Starting to build in Stillwater
Four days after Gallagher-Iba Arena filled to the brim for Bedlam women’s basketball, and Oklahoma State celebrated the historic night with an 82-63 thrashing of the Sooners, here were the attendance figures:
OU drew 5,400 fans for a game against Nebraska. OSU women drew less than 3,000 for a game against Missouri. The big lesson is clear. It takes time to build up a fan base. And you better keep winning.
Women’s basketball is a brave new world for attendance. There are sports fans who are unaccounted for. They don’t go to football or men’s basketball games at either school, but still might be enticed to campus. They are turned off by high prices or big egos or even big crowds. They haven’t been snared by one of the allures of sport; feeling a part of something.
Women’s basketball can snare them. Sherri Coale has snared them. OU’s attendance is consistently strong, between 5,000 and 10,000 for most games. The 5,400 for Nebraska was on the short side of what the Sooners usually draw and a sign that some fans have some doubts about this squad, after the Bedlam blowout.
Missouri coach Cindy Stein was charmingly criticial of OSU fans for not turning out Wednesday. Said the Cowgirls were the best show in town. Wondered what gives, was it movie night? Said if it was church night, she should have been in church with all the OSU fans, praying that Andrea Riley wouldn’t suit up for the Cowgirls.
But the truth is, booming attendance does not happen overnight. When Coale took over OU, she drew crowds in triple digits, and I swear, there were some games when it was less than 100. And even after the Sooners got good, the big crowds were spikes. OU drew some massive crowds to NCAA Tournament games at Lloyd Noble Center, but not everyone returned when the next season started.
Coale slowly built it up, to a good solid base of probably 5,000, then Courtney Paris arrived and it’s gotten even better.
The same holds true for Kurt Budke’s program in Stillwater. Keep winning, and the fan base will grow. Keep winning, and Cindy Stein won’t have to stump for larger crowds at Gallagher-Iba. But it takes time.
Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel.
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Comments
I used to be in the OSU band at the end of the Halterman years. You might have seen 200-300 people in the stands at a women’s game in that era. If 3,200 people were actually at the Missouri game, that IS a huge bump in attendance. 3,000 average attendance would be a landmark, I think.
Berry-Do you think women’s basketball has finally gotten important enough to the OSU administration that they will try and keep Budke? With the success he’s had in the past and the national exposure they are getting this year, you have to think somebody will come after him. Maybe it helps that OSU plays in one of the toughest and most pretigious divisions in women’s college basketball. Hopefully, Coach Budke will also want to see this stunning rebuilding job through and see how far he can take them.
Many fans in he oklahoma City area, find it a very expensive day to attend womens basketball. There is the gas, food, and if it is a late night gettting out, maybe a motel stay and more food on the way home. Maybe bus trips could be made available, ticket price included from okc to Stillwater. I would think the same for football could be done. Do 50 or 60 fans make a difference? Maybe not, but building a fan base might be worth it.