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Applecane

Applecane

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Why did we drop basketball in 1971 for 14 years and why did we decide to bring it back?

I’ve heard of schools dropping football but not basketball.
 
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Applecane said:
Why did we drop basketball in 1971 for 14 years and why did we decide to bring it back?

I’ve heard of schools dropping football but not basketball.
Click to expand...


UM was struggling post-Rick-Barry, both with basketball specifically (didn't have an on-campus arena, so we couldn't rake in the revenue from ticket sales) and with UM Athletics generally. There was even a discussion later into the 1970s (and a tiny bit in the early 1980s) about shutting down football (let's not forget, we broke some rules and got NCAA probation there too).

As for bringing BACK basketball, that was something that got a nice boost from baseball and football winning national championships. From Day 1, the intention was to build an on-campus arena that could be used for multiple activities (graduations, concerts, etc.). We had a deal in the 90s with Ryder as the name-sponsor on an arena, and it fell through.

Trust me, if you saw the fraternity composites from the 1960s and 1970s, you would understand. UM (and a lot of the rest of the country) went from a phase where there were a lot of clean-shaven ROTC type students in the 1960s who were supportive of university athletic teams to a bunch of long-haired disaffected students who didn't want to go to Vietnam or do anything else that seemed conformist at the time, including university athletic teams.

And at UM, there were a LOT of actions taken in the 1970s that were intended to be "temporary", including a number of fraternities and sororities "shutting their doors" for a couple of years, that turned into a couple of decades.

The 1980s pretty much reversed the sludge of the 1970s.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
UM was struggling post-Rick-Barry, both with basketball specifically (didn't have an on-campus arena, so we couldn't rake in the revenue from ticket sales) and with UM Athletics generally. There was even a discussion later into the 1970s (and a tiny bit in the early 1980s) about shutting down football (let's not forget, we broke some rules and got NCAA probation there too).

As for bringing BACK basketball, that was something that got a nice boost from baseball and football winning national championships. From Day 1, the intention was to build an on-campus arena that could be used for multiple activities (graduations, concerts, etc.). We had a deal in the 90s with Ryder as the name-sponsor on an arena, and it fell through.

Trust me, if you saw the fraternity composites from the 1960s and 1970s, you would understand. UM (and a lot of the rest of the country) went from a phase where there were a lot of clean-shaven ROTC type students in the 1960s who were supportive of university athletic teams to a bunch of long-haired disaffected students who didn't want to go to Vietnam or do anything else that seemed conformist at the time, including university athletic teams.

And at UM, there were a LOT of actions taken in the 1970s that were intended to be "temporary", including a number of fraternities and sororities "shutting their doors" for a couple of years, that turned into a couple of decades.

The 1980s pretty much reversed the sludge of the 1970s.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Much appreciated.
 
When I got to UM in 1977 there was definitely some talk about dropping football. There was also a debate around the U logo, and a pretty awful alternative was seriously considered. It wasn’t as bad as that “Klam” thing that came around later but it was no split-U.
 
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As a teen I went to the Miami Floridians ABA at Convention center and other places (also fighting for a home.) Was fun... colorful ball, 3pointers, cool scanty ballgirls. But that (and I guess basketball in Miami) was a flop after 3-4 year try. I think this might have had a negative impact on UM basketball folding same time too.
 
hotshot said:
We were Independent in football as well all those years. There were a lot of Independent schools back in the day. Conference affiliation wasn't a big thing.
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Before ESPN entered the scene and big TV contracts that depended on conference affiliations became the norm, unfortunately.
 
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jkdood said:
As a teen I went to the Miami Floridians ABA at Convention center and other places (also fighting for a home.) Was fun... colorful ball, 3pointers, cool scanty ballgirls. But that (and I guess basketball in Miami) was a flop after 3-4 year try. I think this might have had a negative impact on UM basketball folding same time too.
Click to expand...
As a UM student in the mid-60s I went to many (most) of the games over at the Mia Bch Convention Hall/Auditorium. The attendance (students and others) in all the years I went was about the same as we've often seen at our on campus facility. 5000 or so for a decent opponent, maybe 2000 actual people for Stetson or Rollins.

Miami/Miami Beach in those days was very much like Vegas is now, minus the gambling. It was the #1 vacation destination in America. Vegas was #2. The Disney park up in Orlando was still literally under construction.

The Dolphins were in their very first season and drew flies. Many tourists attended UM games in the OB (one reason for all football home games to be played at night, usually on a Friday night), and many went to the Convention Center for hoops. That all changed at some point.
 
CaneInHeelCountry said:
Before ESPN entered the scene and big TV contracts that depended on conference affiliations became the norm, unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Yep. Scheduling for Ind's was the big drawback for many. Didn't apply to Miami because more big name teams wanted to come to glamorous Miami and the OB than we had dates to accomodate them.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
UM was struggling post-Rick-Barry, both with basketball specifically (didn't have an on-campus arena, so we couldn't rake in the revenue from ticket sales) and with UM Athletics generally. There was even a discussion later into the 1970s (and a tiny bit in the early 1980s) about shutting down football (let's not forget, we broke some rules and got NCAA probation there too).

As for bringing BACK basketball, that was something that got a nice boost from baseball and football winning national championships. From Day 1, the intention was to build an on-campus arena that could be used for multiple activities (graduations, concerts, etc.). We had a deal in the 90s with Ryder as the name-sponsor on an arena, and it fell through.

Trust me, if you saw the fraternity composites from the 1960s and 1970s, you would understand. UM (and a lot of the rest of the country) went from a phase where there were a lot of clean-shaven ROTC type students in the 1960s who were supportive of university athletic teams to a bunch of long-haired disaffected students who didn't want to go to Vietnam or do anything else that seemed conformist at the time, including university athletic teams.

And at UM, there were a LOT of actions taken in the 1970s that were intended to be "temporary", including a number of fraternities and sororities "shutting their doors" for a couple of years, that turned into a couple of decades.

The 1980s pretty much reversed the sludge of the 1970s.
Click to expand...
We have Dr. John Lafayette Green to thank for keeping football.
 
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hotshot said:
As a UM student in the mid-60s I went to many (most) of the games over at the Mia Bch Convention Hall/Auditorium. The attendance (students and others) in all the years I went was about the same as we've often seen at our on campus facility. 5000 or so for a decent opponent, maybe 2000 actual people for Stetson or Rollins.

Miami/Miami Beach in those days was very much like Vegas is now, minus the gambling. It was the #1 vacation destination in America. Vegas was #2. The Disney park up in Orlando was still literally under construction.

The Dolphins were in their very first season and drew flies. Many tourists attended UM games in the OB (one reason for all football home games to be played at night, usually on a Friday night), and many went to the Convention Center for hoops. That all changed at some point.
Click to expand...
I remember those days well
 
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