Boy, it was grand, wasn’t it? Actually, I suppose you could say it was more like two and a half grand.
Nearly 3,000 rowdy fans filed into Matthews Arena for Saturday’s thrilling men’s basketball game between Northeastern and Boston University, which turned out to be a 76-74 Terrier triumph.
No matter the loss, the event was a success for Northeastern Director of Athletics Dave O’Brien. The game was part of a beginning phase in which NU administrators hope to gradually shift at least half of the basketball slate from petite Cabot Gym (Solomon Court, whatever name you use, it’s tiny) to the 93-year-old St. Boltoph Street structure.
“It was very positive, I was sitting with the commissioner of the America East and he was saying what a great environment it was,” O’Brien said. “About the only thing that wasn’t great for us was the score.
“One of the fans mentioned that since the Duke game [in 1995], he hasn’t seen a crowd that boisterous, into it or solid,” he added. “In retrospect, it was a good thing we held the game there instead of at Cabot, as we would have had to turn away a thousand fans or so. But there probably wouldn’t have been 2,000 people at Cabot, there is just a great appeal to Matthews.”
Before the men’s game, in which the official attendance was 2,800, the Northeastern women battled to an equally thrilling 68-60 overtime loss to BU. For O’Brien and the rest of the athletic department working to make the teams more visable, coupling the men’s and women’s games helps defray the cost of switching from ice to floor and back.
Saturday was the second such doubleheader this year, as the teams also ran the court at Matthews against Marist on Dec. 14. Last year, NU hoops played once at Matthews, on Nov. 22 against Rhode Island.
“Next year we’re looking to have four games there, and eventually we’d like to get to the point where we play about half of our home games at Matthews Arena,” O’Brien said. “It has so many historical connections and can be very attractive. We want to utilize it as much as possible.”
In order to rationalize the flock from Cabot to Matthews, however, NU needs to build a bigger fan base. O’Brien, who is well-versed in doing so at Temple and Long Beach State before taking the Northeastern job last year, recognizes that challenge.
“We’re trying to elevate the visability of the men’s and women’s basketball teams. At the end of the day, we think the best way to do that is to play half of our games at Matthews Arena.
“We have to work in unison with building an audience, otherwise it wouldn’t be justified,” he added. “We have to penetrate the residential student body and get them to begin to see that one of the entertainment options offered is to go out and enjoy athletic events. It can generate community and camaraderie.
“Ways to do that are to work with the residential advisors, student government and student newspaper,” O’Brien said. “Part of it can be creating a ‘big game’ draw, but also because kids want to see each other and the game becomes the place to be.”
For now, though, Saturday’s basketball festivities could loom as the first of many great steps towards re-establishing the basketball tradition started by Jim Calhoun and the late Reggie Lewis some 20 years ago.
“Everybody felt it was a big success, and almost a milestone of what basketball could be like if we got all the pieces moving together,” O’Brien said.
In the box: University of Massachusetts football coach Mark Whipple left the team last week to join on as the quarterbacks coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Don Brown, a defensive coordinator for the Minutemen before taking the reigns at NU, seems like a likely candidate for the UMass job. Keep an eye on this one.
– Jack Weiland may be reached at [email protected]. He can be heard every Wednesday from 12-1 p.m. on WRBB FM’s “Newstime.”
