Stags finish at #7 in MAAC Home Attendance

[FU73]

The Stags finished the 2013-14 regular season in seventh place in MAAC home attendance with 1,703 which is also the lowest attendance ever at the WBA/AHY in the last 13 seasons since the move there for the 2001-02 season. The Stags had historically finished in second place behind Siena. It was the first time ever that the attendance finished lower than 2,000 at the WBA/AHY. The largest crowd this season was against Marist on Senior Day with 2,393.

It was the first time ever at the WBA that had declining attendance for three years in a row (2014-1,703, 2013-2,165, 2012-2,239). The last time that home attendance was this low for Stag basketball was 19 years ago in the 1994-95 season with 1,682 at Alumni Hall. It is the third lowest home attendance in the last 37 years of Stag Basketball going back to the 1977-78 season either on campus or in Bridgeport (2014-1,703, 1995-1,682, 1994-1,524).

2013-14 Home Attendance:
Siena - 6593
Manhattan - 1906
Quinnipiac - 1890
Iona - 1804
Canisius - 1754
Monmouth - 1719
Fairfield 1703
Niagara - 1687
Rider - 1414
Marist - 1344
St. Peter's - 373

Stag Home Attendance

WBA/AHY:
2014 - 1,703
2013 - 2,165
2012 - 2,239
2011 - 2,959
2010 - 2,431
2009 - 2,323
2008 - 2,798
2007 - 2,709
2006 - 2,385
2005 - 2,619
2004 - 2,507
2003 - 2,859
2002 - 2,949

Alumni Hall:
2001 - 2,095
2000 - 2,149
1999 - 1,956
1998 - 1,909
1997 - 1,961
1996 - 1,953
1995 - 1,682
1994 - 1,524
1993 - 2,330
1992 - 2,496
1991 - 2,417
1990 - 1,983
1989 - 2,342
1988 - 2,654
1987 - 2,382
1986 - 3,084
1985 - 2,252
1984 - 2,516
1983 - 2,722
1982 - 2,803
1981 - 2,373
1980 - 2,516
1979 - 2,729
1978 - 3,101

[ctghostman]

Attendance was terrible this year. The Marist game crowd should be, worst case, an average crowd. Holidays/Weather/Student Breaks have something to do with that but, those issues are faced every year. Poor play/lack of buzz obviously hurt but not knowing how to bring in folks is, imo, the biggest issue. We need a guy who goes around to every grade and high school in the area and tries to get kids to come. We need involvement from Alumni relations. We need to work with the Arena. We need to work with FUSA/the students. We need to work with metro-north. We need to work with Bridgeport. We need better information/communication from the SID. We need all of this to be coordinated with Athletics. We need the right guy with a proper budget - 3000 needs to be the immediate goal - very doable.

[FU73]

...with a proper budget - 3000 needs to be the immediate goal

Roy Brown's budget was cut and promoting the games to the 3,300 undergraduate students was taken away from Athletics. Often the answer to things that he wanted to do was "We can't afford that". The goal of an average of 3,000 fans has not been met since the move to Bridgeport and the last time Stag basketball had that many fans was in 1986 (3,086) and only once before in 1978 (3,101) in Alumni Hall. However, what should be of most concern to those in charge is the decline in attendance at Stag MAAC Basketball games, especially the last three years in a row.

It is hard to get more alumni, students and the casual fan interested or to stay interested when the program is ranked #17 and last in the NY metro area behind NJIT with a terrible record of (7-24). Name OOC games will have more interest rather than MAAC Basketball with Monmouth, Rider, St. Peter's, Niagara and Canisius. If I was a local college basketball fan, I would save my bucks until UConn plays their WBA games again next season.

Realistically the top four teams in the MAAC with winning records still only average around 1,750 to 1,900:

#1 Iona - (20-9)(17-3) - 1,804
#2 Manhattan - (22-7)(15-5) - 1,906
#3 Quinnipiac - (19-10)(14-6) - 1,890
#4 Canisius - (20-11)(14-6) - 1,754

[stags10]

WE sucked, no one wanted to come watch us play a bland form of basketball.

[ctghostman]

You need to send money to make money. This is true about the fan base/season tickets. I don't know if Roy was the right man for the job but I do know that our leadership is great at creating apathy. That apathy resonates to the student body. Apathetic students become apathetic alums. Apathetic alums don't give.