Carleton University Basketball (home, gym, vs.)

[ckhthankgod]

I was curious, is Carleton University Basketball big in Ottawa? I was watching an exhibition Basketball game between Carleton and Syracuse University and I was impressed with the way Carleton played. I believe that they have won 9 out of the last 11 national championships in Canada and have played well when playing Division 1 college basketball teams from the US.

[Acajack]

It's not widely followed to be quite honest. The scores are sometimes given at the tail end of local sportscasts but that's about it. It's not something you really hear about throughout the city and interest is very limited to the campus and the people involved with the university.

To give you an example the game vs. Syracuse drew 3000 fans - half of them from Syracuse.

Carleton's home gym is the Raven's Nest - capacity 1500 but often not filled to capacity for games.

Every year in Ottawa there is a special game called Capital Hoops between Carleton and the University of Ottawa. It draws 8,000-10,000 most years.

The Canadian university basketball championship tournament generally draws crowds of 5000 to 10000 in 10000 to 20000 seat arenas.

I've been to Syracuse and know the situation with the Orange there which is typical of the situation in many US cities. You don't really have this in Canada where a university team is seen as an entire city's team and not just of the university.

The closest you have to this in Quebec City with the Rouge et Or football team, and also in some places in Atlantic Canada with local university football teams. But again - it is nothing like the US where college teams have quasi-pro status in many cities.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Acajack

It's not widely followed to be quite honest. The scores are sometimes given at the tail end of local sportscasts but that's about it. It's not something you really hear about throughout the city and interest is very limited to the campus and the people involved with the university.

To give you an example the game vs. Syracuse drew 3000 fans - half of them from Syracuse.

Carleton's home gym is the Raven's Nest - capacity 1500 but often not filled to capacity for games.

Every year in Ottawa there is a special game called Capital Hoops between Carleton and the University of Ottawa. It draws 8,000-10,000 most years.

The Canadian university basketball championship tournament generally draws crowds of 5000 to 10000 in 10000 to 20000 seat arenas.

I've been to Syracuse and know the situation with the Orange there which is typical of the situation in many US cities. You don't really have this in Canada where a university team is seen as an entire city's team and not just of the university.

The closest you have to this in Quebec City with the Rouge et Or football team, and also in some places in Atlantic Canada with local university football teams. But again - it is nothing like the US where college teams have quasi-pro status in many cities.

This is what I thought, but I wasn't sure. Syracuse played 3 other Canadian college teams in their gyms, but played Carleton at the Canadian Tire Centre. So, I wondered if Carleton had a better following.

It is interesting to see the difference in how sports are followed between the US and Canada.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

This is what I thought, but I wasn't sure. Syracuse played 3 other Canadian college teams in their gyms, but played Carleton at the Canadian Tire Centre. So, I wondered if Carleton had a better following.

It is interesting to see the difference in how sports are followed between the US and Canada.

Except for a few exceptions, as I said university teams are almost never embraced as a "city's team" in Canada.

It does happen more frequently with some major junior hockey teams in Canada (not affiliated with educational institutions), which is also an amateur sport. But even in that case it's not everywhere.