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What would the players be protesting, that fans don’t go to the games?
Attendance: UConn drew about 65% of capacity in Ft Worth region
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KnightBridgeAZ
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They always list attendance for only one game - there is only the "session" attendance. There is not a separate admission for the 2 games.
That was likewise the case at all the sub-regionals the week before, although a few of the schools put the total attendance amount for the session on both sheets, but most do not.
Many, many fans of teams in the NCAA's - and women's basketball teams in general - are fans of their team. Over the years we were following Rutgers, I cannot remember a home tournament 2 game session where the home teams fans really stayed for both games. Or the Rutgers fans - if the visitors - even stayed for the second game.
The worst I can say about my wife and I is that when our team was eliminated in a 2 game session, we didn't come back for the game 2 days later. In the abstract we always wanted to, sort of, but it was just too painful in the immediate.
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Many Texas fans waited until they knew Texas would be in Fort Worth to buy tickets. They thought the school would have an allotment as in the olden days. By this time, most decent tickets were on the big reseller sites at prices people did not want to pay. We all figured the prices would come down at the last minute (they did). But then it came down to whether you wanted to make plans to go to Fort Worth before you had tickets. NCAA is not facing facts. The majority of women’s fans still go to see their teams play. They do not buy tickets for regionals before they know who is playing.
Edit: I was not able to go for personal reasons. I would go to all of the games at the regional if I went. But I might not go to a regional where my team was not playing.
Edit: I was not able to go for personal reasons. I would go to all of the games at the regional if I went. But I might not go to a regional where my team was not playing.
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I wasn’t referring to the low amount of fans but the situation that they are placed in. Early wake ups, early media sessions, not enough court time. Basically everything that Geno was refereeing to.
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Maybe some folks didn’t want to wait in line for hours at the airport.
You want to see an empty arena? My daughter and I would go to BE tournament games at the XL center on days when UConn wasn't playing. Couldn't be more than a couple hundred people there.
A few years ago, I went to the FF in Columbus Ohio. UConn lost in the semi. Mrs. Skeets didn't want to go to the final, but I went. That accounts for 1 seat with no fanny in it. I suspect there were hundreds of more seats just like that.
A few years ago, I went to the FF in Columbus Ohio. UConn lost in the semi. Mrs. Skeets didn't want to go to the final, but I went. That accounts for 1 seat with no fanny in it. I suspect there were hundreds of more seats just like that.
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oldude
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One of the other issues with the super-regional setup is that you really don’t know which super-regional your team will end up in, regardless of their seeding. When there were 4 regionals, in places like Albany or Bridgeport, UConn fans would buy up tickets well in advance and book their hotel rooms with the relative certainty that as either a #1 or #2 seed, the Huskies would be there. The same was often true for SC in locations like Greenville or Charlotte and ND in Ft Wayne or Indianapolis.
In 2024, I purchased tickets in advance to both regionals played in Albany, NY under the Super-regional format, thinking that UConn had to be in one or the other. Unfortunately, UConn fell to a #3 seed and was sent out west to Portland. Fortunately, Iowa & SC, two schools whose fans travel well, ended up in either of the 2 Albany brackets, and I was able to sell my tickets at a small profit.
But the point is that most WBB fans purchase tickets and watch games in person primarily because of a rooting interest for a specific team. As much as WBB has grown, their just isn’t the same general level of interest and support to fill up arenas as there is in the men’s game.
In 2024, I purchased tickets in advance to both regionals played in Albany, NY under the Super-regional format, thinking that UConn had to be in one or the other. Unfortunately, UConn fell to a #3 seed and was sent out west to Portland. Fortunately, Iowa & SC, two schools whose fans travel well, ended up in either of the 2 Albany brackets, and I was able to sell my tickets at a small profit.
But the point is that most WBB fans purchase tickets and watch games in person primarily because of a rooting interest for a specific team. As much as WBB has grown, their just isn’t the same general level of interest and support to fill up arenas as there is in the men’s game.
oldude
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It’s all dictated by the tv networks based on expectations of ratings.
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Have read that the arenas are sold out…NCAA has their money in advance….fans are just not showing up on game day..my thoughts
So true look when UConn wasn’t in Albany. I went skiing for the weekend instead of paying to see teams that I do not root for that I can watch from the comfort of a tv for free
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We're in the ACC now?
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HuskyNan
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That’s part of what Geno doesn’t like. Players would much rather play in front of a big crowd even if the crowd is rooting for the other team. A big crowd brings energy to the players. These two venues are too far away and too expensive for many fans whereas four regionals in four corners of the country would put more fannies in seats and therefore create a better experience for the players.
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It's kind of funny to me that among the reasons to go to two regionals was to eliminate UConn's perceived/real advantage when regionals were in Bridgeport or Albany (2022 when NC State was #1 and UConn was #2 in Bridgeport). This year TCU could have been the home team in Fort Worth.
Geno is right that the first priority is the student-athlete's experience. With two super regionals the women do not have that same experience as the men in four. Second, the fan's experience: if right now the hotbeds of women's college basketball are concentrated in the east and southeast (great map by the way!) then the NCAA needs to target regionals in those areas until the fan bases in the rest of the country catches up. I've commented before that big matchups in the SEC are often not sold out, unless they're at LSU or SC. Vandy for all its success isn't putting fannies in the seats. Another benchmark would be WNBA franchises with highest average attendance.
Here's a list the top women's college basketball teams' average attendance:
Top Women's College Basketball Attendance Leaders
Discover which Division I women's basketball teams draw the biggest crowds! This list ranks the top 20 schools based on average home game attendance.
www.collegexpress.com
Here's the list of top WNBA attendance in 20205:
WNBA average attendance by team 2025| Statista
What is the average attendance in the WNBA? In team rankings, the Golden State Valkyries drew the largest average home crowds in 2025.
www.statista.com
And here is a comprehensive list of NCAA basketball arena locations used in past years for men (I think many have also hosted women's games):
For me the key cities that the NCAA should attempt to schedule for the next few years include:
EAST - Brooklyn, Elmont, NY, NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, Albany, Bridgeport, Providence, Mohegan Sun (now that the Sun franchise is moving)
Southeast/Atlantic Coast - Washington, DC, Greenville, SC, Greensboro/Charlotte/Raleigh, NC, Knoxville, TN, Louisville.
South - New Orleans, Miami (because of Unrivaled),
Midwest - Des Moines, Indianapolis, Columbus/Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit
West - Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Seattle, San Francisco
I don't think/can't imagine that having four regionals will decrease revenue for the NCAA vs. two, especially if they're located in or very near rabid fan bases. Four locations will (again) allow more fans the chance to reasonably travel to watch great games and follow their favorite teams. And if it happens to be an almost home game for one of the 16 teams then so be it as it's going to become more difficult to avoid in the future as WCBB continues to grow in popularity. Centrally located venues that the NCAA loves to use can be rotated between the men and women's tournaments so that the venues have an incentive to bid to host both in long-term contracts.
What do you think?
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From ESPN gamecast: 11,335 today's attendance, or 85% of 13,300 basketball capacity. It would be 15K + if in the northeast or even in the Carolinas. Your map is excellent to show the idiocy of the two regional format. Who are the geniuses at the NCAA making these decisions?
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KnightBridgeAZ
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You make certain good points, but in the end the interest in Women's Basketball remains, as has been said, for the fan's particular team.
If you look at the home attendance numbers you linked - after the first 6 or 7, they really are not that great. And women's fan bases do not (necessarily) travel well.
I am not arguing against the 4 separate regionals, although I do think that some of the other issues with the 2 sites mentioned by coaches, etc. could be resolved with a little effort. What I am saying, is that, in general, attendance at the regional weekend isn't necessarily going to be better in 4 arenas than the 2. And - assuming geography rules for the #1 seeds, if one is bounced in the sweet 16 I dread what the attendance will be at the Elite 8 game.
An earlier poster mentioned that schools were not issued an allotment? and all effort was put into general sales. As others said, this is not a great idea, as there is not the general interest in WBB anywhere to make that the best way of selling tix.
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Perhaps I didn't make my point clear enough: for the foreseeable future the "win-win" for the NCAA and to maximize the growth of women's basketball is to put four regionals in cities where there is already strong support for women's basketball ideally with both top college programs and WNBA franchises. In a review of the women's basketball regional sites, whether four or two cities, the NCAA has not been consistently selecting locations that have both.
I've gone to regionals three times and believe me, LSU, Iowa and South Carolina fans travel very well, as do Husky fans. Tennessee fans did as well, back in the day. Geno made the comment the other day that if there were four regionals with 5000 per session it'd be the same as the attendance at two. From a business standpoint that scenario wouldn't make sense to either the venues or the NCAA because it's not maximizing revenues and catering to the rabid WBB base. Thus Dickies Arena/Fort Worth or Golden Center/Sacramento are not optimal to achieve those goals because neither city has both a high average attendance college program and/or a top WNBA franchise fan base and are too far from top attendance colleges which discourages travelling.
The NCAA points to the best four regional attendance was about 73,954 fans - this occurred in 2003. Locations then: The Pit (NM), Maples Pavilion (Stanford), Thompson-Bolling (U Tennessee) and Dayton Center (OH). Last year pulled in 84,754 fans in Birmingham and Spokane. Twelve games in SS/EE, two sessions per regional (four sites) or four sessions (two sites). That means last year each session averaged 10,594 vs. 9244 fans 22 years earlier. That's a 15% improvement - over twenty-two years - not very impressive IMO. Yet that seems to be the reason to keep it at two regionals, the belief that this alone will lead to better attendance lol.
If this year's regionals were in four sites 1. one of the Carolina cities; 2. one of the NY metro/CT arenas; 3. Des Moines or Indianapolis and 4. New Orleans, LA then I'd venture to guess that the average of the eight sessions would be closer to 13,000 - 14,000 fans. Now that's moving the needle for WBB.
The problem rests with the NCAA - their sights are set too low to grow WBB. They want more attendance but are not picking or executing a plan to select locations that will actually benefit the student-athletes and their fans, or at the very least bringing the product to where the most WBB fans are. Stop playing "fair" by picking weird and far places that many fans can't afford to go: Portland? Spokane? Birmingham? Washington DC? Yikes! I got tix to the 2024 Albany regional (when UConn got placed in Portland) yet went to watch games including Iowa-LSU which had almost 14,000 in attendance that night. That was part of the Caitlin Clark effect that season for sure. The attendance for the UConn-USC game that same night in Portland was under 11,000. Not bad but imagine the attendance if it were in a city where WBB was much more popular.
Another reason they went to 2 sites was to make the event more attractive for the host city/arena that must submit a bid to get the event.
With the 2 region format the arena can book 4 days of games instead of 2, and host city can expect twice as many "tourists" that week.
The half empty, but tickets all pre sold, stadiums also indicate that a fan is always going to be able to get a ticket in the secondary market on game day. 😁
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Looks like a huge win for Delta and Exxon
I think folks here also overlooked the hotel problem with doubling up on the regionals. A lot of these cities can't actually support 8 fan bases with standard fare hotel space. That was certainly the case in Spokane last year. To get a standard big chain hotel room for less than 250 before taxes we had to stay in Moses Lake, about 90 minutes away. (We did book late but...)
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Of course, and would it surprise anyone if we found out that <cough, cough, wink, wink> ESPN's deal included having the NCAA do this to the women's tournament?
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There is. 1) Have womens basketball people not bean counters make womens basketball decisions. 2) Return to 4 Regionals ASAP 3) Provide comfortable and convenient hotels, practice times, press conferences, etc. 4) Demand the same treatment as the men's teams receive 5) Stop treating the womens game as an inferior product, but rather as a different, more graceful, more elegant version of the sport with players who are smart, hard working, athletic role models for the next generations of young players. I would start with those 5 items.
I agree completely. The game is still school specific for most fans. Isn't that a compelling argument though for the 4 Regionals with the current repetitive powerhouses in the sport if attendance is a goal? If it is not, then let's have the 4 regionals anyway for the fans who care so they can see their team play without going 1500 miles away.