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I know many have mixed thoughts about the State Tournament moving to Green Bay for 2 seasons. Heres what I think.

Going to Girls State for 4 Seasons 2 at the Alliant 2 at the Kohl, The Kohl Center was by far the better venue & the atmosphere was way better. They needed to leave the AEC it wasnt the right place for State, I thought the student section bleachers would cave in. I liked what they had to offer near the Kohl Center such as places to eat & stuff to see. I never had any issue with parking as I got into the State St ramp pretty easy. Overall I think my experience along with my community was great at the Kohl, brought good crowds & our team is 4-0 their. Although my experience was a little different this year making the 570 Mile trip from South Dakota. The overall excitement of the Trip to Madison was great all years we went. Being from the Green Bay Area going to Green Bay for state just doesn't seem as exciting. Yet Green Bay has a lot to offer too but most of us have already experienced Green Bay's Offerings. Their are many things in Madison I have yet to experience. I dont know how Madison area people take the approach going to state nearby that's for someone else to mention. I heard the " Well Green Bay has the Womens Basketball tradition" true but that tradition doesn't exist at the Resch Center. Not having to book a Hotel, Short Distance is really the only good part of the deal in my opinion, it wont be the same not being able to take a stroll down State Street, grab a quick bite at the Nitty Gritty, & then head down to the other side to Grab some Popeyes Chicken. Not sure what will come out of this experiment but I hope after the 2 year experiment it heads back to Madison.

Not sure if you're aware BNE55, but if the main reason for your wanting the WIAA Girls State Basketball Tournament to remain in Madison is to experience the karma of visiting the Nitty Gritty, taking a stroll down State St & grabbing some chicken at Popeye's, all of those places & venues are open & available 364 days a year, including Badger (all sports) game days, the high school boys basketball, high school wrestling, boys & girls swimming, boys & girls high school hockey and girls softball tournaments.

Also, I can't tell from your post if you understand the main reason driving the move to the Resch Center for the girls basketball state tournament: namely, the unavailability of the Kohl Center for 2 weekends in March due to scheduling conflicts with Badger men's hockey. You've already admitted the Alliant Center is not an attractive alternative, so, what better venue than the Resch in Green Bay, seeing as how the Kohl Center is unavailable?

Just because you spent most of your life in New London, in close proximity to Green Bay and are bored by the city doesn't mean people from the rest of the state feel the same way. The stadium distict is ever-developing & going forward and may be very attractive & convenient for tournament-goers. Sounds to me like you need to experience life a bit more, expanding your horizons & perspectives and gaining some appreciation of the fact that not everyone else sees things through the narrow scope of your eyes. You would be doing well to develop the ability to step outside your own experiences and acquire the art of being able to at least consider the perspective of others.

Some other testimonials & opinions from another thread on the same subject, supporting the move to Green Bay:




















I find it disconcerting BNE55 that you would admit to "not knowing what will come out of this experiment," but then, without even giving it a chance, turn right around in the same sentence and state your hope that "after the 2-yr experiment, it returns to Madison." I'm quite certain of one thing: I doubt anyone in your lifetime has ever described you as having an open mind and giving something a fair & reasonable opportunity to prove itself.

Very well said MJ. I think the most disconcenting thing about this whole thing is summed up by WDOR's Nick Olson tweet "Most disappointing thing to me regarding the #WIAA decision: During the process, Green Bay was painted by some as a one-horse, hayseed town." Do people not realize that the city hosts 10+ Packers games a year, and from what I've gathered they have and are going to make great strides to do a similar job for the girls basketball tournament. People who come from other parts of the state, either following their team or just coming to watch, are going to be plesantly surprised by the lengths to accomidate visitors Green Bay will go through compared to Madison.

Comparing the Resch and Kohl Centers, I have attended multiple boy's state championships and girl's volleyball state championships over the past five years. Aside for the aurora of playing on Bucky's home court, in my opinion the atmosphere in the Resch was better. The smaller arena is much better at giving the packed house feeling and subsequently is much more louder and intense.

I really look forward to seeing how this works out. Hopefully the NE part of the state can continue to produce some of the top teams in the state to draw large crowds. Regardless, I think the general basketball fans in the Green Bay and upper Fox Cities are going to be very enthused about seeing state championships played near by.

From the notes page,

-- WIAA Associate Director Deb Hauser indicated that the organization did have discussions about gender equity issues and Title IX compliance in moving the girls tournament from the Kohl Center to the Resch Center. Ultimately they felt it was not a potential issue, especially considering the quality of the Resch Center facility, which is actually newer than the Kohl Center.

As we have seen in the past, the WIAA's assumptions about legality has not always been correct and honestly, they have seemed to lose more times in the courts than they win these last few year. I guess we will have to see how the girls community feels about this change. Which venue is newer is not the issue, if it is seen as equal is.

This is probably a good move for the girls. Smaller facility (which works because girls' games tend to be lesser attended), yet, the facility is top-notch (unlike the Alliant) and GB seems more than happy to host.

...and oh yeah, the college that plays there actually seems to give a rat's behind about women's b-ball...unlike Madison.

Some of the coaches' comments in Travis' write-up also seemed to portray a positive outlook toward creating their own niche in GB.

As far as Title IX compliance? Didn't hear anyone complaining much when the girls were forced to play at the dump that is the Alliant....and this is a big upgrade from that.

Madison should be looking very closely...if Green Bay knocks it out of the park and they don't do anything to improve Madison then this may be a precursor of things to come...think of this as a potential test run...should be intersting, competition almost always brings out the best.

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I understand why they had to move it but again it seems they didn't want to work around the conflicts & had their mind set so bad on Green Bay. You Mention the other 364 days in Madison, well yeah true I could go to Madison anytime I want during Badger Games or other events but its not that easy anymore as I don't even live in Wisconsin anymore. Some of us only get to Madison every so often such as State Tournaments, Badger Games, shows, driving through, etc. Not everyone's school gets to experience each state tournament either. About the attendance issues not sure what made it go south, but it seems they never did try anything to gain attendance either. Just because its in Green Bay were gonna get better attendance? I know hearing from a lot of people back home they are not to thrilled about it being in Green Bay either. It belongs back in Madison after the 2 years.

This really causes headaches for AD's. Now (as of today), the schedules flip-flop for Girls and Boys season. Boys start first and end first (start Nov.5) while Girls start second and end second (Nov 12). I thought the issue was to have the girls conclude their season first followed by the boys?
How about this? Girls play in Madison . . .and Boys play in Green Bay!
That way Girls Schedule starts first and ends first . . . yeah, that will never happen.
Did you see quotes from UW officials? They were really happy about keeping Boys in Madison . . . no one expressed sorry that the girls were leaving . . . just saying!

Remember . . . "All things being equal"!
Recall the discussions:
a) Move both Boys & Girls to Green Bay
b) Move girls season to start before boys
c) Keep both boys & girls in Madison, but adjust to Madison's schedule.
These were just some of the issues . . .
So, now that AD's have set schedules, the WIAA wants AD's to start over again scheduling conference games, non-conference games, avoiding conficts with other events, Re-scheduling Referee's, event workers, etc. etc.
Note that Title IX expressly forbids in-equality of (among other things) venue. Consider at your school the boys games getting scheduled in the "Big" gym vs. girls games being scheduled in the "Little" gym. This happened in the "70's. A few lawsuits later, that was changed.

The simple solution is to NOT make the schedule changes . . . simply switch where Boys and Girls are playing . . . remember . . . "All things being equal"

If the Resch would have been large enough, I'm sure the boys would be there too. But the venue isn't large enough for the crowds...so how is that fair to the fans?
It's not like the Kohl is available and the WIAA is moving the girls. The Kohl just isn't available....Title IX does not apply here.

I ask you to detail how many schools in the state even have boys VB and get back to me. Compare that to how many schools have girls basketball.

Did you really bring that up as a comparison ? Wow

Here's the point . . .

With respect to athletic programs, the Dept. of Education evaluates the following factors in determining whether equal treatment exists:[16]

1.Whether the selection of sports and levels of competition effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of members of both sexes;
2.The provision of equipment and supplies;
3.Scheduling of games and practice time;
4.Travel and per diem allowance;
5.Opportunity to receive coaching and academic tutoring on mathematics only;
6.Assignment and compensation of coaches and tutors;
7.Provision of locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities;
8.Provision of medical and training facilities and services;
9.Provision of housing and dining facilities and services;
10.Publicity.

Specifically, look at point #7 . . .
This is what the WIAA must overcome when moving the girls to Green Bay.
If you are one who is saying the Kohl center is a better facility than the Resch Center, then we have a problem.
Question is . . . Do we?

The Kohl Center is better because it is bigger. The extra seats are needed for the boys tournament. Because attendance and not being able to fill seats is not an issue at the Resch Center, that aspect is moot. Does the Resch Center have a video board like the Kohl Center? Does it have multiple locker rooms like the Kohl? Does it have other amenities like the Kohl?