Siena College

Siena College in Loudonville NY doesn't have the bigtime ad budget that other NY universities enjoy but it's gone "bigtime" based on a bit of madness in March. Ad creation in terms of the public image a college wants to project is vital to its coffers being annually fed with eager students. For example, as a lifelong New Yorker and one who can remember its fiscal crisis back a bit, St. John's, NYU, Adelphi, Post, Baruch, CCNY etc. were virtually all "commuter" schools.

Prior to the babyboomers having babies in earnest, the colleges knew that there was a tremendous opportunity to capture market share. Ad agencies were hired, fired, mixed, and voila - the superstar, supersized campus evolved. The image became the reality, a concept not only taught in advertising 101 but from what I can vaguely recall, intro to poly sci.

Before the game, however, the partisan Buckeye crowd made plenty of noise. More than 20 minutes before tip-off, the familiar "O-H! I-O!" chant reverberated throughout the arena. The crowd was a sea of red, although some of that was from leftover Louisville fans and Dayton fans wearing their colors. Unfortunately, for the Buckeyes, Siena's Ronald Moore made a three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left in double overtime to end Ohio State's season with a 74-72 defeat in a first-round Midwest Regional game.