Rest Easy- Response from the NCAA

[BCPanther]

I decided with all of the hosting controversy that I would go straight to the source and shoot the NCAA an email and ask about seeding. Here is the response I got-

Brett,



Yes, the #1 and #2 seeds, provided the financial guarantees are met and a facility is available, would host throughout the preliminary rounds should they continue to advance. We seed 1 though 4 to ensure that should all four teams advance to the semifinals, #1 plays #4 and #2 plays #3.



Good luck with the rest of the season.



Damani J. Leech

My guess is that Hartzell is worried that they will outright give Montana the overall #1!

[Newsbreaker]

Who cares if the give montana the #1...it's slipping to#3 that you worry about!!!

[UNIAlum95]

The statement says "would host throughout the preliminary rounds should they continue to advance." The semifinal rounds are not the preliminary rounds and thus the concern that if we are on the same bracket at Montana, they can and likely will outbid us. The committee decides who hosts the game.

If it comes down to two undefeated teams and one is offering to pay $100K more, I wonder who they will choose? Let's all be rooting for a Montana loss before the season is over.

[Panther-at-Arms]

Let's all be rooting for a Montana loss before the season is over.

Like we don't already??

[UNIAlum95]

Like we don't already??

Good point.

[UNI MadCat]

Yeah, unfortunately nothing about that really says, "rest easy". It doesn't really eliminate the thought that if a Montana or a McNeese were to outbid, they'd get it.

Can someone explain the bidding process to us again (I know its come up in years past)??

If I bid 150 and you bid 100, do I win with 101 (a la ebay) or do I win with the number I put out there?

[BCPanther]

Preliminary rounds are defined as 'any round leading to the championship game in Chattanooga' (I am at work, I will get the link later). Therefore, If we are the #1 or #2 and meet the minimum bid ($50k, I believe) we get to host the games.

I think we just misread RH's quotes. I think his concern is that Montana will get the #1 if they go undefeated regardless of who they played or the quality of their team. The NCAA also gets a portion of gate revenue so that is where they would want Montana to have 3.

[JayJ79]

I think his concern is that Montana will get the #1 if they go undefeated regardless of who they played or the quality of their team. The NCAA also gets a portion of gate revenue so that is where they would want Montana to have 3.

The more I thought about it, I think that is what RH was saying, that Montana, etc. could get better consideration for a 1 or 2 seed due to bigger profit potential with a semifinal game held in Wa-Griz

Also, I'm not sure if the NCAA gets both the "bid" amount AND a portion of the gate revenue. I'm thinking that the "minimum financial guarantee" submitted includes that portion of the gate (with perhaps the conditions being that if they don't bring in enough in ticket sales to meet that minimum, the school will have to make up the difference). But I don't know.

Here is the wording from the handbook again, just for reference:

Prospective host institutions must submit the following minimum financial guarantees, which shall be 75 percent of the estimated net receipts as submitted on the proposed budget:
First round—$30,000
Quarterfinal—$40,000
Semifinal—$50,000

Guess it's probably a good thing that I'm not an AD, since all the NCAA procedures and processes confuse me at times.

[UNIAlum95]

Preliminary rounds are defined as 'any round leading to the championship game in Chattanooga' (I am at work, I will get the link later). Therefore, If we are the #1 or #2 and meet the minimum bid ($50k, I believe) we get to host the games.

I think we just misread RH's quotes. I think his concern is that Montana will get the #1 if they go undefeated regardless of who they played or the quality of their team. The NCAA also gets a portion of gate revenue so that is where they would want Montana to have 3.

That is probably the case. If UNI and Montana are both undefeated, they may reward Montana based on their bid with the number 1 seed. That makes sense as to what he was saying. As long as we don't slip to #3 it wouldn't matter. The top 2 are the place to be and I would love to have three games at home.

Now let's go get those 'guins...

[Marc Wigim]

Prospective host institutions must submit the following minimum financial guarantees, which shall be 75 percent of the estimated net receipts as submitted on the proposed budget:
First round—$30,000
Quarterfinal—$40,000
Semifinal—$50,000

This is something we have easily met in the past, I can't see why we should worry.

[CincyPanther88]

If UNI hosts a 1st round game, how difficult will it be to get tickets?

[JayJ79]

If UNI hosts a 1st round game, how difficult will it be to get tickets?

1st round is on Thanksgiving weekend.
The first round game in '05 against Eastern Washington had downright pitiful attendance (only 7746 officially. maybe slightly higher actually, but not by much).

Shouldn't be quite as bad this year, but I wouldn't put any money on it being sold out. But it's still a good idea to get tickets ahead of time and not wait until the last minute

[UNIAlum95]

1st round is on Thanksgiving weekend.
The first round game in '05 against Eastern Washington had downright pitiful attendance (only 7746 officially. maybe slightly higher actually, but not by much).

Shouldn't be quite as bad this year, but I wouldn't put any money on it being sold out. But it's still a good idea to get tickets ahead of time and not wait until the last minute

The student turn out is always lower. However, with the marketing that UNI has done this year, I'd be surprised if they couldn't come close to a sell out. Especially with a number one seed.

[unigriff]

ill be there

[UNI MadCat]

The student turn out is always lower. However, with the marketing that UNI has done this year, I'd be surprised if they couldn't come close to a sell out. Especially with a number one seed.

Montana never comes close to selling out their first round games. We won't either. Its disappointing but pretty simple supply and demand (due to folks travelling for T-giving).

IIRC, RH got the time set for a night game 2 years ago to increase the chances of students coming back. I dont know if it worked per se. I will say one thing... that was some cold tailgating!! There were never more than 50 of us braving it out there! But hey, I got on tv with the christmas tree we brought out to the lot!