I believe we have found us a Coach

[janvandy66]

I believe that we now have a real college basketball coach, time will tell but as of now I am excited about our program after all of those years of lost hope.

[commadore]

I believe you are right. It has been tough after all those years in the top 15 or so.

The last few years we were luck to make the top 15 in our own conference.

[manager65]

Agree. Love watching these girls play. Defense is their identity. Offense is a work in progress but making improvement. They play with heart and will fight you for every loose ball. Cambridge is the playmaker & can pick your pocket before you realize it. I credit the coach for their high energy type of play. Cant wait to see them play again.

[Go Vandy!]

Both MBB & WBB teams IMO play hard, are tough, are opportunistic. Do i think the talent level is top 1/2 of the SEC? Prob. not. Do i think other teams in the conference are not looking forward to playing us? Good chance.

[VandyWhit]

Just given reality, I feel pretty confident we'll face some disappointments over the next few months, but I agree with the positive comments here -- and I have to say that it's really nice to have a message board where fans who often disagree are all agreeing that things are looking pretty hopeful. (Now, I really hope I haven't jinxed us!)

[vandylifer]

I hope your enthusiasm is contagious and folks will start coming back to the games. Attendance is HORRIBLE (I hope it's mainly COVID keeping it down). Coach Ralph and the girls deserve some better support.

[VandyWhit]

I hope your enthusiasm is contagious and folks will start coming back to the games. Attendance is HORRIBLE (I hope it's mainly COVID keeping it down). Coach Ralph and the girls deserve some better support.

I think COVID is definitely a factor, but I also think our aging fan base is a major issue in general, not just in relation to COVID. Folks who first became VU WBB fans back in the glory days when we went to the Final Four are, lessee, 30 years older than they were back then, assuming that they're still alive. (That's not a joke, I'm sure I'm not the only person who remembers fondly a significant number of WBB fans who are no longer with us.) People who were parents of school-aged children back then are now grandparents to the children of those formerly school-aged children. As many people get older, driving through today's Nashville traffic, parking, then driving home after the game is more of an obstacle than it was back then, especially for night games.

What we need is a new generation of WBB fans. How we do that, I don't know, I'll leave it to the young people to figure that out, but I feel certain that fielding a good team that's fun to watch is a good place to start and I feel like we've taken a step in that direction.

[VandyWhit]

I hope your enthusiasm is contagious and folks will start coming back to the games. Attendance is HORRIBLE (I hope it's mainly COVID keeping it down). Coach Ralph and the girls deserve some better support.

I think COVID is definitely a factor, but I also think our aging fan base is a major issue in general, not just in relation to COVID. Folks who first became VU WBB fans back in the glory days when we went to the Final Four are, lessee, 30 years older than they were back then, assuming that they're still alive. (That's not a joke, I'm sure I'm not the only person who remembers fondly a significant number of WBB fans who are no longer with us.) People who were parents of school-aged children back then are now grandparents to the children of those formerly school-aged children. As many people get older, driving through today's Nashville traffic, parking, then driving home after the game is more of an obstacle than it was back then, especially for night games. [. . . ]

And I might add, having every game available on TV (even when it's online) provides even less of an incentive to go to a game in person. Of course, if you watch on TV you miss the gameday atmosphere, 360-degree viewpoint that TV doesn't give you, seeing friends at the game, and the feeling that you're helping your team by being there, but still, televised games make staying home a more attractive alternative than it would otherwise be.