Post by Chuck on Aug 11, 2006 19:45:53 GMT -5
PEZZIMENTI: Solomon’s hoping for fan support
08/11/2006
ST. BONAVENTURE — Head men’s basketball coach Anthony Solomon and his fellow employees at St. Bonaventure have put in the work. Now they’re looking for help in return.
It seems simple to characterize the Bonnies landing six non-conference home games this winter as no big deal. Especially when you consider seven other pre-Atlantic 10 contests are away from the friendly confines of the Reilly Center.
Ah, but look back at recent history. A half dozen non-league home games at the RC is quite a rarity.
The last time it happened was during the 1990-91 season. How long ago was that? Tom Chapman was coach and Penn State, Rutgers and West Virginia were members of the Atlantic 10.
“That’s never easy here at St. Bonaventure,” Solomon said of scheduling RC games. “There’s a lot of phone calls, a lot of time used by a lot of people. It worked out in a way I’m very pleased with. Any chance we can get to play in front of our home crowd, I like that.”
There’s more. Solomon desires that Bona supporters like it just as much.
“I just want it to be that our fans and followers are appreciative of the effort in what we’ve been able to accomplish,” he said. “Then, certainly, the next step is to perform at the level I think this particular team can as we continue to grow to be one unit.”
Times have been rough, results tough to swallow over the last few winters at the Reilly Center. Dwindling attendance has proven as much.
A perfect 5-0 non-conference mark at the RC last season helped bring back a few fans after the Bonnies won a mere one home game in 2004-05. Still, attendance for many of the A-10 home contests were in the 3s and 4s (thousands) instead of 5s and the soldout 6.
You can’t help but acknowledge Solomon’s commitment to restoring the Reilly Center tradition, however. Welcoming back fans has been at or near the top of his to-do list since being hired in 2003, following the horrific player-eligibility scandal that turned so many away.
In his efforts, Solomon has done spots on local radio, written letters and e-mails, as well as having visited student dormitories on campus. Never mind the fact that the Bonnies have more Reilly Center games this season than any other since ’90-91 (14 total when you add the 8 to-be-determined A-10 home dates).
Winning, above all, will help in re-packing the Reilly Center. But winning at St. Bonaventure often comes with unrivaled support from the fan base. Solomon completely understands that.
“It starts with myself and my team,” he said, “but the attitude and mindset that’s needed from our university as well as the local community while we have these home games ... to take full advantage of it we need to have bodies in the seats that are focused on cheering for and supporting this team this season as we take, again, another step in restoring the respect and level of play of this basketball program.
“It starts with a certain attitude and mindset. I have it, and my goal is to spread it around among the team members and staff, and hopefully it can be transferred throughout our community.”
(Vinny Pezzimenti is a sports writer for The Times Herald)
08/11/2006
ST. BONAVENTURE — Head men’s basketball coach Anthony Solomon and his fellow employees at St. Bonaventure have put in the work. Now they’re looking for help in return.
It seems simple to characterize the Bonnies landing six non-conference home games this winter as no big deal. Especially when you consider seven other pre-Atlantic 10 contests are away from the friendly confines of the Reilly Center.
Ah, but look back at recent history. A half dozen non-league home games at the RC is quite a rarity.
The last time it happened was during the 1990-91 season. How long ago was that? Tom Chapman was coach and Penn State, Rutgers and West Virginia were members of the Atlantic 10.
“That’s never easy here at St. Bonaventure,” Solomon said of scheduling RC games. “There’s a lot of phone calls, a lot of time used by a lot of people. It worked out in a way I’m very pleased with. Any chance we can get to play in front of our home crowd, I like that.”
There’s more. Solomon desires that Bona supporters like it just as much.
“I just want it to be that our fans and followers are appreciative of the effort in what we’ve been able to accomplish,” he said. “Then, certainly, the next step is to perform at the level I think this particular team can as we continue to grow to be one unit.”
Times have been rough, results tough to swallow over the last few winters at the Reilly Center. Dwindling attendance has proven as much.
A perfect 5-0 non-conference mark at the RC last season helped bring back a few fans after the Bonnies won a mere one home game in 2004-05. Still, attendance for many of the A-10 home contests were in the 3s and 4s (thousands) instead of 5s and the soldout 6.
You can’t help but acknowledge Solomon’s commitment to restoring the Reilly Center tradition, however. Welcoming back fans has been at or near the top of his to-do list since being hired in 2003, following the horrific player-eligibility scandal that turned so many away.
In his efforts, Solomon has done spots on local radio, written letters and e-mails, as well as having visited student dormitories on campus. Never mind the fact that the Bonnies have more Reilly Center games this season than any other since ’90-91 (14 total when you add the 8 to-be-determined A-10 home dates).
Winning, above all, will help in re-packing the Reilly Center. But winning at St. Bonaventure often comes with unrivaled support from the fan base. Solomon completely understands that.
“It starts with myself and my team,” he said, “but the attitude and mindset that’s needed from our university as well as the local community while we have these home games ... to take full advantage of it we need to have bodies in the seats that are focused on cheering for and supporting this team this season as we take, again, another step in restoring the respect and level of play of this basketball program.
“It starts with a certain attitude and mindset. I have it, and my goal is to spread it around among the team members and staff, and hopefully it can be transferred throughout our community.”
(Vinny Pezzimenti is a sports writer for The Times Herald)
