To me the opponents are a lesser point than the lack of winning. Most of us don't go to games to see the other team, we go to see our team. If we are winning constantly we would get 7-8k to watch Timbuktu State play UTEP. It's what this city used to do and still can do. Obviously, bringing big names helps attendance but the reality is that it's not going to happen consistently. Winning solves all our problems.It’s partly what kickball wrote, but it’s been 10 years since UTEP had a NIT caliber team. That team didn’t even sniff the NCAAs and no team since has come close to sniffing the NIT.
Throw in a degrading home schedule and a degrading CUSA and you get what we have. We’re currently “equals” with Sam Houston St and Jacksonville St, when 20 years ago, they would have been buy game opponents or the worst team in the SBI, going home with 2 losses.
Lack of winning and worst opponents in the country are why people don’t go. You can improve all that other stuff, but it doesn’t matter if you’re finishing 16-15 or your best wins are Yale and UCSB.