Home Attendance Watch

EaganGopher22

Active member
Joined
Nov 29, 2018
Messages
548
Reaction score
201
Points
43
The other interesting part of the Whalen hire will be impact on attendance. For reference:

Non-Conference for 2016-17 was 21,292 with average of 2,662 per game. Conference was 30,072, average 3,759.

Non-Conference 2017-18 was 18,169, average of 2,5956 (one less game) and Conference at 28,787, average 3,598.


Non-Conference so far this year is 33,417, average of 5,569. Throw out the first game and the average is still 3,758 which is as good as it was for Conference games in the last two years.


I think that this will be interesting to watch as the season unfolds.
 

Thanks for eliminating the first game. That will really inflate numbers otherwise
 

Here is a way to seriously inflate attendance:

No. 14/18 (AP/Coaches) Minnesota (7-0) wraps up its six-game homestand Wednesday afternoon against Incarnate Word (0-8) at noon in the team's sixth annual Field Trip Game. Approximately 6,200 children from local elementary schools are expected to be in attendance.
 

Here is a way to seriously inflate attendance:

No. 14/18 (AP/Coaches) Minnesota (7-0) wraps up its six-game homestand Wednesday afternoon against Incarnate Word (0-8) at noon in the team's sixth annual Field Trip Game. Approximately 6,200 children from local elementary schools are expected to be in attendance.

I prefer to think of it as unofficial visits for 6,200 potential recruits.
 

Here is a way to seriously inflate attendance:

No. 14/18 (AP/Coaches) Minnesota (7-0) wraps up its six-game homestand Wednesday afternoon against Incarnate Word (0-8) at noon in the team's sixth annual Field Trip Game. Approximately 6,200 children from local elementary schools are expected to be in attendance.

Point noted. However, it should be observed that in 2016, the elementary school game was against Belmont with 3,342 in attendance. In 2017, it was against Cal Poly. 4,126 attended (3rd highest attendance last year).

If 6,200 kids show up, it will be the first time (excluding the sellout) that more than 6,000 showed up at the end of the 2015-16 season (Feb. 14, 2016 against Ohio State).
 


So with the game today against Incarnate Word, 7,835, attended. So Non-conference comparisons: 2016-17 @2,662 2017-18 @2,596, and this season is 5,893 and 4,438 excluding the first game.
 

So with the game today against Incarnate Word, 7,835, attended. So Non-conference comparisons: 2016-17 @2,662 2017-18 @2,596, and this season is 5,893 and 4,438 excluding the first game.

Adding in the Coppin State game, 3,583 announced. Average non-conference is 5,604 and 4,316 excluding sell-out. Excluding the sell-out, that is a 66% increase over last year. If the same increase holds true for B1G, we might see average crowds of nearly 6,000 per game. That could be fun!
 

Hopefully, we'd see the attendance rise up to the level of the time the Gophers made it to the Final Four. That is a huge expectation.

Whalen has proven she can win in non-conference.

Let's see how the Gophers handle the Big Ten schedule. That is her next test.

She has surrounded herself with a good coaching staff and has lots of mentors that want to see her become a successful coach.
 

Attendance for Rhode Island game was 5,224 which is higher than for and B1G game the last two seasons. The non-conference game average is 4,429 (excluding Game 1), and 5,562 (including Game 1). The non-conference attendance excluding Game 1 is 70.6% higher than last year. However, it is worth noting that when attendance records are compared across the country, Game 1 will be included.

If 70% increase translates to B1G season, the average would be 6,140. I guess we will have to get used to sitting on our coats again.
 



Bring a large garbage bag and put your coat in it and put it under your seat. Provides "much more" space for sitting in your seat. We've done that for many seasons as do many others. A Barn with more people in it for our games is a very nice problem to have!
 
Last edited:

We all knew that attendance would spike with Whalen's hiring, including an increase in season tickets. But yesterday's crowd was impressive, because of the large number of single-game tickets sold for a game that sits in the middle of a busy holiday season. It's looking like this may be an indicator of what's to come in the Barn this year and in years to follow (if the program can continue its winning whays). Although Coyle's primary reason for hiring Whalen was his feeling that she could turn this into an "elite" (reference P.J.) national program, the attendance benefits of that hiring are already obvious. If the barn can return to what it was in Whalen's playing days, that, coupled with success, should really help recruiting. Those years with Whalen and McCarville in the Barn are forever etched in my mind. I remember games against Penn State and Kelly Mazzanti (sp?), UCLA, and K-State. It would sure be fun if the Gophers could get into a position where they could again host a round of the NCAA tourney. Go Gophers!
 

The attendance for the B1G opener against Wisconsin was 7,918. This was much larger than the pre-B1G season attendance trend was suggesting. The increase was actually 120% larger than the average B1G game average last year.

It was a fun crowd and many were much younger as well.


Nice touch to have the young girls greet the team as they came on the floor. I assume many were from the various teams that were posted on the video board. I wonder if this is a one-time event.
 

One other note. Last season total attendance for all home games was 46,956. So far this season, 57,977 (yes, it includes the sellout).
 



Nice touch to have the young girls greet the team as they came on the floor. I assume many were from the various teams that were posted on the video board. I wonder if this is a one-time event.

They've done the greet line several times this season; but they've been much shorter lines than tonight's. And it's a nice touch.
 


For what is worth, this is from Sid Hartman in his column today:

Jottings
• For the entire 2017-18 season, the Gophers women’s basketball team drew an announced 46,956 fans for 15 games at Williams Arena. So far this season, in 10 games, they have already drawn 57,977 fans.
 

What kind of a crowd can we expect for the game against Illinois? Sunday afternoon games after the first of the year have always drawn well. Temps are mild and Vikings season is over. 8000 to 9000?
 

That is a fairly good estimate. However, weather is going to be reasonable, no Vikings game, and wrestling the other campus draw. Had we won at Michigan, I would have said 9000+ (continuing the winning streak). Just short of 8000 for WI game and that game hasn't drawn any better than other games in past few years. So exceeding 9000 is not out of the question. Will have to see how the walk up crowd does.

I will have to start to remember to bring the garbage bags for the coats, it has been way too many years since I needed them.
 

The optimism expressed regarding the potential crowd size was a bit inflated. Actual attendance was 6622, down from the previous B1G game. So the two game B1G average is 7270. I guess it's a good thing more fans didn't witness the second half collapse? The article covering the loss will likely be overshadowed by the firing of the Timberwolves' coach.
 


Iowa home game attendance of 5,439. This was down from the 2 previous B1G games. The B1G home average attendance is 6,660. Last night's attendance is still larger than any B1G game in the last two years. Hopefully fans will be patient with Whalen's first year and return in the same or greater numbers next season.
 

Iowa home game attendance of 5,439. This was down from the 2 previous B1G games. The B1G home average attendance is 6,660. Last night's attendance is still larger than any B1G game in the last two years. Hopefully fans will be patient with Whalen's first year and return in the same or greater numbers next season.

I'd still say that's pretty good for a weirdly-early, televised game on a Monday night.
 

Bringing in the Purdue home game attendance of 5,572, the B1G average is 6,388. The total for 4 B1G home games is 25,551. Last year the B1G home game attendance totaled 28,787 and 30,072 for previous year. Good chance we could eclipse both totals with the next home game.

At some point we will solve the zone and again send fans home happy.
 

The home game against Ohio State occurred on a snowy and cold Monday evening. The attendance was 3,740, lowest of B1G home games this season. It was still larger than all but three B1G games last season. The B1G average attendance dropped to 5,858. Total attendance for year is 79,350 vs. 46,956 last year. Will they top 100,000 for the season?
 

The Rutgers game was played on Super Bowl Sunday, starting a couple of hours before the big game, which likely resulted in the smallest B1G home game attendance this year. IMHO, it was the best of the 3 games I watched (Men's BB game, this one, and Super Bowl). In any event, 4888 was the announced crowd, which was still larger than any game in the last two years. The average B1G has dropped to 5,697. Total attendance for B1G home games has now exceeded the total attendance for all B1G home games in either of the last two years, and we still have a few home games left to go. If we can't get to the NCAA, I would expect with this level of attendance that we would be hosting if invited to the WNIT.
 

Northwestern drew a bigger crowd than last Sunday, 5,475, just under the overall B1G home average of 5,665. The average is more than 2,000 per game more than last year.
 

I really surprise nit a peep today about the home attendance for the Penn State game.

Williams Arena appears fuller on TV.
 

And the TV crew said it was a very nice crowd. 5,869 watched some pink Gophers win big against Penn State. The B1G season average is now 5,690. In increase of more than 2,000 per game over last year probably still qualifies as a nice crowd.

Overall we are third in B1G for home attendance.

Attendance Home Average
Illinois 16-24152 1510
Indiana 12-45810 3818
Iowa 14-80399 5743
Maryland 13-72009 5539
Michigan 12-43521 3627
Michigan State 13-69360 5335
Minnesota 17-95582 5622
Nebraska 13-52347 4027
Northwestern 13-18520 1425
Ohio State 13-58903 4531
Penn State 16-38181 2386
Purdue 16-104738 6546
Rutgers 13-27961 2151
Wisconsin 14-54907 3922
 

Any word on today's attendance?
 





Top Bottom