Extra Point: Where did all the women's basketball fans go?

By: Ryan Papaserge

Posted: 11/20/09

As game time approached before the women's basketball team's home opener Nov. 15 against Akron, an all-too-familiar sound once again filled Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center.

Silence.

The WolfPack, otherwise known as the Bonnies' student section, memorably filled its designated seats for two Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) games against West Virginia and South Florida last March. But Nov. 15, the pack was nowhere to be seen or heard.

Instead, a deafening silence filled the arena. Despite the fact that a substantial amount of fans wandered in throughout the Sunday afternoon matchup, an announced attendance of 302 people attended the Brown and White's 67-37 win over the Zips.

In comparison, an average of 849 people attended the 16 home games the Bonnies played last season. Attendence at last year's Nov. 14 home opener against Binghamton (the first half of a women's-men's doubleheader) reached 768.

The most troubling portion of this number-crunching is this: The Bonnies will play just three games at the Reilly Center with start times after 6 p.m., compared to eight last season. The first of those night games will be Dec. 9 against Buffalo.

With so much optimism and buzz surrounding this year's Brown and White squad, it is certainly disappointing to see such a poor response at game time.

Coach Jim Crowley echoed these sentiments.

"We're going to play no matter what," Crowley said. "Of course, I'm biased, but I think our kids deserve a better turnout. Sundays are hard, with football and everything, and I understand that … but our kids play pretty hard and they usually find a reason to make their fans proud.

"I just think they deserve better support than (at the Akron game). That's not to take away from some great, great loyal fans that have been coming, and we certainly really appreciate (them)."

Crowley brings up a major point: Why schedule the home opener at 1 p.m. on a Sunday, which also happened to be the same time the Buffalo Bills played the Tennessee Titans?

For most football fans (myself included), it becomes difficult to pull away from the TV for two hours for anything on a Sunday, let alone a women's basketball game featuring one of the Atlantic 10's rising teams.

Youth Day's 12 p.m. start yesterday was actually a great idea - providing the opportunity to cultivate Bonnies fans at a young age - it would be even better to start scheduling games on Friday and Saturday nights going forward.

Let's face it: A great portion of our student body shows up full of "enthusiasm" for every men's game. Imagine the possibilities of a packed home court as the Bonnies host an established program like Michigan State or Virginia with more than 302 fans present.

Crowds like the Big Four record 4,133 people who packed the Reilly Center March 29 for the WNIT quarterfinal against South Florida should not be an anomaly.

However, with the way this season's schedule looks, that may become the sad truth.