Was the move to the Arena worth the bill?

The men’s basketball program is currently under investigation for alleged NCAA violations. Hopefully, they will come out clean and continue their quest for an NCAA berth.

Last year men’s coach Tim O’Toole had this to say: “We have an unbelievably tough time getting games. Schools don’t want to play us.” This unwillingness might be because Fairfield is no powerhouse, but rather a pushover for a school like Duke. (Fairfield lost 86 to 58 in Chapel Hill last year.)

It also comes down to money. O’Toole later in the same article noted, “It’s really hard to get home games unless you’re buying them…. We don’t have the money to go out and get teams to come here.”

We do however have the money to pay for the privilege of using the cavernous 10,000 seat Arena at Harbor Yard. And, while this may be a far more high profile place than Alumni Hall it is simply not worth the bill.

Last year with the men playing a key game against Manhattan, with a chance to sit atop the MAAC Conference, the arena drew only 5, 521 fans. That more than tripled the men’s average to that date of 2,470.

On the women’s side the numbers aren’t much better. Quoted last year head coach Diane Nolan pegged the average attendance of women’s games at 2,265. The number was so low that a move back to Alumni Hall was rumored to have been considered in the name of cost-cutting.

Basketball, according to Academic Vice-President Orin Grossman, is the top priority sport at Fairfield, but it will not increase the academic numbers of incoming classes. Grossman cited Gonzaga University where trips deep into the NCAA’s helped name recognition but did nothing substantial in terms of boosting the university’s academic recruiting efforts.

We will not likely be winning an NCAA championship any time soon. Yet, you and I foot the bill each time the Arena is opened up for games. Money is going towards a product that few seem to get much out of.

There are some terrific and talented individuals on our team. However, it seems myopic of the administration to pour money into things like the Arena when the results don’t justify the costs. If hockey and football can be axed in the name of the budget, than why can’t basketball at least be asked to be reasonable?