Pioneers hurting for fans

Few teams can point to their rafters and call themselves great. Only one teach, Michigan, has more banners with North Dakota tied at 7. This goes without saying that DU is a power in college hockey. For the past decade, Denver University has prided itself on national tournament appearances all under the leadership of former head coach George Gwozdecky.
Coach Gwoz built a cult following in Denver with the donors and the fans. He brought special meaning to fan interaction, while having separate meetings with donors to talk about the Pioneers. Every year he garnered huge donations from alumni groups and organizations. The list put DU high in the amount of donations, which helped guide the Pioneers to better days.
With all of this history and team talk, I was surprised to find such good seats at Magness Arena when I got my DU season tickets this year. I was further surprised to find so many open seats. After each game I blew off the open seats as the result of poor competition. So when NCHC play opened up tonight, I was expecting a full crowd. I left disappointed but learned quite a bit.
Magness holds roughly 6,100 spectators for hockey. I've seen the arena hit a max of 3,000 in it's first five games although the attendance was probably higher tonight. Seated all around me was a plethora of alumni who have donated quite a bit. I told them that this was my first year as a season ticket holder, having spent three years holding CC seats. During the intermission they brought me with them to their upstairs meeting area where I met about 20 other donors. At this meeting, I was told the gravity of the seating situation and it doesn't sound good.
Athletic director Peg Bradley-Doppes has been pushing for better post season success. When she didn't get it, her decision was to let the Gwoz leave after 20 years behind the bench. This was a shock to the donors and alumni. This particular group had donated over $3,000,000 in the past 2 years. They were promised a public meeting by Peg regarding the seating, but they didn't get one. Instead, a university official met with them to tell them some horrible news: in the past 3 years, DU has lost or replaced 2,500 season ticket holders. 250 left without being filled in the weeks following Coach Gwozdecky's firing. The all important Crimson club, has hit an all time low for seating with only 65% of the tickets bought by DU fans. This leaves the coveted seats open for CC and UND fans.
Now the donors have a decision to make: less donations or to accept a team which cannot fill it's own arena. Some have said this is the last year they will make significant donations to DU. A significant donation is defined as over $100,000 a season.
The problem here is not that DU has an overly large arena which cannot house it's fan base (Ohio State, UNO). Or a small student section which cannot fill up the entire student area (Colorado College, Minnesota State). Some blame the problem on DU being in Denver with the Avalanche, and Nuggets on competing nights. However, the City of Boston currently holds four division 1 teams and they fill just fine.
The problem is that fans have grown accustomed to not playing well in March, and watching great prospects leave for higher dreams. With a new and unproven coach in town, the fears have grown worse. Jim Montgomery cannot replace 20 years of greatness. He's likely not going to advance the Pioneers to Philadelphia this year. If he get's the Maroon warriors into post season play this year, it will be considered a successful season. With that in mind, the expectations in Denver are the same as last year: lose early on with a talented team. Donors cannot face this, fans have better things to do and as a result one of the top 3 teams in tradition and national championships plays to an empty house.
I was asked by the donors to ask anyone who reads this to share, as they have become unhappy with the problems with the DU administration. So please share wherever you can.