What the heck is going on here?

[admin]

I've noticed this too. My thoughts:

Long-term issues:
1. Lack of site evolution. This site, while great, hasn't evolved at all since it was created 10 years ago. There still isn't a mobile version, "thumbs up" feature, and I need to log in every time I use it. Other message boards have evolved over the years but this hasn't. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate HLOH and know it must be a lot of work for the admins, but I do believe this is a reason we've seen a general decline for some time now.
2. The COVID reset. I've been to far fewer games post-COVID, though that is in large part due to our mediocre coach. Once people get out of a routine though (going to games), it's sometimes tough to go back. That's especially true for something non-essential like basketball.
3. HLOH branding. I've noticed that very few UConn fans joined, and part of that could be due to the religious website name. That said, I understand there may be copyright issues with using "Big East".
4. The rise of Twitter, Twitter Spaces, etc. For St. John's fans for instance, #sjubb is very active. Twitter Spaces after each game sometimes get 100+ people. Twitter is where personalities like our beat writer, AD, coach, players, Fanta, etc. are, so it's tough for message boards to compete.
5. Success. This league has won a national championship (2X) and continues to send a minimum of 4 teams per year dancing (even in a down year like this one). It has proven, in the current landscape at least, that it will be perfectly fine. Therefore, there is less demand for a conference-specific website. There's not much remaining for the conference to prove and for members to rally behind.

This is actually a very good response. First of all, thanks to everyone for participating. I have noticed lessened traffic here over the past couple of years and haven't been too concerned as I sort of see this as a "happy place" for Big East fans to discuss events. We have banned a few posters who posted frequently without adding much to any discussion. That impacts post counts, but I would prefer it this way.

1- You are totally correct about the lack of evolution here. I'm not a computer guy at all.. just a basketball fan. Started this board on a whim and frankly, I'm not the guy to evolve it. I had conversations with someone a few years ago about taking HLOH and developing it into something more robust, but those ideas didn't move far. If someone out there has the know how and wants to be involved, you know how to reach me.
2- COVID impacted everyone. In some ways, it should have led to an increase in message board participation because this is a way to connect with others while being isolated in other ways. However, it's also possible that fans disconnected from things like college basketball and haven't fully regained their interest.
3- I'm not a branding or marketing guy. This site doesn't really generate revenue beyond" keeping the lights on".
4- Twitter... to me this is the biggest challenge. I often follow twitter as I watch games online whereas I used to spend that time reading and reacting to responses on HLOH.
5- Most of our posters are pretty pleasant blokes and I am sure we would have more discussion if there were a couple of a-holes who instigated school on school hate all of the time. That said, HLOH is sort of like "Cheers"... where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came.

I don't have much else to offer. Happy that people use the board to discuss Big East hoops.

If someone has the know how and interest to make material changes to the site, I am open to ideas.

[Django]

I love that this board is a friendly space and shows how this league really supports each other. I think Wizard nailed the reasons for the recent slowdown and that things will pick up around tournament time, especially for UCONN fans. I appreciate X fans because of their presence and support and passion but I do think that they themselves are the ones who are partially to blame for a dropoff as of late, as Frequent Flyer was a top poster but they drove him to nastiness and ultimately banned (am I right? was he banned?) and they also rode Butler fans pretty hard and most of them are prolly sitting out this year in hopes of Matta getting them competitive... same with Jays fans, we're keeping our mouth shut and staying clear of Muskie fans through this recent X dominance over Creighton (4 in a row on us right now!). That said I wouldn't change a thing with this board. I love it. Oh, and the AACK SUCKS so bad it's not fun picking on them or the Shockers this year!

GO BIG EAST!
GO JAYS!

[Jasper67]

maybe I need to go back to how i used to be? lol. j/k

Where's that Stever GIF we all know and love?

A classic.

How is the AAC doing anyway? I honestly have no idea.

Houston’s doing pretty well last I looked. Memphis & Cincy are okay. Wichita fired the coach who made them relevant, so they’re no longer relevant. The rest are football schools who don’t care about basketball.

[mel ott]

I agree that the " like " option to a comment would be a nice addition. Otherwise, I love the site as well.

[stever20]

Hey now, they have *three* top 100 teams.

on cue some small conference fans are pushing VCU as an at large team.

[kayako]

maybe I need to go back to how i used to be? lol. j/k

Can't speak for others, but old stever was fun to interact with. Maybe it would've been intolerable if the AAC actually became a threat, but things didn't break their way. Imagine UCONN, Houston, and Memphis as headliners, with Wichita, Cinci, and Temple forming a decent 2nd tier group. Just fun to think about, but Cronin was always going to be poached, UCONN and Temple were never going to reach their potential in that conference, Greg Marshall was always going to get exposed, teams were always willing to leave at 1st decent offer, etc. At least the possibility appeared to exist without hindsight. I don't think there's a conference you can adopt that'll get people riled up now...

[kmacker69]

5 years of bad with the only good team canceled by Covid makes it hard to be passionate enough to write much.

[Bluejay]

The lack of a mobile friendly option in 2023 is embarrassing if not inexcusable. It is the main reason I don't come here much anymore. Spend some of the money made from this site on the upgrade!!!