Forum › Forum › Lehigh Sports › Lehigh Men’s Basketball › Where to? › Reply To: Where to?
Bucknell home games are a local event because they have a long winning tradition…
I remain convinced that this is the big one. I realize that this is only anecdotal, but I saw and felt a significant change while at LU. When I got there, we were at the tail end of the P&Q era. There was excitement about basketball. Guys in my house road-tripped to the ECC tourney – in Baltimore, if I remember correctly. It was not the same, even by the time I left. The end of the ECC certainly had an impact; felt like we were in no-man’s-land for a while there. But the hoops definitely dropped off too, crashing soon thereafter.
There are some things that are very hard to study or quantify, and I think this is one. And I’m a data analytics guy by career. I don’t think you can measure name recognition, or identify the factors that lead to spikes in applicants. Too many intangible variables. What lead a kid to pick Lehigh, or any other school? Who knows? But selling the brand ain’t gonna hurt, for sure. Starts with success, IMO. Easton Junior College does better, especially relative to enrollment, in the same general market. Again, because of a hoops tradition, I believe.
