MVC NOTEBOOK: VALLEY GAINS TOPS AMONG NCAA SCHOOLS
BY PAUL KLEE
THE SOUTHERN
[Tue Jul 06 2004]
CARBONDALE -- Turnstiles around the Missouri Valley Conference might need a splash of WD-40 for the upcoming hoops season.
That is, if the 2004-05 campaign is anything like last season.
Bolstered by banner figures at Creighton, Wichita State and Drake, the MVC experienced the nation's largest average increase in attendance at men's college basketball games last season, The NCAA News reported in a recent issue.
The Valley ranked just ninth among 31 conferences in average attendance with 7,288 fans per game. But in terms of average increases from the previous year, the Valley realized a 672-fans per game boost -- the largest increase in the country.
The Valley also was the only conference with three teams in the top 10 of attendance increases. Creighton (No. 3), Wichita State (No. 9) and Drake (No. 10) all witnessed remarkable upswings in attendance.
Why the escalating ticket sales?
Two things: Improved facilities and the rising popularity of Valley hoops.
"In terms of attendance, you have the Roundhouse at Wichita (State) and you have the new arena at Creighton. Both of those helped out attendance tremendously," said Mike Kern, MVC associate commissioner of communications.
"We've seen an uprising in crowd support both at the conference tournament and during the regular season."
Creighton, which played its first season in the $291-million Qwest Center in Omaha, played in front of an average of 12,078 fans. That was an increase of 3,832 fans per game from the previous year. (The Qwest Center seats 15,500 fans, while Creighton's old home, the Omaha Civic Auditorium, entertained about 9,300.)
Creighton's largest home game was a visit from in-state rival Nebraska, which drew 15,561 fans. Second was a showdown vs. Southern Illinois University (14,372).
The Bluejays ranked 28th in the nation in average home attendance (12,078).
Wichita State, the Valley's preseason No. 1, also reaped the benefits of a "new" facility -- freshly-renovated Charles Koch Arena debuted on Dec. 20, 2003.
The Shockers saw an increase of 1,856 fans per home game last season, the ninth-largest increase in the nation. On Jan. 28, SIU helped draw WSU's eighth-largest total (10,186).
WSU was the only other Valley squad to rank in the top 50 in average home attendance. At No. 45, the Shockers hosted just over 10,000 fans per game.
The inaugural season of Iowa coaching legend Tom Davis at Drake seemed to energize the Bulldogs' faithful. Drake enjoyed the 10th-biggest increase with over 1,700 more fans per game than the previous season.
The ticket box was hardly quiet at SIU Arena, either.
"We had a great year last year," SIU ticket manager Brad Pietz said.
The Salukis averaged 6,698 fans per home game, the 80th-best mark in the country. Three sold-out wins against Hawaii, Creighton and Bradley closed the home slate.
Officially, the MVC-champion Salukis averaged only 131 more fans per home game than in 2002-03.
But SIU's previous attendance figures could be skewed -- before last season, the athletic department counted tickets by hand. Last season was the first time SIU utilized Ticketmaster, making the 2003-04 attendance figures slightly more accurate.
"It was a nightmare (before Ticketmaster)," Pietz said.
Nationally, no one gathered a bigger crowd than Kentucky.
For the eighth consecutive season, the Wildcats led the nation in home attendance. The SEC champions sat a staggering 22,710 fans per home game.
The Big Ten averaged the most fans per home game in terms of conferences. Led by Wisconsin's 17,000-plus average, the Big Ten entertained 12,779 per game.
More fans attended college basketball games in 2003-04 than ever before.
WOMEN: Southwest Missouri State, which claimed its 10th conference title, paced Valley women's programs with an average of 6,661 fans per home contest.
Out of 324 programs nationally, the Lady Bears ranked 11th.
Drake was the second most-watched Valley team with 3,000-plus fans per home game. SIU was not listed among the top 100 teams.
BY PAUL KLEE
THE SOUTHERN
[Tue Jul 06 2004]
CARBONDALE -- Turnstiles around the Missouri Valley Conference might need a splash of WD-40 for the upcoming hoops season.
That is, if the 2004-05 campaign is anything like last season.
Bolstered by banner figures at Creighton, Wichita State and Drake, the MVC experienced the nation's largest average increase in attendance at men's college basketball games last season, The NCAA News reported in a recent issue.
The Valley ranked just ninth among 31 conferences in average attendance with 7,288 fans per game. But in terms of average increases from the previous year, the Valley realized a 672-fans per game boost -- the largest increase in the country.
The Valley also was the only conference with three teams in the top 10 of attendance increases. Creighton (No. 3), Wichita State (No. 9) and Drake (No. 10) all witnessed remarkable upswings in attendance.
Why the escalating ticket sales?
Two things: Improved facilities and the rising popularity of Valley hoops.
"In terms of attendance, you have the Roundhouse at Wichita (State) and you have the new arena at Creighton. Both of those helped out attendance tremendously," said Mike Kern, MVC associate commissioner of communications.
"We've seen an uprising in crowd support both at the conference tournament and during the regular season."
Creighton, which played its first season in the $291-million Qwest Center in Omaha, played in front of an average of 12,078 fans. That was an increase of 3,832 fans per game from the previous year. (The Qwest Center seats 15,500 fans, while Creighton's old home, the Omaha Civic Auditorium, entertained about 9,300.)
Creighton's largest home game was a visit from in-state rival Nebraska, which drew 15,561 fans. Second was a showdown vs. Southern Illinois University (14,372).
The Bluejays ranked 28th in the nation in average home attendance (12,078).
Wichita State, the Valley's preseason No. 1, also reaped the benefits of a "new" facility -- freshly-renovated Charles Koch Arena debuted on Dec. 20, 2003.
The Shockers saw an increase of 1,856 fans per home game last season, the ninth-largest increase in the nation. On Jan. 28, SIU helped draw WSU's eighth-largest total (10,186).
WSU was the only other Valley squad to rank in the top 50 in average home attendance. At No. 45, the Shockers hosted just over 10,000 fans per game.
The inaugural season of Iowa coaching legend Tom Davis at Drake seemed to energize the Bulldogs' faithful. Drake enjoyed the 10th-biggest increase with over 1,700 more fans per game than the previous season.
The ticket box was hardly quiet at SIU Arena, either.
"We had a great year last year," SIU ticket manager Brad Pietz said.
The Salukis averaged 6,698 fans per home game, the 80th-best mark in the country. Three sold-out wins against Hawaii, Creighton and Bradley closed the home slate.
Officially, the MVC-champion Salukis averaged only 131 more fans per home game than in 2002-03.
But SIU's previous attendance figures could be skewed -- before last season, the athletic department counted tickets by hand. Last season was the first time SIU utilized Ticketmaster, making the 2003-04 attendance figures slightly more accurate.
"It was a nightmare (before Ticketmaster)," Pietz said.
Nationally, no one gathered a bigger crowd than Kentucky.
For the eighth consecutive season, the Wildcats led the nation in home attendance. The SEC champions sat a staggering 22,710 fans per home game.
The Big Ten averaged the most fans per home game in terms of conferences. Led by Wisconsin's 17,000-plus average, the Big Ten entertained 12,779 per game.
More fans attended college basketball games in 2003-04 than ever before.
WOMEN: Southwest Missouri State, which claimed its 10th conference title, paced Valley women's programs with an average of 6,661 fans per home contest.
Out of 324 programs nationally, the Lady Bears ranked 11th.
Drake was the second most-watched Valley team with 3,000-plus fans per home game. SIU was not listed among the top 100 teams.
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