutes with him (I have) knows how quality of a person he is and what he has meant to the league. Conference commissioner is not an easy job - at any level - but to deal with the egos of school presidents and administration while also putting together a quality hoops league after losing Davidson, CofC, Elon, App State and GSU is absolutely remarkable. I think at times the league has played catch-up in some aspects, but to get the hoops championship to Asheville and to get Flour Field in the mix for baseball tourney is commendable and great for the league. The league has also capitalized on the ESPN3 opportunities and will have instant replay in football. Not to mention the fact that the league truly values it's non-revenue sports. If you've ever been to the cross country championships or volleyball tourney you would see it. Lastly, he's hired a lot of people that have stayed around the league office for quite a while that are well respected in the league. That says something about his leadership and ability to hire and retain quality people.

Moving the tourney to Asheville was good for location purposes but a downgrade on venue, no video boards, VIP room is dated and court is not visible as it is in Greenville VIP lounge, ect., I see no reason why something can't be worked out with downtown Greenville to bring the tournament back to a larger, nicer venue now that the conference is getting big crowds again

Why do we need a bigger venue? I still saw a lot of empty seats in Asheville. Greenville would be great, but I'm not buying that the community would embrace the tourney more. And Asheville is certainly an upgrade over rotating it every couple of years where one of the options was Chattanooga's home court.

6,400 is full capacity, as the league expands we will need more seats for semifinals and champ games

Make the regular season meaningful by letting the regular season champs host the tourney. A logistical nightmare, but it would make things very interesting....

[fufanatic]

We need someone who is more vocal, approachable and personable to be the head of the SoCon

Not someone who only speaks when spoken to

Fair. Those are incredibly important qualities of a conference leader. Will be curious to see where they turn. I don't know how the conference commissioner search works. Do you look at a smaller conference leader, an associate commissioner at a major conference? Hopefully the SoCon would be an appealing job ... great area of the country, good footprint, elite academic schools, historic.

[fufanatic]

Since he's been a punching bag on here for a while, I'll come to his defense. Anybody that has spent more than 5 minutes with him (I have) knows how quality of a person he is and what he has meant to the league. Conference commissioner is not an easy job - at any level - but to deal with the egos of school presidents and administration while also putting together a quality hoops league after losing Davidson, CofC, Elon, App State and GSU is absolutely remarkable. I think at times the league has played catch-up in some aspects, but to get the hoops championship to Asheville and to get Flour Field in the mix for baseball tourney is commendable and great for the league. The league has also capitalized on the ESPN3 opportunities and will have instant replay in football. Not to mention the fact that the league truly values it's non-revenue sports. If you've ever been to the cross country championships or volleyball tourney you would see it. Lastly, he's hired a lot of people that have stayed around the league office for quite a while that are well respected in the league. That says something about his leadership and ability to hire and retain quality people.

Moving the tourney to Asheville was good for location purposes but a downgrade on venue, no video boards, VIP room is dated and court is not visible as it is in Greenville VIP lounge, ect., I see no reason why something can't be worked out with downtown Greenville to bring the tournament back to a larger, nicer venue now that the conference is getting big crowds again

Why do we need a bigger venue? I still saw a lot of empty seats in Asheville. Greenville would be great, but I'm not buying that the community would embrace the tourney more. And Asheville is certainly an upgrade over rotating it every couple of years where one of the options was Chattanooga's home court.

6,400 is full capacity, as the league expands we will need more seats for semifinals and champ games

Make the regular season meaningful by letting the regular season champs host the tourney. A logistical nightmare, but it would make things very interesting....

My main problem with that is it makes the conference seem even smaller. The only conferences that do that now are similar in size of the Big South, Northeast Conference, etc. It would draw in more of a crowd for the home team, but would be a disaster for the other games. Can you imagine if VMI or Samford were to win and fans had less than a week to book it from Greenville for example? At least Asheville is within a short drive of much of the league with the exceptions being Mercer, Samford, VMI and kinda The Citadel.

[Monday]

Since he's been a punching bag on here for a while, I'll come to his defense. Anybody that has spent more than 5 minutes with him (I have) knows how quality of a person he is and what he has meant to the league. Conference commissioner is not an easy job - at any level - but to deal with the egos of school presidents and administration while also putting together a quality hoops league after losing Davidson, CofC, Elon, App State and GSU is absolutely remarkable. I think at times the league has played catch-up in some aspects, but to get the hoops championship to Asheville and to get Flour Field in the mix for baseball tourney is commendable and great for the league. The league has also capitalized on the ESPN3 opportunities and will have instant replay in football. Not to mention the fact that the league truly values it's non-revenue sports. If you've ever been to the cross country championships or volleyball tourney you would see it. Lastly, he's hired a lot of people that have stayed around the league office for quite a while that are well respected in the league. That says something about his leadership and ability to hire and retain quality people.

Moving the tourney to Asheville was good for location purposes but a downgrade on venue, no video boards, VIP room is dated and court is not visible as it is in Greenville VIP lounge, ect., I see no reason why something can't be worked out with downtown Greenville to bring the tournament back to a larger, nicer venue now that the conference is getting big crowds again

Why do we need a bigger venue? I still saw a lot of empty seats in Asheville. Greenville would be great, but I'm not buying that the community would embrace the tourney more. And Asheville is certainly an upgrade over rotating it every couple of years where one of the options was Chattanooga's home court.

6,400 is full capacity, as the league expands we will need more seats for semifinals and champ games

Make the regular season meaningful by letting the regular season champs host the tourney. A logistical nightmare, but it would make things very interesting....

My main problem with that is it makes the conference seem even smaller. The only conferences that do that now are similar in size of the Big South, Northeast Conference, etc. It would draw in more of a crowd for the home team, but would be a disaster for the other games. Can you imagine if VMI or Samford were to win and fans had less than a week to book it from Greenville for example? At least Asheville is within a short drive of much of the league with the exceptions being Mercer, Samford, VMI and kinda The Citadel.

Asheville's a great site. Lots of restaurants, bars, hotels and parking nearby. If it came to the Well the GA seats would be worse, there'd be a bs clear bag policy and worthless metal detectors to wait through to get in, you couldn't get readmittance (and why would you leave, you'd have to drive), concessions would be worse including beer, and it has zero atmosphere/nostalgic feel.

Basically, the Well staff would be sticklers and instead of a fun family event you'd feel like you're at an airport.

[Fessor]

In addition, sight lines at Bon Secours stink.

Dud arena outdated before construction even finished.

[apaladin]

In addition, sight lines at Bon Secours stink.

Dud arena outdated before construction even finished.

That's funny. Apparently you never go there. I guess that is why some of the biggest name performers like Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks, Elton John, Paul McCartney etc, etc I could go on and on have come here or are coming here. That is why the SEC has made it home for the women's tournament and will for the next 2 years. Why the men's and women's NCAA first round tournaments will return in a couple of years. It is great for the Greenville community. As far as Asheville, the city does not support the tournament. No one from Asheville attends the tournament unless they happen to be a fan of a team. Of course that would prolly be true of Greenville too.

[DungeonRealm]

I swear this could have been a year where FU vs Woff would pull in 10,000+ for a championship game in Greenville

[Monday]

In addition, sight lines at Bon Secours stink.

Dud arena outdated before construction even finished.

That's funny. Apparently you never go there. I guess that is why some of the biggest name performers like Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks, Elton John, Paul McCartney etc, etc I could go on and on have come here or are coming here. That is why the SEC has made it home for the women's tournament and will for the next 2 years. Why the men's and women's NCAA first round tournaments will return in a couple of years. It is great for the Greenville community. As far as Asheville, the city does not support the tournament. No one from Asheville attends the tournament unless they happen to be a fan of a team. Of course that would prolly be true of Greenville too.

Those performers are coming here for business reasons not for the venue itself.

[Fessor]

I've been there. It was dated before it was even completed. It was built on the same stadium design principles as those built in 70's: you are so far away from the action and sight lines are terrible. I've been to MCI (Washington), United Center (Chicago), TD Garden (Boston), and Wells Fargo (Philadelphia) for concerts and BB games. Newer designs, much better experience. MCI is one of the best of the new designs and was completed about the same time as Greenville.

[apaladin]

Of course all of those were are much newer. The BSWA is 20+ years old now. The BSWA has been remodeled. I have seen a few BB games there recently including the first round of the NCAA tourney and had seats 5 rows from the top in the upper level and thought the seats were great. Much closer to the action than in the ones you mentioned if you sat in their upper level. Same goes for the Spectrum Center in Charlotte and State Farm Arena in Atlanta. I go to the BSWA all the time and always enjoy it. No it's not a modern type facility but it is great to have major events in Greenville and it is a big plus for Greenville, certainly much nicer and more modern than the the Asheville Civic Center which is really dated and built in the mid 70's. I guess we will have to disagree on this one.

[Fessor]

Of course all of those were are much newer. The BSWA is 20+ years old now. The BSWA has been remodeled. I have seen a few BB games there recently including the first round of the NCAA tourney and had seats 5 rows from the top in the upper level and thought the seats were great. Much closer to the action than in the ones you mentioned if you sat in their upper level. Same goes for the Spectrum Center in Charlotte and State Farm Arena in Atlanta. I go to the BSWA all the time and always enjoy it. No it's not a modern type facility but it is great to have major events in Greenville and it is a big plus for Greenville, certainly much nicer and more modern than the the Asheville Civic Center which is really dated and built in the mid 70's. I guess we will have to disagree on this one.

BonSecours was opened in 1998. MCI Center was same year, maybe 1999 at the latest.

Yeah, the seats in the upper tier sidelines are actually better than many in the lower tier sideline (i.e., it's a flawed arena). Sit behind the baseline in the fixed seating for a basketball game. It should be criminal to charge admission for those.

[fufanatic]

I swear this could have been a year where FU vs Woff would pull in 10,000+ for a championship game in Greenville

I'll believe it when I see it. Which is impossible for this year, but I think you get my point.

[DungeonRealm]

I swear this could have been a year where FU vs Woff would pull in 10,000+ for a championship game in Greenville

I'll believe it when I see it. Which is impossible for this year, but I think you get my point.

As fast as the 2 regular season games sold out (well in advance)
Championship game this year sold out (6,400) with UNCG
Its certainly reasonable to think FU vs. Woff this year in the Championship game in Greenville would have drawn 10,000