The Holy Land of Hoops

NEW YORK - BIG EAST fans showed their spirited support in the first season of the league's new 10-team alignment. Every BIG EAST school ranked in the top 81 teams nationally in attendance. That's among 349 Division I teams, according to the NCAA.

Creighton ranked fifth nationally with an average of 17,896 fans at its CenturyLink Center, the highest average in school history. It was the third straight season that the Bluejays have been ranked in the top six nationally. Marquette ranked 14th nationally with an average of 15,327 fans at the BMO Bradley Center. The Golden Eagles have been ranked in the top 20 in attendance in all nine of their seasons as a BIG EAST member. Xavier ranked 42nd with an average of 9,890 fans flocking to the Cintas Center. The Musketeers have filled their arena to 97.7 percent capacity since the Cintas Center opened in 2000-01. Villanova averaged 9,890 fans and ranked 48th. The Wildcats are riding of streak of 149 straight sellouts at The Pavilion on campus where the capacity is 6,500.

Three more BIG EAST teams ranked in the 50s: Georgetown (8,670-51st), Providence (8,347-56th) and Butler (7,788-59th) followed by St. John's (7,431-66th), DePaul (6,363-80th) and Seton Hall (6,336-81st).

G ATTENDANCE AVERAGE Rank
Creighton 16 286,329 17,896 5th
Marquette 16 245,232 15,327 14th
Xavier 17 168,127 9,890 42nd
Villanova 16 143,092 8,943 48th
Georgetown 16 138,724 8,670 51st
Providence 16 133,548 8,347 56th
Butler 15 116,816 7,788 59th
St. John's 20 148,614 7,431 66th
DePaul 17 108,178 6,363 80th
Seton Hall 18 114,056 6,336 81st
The BIG EAST ranked fifth nationally among conferences with an average attendance of 9,711.

xman wrote:Any idea from the CU fans what will happen to attendance if the team struggles this year?

robinreed wrote:Truly excellent. The BE is showing it's class. I do believe that the bottom 3 schools need to do something major to live up to the example and record of the rest of the conference. Seton Hall has been a laggard for many years as has DePaul however the new facility in Chicago will be a great help to them. SJU is something of a question mark. There is a great deal to do in NYC other than go to a college basketball game however my recollection is that they drew much better in the 1960's to 1990's. Is there anyone here who can confirm or disprove my remembrance? How many games per year do the Johnnies play in Carneseca (spelling?) each year? How many do they play in MSG? Perhaps that is part of the problem for SJU.

In any case these numbers are something that can make us all proud. I will restate my belief that in the final analysis TV viewership will be more important to the BE than attendance in making us a successful conference. However attendance such as our top 7 teams have demonstrated is a big help.

Amase2 wrote:

robinreed wrote:Truly excellent. The BE is showing it's class. I do believe that the bottom 3 schools need to do something major to live up to the example and record of the rest of the conference. Seton Hall has been a laggard for many years as has DePaul however the new facility in Chicago will be a great help to them. SJU is something of a question mark. There is a great deal to do in NYC other than go to a college basketball game however my recollection is that they drew much better in the 1960's to 1990's. Is there anyone here who can confirm or disprove my remembrance? How many games per year do the Johnnies play in Carneseca (spelling?) each year? How many do they play in MSG? Perhaps that is part of the problem for SJU.

In any case these numbers are something that can make us all proud. I will restate my belief that in the final analysis TV viewership will be more important to the BE than attendance in making us a successful conference. However attendance such as our top 7 teams have demonstrated is a big help.

SJU played 19 regular season home games last year with 10 as MSG and 9 on campus. Carnesecca only holds close to 5,000 so that hurts a bit. Really though thats just an excuse, if the team is exciting to watch and is doing well than attendance will get closer to the 9-10,000 mark. And yes the attendance was better up until around the new millennium.

Amase2 wrote:

robinreed wrote:Truly excellent. The BE is showing it's class. I do believe that the bottom 3 schools need to do something major to live up to the example and record of the rest of the conference. Seton Hall has been a laggard for many years as has DePaul however the new facility in Chicago will be a great help to them. SJU is something of a question mark. There is a great deal to do in NYC other than go to a college basketball game however my recollection is that they drew much better in the 1960's to 1990's. Is there anyone here who can confirm or disprove my remembrance? How many games per year do the Johnnies play in Carneseca (spelling?) each year? How many do they play in MSG? Perhaps that is part of the problem for SJU.

In any case these numbers are something that can make us all proud. I will restate my belief that in the final analysis TV viewership will be more important to the BE than attendance in making us a successful conference. However attendance such as our top 7 teams have demonstrated is a big help.

SJU played 19 regular season home games last year with 10 as MSG and 9 on campus. Carnesecca only holds close to 5,000 so that hurts a bit. Really though thats just an excuse, if the team is exciting to watch and is doing well than attendance will get closer to the 9-10,000 mark. And yes the attendance was better up until around the new millennium.