I’m guessing that, in the end, Fairfield University athletic director Gene Doris must have felt discretion was the better part of valor. (Thank you Mr. Shakespeare).
Why? Because the Connecticut 6 tournament lives on and, at least in 2012, will be played at the University of Hartford’s Reich Family Pavilion – a building that only holds 3,508 seats.
At the recent Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference media breakfast in Springfield, Mass., Doris told me that the deal with the 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena wouldn’t be renewed because the building is now hosting the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip Off Classic – set for Nov. 19-20 — that used to take place at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield. He also told me that Howard Saffan, the president of the 9,000-seat Webster Bank Arena, had made a “solid offer” to bring the Connecticut 6 back to Bridgeport.
Doris finally said that five of the six schools were in favor of heading back to the Arena.
One wasn’t. Hartford.
It seems that the Hawks athletic director, Pat Meiser, was threatening to pull Hartford out of the Connecticut 6 tournament – something that Doris said he could have worked around with the five remaining schools – but … if each school was given a chance to host the event, then Hartford would likely continue to be a willing participant.
I’m not saying that Doris caved in to Meiser’s demand but it seems rather than lose one school and be forced to make it a four-team (with one team having to sit out each year) field, Doris agreed to see how playing the tournament at Hartford’s site will work.
For next season, anyway.
One would hope that Saffan stays on the hunt and works to get the Connecticut 6 back for 2013. Watching the attendance grow from 3,016 at the Arena in 2010 and then jump to 3,829 last November at the Mohegan Sun, wouldn’t you expect that the attendance figures would keep growing as more fans (and students) become familiar, and excited, with the tournament?
And because of Fairfield’s potential this season (the Stags have nearly their entire team back from a 25-8 record and a NIT tournament berth last year), I would think that Stag Nation – led by the student-run Stags in the Stands – would travel up I-95 en masse to the Mohegan Sun for the team’s opener this Friday.
You would think that the fans of Yale, Sacred Heart, Central Connecticut, Quinnipiac and Hartford, would do the same.
So then, why move the event to the building that only holds 3,500 next year? It doesn’t make any sense to take a step backwards.
And forget about playing this at any of the other venues. Yale’s Lee Amphitheater holds 2,800 while Sacred Heart’s Pitt Center holds 2,062, Central’s Detrick Gym 2,654 and Quinnipiac’s TD Bank Sports Center 3,254.
This tournament deserves to be played on a big stage. Not in a small room.
Maybe it was because Meiser threatened to take her ball and go play someplace else. Or maybe it was because the Doris didn’t want to destroy a good thing and decided to try Hartford’s experiment in 2012. At least the Connecticut 6 will take place in 2012.
And here’s hoping the Reich Family Pavilion is packed to the rafters next year and tickets are sold out. That way, it will be a lot easier for Doris to pitch the WBA for 2013.
My Two Cents
Talking Connecticut sports with Chris Elsberry
