I too am genuinely curious about the schedule. No criticism to the coaching staff, as I am not a D1 coach and haven't any experience putting together a schedule for a team. I'm not trying to be mean, please don't tell me to watch another team if I don't like it. I'd actually love to chat with the coaching staff about it because I actually do want to learn about it. And I do also watch other teams as well. But competition reasons aside, I do wonder about the schedule purely from a business and marketing perspective, because a team is a business, especially in the NIL era.
A packed Barn is a much better atmosphere for fans, but fans aren't going to consistently come to games without a high quality product. And I'd imagine players prefer playing in front of a large crowd as well. So as a recruiting tool, and way to bring in more fans, shouldn't we be playing teams that will draw a crowd?
Star power builds storylines and makes people want to keep coming back, following a team. The Gophers have some awesome players, but having a WNBA caliber player will really draw in fans. But can the Gophers get WNBA caliber players without big crowds, without playing other high quality non-conference teams?
It can't possibly be that much fun to win all your non-conference games by such a wide margin. Last night's game was honestly cringy to watch at times, because it was such a mismatch, to the point it seemed dangerous. And then to lose your conference opener by such a large margin. As a fan, it's not all that much fun to watch. I've been to every home game this season, and last, and the best games are the close ones. Obviously. Or getting a relatively competitive game against a team with incredible players who we might not ordinarily get to see in person (UConn).
Again, I trust there is a larger vision at play, one I don't understand. But as a fan who loves watching competitive games, I do hope for more opportunities next season, to see non-conference games against Drake, St. Thomas, Green Bay, Marquette...really any team from the area who will bring in fans and give the Gophers stronger competition. I'd love to see some close games that have me worrying if my nerves can handle making it through till the final buzzer.