Asses In The Seats?

[Phoenix]

Regular season average attendance finished at 3275. Easily bested the previous record from 2006-07 of 3175.

[Clickclack]

Regular season average attendance finished at 3275. Easily bested the previous record from 2006-07 of 3175.

Winning will do that...

[UAalum72]

Six - or half - our home games, and all five home games since classes started in the second semester had attendance above 3700. Those five averaged 4,092, over 91% capacity. Helped by the BPG, the JP fundraising crowd, and traveling UVM fans, but still...

 

Puts us at about #142 out of 351 teams.

[justdrastik1]

I don't think that the attendance gain is something we should applaud though - in all sincerity, it's only a 3% increase in attendance over the course of 8-9 years. We've consistently been a winning program and have 4 appearances in the NCAAs in the last 8 years. That's abysmal. It starts at the top. How much more can this program do from a winning standpoint? Aside from an upset of a power conference team in the tournament, the program has been highly competitive and made leaps.

[Eli]

I don't think that the attendance gain is something we should applaud though - in all sincerity, it's only a 3% increase in attendance over the course of 8-9 years. We've consistently been a winning program and have 4 appearances in the NCAAs in the last 8 years. That's abysmal. It starts at the top. How much more can this program do from a winning standpoint? Aside from an upset of a power conference team in the tournament, the program has been highly competitive and made leaps.

Were you at the games earlier this year? Towards the end of the year, our crowds were significantly bigger. I have to really try to be heard in the arena...when in the first few games I had no problem getting my voice to the sidelines lol.

[justdrastik1]

Regardless of the atmosphere (which from TV angles) shows plenty of empty seats etc., the bottom line is that attendance hasnt grown that much, with 4 NCAAS appearances.. 100 students per game is like an extra 1500 tickets being sold per year - a 3%+- increase.

[Clickclack]

I don't think that the attendance gain is something we should applaud though - in all sincerity, it's only a 3% increase in attendance over the course of 8-9 years. We've consistently been a winning program and have 4 appearances in the NCAAs in the last 8 years. That's abysmal. It starts at the top. How much more can this program do from a winning standpoint? Aside from an upset of a power conference team in the tournament, the program has been highly competitive and made leaps.

The attendance the last few weeks has been significant and noticeable... I'm tickled pink. Hopefully with continued success and a bit of advertising we can get consistent sellouts but baby steps.

[Eli]

Picture I took today at the UA vs UVM game:

 

Edited March 1, 2015 by Ilko

[UA'08]

Goal is to have that every game!

[godanesgo99]

I don't think that the attendance gain is something we should applaud though - in all sincerity, it's only a 3% increase in attendance over the course of 8-9 years. We've consistently been a winning program and have 4 appearances in the NCAAs in the last 8 years. That's abysmal. It starts at the top. How much more can this program do from a winning standpoint? Aside from an upset of a power conference team in the tournament, the program has been highly competitive and made leaps.

 

Honestly, I am really impressed with the attendance outside of students during the last few home games. Today would have been much closer to sell out if the students cared. Looked like you could have fit another 100-150 in the 2 baseline sections. Add to that the fact that I doubt that the pep band counts in attendance numbers, there goes another 50-60 seats. The only other empty seats were behind the Vermont bench, so I assume those were allocated to Vermont.

 

I did see a few students in the normal paid sections though.

 

I have been to 4 home games this year + the Siena game. I can never make Wednesday night games or I would have been to more. That said, I direct you to the asses in the seats thread. The walk from Dutch quad sucks at night and when it is cold, and the entrance near the stadium doesn't have enough parking nor is it an inviting entrance on that side. If the SEFCU was easier to park at and more inviting from the outside we could easily beat the Aints in attendance - at SEFCU (with enough seating as well).

 

It is really time for better facilities or a move downtown. I bet student attendance would remain unchanged or improve.

[justdrastik1]

I really think it has a lotto do with purely marketing and promotions. I don't think things like this change over night, and I realize it does take time, but there is no professional team in town. UA should be among the top draws on a consistent basis. I disagree regarding a move downtown. First, we can't even fill SEFCU on a regular basis. A lot of it purely rests on students. Move the game off campus and I think that hurts attendance personally.

[Underpar]

lack of student support for athletics is not new to UAlbany. In fact, student apathy is common on most college campuses. Mark Benson has a tough job but I know he is working on it. It seems so easy but obviously it is not. The SEFCU is in need of an upgrade. Ever time I enter the arena from the parking lot I feel like I'm walking down into a bomb shelter. The goal should be to have 5000 men's and women's basketball fanatics and 20000 football fanatics.

[justdrastik1]

Agree the the lack of support is now new to UAlbany and certainly a problem for a lot of institutions. Football is a different story (we were playing on a JV football field previously), but I think with basketball, it's less about the arena and more about the product on the floor and the marketing/tactics. We have a very good product, but the culture for games needs to change. If you look at some of the most historic franchises in pro sports, or even college bball, the arena doesn't make a huge difference in my opinion, unless you are talking the fair weather fan. It's possible with a program on the rise you will have a large composition of your fans being fair weather, but at the end of the day, this is more about the students. If you an get loud, rowdy students, the atmosphere will improve, and thus it will generate more attention, and the games will be more enjoyable as a whole.

[Underpar]

The fan support on Saturday was great. At times you could feel the electricity. But, the fans need to be "educated". Good manners are always preferred but a polite clap at a critical moment is unacceptable. The SEFCU needs 5000 fans on their feet screaming at the top of their lungs. It is that type of atmosphere which will build the UAlbany brand.

[justdrastik1]

Agree 100% with that you said above. Not sure how this would be done, but perhaps having more student-sponsored "cheer" members - not like the cheer squad etc., but more mascot related. Jumping around, waving hands to get people to stand in critical moments etc. From watching on TV, in critical moments, I would barely see a golf clap.

 

The student sections need to be dictating this. Wonder if the school could hire a couple of "super fans" from the student body. Free tickets, or some kind of reward.