AAC attendance...Tough work for UConn ahead

[huskybill]

Some fans think that UConn will strengthen AAC teams and their attendance in the nxt years. They liken it to the growth of the big east after UConn became a top program in the early 1990s. That may be. I took a look at the AACs attendance this year...home and (total) averages and it's going to be a tough job. I include both the outgoing teams (Louisville and Rutgers) and the teams coming in next year.

UConn 8599 (7570)
Louisville 8083 (6050)
Rutgers 1793 (1342)
SMU 1760 (1944)
USF 1479 (2575)
Memphis 1397 (1770)
Temple 948 (1639)
UCF 786 (1054)
Cinc 687 (1503)
Houston 672 (1003)

Navy 1353 (1290)
Tulane 900 (831)
Tulsa 811 (866)
E Carolina 791 (671)

Fasten your seat belts...tough ride ahead.

Should be titled AAC attendance. I was driven to compose this thread.

 

[huskybill]

Maybe it should be called AA attendance as that is where we'll all end up.

 

[j66kicker]

Some fans think that UConn will strengthen AAC teams and their attendance in the nxt years. They liken it to the growth of the big east after UConn became a top program in the early 1990s. That may be. I took a look at the AACs attendance this year...home and (total) averages and it's going to be a tough job. I include both the outgoing teams (Louisville and Rutgers) and the teams coming in next year.

UConn 8599 (7570)
Louisville 8083 (6050)
Rutgers 1793 (1342)
SMU 1760 (1944)
USF 1479 (2575)
Memphis 1397 (1770)
Temple 948 (1639)
UCF 786 (1054)
Cinc 687 (1503)
Houston 672 (1003)

Navy 1353 (1290)
Tulane 900 (831)
Tulsa 811 (866)
E Carolina 791 (671)

Fasten your seat belts...tough ride ahead.

Should be titled AAC attendance. I was driven to compose this thread.

Observation: 7 of the current 8 teams who will remain in AAC next year (all but UCONN) have better road attendance than home. Yikes

 

[CCinCT]

Maybe it should be called AA attendance as that is where we'll all end up.

On the other hand AAA has a lot of benefits to offer also . Already got a free tow this year !

 

[DobbsRover2]

Always gotta look on the bright side hb. What you failed to note was that 8 of the 13 listed non-UConn teams haven't had any home games with UConn this year.

The teams that have hosted UConn already have boosted their attendance by anywhere from double to 5 times as much for the game, so there's something to jolly up your numbers. Some of that nicer trend may build into the attendance numbers going forward.

Plus, attendance wasn't that rosy for a lot of the old BEast teams either. Providence was at 590 when they got a big kick out of a UConn visit, and this year the count is 490 without UConn to help out. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

Plus, an ACC team like Wake Forest averages 1100 in home conference games, and SEC power Ole Miss is at under 600 for home conference games, so maybe the AAC is in good company. We've already discussed how poor the PAC attendance is for many teams, with a WSU averaging 790 for home games.

Plus, as has been noted by many posters many times in the past, nowadays its the eyeballs on the sets rather than the tushies in the seats that is critical. I have no idea what the figures are for our American women, but I know there's a lot of eyes on SNY when UConn is playing these teams.

 

[UcMiami]

Interesting numbers - but ... before Cviv and even in her early years rutgers had such bad home attendance and was so tired of playing Uconn at home with a Uconn crowd that they started making it very hard for Uconn fans to purchase tickets even if they couldn't sell them to Rutgers fans if I remember correctly. And average attendance in Div 1 was 1549/game on a team's court (as opposed to neutral site) so this is about 'average'. Big East average in 2013 was 3146 and AAC this year is about 2500 which is about where the ACC was last year and better than the Pac12 which was under 2000. So ... not as 'dire' as it might be. With the Uconn road show and a year of improvement for these teams even with the loss of Louisville and Rutgers it may be around that Pac12 number next year.

 

[pvdoggy]

Houston 672 (1003)

Fasten your seat belts...tough ride ahead.

Should be titled AAC attendance. I was driven to compose this thread.

At Houston, students can attend the game for free, and the attendance is still only 672.
Even for Louisville's game this year, the attendance is only ~1200. I doubt it is going to
be much more than that for UConn next week Saturday.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Interesting numbers - but ... before Cviv and even in her early years rutgers had such bad home attendance and was so tired of playing Uconn at home with a Uconn crowd that they started making it very hard for Uconn fans to purchase tickets even if they couldn't sell them to Rutgers fans if I remember correctly. And average attendance in Div 1 was 1549/game on a team's court (as opposed to neutral site) so this is about 'average'. Big East average in 2013 was 3146 and AAC this year is about 2500 which is about where the ACC was last year and better than the Pac12 which was under 2000. So ... not as 'dire' as it might be. With the Uconn road show and a year of improvement for these teams even with the loss of Louisville and Rutgers it may be around that Pac12 number next year.

That's not 100% correct about Rutgers attendance. It was 2300 in Viv's first year (more than Grentz's last) had a lul in her 2nd (1500) and then jumped to 3500, maxing out in the middle-oughts just north of 4500. It has since dropped off.

Since the capacity of the RAC is around 8000, there was always plenty of room for UConn fans, which they took advantage of. When the game against UConn became an "away" game at "home", RU did make it difficult for UConn fans to get tickets. I can't say I thought it a very good policy, but at the same time, the game that they "took over" was a bit hard to take - there were handouts on every seat - even in our season ticket section - explaining how to cheer for UConn, when to stand, etc. Any wonder Viv had a fit?

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Always gotta look on the bright side hb. What you failed to note was that 8 of the 13 listed non-UConn teams haven't had any home games with UConn this year.

The teams that have hosted UConn already have boosted their attendance by anywhere from double to 5 times as much for the game, so there's something to jolly up your numbers. Some of that nicer trend may build into the attendance numbers going forward.

Plus, attendance wasn't that rosy for a lot of the old BEast teams either. Providence was at 590 when they got a big kick out of a UConn visit, and this year the count is 490 without UConn to help out. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

Plus, an ACC team like Wake Forest averages 1100 in home conference games, and SEC power Ole Miss is at under 600 for home conference games, so maybe the AAC is in good company. We've already discussed how poor the PAC attendance is for many teams, with a WSU averaging 790 for home games.

Plus, as has been noted by many posters many times in the past, nowadays its the eyeballs on the sets rather than the tushies in the seats that is critical. I have no idea what the figures are for our American women, but I know there's a lot of eyes on SNY when UConn is playing these teams.

Actually, here I agree. Attendance wasn't good for the Old Big East teams,for the most part. Not the already departed ones either. A few of the newer ones are especially bad, but not out of range for Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall, even Villanova, Syracuse, etc. Lets face it, the average for WBB is made up of a few big draws, a bunch of moderates that average a good deal more than the average, and a huge number of teams that don't.

But, do you have to call Ole Miss an SEC power? Back when Van Chancellor was there, maybe. Dreadful program of late.

And don't pick on WSU too much - you do know where it is located? Dang near impossible to get to.

 

[NickyNewark]

That's not 100% correct about Rutgers attendance. It was 2300 in Viv's first year (more than Grentz's last) had a lul in her 2nd (1500) and then jumped to 3500, maxing out in the middle-oughts just north of 4500. It has since dropped off.

Since the capacity of the RAC is around 8000, there was always plenty of room for UConn fans, which they took advantage of. When the game against UConn became an "away" game at "home", RU did make it difficult for UConn fans to get tickets. I can't say I thought it a very good policy, but at the same time, the game that they "took over" was a bit hard to take - there were handouts on every seat - even in our season ticket section - explaining how to cheer for UConn, when to stand, etc. Any wonder Viv had a fit?

Again I agree,I always considered the LadyKnights had pretty good attendence in comparison to most WBB teams going back to Sue Wicks yrs !?! No not UConn/Tenn good but better than most remembering RU had one of the 1st pd WBB coaches in D1. Hopefully with the move to the B1G and with the future looking so bright we'll approach 5G+ attendence for games with Md/PSU/OSU etc. I also have faith UConn will stay on the schedule.

 

[huskybill]

Always gotta look on the bright side hb. What you failed to note was that 8 of the 13 listed non-UConn teams haven't had any home games with UConn this year.

The teams that have hosted UConn already have boosted their attendance by anywhere from double to 5 times as much for the game, so there's something to jolly up your numbers. Some of that nicer trend may build into the attendance numbers going forward.

Plus, attendance wasn't that rosy for a lot of the old BEast teams either. Providence was at 590 when they got a big kick out of a UConn visit, and this year the count is 490 without UConn to help out. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

Plus, an ACC team like Wake Forest averages 1100 in home conference games, and SEC power Ole Miss is at under 600 for home conference games, so maybe the AAC is in good company. We've already discussed how poor the PAC attendance is for many teams, with a WSU averaging 790 for home games.

Plus, as has been noted by many posters many times in the past, nowadays its the eyeballs on the sets rather than the tushies in the seats that is critical. I have no idea what the figures are for our American women, but I know there's a lot of eyes on SNY when UConn is playing these teams.

But the question is how many of the new fans for the UConn games are there to see UConn and how many are there to see the home team? It appears at Rutgers, so many UConn fans went to Rutgers that CViv had to do something about it. We had a real rivalry with Rutgers in those days. The Huskies have fans everywhere and I'm sure some will travel even to AAC games to see them.
Providence had a very good basketball team when Geno got to UConn and the teams played some very competitive games in the early 90s. UConn becoming a WBB behemoth didn't help the Friars in attendence or in staying competitive.

There has to be a reason for the ADs to care about WCBB. Increased women's attendance could help them. Maybe they'll get some donors who only care about WCBB. But this is not the early 90s when, still under the influence of Title 9, colleges wanted to buck up their women sports. All these teams have had 20 years to build up their women's teams. Why will they do it now when they are even more interested in football than ever?

 

[NickyNewark]

But the question is how many of the new fans for the UConn games are there to see UConn and how many are there to see the home team? It appears at Rutgers, so many UConn fans went to Rutgers that CViv had to do something about it. We had a real rivalry with Rutgers in those days. The Huskies have fans everywhere and I'm sure some will travel even to AAC games to see them.
Providence had a very good basketball team when Geno got to UConn and the teams played some very competitive games in the early 90s. UConn becoming a WBB behemoth didn't help the Friars in attendence or in staying competitive.

There has to be a reason for the ADs to care about WCBB. Increased women's attendance could help them. Maybe they'll get some donors who only care about WCBB. But this is not the early 90s when, still under the influence of Title 9, colleges wanted to buck up their women sports. All these teams have had 20 years to build up their women's teams. Why will they do it now when they are even more interested in football than ever?

Those days?As a longtime RU WBB fan and 62 yrs old it seems like only yesterday to me!?! Just goes to show what a few off yrs will do to a program that always stocked up on top 10 type talent w/a coach whose infatuated with only defense. I have a hunch JH RU's new AD won't let WBB slip though most schools don't consider womans hoops a priority.

 

[DobbsRover2]

First on Ole Miss. They've played 11 games against the Sagarin top 50 this year, which is two more than that slacker UConn. Granted they only won 1 of the 11, but there's power in numbers I've been told. And what else do they have to do out south of nowhere at WSU than go to WCBB games, so the whole population of Pullman should be there.

UCF is a good example of what might happen for an AAC team in a small way. Before UConn came to town, UCF was averaging around 500 in attendence, but the Husky game pulled in about 3500. In the 5 home games since then they've averaged 600+. That's a small gain in numbers, but it's a sizable gain as a percentage. Who knows, maybe Houston will replicate something like that in ten days, and SMU already has very credible numbers.

No one except a neuronally challenged fan is going to say that the numbers outside of maybe the 25 or so sites that go 4000+ is spiffy, and most of the AAC teams have a long long way to climb up, but this year SMU's attendance is already up 230% over last year, and that's before UConn comes to town. The Mustangs got 7000+ for Temple, and for UConn hopefully it's a sellout and they hit about 9000.

There's some potential, and we just gotta give it time to work.

 

[Icebear]

On the other hand AAA has a lot of benefits to offer also . Already got a free tow this year !

But they only deal with car wrecks, not train wrecks.

 

[huskybill]

First on Ole Miss. They've played 11 games against the Sagarin top 50 this year, which is two more than that slacker UConn. Granted they only won 1 of the 11, but there's power in numbers I've been told. And what else do they have to do out south of nowhere at WSU than go to WCBB games, so the whole population of Pullman should be there.

UCF is a good example of what might happen for an AAC team in a small way. Before UConn came to town, UCF was averaging around 500 in attendence, but the Husky game pulled in about 3500. In the 5 home games since then they've averaged 600+. That's a small gain in numbers, but it's a sizable gain as a percentage. Who knows, maybe Houston will replicate something like that in ten days, and SMU already has very credible numbers.

No one except a neuronally challenged fan is going to say that the numbers outside of maybe the 25 or so sites that go 4000+ is spiffy, and most of the AAC teams have a long long way to climb up, but this year SMU's attendance is already up 230% over last year, and that's before UConn comes to town. The Mustangs got 7000+ for Temple, and for UConn hopefully it's a sellout and they hit about 9000.

There's some potential, and we just gotta give it time to work.

DobbsR...you know just about everything, so I have to ask. Why did the Mustangs get 7000+ for Temple? Were they giving away a free car? Did John Wesley make a guest appearance? Was it a men's-women's doubleheader and they didn't tell the crowd which teams were playing first? There is something strange about 7000+ for Temple-SMU.

 

[DobbsRover2]

DobbsR...you know just about everything, so I have to ask. Why did the Mustangs get 7000+ for Temple? Were they giving away a free car? Did John Wesley make a guest appearance? Was it a men's-women's doubleheader and they didn't tell the crowd which teams were playing first? There is something strange about 7000+ for Temple-SMU.

Actually, I just noticed they also got that much for a game against USF in early January for another weekend game. The key is that SMU's Moody Coliseum was reopened after renovations in early January, and the local crowds are packing in. The weekday games get about 5000 less. Maybe a sign for other AAC teams about the way to go. If you build something nice, they will come.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Observation: 7 of the current 8 teams who will remain in AAC next year (all but UCONN) have better road attendance than home. Yikes

All it takes is playing at UConn to juice up their average. That's probably what happened. Their away average escalated as a direct result of a game either in Storrs or Hartford.

 

[Buzzyboy]

At Houston, students can attend the game for free, and the attendance is still only 672.
Even for Louisville's game this year, the attendance is only ~1200. I doubt it is going to
be much more than that for UConn next week Saturday.

Maybe that attendance figure at Houston is for paid attendees, meaning their student body numbers aren't included.

 

[Paul1969]

I just bought tix to the game at SMU in Dallas since i live 3 hours away. There were only about 75 tickets left and the game is in two weeks. The Tickets guy at SMU said he has never seen women's tickets go so fast at SMU

 

[huskybill]

All it takes is playing at UConn to juice up their average. That's probably what happened. Their away average escalated as a direct result of a game either in Storrs or Hartford.

Games at Louisville also juiced up their crowds, I'm sure. But it's a sustained home crowd gain that we're looking for.

 

[UcMiami]

Wonder if the Uconn/Louisville Yum center game will be close to a sell out? 22,000+ seating capacity - be great if they get close.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

DobbsR...you know just about everything, so I have to ask. Why did the Mustangs get 7000+ for Temple? Were they giving away a free car? Did John Wesley make a guest appearance? Was it a men's-women's doubleheader and they didn't tell the crowd which teams were playing first? There is something strange about 7000+ for Temple-SMU.

Good Catch HB -

That was the same attendance as reported for the men's game that it followed. The men (who were just ranked and are coached by Larry Brown) defeated a ranked Memphis team. Subsequently, the women played. Since it was game 2 of a doubleheader, the same attendance was reported.

 

[j66kicker]

All it takes is playing at UConn to juice up their average. That's probably what happened. Their away average escalated as a direct result of a game either in Storrs or Hartford.

Good point!

 

[Vowelguy]

At Houston, students can attend the game for free, and the attendance is still only 672..

Houston is 5-18 and ranked 213 in Sagarin. Im not sure free will do it. You'd have to pay me to watch that.

 

[stamfordhusky]

. . . . I include both the outgoing teams (Louisville and Rutgers) and the teams coming in next year.

. . . . . . . .

Navy 1353 (1290)
Tulane 900 (831)
Tulsa 811 (866)
E Carolina 791 (671)

Navy is not joining the AAC next year - or any year. They are a football-only member.