Keeping kids out of school an extra day would not happen ( reason against a Tuesday start). I like the double Saturday finish as it is history. Sunday afternoon just seems weird for a championship game.

 

Keeping kids out of school has nothing to do with it. It's a facility issue.

Yes, and teams had to play twice on Saturday. That was dumb.

 

I love the Saturday Night final, but I agree. I understand the AAU culture, but, if you have the ability to gives kids a chance to play the biggest game of their life, on the biggest stage, with at least a night's sleep, why not do it? Start on Tuesday or keep as is.

Here's an old-school vote...for the Wednesday start/Saturday night finish.

 

They used to play 2 games on Wednesday night and 6 games on Thursday to start the tournament. Didn't care much for that idea.

How has attendance been for the Sunday finals?

How has attendance been for the Sunday finals?

 

Fine IMO. I think the crowds depend more on who is playing rather than what day it is.

I know a lot of people that don't spend that extra day in Lexington to watch championship game unless it is a highly anticipated game. Seeding could help that but I'd rather see a Wednesday start and Saturday finish. I don't think two games in 1 day is that big of deal. I just think 5 days is too much. Still LOVE the sweet 16 and is my favorite thing to do all year but just liked it the old way.

In the old format it was murder for the team that had to play the late Friday night game, a Saturday morning game, and then the Saturday night championship game, if they made it that far.

 

The team making it to the finals from the upper bracket didn't have it as rough.

Old format. Better atmosphere.

Attendance on a sharp decline for the fourth straight year.

 

Attendance in 2012 (last year for a Saturday final) = 105,766

 

Attendance in 2013 (first year for Sunday final) = 123,363

 

2014 = 101,683

 

2015 = 94,464

 

2016 = 88,170

 

The two lowest attended championship games in the past decade have been the last two years

The old format was a terrible format. Whoever drew the last game of the opening round was at a huge disadvantage. I understand that kids play multiple games in a day in AAU but in the old format if you drew the last game you played at 8:00 pm on Thursday which meant you got started closer to 8:30 pm, If you won you did the same thing on Friday night. If you won that game you had to come back at 11:30 am the next morning and then 8:00 pm that night if you got to the championship game. That meant 4 games in the span of 50 hours and 3 in 26 hours. If you drew the first game in the tournament you played at noon on Wednesday, got Thursday off and then played Friday at noon, Saturday at 10:00 am and Saturday night at 8:00 pm. You tell me that isn't a huge disadvantage. I want to see quality teams at their best to get the best champion. I don't want to see a tired team trying to play on guts alone as Holmes had to do in 1980.

 

For those that can remember that year here is a synopsis. Holmes led by Dickie Beal drew the last game on Thursday night and played Paducah Tilghman, winning 90-77. They then had to go up against a very big Ashland team on Friday night and won 97-92 in 2 ots finishing around midnight. By the time Reynolds Flynn got the team back to the hotel, fed and in bed it was close to 2:30 am thanks to a wreck on the Watterson Expressway. When the team walked out on the floor at 11:30 am the next morning you knew it would be a long morning for them as they looked extremely sluggish. Owensboro blew them out of the gym in what everyone you talked to said would be the real championship game. Anyone who remembers the Holmes 1980 team remembers they relied on their speed and quickness as did the Owensboro team. Lots of people expected a game in the 90s but it was truly one-sided. Now I'm not saying that Holmes would have beaten them given today's format but I know I for one would have liked to see that game under different circumstances. I think the entire crowd was cheated out of that chance.

I'm going to say the format has nothing to do with the decline. It's pretty darned expensive.

Attendance on a sharp decline for the fourth straight year.

 

Attendance in 2012 (last year for a Saturday final) = 105,766

 

Attendance in 2013 (first year for Sunday final) = 123,363

 

2014 = 101,683

 

2015 = 94,464

 

2016 = 88,170

 

The two lowest attended championship games in the past decade have been the last two years

 

As is high school basketball everywhere at least in the state of Ky. Go to a game anywhere and look at the students in the crowd. It's really sad that kids don't go to games anymore. As for the championship game look at the teams in the game and tell me what kind of crowd they draw. I know that CovCath had a great crowd when they won in 2014.

I'm going to say the format has nothing to do with the decline. It's pretty darned expensive.

 

As is high school basketball everywhere at least in the state of Ky. Go to a game anywhere and look at the students in the crowd. It's really sad that kids don't go to games anymore. As for the championship game look at the teams in the game and tell me what kind of crowd they draw. I know that CovCath had a great crowd when they won in 2014.

 

Agreed and agreed.

Matchups determine the attendance.

 

If today's game was Dunbar vs. Mercer County, Dunbar vs South Laurel or Dunbar vs CCH there would have been a finals attendance record today.

How about seeding the top 4 teams and a blind draw to fill out the rest of the bracket?