Which bracket is home and which is visitor?

[txstatebobcat]

Want to buy tickets, but not sure which would be the TxSt or UNI side of Finley stadium.

[chattanoogamocs]

More than likely, the SoCon team will be on the North Side of the Stadium ("visitors" side) and the Texas State/UNI winner will be on the South Side ("home"/skybox side).

Typically the Sports Committee will put the bigger crowd on the North Side because they are opposite the cameras. That is not a definite, but it seems like the bigger crowd always ends up on that side...and with Furman/ASU being in much closer proximity to Chattanooga, it is probably safe to say they will bring more.

I was actually over here to post a link to an article about attendance predictions (check for it on the board)....Furman and App are both estimating about 5K....Texas State officials are thinking 3-4K, UNI 1-2K. (7K have been sold locally so far)

(note: these are the schools estimates so don't kill the messenger if you are from one of those school and think the numbers are too low :))

[*****]

More than likely, the SoCon team will be on the North Side of the Stadium ("visitors" side) and the Texas State/UNI winner will be on the South Side ("home"/skybox side).

Typically the Sports Committee will put the bigger crowd on the North Side because they are opposite the cameras. That is not a definite, but it seems like the bigger crowd always ends up on that side...and with Furman/ASU being in much closer proximity to Chattanooga, it is probably safe to say they will bring more.

I was actually over here to post a link to an article about attendance predictions (check for it on the board)....Furman and App are both estimating about 5K....Texas State officials are thinking 3-4K, UNI 1-2K. (7K have been sold locally so far)

(note: these are the schools estimates so don't kill the messenger if you are from one of those school and think the numbers are too low :))How come the McNeese State fans were on the pressbox side in 2002, the Delaware fans in 2003, the Montana fans in 2004? They all were the largest contingent.

[chattanoogamocs]

I really didn't make myself clear enough in my first response...what I meant to say was that the Committee tries to guess in advance which will bring more (doesn't mean they always get it right)

In 2002, they thought with Western Kentucky being so much closer, they might end up with the larger crowd...McNeese had significant walk-up sales (McNeese had a stronger fan showing than many in town were expecting that year...btw, people here still talk about how much fun the McNeese fans were)

In 2003, the Delaware Fans were on that side...the Colgate fans were on the press box side (I have about 30 pics to prove it).

In 2004, I felt like JMU had just as many fans as Montana (or not significantly less...both school brought great numbers)...but either way, JMU filled in the camera side very nicely...the Committee fretted a little about Montana...they were worried that since they had been here in 2000 and 2001, they might not travel as many (law of diminishing returns since there is no easy way between Montana and Chattanooga)...JMU fans could drive.

To also balance crowds...if that side is not filling in like they would like for TV, they do try to sell more walk-up tickets to that side...by game day, you can just ask what fans are on what side...and pick where you want.

If y'all would like, I would be happy to put in a call to Merrill for the official scoop...I interned for him while in college...he is very approachable. (I am sure ralph has had plenty of conversations with him)

[GannonFan]

UD was on the side for the cameras in '03, I agree. JMU did a credible job of filling the side last year - the reasons around that versus Montana make sense. The WKU decision was just silly - WKU has a good program and all, but it's well known that they don't have a large following (not smacking it, just pointing it out). Geographic proximity wouldn't matter if they don't even go to the home games. McNeese on the other hand has a great following - seems to me in '02 they didn't know a lot about the IAA landscape.

[LacesOut]

I don't care about camera views and fans filling up the stadium so it looks pretty. I care about.............uniforms! So, what I want to know is which bracket will be the home team?

[HensRock]

in '03, UD wore "home" jerseys, but sat on "away" side.

[HiHiYikas]

Want to buy tickets, but not sure which would be the TxSt or UNI side of Finley stadium.

Is it possible that, given the presence of fans from all 4 semifinal schools in this forum, that members can swap or unload their championship tickets if said tickets turn out to be on the wrong side (or even unneccesary, as hopefully so many Furman fans will soon discover) with one another?

Or is that something that's pretty easy to do at the game?

[TheValleyRaider]

in '03, UD wore "home" jerseys, but sat on "away" side.

The two are unconnected, it sounds like. For all intents and purposes, ASU would be the "home" team if they win because they are the highest remaining seed, meaning they get to chose their jersey and all the stuff the "home" team gets. If ASU loses, and Texas State wins, the Bobcats are the home team as the higher seed. This is the reason UD wore the "home" jerseys in 2003, they were techinically the home team as the #2 seed against the #4. The only thing I don't know is how they decide who gets what if both seeds lose. But if I know one thing for sure, it's that there will be lots of purple in Chattanooga if that happens.

[Freightliner]

I don't care about camera views and fans filling up the stadium so it looks pretty. I care about.............uniforms! So, what I want to know is which bracket will be the home team?


If someone knows which bracket won the coin flip after the 16 teams were determined...then you would know...

Can Anybody answer that question?

[LacesOut]

If someone knows which bracket won the coin flip after the 16 teams were determined...then you would know...

Can Anybody answer that question?

That's what I thought. I'm pretty sure that's what they did in 2003 when UD won it all. Their bracket, whether it was the top or bottom, won the coin toss to be the home team for the NC game at the beginning of the tournament.

BTW, back to that tourney for a second if you will, as soon as Montana, UMass, and McNeese State all lost in the first round, my friends and I were like, THIS IS OUR YEAR!!! We just had a weird feeling about it. Then, when Colgate, Colgate I said, got into the final against UD, well, AHAHAHAHAHAAHA.

[HensRock]

It is correct that the "home" team was determined randomly when the bracket was formed. They flip a coin to determine if top half or bottom half is "home". But this is only the team that gets the right to wear their home colors. They will choose which teams' fans sit where after the semis. They will put the team that they expect to bring more fans on the side away from the cameras. That's why in 03 UD wore "home" colors (because their side of the bracket won the flip far in advance), but the team was on the far sideline and fans on the far side of the field.

I do not know which side won the toss this year.