When I was a student at UConn they were in the Yankee Conference. All the games I remember in the Field House were near capacity. That's much less than Gampel and the Civic Center of course, but my point is that the games were easy to get to and dirt cheap for a student. Many students got into the HABIT of going to basketball games, and we often had to wait in lines ahead of time to get tickets. Had Gampel existed back in Yankee Conference days with the same relative cost and access for students even more students would have developed the habit of going to basketball games. However, if some of that capacity is reserved for corporate seating, that's fewer students that will develop the habit even should the seating open up for any particular game. Fewer still will get in the habit as costs escalate. Fewer still will get in the habit with remote access. They will develop other habits instead, particularly if almost every game can be viewed on television.
When comparing our attendance to others, the comparison should be made apples to apples, i.e., other places where ticket prices for the women are $13 + parking with remote access for students and a large chunk targeted for corporate seating. I doubt our attendance lags in that comparison; but then I wonder if there is any other "apple" with which to compare. I like JA's columns in general, but that was just plain dumb.
