Is UConn about to be #2 in Attendance?

[mbr33ct]

It's not to anyone surprise UConn's attendances has been much better this year due in part to the starting times for weekend games....and this in spite of having big flat screen 4K TV's . It turns out start times have been very helpful in this regard. Perhaps other teams should take notice and adjust their weekend times.

After the 2016-17 NCAA.com has this for attendances;

In the above table UConn is 4th with an average attendance of 8,888 (nice number by the way).

...but on to the numbers for this year for various teams (YTD).

Looked at South Carolina, Tenn, UConn, ND, Baylor, Louisville YTD attendances. Note also looked at Iowa St. but I was not able to locate it on their website. Schools are making it harder to find this info. Please post if anyone finds Iowa St's attendance, for this year.

Numbers are for home games, Avg:

South Carolina: 13,823
UConn: 10,558
Tenn: 9,095
ND: 8,095
Louisville: 7,652
Iowa St: 9,856 (EDIT: thanks to DefenseBB for this number)
Baylor: 5,971 (really surprise here, Baylor does not draw fans)

 

[oldude]

Certainly the weekend start times, which are much better for UConn’s older fan base, as well as families with kids, have had a positive impact on attendance.

I also believe there was an element of complacency among some UConn fans, as the Huskies won 4 straight championships. In a strange way, the other factor that I believe has impacted attendance is the fact that UConn lost last year to MS St. Clearly, the Huskies are not invincible, and that creates more excitement.

Finally, the HBO series along with the various SNY shows have made these wonderful young ladies something like rock stars. Coupled with the decline of UConn MBB, there’s no better show in the state of CT.

 

[Ralph]

A big limiting factor for UConn is that some games are played at Gampel and you can't get 8,888 fans in there. If all games were at Gampel the figure might be 6,000. If all were at the XL, likely much higher. I think I heard the announcer say this weekend that the attendance at the Temple game was over 13,000. But it did seem like most of us were over 60 and the student sections were pretty empty. In part it all relates to UConn's location up north of Hartford. It might have made more sense at the very beginning to locate the campus somewhere in the middle of a big circle from New Haven to Hartford to Danbury to Stamford and back to New Haven. But they probably weren't worrying about the fan base back then.

 

[bizarro aj]

Uconn must lead in road attendance as they sell out most of the time no matter where they play.

 

[bags27]

Geno said also that they are just trying harder now, and I can testify personally to the unrelenting energies of a UConn intern who wouldn't let me alone until I bought season tickets.

Better TVs of course are important in staying home, but from what I hear folks in South Carolina are beginning to buy TVs, too. It jumps out that UConn is the only school, until Maryland, and then only these two, in the more populated East Coast. And in some ways, UConn (Hartford-Storrs) isn't in so populated a region. Concentration of population actually can work against WCBB, since: 1. it is more costly to attend events (witness all the complaints about parking costs at UConn, that someone in NYC would laugh at); 2. and there is far more competition for the entertainment dollar. So, for most of these sites, WCBB is literally the only (or at least the most attractive) game in town. A lot of this phenomenon has to do with the land grant movement (1862) that created the big state universities in rural areas.

I bet someone has done interesting research on college athletic attendance.

 

[Ralph]

Further thought. All football games are played in Hartford. Suppose all basketball games were played in Hartford, and with the extra revenue from the ticket sales, free shuttle buses from Campus to the game and back for all students. Big plus, you never have sold out games in Gampel where people who want tickets can't get them, such as games against Louisville or S. Carolina, or senor night. There would almost always be a few thousand tickets for sale on game day.

 

[JoePgh]

A big limiting factor for UConn is that some games are played at Gampel and you can't get 8,888 fans in there. If all games were at Gampel the figure might be 6,000. If all were at the XL, likely much higher. I think I heard the announcer say this weekend that the attendance at the Temple game was over 13,000. But it did seem like most of us were over 60 and the student sections were pretty empty. In part it all relates to UConn's location up north of Hartford. It might have made more sense at the very beginning to locate the campus somewhere in the middle of a big circle from New Haven to Hartford to Danbury to Stamford and back to New Haven. But they probably weren't worrying about the fan base back then.

The "official" capacity for Gampel is around 9,600; for the XL Center, it is over 14,000.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Certainly the weekend start times, which are much better for UConn’s older fan base, as well as families with kids, have had a positive impact on attendance.

I also believe there was an element of complacency among some UConn fans, as the Huskies won 4 straight championships. In a strange way, the other factor that I believe has impacted attendance is the fact that UConn lost last year to MS St. Clearly, the Huskies are not invincible, and that creates more excitement.

Finally, the HBO series along with the various SNY shows have made these wonderful young ladies something like rock stars. Coupled with the decline of UConn MBB, there’s no better show in the state of CT.

Highlighted---Right on!! The old time Uconn Men's games at the Field house were great fun because the outcome was always in doubt. At one time they were called (by WTIC) as the Cardiac Kids for that reason. Of note is recently in a couple of TV series Uconn has been announced as either their College or having played on the WBB team. Winning sure has it's rewards.

 

[oldude]

Further thought. All football games are played in Hartford. Suppose all basketball games were played in Hartford, and with the extra revenue from the ticket sales, free shuttle buses from Campus to the game and back for all students. Big plus, you never have sold out games in Gampel where people who want tickets can't get them, such as games against Louisville or S. Carolina, or senor night. There would almost always be a few thousand tickets for sale on game day.

XL is great, but for intimidation factor in big games, there’s no better environment than Gampel filled to capacity, with most of the student body in attendance.

 

[BroadwayVa]

XL is great, but for intimidation factor in big games, there’s no better environment than Gampel filled to capacity, with most of the student body in attendance.

College games with the Students acting as students is what any college sport is all about, I enjoy them less without the students, with all their noise and raucous acts. I am thankful Geno and his Team thanks those fellow student after every Gampel game. Hurray !!!

 

[DefenseBB]

It's not to anyone surprise UConn's attendances has been much better this year due in part to the starting times for weekend games....and this in spite of having big flat screen 4K TV's . It turns out start times have been very helpful in this regard. Perhaps other teams should take notice and adjust their weekend times.

Numbers are for home games, Avg:

South Carolina: 13,823
UConn: 10,558
Tenn: 9,095
ND: 8,095
Louisville: 7,652
Iowa St: (Please fill) 9,856 (14 home games 137,982). They list in the box score for every game
Baylor: 5,971 (really surprise here, Baylor does not draw fans)

I have added Iowa St 9,856 for this year.
WCBB attendance has been dropping regularly across the board for a few years now even at strong programs like CT, ND, MD, Tennessee. The competing entertainment options is one thing and in UConn's case, better television coverage of all their games makes it really convenient for the Fairfield County crew to stay home to watch and avoid the 90 minute to 2 1/2 hour rides each way.

Ultimately, all the schools should be marketing to their captive audience student body to get people in the arena. Second would be to schools and other youth sports organizations. As noted, the 60+ crowds are what dominates UConn, Tennesse, ND and others so building a younger fan base is crucial.

Last, I think the upturn in attendance is the result of many distinct factors-last year's surprise team showing untold heart with all of them returning, high expectations this year with Z, Touly and the incoming freshman, better weekend start times, a poor men's team (which the Women will outdraw the men this year!) and better outreach efforts by the program to get more fans.

 

[FairView]

I have no idea how to get the numbers for this, but an interesting statistic would be attendance income per school. We've talked quite a bit about the price of UConn tickets vs. other schools. (I'm not complaining, the UConn product is worth it.) I bet UConn leads the country by far.

 

[Fightin Choke]

The "official" capacity for Gampel is around 9,600; for the XL Center, it is over 14,000.

I thought the official capacity for Gampel was 10,167. Did they increase their capacity through renovation? UConn had 10,167 for their home games at Gampel vs. Tulane and Louisville this season. As for the XL center, 15,564 watched the Notre Dame game this season, but Wikipedia has the official capacity as 16,294. And Purcell Pavilion (Notre Dame's home arena) is even smaller than Gampel at 9149.

 

[DefenseBB]

I have no idea how to get the numbers for this, but an interesting statistic would be attendance income per school. We've talked quite a bit about the price of UConn tickets vs. other schools. (I'm not complaining, the UConn product is worth it.) I bet UConn leads the country by far.

Supply and demand as well as location, location, location....Northeast more expensive overall...

 

[shizam]

XL is great, but for intimidation factor in big games, there’s no better environment than Gampel filled to capacity, with most of the student body in attendance.

Exactly. So much is the venue. L’ville can have 8,000 fans and the place looks emptyish. Oregon gets 7,000 and OREGON St 5,000 and the atmoshere is crazy. Venue and capacity are huge for energy and game experience. Most WNBA teams should be playing in 5,000 capacity arenas. I watched a UCLA game at Sac St (The Nest 1,000 capacity) two years ago and the crowd was loud and a fun experience. Duke lost at Villanova this year and the Duke players were talking about the tremendous atmoshere. I think they hold around 2,000?

 

[DefenseBB]

Exactly. So much is the venue. L’ville can have 8,000 fans and the place looks emptyish. Oregon gets 7,000 and OREGON St 5,000 and the environment is crazy. Venue and capacity are huge for energy and game experience. Most WNBA teams should be playing in 5,000 capacity arenas. I watched a UCLA game at Sac St (The Nest 1,000 capacity) and the crowd was loud and a fun experience.

Umm, not sure I follow as the WNBA averaged 7,716 fans per game across all the team this past year. I get that a smaller arena is more intimate and higher energy but a 5,000 capacity venue, like the one the Liberty are going to is a step back. If they were to play at Gampel or Providence, Ryan Center with the 8,000-10,000 seat capacity, that would be ideal.

 

[shizam]

Umm, not sure I follow as the WNBA averaged 7,716 fans per game across all the team this past year. I get that a smaller arena is more intimate and higher energy but a 5,000 capacity venue, like the one the Liberty are going to is a step back. If they were to play at Gampel or Providence, Ryan Center with the 8,000-10,000 seat capacity, that would be ideal.

I get what you’re saying. I think this link talks about each market being unique. Mike Thibauld thinks in most markets WNBA is fooling themselves and is in favor of a better fan experience and a real home court advantage with small venues.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...58e76e11b12_story.html?utm_term=.e16138aa44bc

 

[DefenseBB]

I get what you’re saying. I think this link talks about each market being unique. Mike Thibauld thinks in most markets WNBA is fooling themselves and is in favor of a better fan experience and a real home court advantage with small venues.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...58e76e11b12_story.html?utm_term=.e16138aa44bc

I know the W has a conundrum on their hands, with the attendance only at 7,379 per game, they can't play in the "NBA" arenas as the cost and 50% or less capacity is not good. That said, going to only 5,000 when the whole league average is 50% higher also hurts revenue. Would Webster Bank at 10,000 be better for the Liberty? It's still along the NY corridor, has the Fairfield County allure of UConn and Tina Charles, Kiah Stokes and now Kelly Faris.

Going to a college venue in the summer time makes sense to me but what do I know.

 

[maddoggy]

Given that UConn was founded as an Ag School and did not even call itself a state college until 1933, it may not be that surprising that the state government, dominated by graduates of elite schools, thought of the remote site as a positive -- at least for their own alma maters who would not face competition. As I recall Yale took all the federal Land Grant monies for many years before the rights were transferred to UConn -- for a price.

 

[shizam]

I know the W has a conundrum on their hands, with the attendance only at 7,379 per game, they can't play in the "NBA" arenas as the cost and 50% or less capacity is not good. That said, going to only 5,000 when the whole league average is 50% higher also hurts revenue. Would Webster Bank at 10,000 be better for the Liberty? It's still along the NY corridor, has the Fairfield County allure of UConn and Tina Charles, Kiah Stokes and now Kelly Faris.

Going to a college venue in the summer time makes sense to me but what do I know.

Good point. Atlanta Dream now play on Ga Techs arena.

 

[Mlb0814]

Uconn must lead in road attendance as they sell out most of the time no matter where they play.

I agree, UCF averaged 962 fans per game last year and had almost 6200 when they played UConn. The other teams must love the increased sales.

 

[triaddukefan]

Good point. Atlanta Dream now play on Ga Techs arena.

Thats probably not permanent.... Philips Arena is being renovated in the NBA off-season... I assume they will move back to Philips once its completely done.

 

[cbraarj]

A big limiting factor for UConn is that some games are played at Gampel and you can't get 8,888 fans in there. If all games were at Gampel the figure might be 6,000. If all were at the XL, likely much higher. I think I heard the announcer say this weekend that the attendance at the Temple game was over 13,000. But it did seem like most of us were over 60 and the student sections were pretty empty. In part it all relates to UConn's location up north of Hartford. It might have made more sense at the very beginning to locate the campus somewhere in the middle of a big circle from New Haven to Hartford to Danbury to Stamford and back to New Haven. But they probably weren't worrying about the fan base back then.

A sellout at Gampel is 10,167 When it first opened in Jan. 1990 about 8,600 seats were available.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Attendance and other stats:

NCAA Statistics

Miscellaneous>Attendance for the stats:

https://stats.ncaa.org/reports/attendance?id=16660

Regarding attendance, average attendance per game is what I consider the important stat as far as fan involvement. You can click on the headers and sort as desired.

 

[bballnut90]

It's not to anyone surprise UConn's attendances has been much better this year due in part to the starting times for weekend games....and this in spite of having big flat screen 4K TV's . It turns out start times have been very helpful in this regard. Perhaps other teams should take notice and adjust their weekend times.

After the 2016-17 NCAA.com has this for attendances;

View attachment 28763
In the above table UConn is 4th with an average attendance of 8,888 (nice number by the way).

...but on to the numbers for this year for various teams (YTD).

Looked at South Carolina, Tenn, UConn, ND, Baylor, Louisville YTD attendances. Note also looked at Iowa St. but I was not able to locate it on their website. Schools are making it harder to find this info. Please post if anyone finds Iowa St's attendance, for this year.

Numbers are for home games, Avg:

South Carolina: 13,823
UConn: 10,558
Tenn: 9,095
ND: 8,095
Louisville: 7,652
Iowa St: 9,856 (EDIT: thanks to DefenseBB for this number)
Baylor: 5,971 (really surprise here, Baylor does not draw fans)

Great for you guys that attendance is going up. I think as another poster mentioned, I think the Mississippi State loss has had a big impact on the fan base’s mentality after going 160-1 or something like that from 2013-2017. Games are a little more desirable to attend if there’s a chance it’ll be competitive rather than knowing it’ll be a 30+ point blowout every night.

In a self defeating way I secretly hope Tennessee’s attendance continues to drop so there’ll be more ammo to fire Holly. Tennessee has consistently been above 10k for my entire lifetime and if they continue to drop maybe it will encourage some action by the AD. The fan base is still there, but if they start winning more there’ll definitely be more butts in seats.