Attendance

[Vowelguy]

day 1:

1. ColumbiaSC 10,276
2. Louisville 5,823
3. Starkville 5,115
4. Waco 4,990
5. Corvallis 4,702
6. Tempe 3,134
7. ColumbusOH 2626
8. Syracuse 2445

 

[Lobo50Fan]

Something that amazed me was how empty the Maryland game looked. Sure it was a 2-15 match up, but I thought there would be a bit more people there.

 

[EricLA]

Good for SC! that's really good attendance. Looking at the arena for UCONN, I have a hard time seeing where we would eclipse 6,000 fans...

 

[vtcwbuff]

UConn attendance 4784?

 

[ctkaiser]

That's what the box score says which would make it half full. Seemed like more than that number in Gampel. Are there comps in NCAA tournament?

 

[alexrgct]

4.784 is also is the Stats section of the Uconn wbb website. Pretty awful and below the the season average, even considering home/away/neutral site games.

Non-attendance doesn't mean you missed a great game by any means, but you could only watch some great ball from afar. Which is what I did.

 

[McHuskyFan]

I sat next to Gabby Williams during the 3rd qtr of the Dusquene/Seton Hall game. at one point, she said "this is wierd, I've never seen Gampel this empty" ....

 

[uconnfan68]

I sat next to Gabby Williams during the 3rd qtr of the Dusquene/Seton Hall game. at one point, she said "this is wierd, I've never seen Gampel this empty" ....

Well look who was playing. Wasn't us.

 

[McHuskyFan]

Well look who was playing. Wasn't us.

yes, but sadly it didn't seem more than half full when it WAS us ....

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Good for SC! that's really good attendance. Looking at the arena for UCONN, I have a hard time seeing where we would eclipse 6,000 fans...

The funny thing is that I was upset about what I perceived to be our low attendance on Friday night and thought it was because we had our SEC baseball opener at the same time. I didn't realize how low everyone else's would be.

 

[Magy Cannon]

Why don't people come watch women play? Guess I need to ask people who don't read women's basketball message boards. So discouraging.

 

[UcMiami]

I suspect there are a few items on the list:
1. Ticket prices - NCAA usually jacks up the price from the standard home ticket price. Not sure if it happened this year but CT has typically had the highest ticket prices for NCAA games (because the regular season games have the highest prices as well.

2. Not part of a schools sports package - buy season tickets for WCBB and get better preference on your MBB and Football tickets sort of deal.

3. With both men's and women's teams involved in different locations in weekend play for some of the best travel fan bases, they have chosen the men's game location. Even if the WCBB team is playing at home, that travel contingent isn't in the stands.

4. Strange game times, and especially daytime on a weekday - what Jeff did in Louisville probably got a few hundred extra fans into the stands, but for a lot of their standard crowd it was just too late in the process. And a lot of fans that travel a fair distance for specific games during the season make those plans months in advance - lining up friends or other events around a trip to watch 'their team' - ten days is a little short for that kind of planning.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Stub hub ticket prices for tomorrow's game run from $16 in nosebleed to $82 lower baseline. It doesn't sound like prices are the reason for the poor attendance. In 2015 the games were at 9pm. In 2014 they were at 7pm and 8pm so it doesn't appear that game time is the issue.

I looked at 1st and 2nd round attendance for 2014 and 2015. They were also low. It's possible that UConn fans just aren't interested enough to put up with the hassle of Gampel. It's also possible that fans don't want to spend their time and money on a predictable snoozer. In contrast, the AAC title game at the Sun drew 7100+. On the plus side UConn's season attendance numbers increased this year, up 11% from last season.


2015 1st rd 3666, 2nd rd 3486
2014 1st rd 5018, 2nd rd 4245

 

[HuskyNan]

The result yesterday was predictable and the game was, dare I say it, boring. With the Regionals in Bridgeport, people may be saving their money to go there for a more competitive matchup.

Having said that, single game tickets are available for tomorrow. If the game had been scheduled for 7:00 I would have expected a bigger crowd but a 9:00 game? I'll be there but am not expecting a large turnout.

 

[huskyd]

The result yesterday was predictable and the game was, dare I say it, boring. With the Regionals in Bridgeport, people may be saving their money to go there for a more competitive matchup.

Having said that, single game tickets are available for tomorrow. If the game had been scheduled for 7:00 I would have expected a bigger crowd but a 9:00 game? I'll be there but am not expecting a large turnout.

Sorry to disagree, but the game was not in the least "boring." It was some of the most beautifully played team basketball that UConn has produced this season. You could watch a meticulous plan unfold, watch precision in all areas, watch the blooming of the next great Husky player. Hope the rest of the tournament is equally "boring." I feel sorry for those who missed it.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Having said that, single game tickets are available for tomorrow. If the game had been scheduled for 7:00 I would have expected a bigger crowd but a 9:00 game? I'll be there but am not expecting a large turnout.

This NYCer was seriously considering escaping work a few minutes early, running home, hopping in the car and racing north to catch (most) of the game. 9pm start? Nope.

 

[HuskyNan]

Sorry to disagree, but the game was not in the least "boring." It was some of the most beautifully played team basketball that UConn has produced this season. You could watch a meticulous plan unfold, watch precision in all areas, watch the blooming of the next great Husky player. Hope the rest of the tournament is equally "boring." I feel sorry for those who missed it.

To clarify - the first half of the game was beautiful, the third quarter was fine but the fourth quarter was boring.

 

[CTtransplant]

I was planning to buy tickets for both Saturday and Monday for me, my wife, and my daughter. I went on the website Tuesaday morning early to buy tickets and the only ones you could select were in the very high sections. I knew from last year that it would not be sold out, so I refused to buy tickets in the distant sections.

Same was true of the Monday game, but on Saturday they opened some lower sections. I bought one ticket. The system discouraged a fan that woke up early ready to buy Saturday game tickets.

I watched the game on TV. I am not surprised the turnout was low.

 

[j66kicker]

I suspect there are a few items on the list:
1. Ticket prices - NCAA usually jacks up the price from the standard home ticket price. Not sure if it happened this year but CT has typically had the highest ticket prices for NCAA games (because the regular season games have the highest prices as well.

2. Not part of a schools sports package - buy season tickets for WCBB and get better preference on your MBB and Football tickets sort of deal.

3. With both men's and women's teams involved in different locations in weekend play for some of the best travel fan bases, they have chosen the men's game location. Even if the WCBB team is playing at home, that travel contingent isn't in the stands.

4. Strange game times, and especially daytime on a weekday - what Jeff did in Louisville probably got a few hundred extra fans into the stands, but for a lot of their standard crowd it was just too late in the process. And a lot of fans that travel a fair distance for specific games during the season make those plans months in advance - lining up friends or other events around a trip to watch 'their team' - ten days is a little short for that kind of planning.

JFYI, ticket prices in Tempe for GB-TN-ASU-NM St. were $25 for single session, $40 for both sessions. Reserved seats, but all seats same price. Seniors got a 50% discount off that, so basically a senior paid $10 for Friday and $10 for today for great seats (attendance Friday was 3184, so no "bad" seats were sold).

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

day 1:

1. ColumbiaSC 10,276
2. Louisville 5,823
3. Starkville 5,115
4. Waco 4,990
5. Corvallis 4,702
6. Tempe 3,134
7. ColumbusOH 2626
8. Syracuse 2445

Thanks, vowelguy. I chart the attendance reported for post-season and forgot for Friday, I did Saturday but didn't go back.

As bad as some of the numbers perceptually are, there are a huge number of programs who have never seen these kind of numbers.

And I agree with the various thoughts being presented regarding UConn's attendance, applying to various other locations as well.

 

[uconnfan68]

Stub hub ticket prices for tomorrow's game run from $16 in nosebleed to $82 lower baseline. It doesn't sound like prices are the reason for the poor attendance. In 2015 the games were at 9pm. In 2014 they were at 7pm and 8pm so it doesn't appear that game time is the issue.

I looked at 1st and 2nd round attendance for 2014 and 2015. They were also low. It's possible that UConn fans just aren't interested enough to put up with the hassle of Gampel. It's also possible that fans don't want to spend their time and money on a predictable snoozer. In contrast, the AAC title game at the Sun drew 7100+. On the plus side UConn's season attendance numbers increased this year, up 11% from last season.


2015 1st rd 3666, 2nd rd 3486
2014 1st rd 5018, 2nd rd 4245

$82 for a WCBB game? For the NC game? Oh wait, it's for 1 vs. 16. No wonder the place was half full.

 

[HuskyNan]

I was planning to buy tickets for both Saturday and Monday for me, my wife, and my daughter. I went on the website Tuesaday morning early to buy tickets and the only ones you could select were in the very high sections. I knew from last year that it would not be sold out, so I refused to buy tickets in the distant sections.

Same was true of the Monday game, but on Saturday they opened some lower sections. I bought one ticket. The system discouraged a fan that woke up early ready to buy Saturday game tickets.

I watched the game on TV. I am not surprised the turnout was low.

Don't be afraid to buy tickets way up in the upper section. I'm in the second row from teh back and am about as close as the lower second tier in the Civic Center. Gampel is very small.

 

[HuskyNan]

JFYI, ticket prices in Tempe for GB-TN-ASU-NM St. were $25 for single session, $40 for both sessions. Reserved seats, but all seats same price. Seniors got a 50% discount off that, so basically a senior paid $10 for Friday and $10 for today for great seats (attendance Friday was 3184, so no "bad" seats were sold).

I just bought my ticket for the Temple @Quinnipiac WNIT game. It was $5 for a seat in the third row at center court. Parking is free at the Q, too.

 

[FairView]

Don't be afraid to buy tickets way up in the upper section. I'm in the second row from teh back and am about as close as the lower second tier in the Civic Center. Gampel is very small.

I love the high seatbacks in Gampel. Second-to-last row in 209 on Saturday was great. Also had the joy of sitting next to a local man from Ashford who has been a fan for 30 years. He told me about coming to early Gampel games that were nearly empty. One of his amusing stories was that he would actually change his seats to move farther back from the court in those days because he was so close to the bench that Geno would block his view as he paced.

I agree with Nan that the 4th quarter was not that entertaining on the court -- fortunately for me it gave me occasion to speak with this delightful man, his daughter and granddaughter. I'll be there tomorrow.

 

[vtcwbuff]

The result yesterday was predictable and the game was, dare I say it, boring. With the Regionals in Bridgeport, people may be saving their money to go there for a more competitive matchup.

Having said that, single game tickets are available for tomorrow. If the game had been scheduled for 7:00 I would have expected a bigger crowd but a 9:00 game? I'll be there but am not expecting a large turnout.

I thought the 4th quarter was as disappointing as it was boring. Other than Collier (and Nurse early) the rest of the team looked awful.

Robert Morris makes the argument that the automatic bids for conference winners should be done away with. Sagarin has them ranked 204th. The NCAA has to figure out a ranking system and then just pick the top 64 teams.