OT: Kentucky's Declining Attendance (article) | The Boneyard

OT: Kentucky's Declining Attendance (article)

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tcf15

tcf15

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OK, so it's not a dramatic decline. They are decreasing from 23,868 in 2009 to 21,799 this season, so it's still a pretty good turnout. I just found this article interesting citing some possible explanations for the decline, especially this one:

3. The one-and-dones have done blockbuster business for Kentucky's off-court recruiting rankings and on-court success, paving the way for the 2012 national title, but I sense a creeping one-and-done fatigue.

I hear more and more comments from fans wistful for the good old days when you got to know players over an extended period and could watch them grow, develop, mature and even celebrate "Senior Night."

Those days are probably over, of course, but you wonder if the annual task of learning a new roster has lessened the average fan's enthusiasm — at least the fan who doesn't follow recruiting as religion.​

Hiring Calipari ruined the best aspect of college basketball for Kentucky fans, which was to watch a player's growth and development over three or four years.

http://www.kentucky.com/2013/12/11/2983413/john-clay-exploring-the-culprits.html
 
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tcf15 said:
OK, so it's not a dramatic decline. They are decreasing from 23,868 in 2009 to 21,799 this season, so it's still a pretty good turnout. I just found this article interesting citing some possible explanations for the decline, especially this one:

3. The one-and-dones have done blockbuster business for Kentucky's off-court recruiting rankings and on-court success, paving the way for the 2012 national title, but I sense a creeping one-and-done fatigue.

I hear more and more comments from fans wistful for the good old days when you got to know players over an extended period and could watch them grow, develop, mature and even celebrate "Senior Night."

Those days are probably over, of course, but you wonder if the annual task of learning a new roster has lessened the average fan's enthusiasm — at least the fan who doesn't follow recruiting as religion.​

Hiring Calipari ruined the best aspect of college basketball for Kentucky fans, which was to watch a player's growth and development over three or four years.

http://www.kentucky.com/2013/12/11/2983413/john-clay-exploring-the-culprits.html
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I saw a panned shot of the crowd the other night against Boise St. and I noticed a lot of empty seats in the mid- and lower-tier. Upper seats were jampacked.

Seems the more well-heeled Cats fans might be taking a little break in the OOC.

I don't think the attendance numbers equate with fannies in seats.
 
Big Blue sold their soul. I told a lot of them that in 2011 in Houston.
 
Hoophound said:
10% is pretty dramatic.
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True, didn't even consider looking at the percentages.

pj said:
That's also my favorite aspect of college ball. I didn't get as much pleasure out of Andre Drummond as out of Shabazz Napier or Niels Giffey.
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Exactly. And it essentially leads to situations that Alex Poythress currently finds himself in, and why Kyle Wiltjer transferred.
 
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pj said:
That's also my favorite aspect of college ball. I didn't get as much pleasure out of Andre Drummond as out of Shabazz Napier or Niels Giffey.
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Agreed, though I do get a good amount of fascination watching him develop in the NBA. He is a CT kid who has been a UConn fan most of his life, if that weren't the case and he was some hired gun in a group of hired guns like UK gets, I don't think I would even care about his NBA career.
 
caw said:
Agreed, though I do get a good amount of fascination watching him develop in the NBA. He is a CT kid who has been a UConn fan most of his life, if that weren't the case and he was some hired gun in a group of hired guns like UK gets, I don't think I would even care about his NBA career.
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He's also working on getting is degree during summers, stays close with the squad. Anytime we get a win he's showing love on social networks, which is a big deal publicity wise once he got involved with that I-Carly chick. He's got a huge fan base
 
10% is dramatic but when you are averaging over 20,000 it's hard to see a trend. Has it been 10% a year for the past 3-4 seasons? Then I'd say there's something to it. But 10% from 2009 to now? Not that dramatic. How much did it change from last year to this year?

Cal was hired in 2009. Huge interest and lots of hoopla and press, so it's not surprising attendance went way up. But if 2009 was a "fever pitch" season, it's hard to maintain that. Don't get me wrong - I hate the guy as much as anyone not involved with KY basketball, but UCONN attendance is probably half of that - somewhere in the 11,000 range.
 
Andre Drummond Verified account
@DRE_DRUMMOND_
Official Twitter Of Andre Drummond. Former UCONN HUSKY F, Now a Detroit Piston. Live by GOD, #T.A.G.O.D star of the youtube series My Life

New York/Connecticut/Detroit

Repping UConn in the heart of the B1G. Perfect.
 
tcf15 said:
Hiring Calipari ruined the best aspect of college basketball for Kentucky fans, which was to watch a player's growth and development over three or four years.

http://www.kentucky.com/2013/12/11/2983413/john-clay-exploring-the-culprits.html
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Agreed 100%. Watching players like El-Amin, Rip, Okafor, Kemba and Napier develop not only their game but their personality and character over several years is what makes following college basketball special. When you're turning over entire teams of blue-chip freshman mercenaries every year like UK, you're basically rooting for laundry.

Apparently Kentucky's style under Calipari is entertaining if you're a big fan of preseason hype and a huge recruiting junkie, but they don't award banners solely for pulling in as many five-star recruits as possible.
 
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Sports are so much more than just records and trophies. It's entertainment, it's emotional. It's feeling close to the players, getting to know them. The one and done format cheapens and dilutes a product to a level that I wouldn't find interesting, at all. I've thought this for awhile now, but when your entire roster hinges on this type of player on an annual basic, full roster turnovers, how can that be enjoyable? When your program is basically nothing more than a pit stop feeder for the NBA, how does that feel? When the kids you go after are thinking as much about the NBA as they are about the college experience. Calipari lures these kids based on this understanding and promise, but is establishing an "academic" institution as that right from the get go a recipe to feel good about?

It's different when you build a foundation around 1 one and done, when that one and done is a supplement. It's even different when it's two years. At least you have one off season to get to know a player.

The SEC/UK fan base isn't sophisticated, so this may not effect them as much as most. I could see even more decline at schools that weren't as blindly fanatical about simply winning. I could never
 
The same article could be written about both of our programs, couldn't it?
 
Jay Bilas kept harking on how quiet it was during the Kentucy/Boise game the other night
 
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gwhuskyfan said:
Jay Bilas kept harking on how quiet it was during the Kentucy/Boise game the other night
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Now I have the image in my head of Bilas, dressed in a floor length robe, holding a basketball tome in one arm pressed against his breast, standing up on the sidelines, pointing ominously to the crowd, and intoning, in a very slow and deep voice,

"Hark! There is nothing to hark!"
 
RuffRuff said:
Sports are so much more than just records and trophies. It's entertainment, it's emotional. It's feeling close to the players, getting to know them. The one and done format cheapens and dilutes a product to a level that I wouldn't find interesting, at all. I've thought this for awhile now, but when your entire roster hinges on this type of player on an annual basic, full roster turnovers, how can that be enjoyable? When your program is basically nothing more than a pit stop feeder for the NBA, how does that feel? When the kids you go after are thinking as much about the NBA as they are about the college experience. Calipari lures these kids based on this understanding and promise, but is establishing an "academic" institution as that right from the get go a recipe to feel good about?

It's different when you build a foundation around 1 one and done, when that one and done is a supplement. It's even different when it's two years. At least you have one off season to get to know a player.

The SEC/UK fan base isn't sophisticated, so this may not effect them as much as most. I could see even more decline at schools that weren't as blindly fanatical about simply winning. I could never
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The one-and-done and early draft situation is why teams like Butler, Wichita State and VCU can make the final four. A three star recruit in his senior year knows a coaches system, understands his role and is sometimes worth more than a one-and-done five start recruit. Particularly when that player is able to provide a locker room presence like Shabazz, Kemba, AJ, Adrien, Emeka, Gordon, Taliek, etc. I'd take a solid four star that is committed to the program any day over a top ten recruit that sees college as a pit stop.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
Those guys weren't 3 stars. A bunch of them weren't even 4 stars.
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Only one I think was Okafor. But he came on so late, he wasn't really evaluated.

As an aside, he's a pretty unusual guy to select for a list like that anyway. Someone who comes from relatively nowhere and becomes player of the year. A+ student graduating in three years. They don't grow on trees.
 
I think the real point of this thread is that attendance is not just an issue in Storrs (or Hartford, East Hartford, Boston, New York) but everywhere. Less people are going to games for all sports and all levels. College sports seem to be especially effected because of the nature of younger fans.
 
pj said:
That's also my favorite aspect of college ball. I didn't get as much pleasure out of Andre Drummond as out of Shabazz Napier or Niels Giffey.
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Other than Caron, who played just two seasons and was the best or one of the best players on the floor most nights, we rarely get to see these short-timers (1 or 2-and-done) play at a high level and be the primary contributors to the team's success. Drummond, Rudy and Charlie all come to mind. The players we enjoyed watching them develop, perform at a high and remember most are the 3 and 4 year players like, Dmitry, Ray, Donyell, Rip, Khalid, Emeka, Gordon, Shad, KFree, Kemba, and now Bazz. The one exception as far as one year players that I really enjoyed was Nadav. It broke my when he chose not to return. But he remains as the one exception.

With that said, I'm fine with adding a 1-and-done to an experienced team to potentially put them over the top, but I would not want a program that rebuilds yearly with a bunch of 1-and-done and/or 2-and-done players.

I was thinking the other day that I would not have minded at all adding Parker to this current Husky team. I wonder if KO would have had a better shot at landing him if his long term situation had been sorted out sooner. He and his family seemed to really like Ollie.
 
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Weather was bad for the Boise game,and John Deere don't make snow mobiles.
 
When I saw this thread's title, I thought it was about declining classroom attendance at Kentucky. Then I thought, how the hell can you decline from zero.
 
Based on the relatively low decline, the schedule is the most obvious culprit - they play every attractive non conference game at neutral sites.

People still turn out for attractive games, but everyone's appetite for mid-major beatdowns has declined everywhere.
 
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