2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Attendance

[UConnfan8]

People always twist stats to cater to their own narratives but they generally try and tone it down a bit so they don't come off like complete idiots...

 

[Chief00]

Chief I love you, but you did not answer the question

Trying to give Benedict some well deserved breathing room. To answer your question, if we went 32-4, attendance would be improved but we need to improve the HOME schedule significantly to really turbo charge it.

 

[3rdbass]

The economics and demographics of the state play a larger roll in attendance than most of you believe.
Extraordinary success or the occasional big name mask that decline which really mirrors the decline of the states economy.
That's the most disturbing thing about the future of UConn basketball.
It was a rabid fan base and broad state support that enabled us to go from a regional to national player.
Dave Gavitt saw the possibility.
The population decrease if examined closely is much worse for sports entertainment than first appears
The exodus is somewhat offset by foreign immigrants who historically only have sports attachments to their old country if any at all. The people who leave are retirees with multitude generaration ties to the state and young professionals both of whom are more likely to attend games . I would love to see stats on the % of UConn grads or any grads for that matter , leaving the state for employment now vs 1980.
Retirees are important because they continue going to games with there kids and grandkids making future fans . Establishing a tradition. Business Relocation out of the state caused my son to move
He had been going to UConn games since the 1970's with me., and now his sons would be going with him.
Those that write off last year as an anomaly are
Just plain wrong . In the 1980's an undermanned team fighting for a NCAA birth would have sold out the Cinncy game . A half full Crowd for that game is indiciative of real problems. Worse yet if they pulled off that upset I suspect the game against SMU would not have sold out. That's just plain inexcusable.
I looked up real estate in my old neighborhood and houses were listing at $100,000 less than 10-15 years ago. That loss of wealth in much of CT is
mind boggling.
Western Fairfield County is an exception ,the one area with minimal loyalty to UConn's men programs.

Like the old Bill Clinton campaign mantra of 1992 " Its the economy stupid"

I agree with this completely as stated in my earlier post. Young professionals like me who were avid uconn fans since forever stated to leave the state from the mid to late 90's and it has continued in bigger numbers since. I know most people don't see Connecticut as a great place for young professionals when talking to them from their experiences in living there. You can't build local fan support if all the young people are moving out of the state for better opportunities. I wish I could go to more games but of course living in Atlanta doesn't allow me that benefit. I'm lucky if I make 1-2 games a year.

 

[Guapo]

I agree with this completely as stated in my earlier post. Young professionals like me who were avid uconn fans since forever stated to leave the state from the mid to late 90's and it has continued in bigger numbers since. I know most people don't see Connecticut as a great place for young professionals when talking to them from their experiences in living there. You can't build local fan support if all the young people are moving out of the state for better opportunities. I wish I could go to more games but of course living in Atlanta doesn't allow me that benefit. I'm lucky if I make 1-2 games a year.

All of this is true, I left for DC as an economic migrant with a liberal arts degree in search of a better life.

However, and you can correct if I'm wrong, the vast majority of UConn alum live in CT and specifically the greater Hartford area. Connecticut's population is 3.5 million.

Of all those alum and all those millions of people, if you're doing this sports thing right, you should be able to convince more than 10k of those people to attended an event on most nights.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Strength of schedule each year would be another factor to consider, you can also make an argument that when the economy tanked in 2008, that people pulled back on entertainment.

 

[CL82]

"Hi, I'm a Syracuse fan and I enjoy watching my school under achieve in a carvernous, soulless, half-of-a-dome."

...with 19,999 other people..

Just saying

 

[Guapo]

...with 19,999 other people..

Just saying

All wearing the same absolutely hideous color

 

[champs99and04]

You have to be careful saying our fanbase sucks, it doesn't. The numbers show UConn has a huge fanbase when it comes to merchandising. We are getting paid by Nike and IMG because of the fanbase. Where we do suck, is in attending live sports events religiously.

Connecticut is an aging population. I attended far more games in my teens and 20's than I did in my 30's and now 40's. Unless I retire near CT, I'll almost surely travel to less games as I get older. Peak UConn fandom probably occurred around 1992-2004. Many of the paying customers of that time that went to happy hour and then to basketball games etc. are in their 60's and 70's now. I fear we aren't replacing them with fans that attend. Teens don't feel the need to be there. I suspect it is because they'll look at their phones the whole time anyway.

When I say the fanbase sucks I mean it isn't very big relative to what the program has accomplished. I think colleges in the northeast have some branding issues when it comes to athletics that are difficult to overcome. That, along with having so many competitors in other sports, caps what you are going to get in numbers from a school that, on paper, is perfectly situated between Boston and New York.

I think what we are getting paid by Nike is due in large part to a women's base comprised of people from all over the country. UConn basketball has become a proxy for advancement/achievement in women's athletics in a way that is unique and unlikely to be replicated. Great as it is to have them driving up prices, I'm not sure they're representative of the base at large.

Your point on the shifting demographics seems right. It's an aging fanbase that hasn't been replenished for whatever reason, perhaps because of the growing admission standards or maybe because the administration tends to do whatever possible to discourage fun. If I had to bet, this is a trend throughout college sports.

 

[ct06111]

I think the overall fan experience at the XL has something to do with it.

XL is getting really old. 40+ yrs

Expectations of live fan experience has changed and with every game on tv makes people stay home.

Look at the yard goats... a team that SUCKS.
53-62 and 23 games back out of 1st

Yet, they have a brand NEW stadium and have had 26 or so sellouts w/ 10+ in a row and 3rd in the EL.

5,614 avg.
Eastern League Attendance | Eastern League Stats

If they renovate the XL, I think attendance will go up no matter the record of the basketbal/hockey teams.

Public hearing presentation of XL renovations. Later pages show concepts

http://crdact.net/data/Unsorted/SCIA_-XLCenter_29-11-16-73783-1.pdf

 

[whaler11]

This isn't complicated.

Our fanbase is fine watching on TV. Unless it's a premier opponent they aren't interested in turning out.

We hosted a conference tournament they were handing out tickets and everyone stayed home.

They will blame the schedule and the results for staying home while ignoring that staying home has a negative impact on schedule and results.

It's like watching the song Glory Days play out in real life in real time.

 

[Guapo]

I don't think any of the reasons people have stated here are wrong.

I think it's an "all of the above" answer.

But I would be very interested in seeing how attendance is when (if?) we go 34-2 in the AAC.

Those 90's teams were dominate and played a brand of basketball that was fun to watch.

I think winning, fun basketball translates no matter the conference.