Welcome New AD Marvin Lewis

[Patriotsince81]

George Mason University has a total undergraduate enrollment of 28,331 (fall 2024), with a gender distribution of 51.0% male students and 48.8% female students. At this school, 21% of the students live in college-owned, -operated or -affiliated housing and 79% of students live off campus.

George Mason University (GMU) offers on-campus living with over 40 residence halls, housing around 6,100 students, with a strong emphasis on first-year students, as over 75% of freshmen reside on campus and are required to live in dorms unless exempt. Options range from traditional halls to suites and townhouses, fostering community and easy access to campus resources like libraries, dining, and fitness centers, though most of GMU's students (about 79%) live off-campus, notes U.S. News & World Report.

 

[Jack Strop]

It could be the type of student, it could be the culture of the school, it could be that basketball isn't talked about enough.

Could be about 1,000 things. Point is, its not improving drastically with winning like folks thought. And at this point, having a corporate section for our pillow home games isn't a terrible idea. Not like they are going to do it for Homecoming or in the middle of February when first place is on the line. That would be dumb.

'zactly. Once or twice per season. Knock yourselves out!

Student engagement is not a "type-of-student" thing. I don't think the students are any different from VA Tech to JMU to UMd. It's the culture. Culture was snuffed out during the Paulsen Era (not necessarily or entirely attributed to Dave). It has to be rebuilt. Can it be?

Without rehashing 1,473,536 posts on the subject, aside from type-of-student, it's an all-of-the-above answer. An open, permissive approach with a sprinkling of winning and a dash of time forms the foundation. The rest is gameday experience, PR, and goodwill. The AD office is trying hard. We'll see how it goes.

 

[jessej]

George Mason University has a total undergraduate enrollment of 28,331 (fall 2024), with a gender distribution of 51.0% male students and 48.8% female students. At this school, 21% of the students live in college-owned, -operated or -affiliated housing and 79% of students live off campus.

George Mason University (GMU) offers on-campus living with over 40 residence halls, housing around 6,100 students, with a strong emphasis on first-year students, as over 75% of freshmen reside on campus and are required to live in dorms unless exempt. Options range from traditional halls to suites and townhouses, fostering community and easy access to campus resources like libraries, dining, and fitness centers, though most of GMU's students (about 79%) live off-campus, notes U.S. News & World Report.

28331 total undergrads * 0.21 undergrad students on campus = 5949 potential game attendees

500 student attendees = 500/5949 = 8.4% of the residential undergraduate population
1000 = 16.8%
I now see the problem. The residential mix works against students' extra-curricular activity, andI i am unsure what the solution is.

There is data on the number of student attendees by game. Maybe hold say 1500 seats for students and optimize around that?

 

[Jack Strop]

28331 total undergrads * 0.21 undergrad students on campus = 5949 potential game attendees

500 student attendees = 500/5949 = 8.4% of the residential undergraduate population
1000 = 16.8%
I now see the problem. The residential mix works against students' extra-curricular activity, andI i am unsure what the solution is.

There is data on the number of student attendees by game. Maybe hold say 1500 seats for students and optimize around that?

I was a commuter student and I went to lots of games. By not considering the proportion of off-campus students who attend games, the above calculations are baseline at best. A survey of students who attend games is a far better indicator of the statistical problem over simple math applied to analyze weak assumptions. But, I get it, the assumptions made are all anyone has to work with here.

 

[GMU79]

Someone a few comments back said something to the effect, "We're winning and it hasn't helped, like some people said it would."
That is a false equivalence. Winning at the beginning of one year against inferior competition is not going to excite anyone...except us.
Winning does not mean a winning start, or a winning season, or two. (Yes, we won last year.) It is a winning program.
Winning year after year. Beating vcu regularly. Upsetting the big boys. Getting to the NCAA repeatedly.
That is the winning we (or at least I) am talking about.
If we do, they will come.
I saw us play at Cameron during Coach K's first year. The place was empty. Just sayin.

 

[TweederGMU]

If you're talking section 102, I hope you realize that there are long-time season ticket holders there (including me!), particularly those in the lower bowl and close to the aisle they share with 101.

Would give them Section 103.... the bottom 10 rows and see if they fill them up.

 

[TweederGMU]

If you all think that corporate sponsors are going to bring attendees to every game and cheer like they mean it then, yes, gameday atmosphere will suffer.

At least the students who attend games have a little stake in the team. Corporate sponsors have stake in brand exposure. When attendance fails and the target audience is no longer in EBA the Corporate sponsors will look elsewhere for a better return on their dollars. Then Mason will have no money, no fans, and a downward spiral spinning into the Patriot League or DIi.

How wonderful. The $$$ you think you see will doom our team. The student section is not the place for a Corporate oasis.

I think you seem to be missing our point. We've been trying to get corporate dollars for 20+ years for our sports teams (mainly our basketball team), facilities, sponsorships, etc. Students and student fees and them attending games are not going to pay for these items.... especially now in the NIL era. You need big time corporations investing in your university and sports teams and facilities. Students and student fees are not going to pay for another locker room renovation or cup holders on the back of chairs. Donations and corporate sponsors is where we need to invest our resources and communications as these sponsors and donors will help drive our athletic initiatives moving forward.

In the past....they used to give corporate sponsors tickets in a row in certain sections (during the Brad Edwards administration) and would chuck tickets at the company rep and then they would most likely post an email to their employees and say they have 10 tickets to the Mason game on such and such date and time - email HR if you want one. This didn't pan out well - people wouldn't show up/rows would be open. This info came directly from Andy who used to work in the AD, remember him telling me few years ago after he left Mason.

Looks like Marvin and this administration are open to tinkering with better fan experiences and getting more big corporate donors in the door. This area is a new way of rewarding these companies that invest in Mason....giving them an elevated catered food and beverage experience and prime seating section for these target donor companies. Giving them this lounge type of atmosphere will hopefully bring out the old Mason grads or the casual fans who want to network, attend a free night out, or entertain prospects, partners or clients. Why not give it a shot!? Not to mention putting these people OUTSIDE of the Gold room (so these people don't clog up your precious Wegman's lines and add more people in the room) is something worth trying.

We have to look to the future in this NIL landscape and embrace getting more corporate dollars in the door to be able to finance our operations in more than one capacity.

As for trying to convert these students into future ticket holders.... LOL... good luck... these are the digital age kids who grew up with computers, phones, and virtual reality/metaverse games and experiences and very short attention spans. They have no idea what their future holds after graduation much less know what they will be doing 2 weeks from now.... GMU basketball is not even a blimp on their future radars. To the vast majority of them they equate Mason bball as something to do for 2 hours on a Tuesday night or Saturday afternoon - if not working, studying or back at home for the weekend.

I don't think the 20 students who consistently show up, who are not a part of another Mason athletic team, would have a gripe next year sitting over by the band in a similar behind the hoop section or sitting in Section 103 behind the visitor bench... they can still sit on their hands or play on their phones from those areas as well.

 

[GMUgemini]

Those of you making this argument are missing the fact that corporations will not want to sponsor an empty arena…

 

[tblack33]

'zactly. Once or twice per season. Knock yourselves out!

Student engagement is not a "type-of-student" thing. I don't think the students are any different from VA Tech to JMU to UMd. It's the culture. Culture was snuffed out during the Paulsen Era (not necessarily or entirely attributed to Dave). It has to be rebuilt. Can it be?

Without rehashing 1,473,536 posts on the subject, aside from type-of-student, it's an all-of-the-above answer. An open, permissive approach with a sprinkling of winning and a dash of time forms the foundation. The rest is gameday experience, PR, and goodwill. The AD office is trying hard. We'll see how it goes.

Go walk around those campuses and walk around ours, I promise you it does.

 

[tblack33]

Everyone talks about attendance potentially falling like that didn’t already happen. We fill a third of the arena on most nights. I applaud the AD for at least thinking outside the box and trying different things. Maybe forcing the students next to the band will actually engage them a bit more. At least it’s loud as shit over there so if they want to talk they’ll have to scream.

 

[Jack Strop]

Those of you making this argument are missing the fact that corporations will not want to sponsor an empty arena…

DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!
You are correct, sir!

**********

I don't want to see a HUGE EMPTY HOLE permanently behind Mason's 2nd-half basket. Put the corporate box someplace else or only do it a couple of times per season.

I'm not missing anybody's point. I'm all for getting corporate sponsors and their dough. But we're not the Capitals nor the Commanders or even the Nats or Wizards. I would wager that there are very few managers from the corporate sponsors we want who will seek to entertain clients at a Mason game.on a regular basis if much at all. There are far more better opportunities to do so than EBA.

Some here think it's an embarrassment to see empty seats along the sidelines during a televised broadcast. I think it would be wayyyyyy more of an embarrassment to see on TV (and from the stands) our players shooting free throws toward empty fold-out chairs, a table of chocolate chip cookies and sterno-heated buffalo wings. [For the record, I don't watch home games on TV—frankly, I have not missed a home game in 12 years.]

Who are those that purchase season tickets? Most likely those who have a connection to the University—alumni and faculty top the list. Despite what some may believe, tomorrow's season ticket holders are today's students. Take the students out of the equation by removing their home on the court and we'll never be able to bring them back as future season tix holders. Their experience will suffer. Everyone's experience will suffer.

There's more I can say, but I'm not gonna post a white paper on this thread, but I reserve the right ti comment further if I feel the need.

 

[Verdad]

There seem to be some very strange and inaccurate assumptions being made in this thread.

1. Using the baseline area as a hospitality space does not mean the students will not have a section - the section would just moved somewhere else. It will have ZERO effect on student attendance.

2. They are trying out the area to see what potential uses can be made of it. I personally like it as a fan hospitality area. I experienced it at the women’s game, loved it and shared my feedback with the AD. They have NOT said the space is going to become a permanent corporate suite. But if that space can be used for hospitality, wouldn’t having that space as an option to offer to companies for large gatherings (reserve the whole area) or to purchase individual access and reserve a table/space be an excellent way to increase revenue, attendance and our fanbase? The answer is an obvious “Duh.”

Even if it is a 3rd hospitality option for Patriot Club donors/season ticket holders or overflow space for green and gold rooms it is a significant improvement to the fan hospitality experience.

 

[DRK331]

GMU Athletics Director Marvin Lewis gave a presentation today at the Fairfax campus. Here is what he said:

Basketball & Academic Performance Center
Project details:
30,000 sq ft
Total Estimated cost: ~$30 million
Fundraising goal: $15 million
Basketball Operations: practice courts, locker rooms, recovery lounge, weight room, athletic training and coaches offices
Academic Performance Center: tutoring rooms, classroom and study space, staff offices

Timeline:
Groundbreaking: Spring 2026
Construction Completion: Fall 2027

West Campus Development
-Priority #1: Baseball Stadium
Planning: Feb 2026
Construction Completed: Estimated to be around Winter 2029

-Priority #2 (Option A): High Performance Training Center + Indoor Track
-Priority #2 (Option B): Field House 2.0

Eagle Bank Arena
-Hospitality spaces inside of EBA for the business community and high end donors
-Dedicated faculty and staff seating in EBA so that the faculty and staff who go to games aren't spread out in EBA
-The one basketball game back in December 2025 where they took away the student section and had it as a space for business community was a trial/test and they are thinking about doing it again in the future
-Marvin Lewis is very aware of how outdated EBA is, and wants to upgrade the amenities that EBA has to offer in order to make it more modern

-Marvin Lewis is very aware of how old and outdated the Field House, Baseball Stadium, Eagle Bank Arena, and other Athletics facilities on campus are, and is working on upgrading and building new facilities.

Coaches Caravan events are coming back, this time for June-August 2026. These will be located in various places in Northern Virginia

Patriot Brew (Quick updates type of newsletter on Mason Athletics):

George Mason Athletics Launches Morning Content Newsletter in Partnership with Sport & Story - George Mason University Athletics

Fairfax, VA - George Mason Athletics is bringing the Patriot Brew newsletter back to fans. Beginning today, the Patriot Brew will hit inboxes first thing every Monday,

gomason.com

Marvin Lewis talked a lot about trying to get the people of the Northern Virginia community into Mason Athletics, attending games and going to events, so him and his team are doing everything they can to do that. They have a lot they are working on, it just takes time to make it happen.

The future is very bright for Mason Athletics

I'm tagging people who I think will be interested in this:
@HoopsAdmin @mkaufman1 @MasonFanatic @Stoolguy @tblack33 @emjayar08

 

[mkaufman1]

GMU Athletics Director Marvin Lewis gave a presentation today at the Fairfax campus. Here is what he said:

Basketball & Academic Performance Center
Project details:
30,000 sq ft
Total Estimated cost: ~$30 million
Fundraising goal: $15 million
Basketball Operations: practice courts, locker rooms, recovery lounge, weight room, athletic training and coaches offices
Academic Performance Center: tutoring rooms, classroom and study space, staff offices

Timeline:
Groundbreaking: Spring 2026
Construction Completion: Fall 2027

West Campus Development
-Priority #1: Baseball Stadium
Planning: Feb 2026
Construction Completed: Estimated to be around Winter 2029

-Priority #2 (Option A): High Performance Training Center + Indoor Track
-Priority #2 (Option B): Field House 2.0

Eagle Bank Arena
-Hospitality spaces inside of EBA for the business community and high end donors
-Dedicated faculty and staff seating in EBA so that the faculty and staff who go to games aren't spread out in EBA
-The one basketball game back in December 2025 where they took away the student section and had it as a space for business community was a trial/test and they are thinking about doing it again in the future
-Marvin Lewis is very aware of how outdated EBA is, and wants to upgrade the amenities that EBA has to offer in order to make it more modern

-Marvin Lewis is very aware of how old and outdated the Field House, Baseball Stadium, Eagle Bank Arena, and other Athletics facilities on campus are, and is working on upgrading and building new facilities.

Coaches Caravan events are coming back, this time for June-August 2026. These will be located in various places in Northern Virginia

Patriot Brew (Quick updates type of newsletter on Mason Athletics):

George Mason Athletics Launches Morning Content Newsletter in Partnership with Sport & Story - George Mason University Athletics

Fairfax, VA - George Mason Athletics is bringing the Patriot Brew newsletter back to fans. Beginning today, the Patriot Brew will hit inboxes first thing every Monday,

gomason.com

Marvin Lewis talked a lot about trying to get the people of the Northern Virginia community into Mason Athletics, attending games and going to events, so him and his team are doing everything they can to do that. They have a lot they are working on, it just takes time to make it happen.

The future is very bright for Mason Athletics

I'm tagging people who I think will be interested in this:
@HoopsAdmin @mkaufman1 @MasonFanatic @Stoolguy @tblack33 @emjayar08

Thanks for the updates. Unfortunately the comments of "knowing how old xyz facilities are" is a dead horse that we've heard for years. Specifically it would be nice to see a plan for EBA but many facilities need major upgrades.

 

[TweederGMU]

For EBA and moving forward. I wonder if in the current contract EagleBank contributes any funding for any renovations or upgrades over the course of their contract. Or do they just primarily give money to have their name on the building and reap the marketing and sponsorship rewards without being on the hook to put any money/funding for upkeep or any renovation projects - or if Mason takes care of the upgrade/renovation projects out of their own pockets. Of course, there could be stipulations in the contact that EagleBank provides a portion of money for minor maintenance or upgrade solutions.... or could be none at all. Curious to know.

I believe this is the last year, or maybe next year, Eagle Bank will have the contract/naming rights to our arena and then we have to find a new sponsor/partner. This may throw a curve ball in to really what can we do now upgrades/renovations wise prior to reaching out to find a new sponsor.

Do we look at it like we need to do A, B, C now when it comes to these upgrades prior to reaching out to new suitors for sponsorship and state all the new renovations we have done recently to make it a better building and sponsorship opportunity.

Or... does our team not do much and ride out our contract with EagleBank and THEN draft a new contract for the mid to major renovations/upgrades projects our arena needs to the new companies/suitors and put them on the hook for financing a lot of these renovation projects.

Moving forward.... curious to see what we can renovate now (if anything) vs. how we go about packaging and selling our arena naming rights contract to new companies/suitors and see if we actually ask/stipulate them to foot the bill for these projects.

 

[gmutom]

Thanks for the updates. Unfortunately the comments of "knowing how old xyz facilities are" is a dead horse that we've heard for years. Specifically it would be nice to see a plan for EBA but many facilities need major upgrades.

Now that all of our games are televised on ESPN+ or other sports networks, there is no excuse to not add TVs in the hospitality areas and on the concourse so people can watch the games live when they are getting concessions. Flatscreens are so inexpensive and easy to mount these days, so the cost would be minimal to even add 15 TVs throughout the arena.

 

[mkaufman1]

Now that all of our games are televised on ESPN+ or other sports networks, there is no excuse to not add TVs in the hospitality areas and on the concourse so people can watch the games live when they are getting concessions. Flatscreens are so inexpensive and easy to mount these days, so the cost would be minimal to even add 15 TVs throughout the arena.

This should have been done in like 2015, but I have no reason why it hasn't been done. I think @MasonFanatic has asked and not gotten an answer either.

 

[DRK331]

Picture from the Highside AMA event:

https://x.com/MasonAD_MLewis/status/2019513731412263108/photo/1

@MasonAD_MLewis on Twitter

 

[TweederGMU]

Picture from the Highside AMA event:

https://x.com/MasonAD_MLewis/status/2019513731412263108/photo/1

@MasonAD_MLewis on Twitter

Who's the guy in the middle with the green long sleeve GM shirt?

 

[NewPatriot]

Maybe I missed it..but it doesn't seem like any one ask questions about the most important topic: Where are the Patriots regarding next year's Basketball payroll? Will there be enough money to keep the majority of the rotation together for next year because without winning all the rest of it is moot