(Yesterday, 08:12 PM)81alum Wrote: I did not renew either. Going to all the games last year was actually beginning to feel like a chore--having more success certainly would have made those trips more fun. But the many changes to college athletics have sapped my enjoyment of the game more generally. Hard for me to get excited when I have no attachment to the players on the team and when college sports in general have lost the nostalgic vibe that they once held. If I do get interested in sports again it will be either at the high school or the pro level.
I started watching Stanford Women's Basketball in 1978 and stopped out after 1982 when it was clear that the coach was abusive and running the program into the ground. I started attending again in 1988 and have had season tickets since 1990. I did renew this year because I wanted to support the remaining and incoming athletes for this year to see if there would be any change. For me, renewing will no longer be automatic especially with the current management.
Best of luck, 81alum...I'll miss talking to you and the others who didn't renew/no longer come.
(10 hours ago)2006alum Wrote:(10 hours ago)BobK Wrote: Why mad at the AD ? He didn’t make 7 players and an assistant coach leave
Bob, I don't mean to rehash the past, but when the 7 players announced they were leaving, many of us wrote to the AD to express concern with the rumored allegations of verbal abuse and toxic culture that had resulted in the unprecedented number of transfers out, as well as the on-court performance the past season which seemed evident of "something rotten in the State of Denmark." And during that period, I communicated with multiple players/their family and I very much believe the allegations were true based on what they could say (it was also very clear they were under NDAs and couldn't get into specifics, which itself is kind of concerning).
The AD's response to me, and many others, was, in relevant part: "I am reviewing the feedback we are receiving and incorporating it into our ongoing discussions and standard year-end review process. We are being thoughtful in our approach and expect to share more publicly in the coming week."
No more was ever shared. Not conclusions, not concrete changes, nothing. Just an empty webinar telling us how difficult it is to be a college coach these days. The AD has given those of us with concern zero evidence to think anything meaningful will change. Are we supposed to believe everything was due to Katy Steding alone? Well if so, I guess the AD could tell us. Otherwise, that feels rather farfetched.
So TL;DR, I don't wish KP ill, but I am not going to throw money behind a program I have serious concerns is not actually doing well by its student-athletes. And honestly, spending 2+ hours driving to Maples to watch us wildly underperform week in, week out, is throwing good time after bad money. So to me, the burden is on Stanford to win back my support. So far, it's done absolutely nothing to try.
I neither thought nor expected there would be any serious disclosure in a public forum, but I expected action to be taken in the background. Instead, we got a couple of happy-talk webinars and no action - other than Katy Steding leaving (was she really the problem?)
I decided to renew this year to support the remaining players and those who had already committed - but if the program keeps churning players, my interest will decrease pretty quickly.