The “Monson Maniacs” will move to the cheap seats beginning the 2012-13 men’s basketball season.
The famed student-cheering group will no longer occupy section 111, which is right at center court across from the team benches but will be relegated to sections 106, 107, and 108.
Senior Associate Athletic Director Bill Brady said the move was to make room for more students who want to attend basketball games.
“This was a decision that we invested a significant amount of research and discussed with numerous entities that could be potentially impacted by a possible adjustment in seating,” he said. “In the end, in an effort to better accommodate our students due to the increase in student attendance during the past four seasons [the move was decided on].”
According to Brady, the move will provide more than 400 additional student seats and better access to the seats from student ticket lines.
Athletic Director Vic Cegles was unavailable for comment, according to Assistant Athletic Director Todd Miles. Miles also said via email that he did not know anything beyond what was already made known to the general public.
Andrew Turner, a junior history and journalism double major and a regular among the rabid Beach cheering section, disagreed with the move.
“To be honest, I don’t think it’s the right move for the Pyramid,” Turner said. “We won’t be able to display our support [for televised games], it may hurt recruiting.”
Although Turner feels that recruitment may suffer because of the move, he also said that the enthusiasm of the students would not taper off.
“I don’t think the [energy] of the student section will change that much,” he said. “[But] the enthusiasm may suffer because we wont be able to see the 49ers’ action in the second half.”
LBSU seems to be following in the footsteps of blue chip programs like Kansas, Syracuse, and Ohio State who allow their student section to showcase larger than life head cut-outs of its players or certain celebrities.
Turner said the Maniacs would have that same luxury in the 2012-13 season.
“The main thing is we will have a bigger impact on the game, we can have a bigger impact on free throws in the second half.”
Associated Students Inc. President Lucy Nguyen also disagreed with move.
“Our students are integral part of the whole experience of going to a game,” Nguyen said. “We have to make sure they’re front and center.”
The move of the students’ section has also forced the move of many season ticket holders. Not only do the former section 106, 107, and 108 season ticket holders have to choose new seats, but they will also have to pay more for their new location.
The family plan will still cost $225 per ticket per seat for four people, but many of the other sections will cost a pretty penny.
The sideline and baseline section which is all bench seating will cost $165 per seat per game. The upper sideline section will call for $295 per seat per game with a mandatory donation of $125 per seat. The lower sideline section will also fetch $295 per seat per game while requiring a donation of $250 per seat.
Prices for the highly anticipated matchup with perennial top-10 program North Carolina at the Pyramid will be priced at $60 for south endzone upper and upper concourse, $70 for south endzone lower, and $100 for sideline upper chairback.
Season ticket holders contacted regarding the news were unwilling to speak on the topic citing ties to the Athletic Department.
The raise in ticket prices seems to come at an odd time for LBSU as they lose four of their most storied players to graduation, Casper Ware, T.J. Robinson, Larry Anderson and Eugene Phelps.
“We appreciate the commitment that all former players have had to Long Beach State. However, the department and Coach Monson are building a program that is bigger than any individual,” Brady said. “In regards to ticket pricing, we acquired and discussed significant data. In the end, the need to increase our resource acquisition was clearly apparent.”
He added: “There were numerous pricing options considered, and after meeting with both internal and external constituents, we decided on the adjustment in ticket pricing.”
The ‘Niners will produce a team worthy to compete for Big West Conference supremacy with key returning players such as James Ennis and Mike Caffey transfers such as 6-foot-9 forward Dan Jennings (West Virginia University) and possibly Keala King (Arizona State University) who will most likely be eligible to play in January after leaving ASU during winter break.
According to Miles, King has petitioned the NCAA to allow him to participate when the season begins.
Adam Fuller, a senior journalism and broadcast major feels that the students are getting a raw deal.
“I think the students are getting a bad deal,” he said. “The students make the Pyramid what it is.”
Fuller says the raise in pricing is fair, however, and Ware and Co. have turned LBSU into a solid NCAA basketball program.
“I have no problem with the raise in [ticket prices],” he said. “Casper and the other guys laid a foundation and now the program has the [potential] to get big.”
Brady said the seating change will enhance the game experience for students.
“[The seating change will] provide a better seating experience and access in to the Walter Pyramid for our students and with their new location, create a consolidated and improved student environment, he said. “This will enhance our ability and continue to build home court advantage for our basketball program.”
Mr. Ugland,
There are many reasons why I’m commenting on this.
My first reason comes as a paying season ticket holder. I am a recent graduate who choose to pay for two seats, pay the donation and the ticket prices and I feel that your article is misleading. You fail to note that student tickets are still free. Your article implies that students may have to pay for their seats on top of other fees. Long Beach State is one of the few local schools that does not charge their students for tickets.
As a founding member of the Monson Maniacs, one of the main reasons the student section is being moved is its size. In a matter of 5 years, as long as Coach Monson has been at Long Beach State, the size of the student section has grown exponentially. Section 111 has been “our” home for many years, but the fact that the students show up in such numbers is proof that the program has grown and is incredibly successful. While I don’t like to compare Long Beach to other universities, many schools have student sections behind the opposing basket because the level of intimidation grows in the second half of a game.
In regards to Mr. Turner’s remarks about recruiting. When coming into a school as an athlete, the location of the student section is not something to worry about. If anyone is worried about television exposure, please note that Section 111 was rarely seen during overhead shots of the game. Having the student section behind a basket will highlight the Maniacs antics further, as they are seen during half court shots, free throws and any adverse angles of the game. Currently, the television cameras are set up at the top of Section 111 and do not give viewers a good idea of the size of our student section.
The decision to move the student section has been part of a long, thought out process that began when I was still a student and the student section was growing. This was not taken lightly because it would be such a large change to the atmosphere in the Pyramid. Athletics, in my opinion, did a stellar job in obtaining research and opinions of those who would be impacted by this. Not only does this move allow the students to gather as a whole and support their team as a whole, it allows those who sit in Sections 110 and 112 a better view of the game. As a student in the front few rows for my tenure at The Beach, I was told many times to sit down, something our student section does not do. Having the students all together behind the basket will reduce complaints like those, and it will allow for hundreds more to enjoy the game.
Although there might be some disdain about moving the students, this will also help benefit the basketball programs as well as other sports as exposure grows. Center court seats in almost any sport are prime territory. Having paying members of the Long Beach community, be it alumni, donors, or community members sitting in those seats will allow for additional funds. When paying the ticket donation, you are able to select how much of the donation goes to what team. Personally, I choose to split my donation so that funds are given to Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball and the Track and Field team as they all hold a special place in my memory. These donations are given in order to help fund travel expenses, equipment and scholarships. If it weren’t for these donations, it is quite possible that many of our teams would not be as amazing as they are. The more paying season ticket holders we have, the more we are able to grow as an athletics program and as a university.
It would be also interesting to know how many games Mr. Turner and current ASI President Ms. Nguyen have been to, and how vast their knowledge of college sports, basketball in particular, really is. Despite having our “star” players graduate, this team is not down and out. There is so much skill on this team that we should be proud to have these players representing our university. Please understand that as our program excels and restores the Long Beach State Basketball legacy, things will have to change. From ticket prices to seat locations to perks of being member of the Maniacs, in order to maintain the stability and stature of the program, updates need to be made.
I hope that sheds some light on this issue. Changes such as these need to be made in order for our teams and the different perks that Athletics provides for students to continue.
its not the East basket. Get a compass and some school spirit while you’re at it. Poser.
Good article and insight but totally negative and not in support of anything LBSU Basketball.
Next time, this article should include quotes from Maniacs Leadership members, the ASI Athletics Senator and other people that are in charge of helping to voice the student concerns not some beatnik wannabe. The reason the Maniacs have leadership is to provide guidance of the group, and as a member of this leadership myself I took pride in that fact. If student have an issue with this move then they should get more involved instead of crying afoul after a decision is made. There are plenty of people on campus that have supported this move including several within ASI. The ASI Prez doesnt care in the slightest because she’s on her way out of office and has botched this campus more than Dr. Kavorkian. This move was supported all the way up to the Presidents Office as well as the incoming ASI Prez and as a Maniac leader, it was very respectful the way that the AD and Athletic Dept approached this move with caution and concern for the student’s feelings.
This move is SUCH a good move for the rest of the game atmosphere. any good college basketball program has this outside of Duke.