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It took me less than 10 minutes to find these numbers, so maybe I should do California conferences attendance reports. I have a theory on D2 basketball: If you are at 700 attendance or above, you're getting pretty darn good numbers. If you're at 500 to 700, that's pretty solid. If you're below 500 it's not good. If you're below 400 you suck.
NNU -- 1,145 per game, super impressive, great job. They're usually about 800 which is nice. This year they've gone the extra mile for a really good team.
CWU -- 713, really good, but I thought they'd do a little bit better. It's not like there's a ton of stuff to do in the winter in Ellensburg. But you can't make people go to games. Wildcats have a good team this year. I thought they'd draw around a thousand a game.
UAA -- 683, solid but Anchorage is a big place and there's not another University in town. I expected better though, I think the team is pretty average this year.
MSU-Billings -- 475, good team, only game in town for miles around. Maybe there's another any NAIA school in Billings, I'm not sure. Recently they've played really good ball and people haven't shown up.
WWU -- 442, they have the same coach but they are not the same program they were maybe a decade ago. I also don't think it's a big sports town but they probably should work on getting better crowds.
St Martin's -- 407, head scratcher here. St Martin's is going on nearly a decade of really good, competitive basketball. It's not like Olympia is a hot spot, especially in the cold, rainy winter. They should get better crowds. They are well coached and have exciting players.
Alaska Fairbanks -- 286, it seems like they could be doing better with a new coach, who is pretty good. Not a great team but they can upset anybody on any given night. Decent size population up there. Probably could draw better at the gate.
Simon Fraser -- 270, I've never understood Simon Fraser's desire to play American sports. It's supposedly supposed to give them some boost in publicity and reputation. When you cut your football program and then you're getting 270 people a game in men's basketball, I'm sorry but you suck. Join the Canadian League.
Seattle Pacific -- 270, Underachievers of the decade. I remember when they used to contend for national titles for a span of about six or seven years. Those two coaches have long since left, as did Ryan Looney who was pretty good. But as I noted in a story a couple weeks ago, you wouldn't know the campus existed even in the Queen Anne neighborhood, of which it resides. They're not good this year but they could do better at the gate.
WOU -- 127, this is what happens when you suck beyond compare. I believe they are working on the worst record in school history. The athletic department doesn't want people to know that and they don't want you to know no one's going to the games. They actually don't want you to know anything. It's really bad there in men's and women's hoops and I'm not confident they're going to do the things to change it.
* What these numbers show me is that the West Coast really isn't big into sports. But two, these athletic departments just don't market their programs at all. They expect people to show up when they don't even know when the games are. You wouldn't have to hire some expensive marketing firm or even a full-time marketing person. Find some business students or marketing majors to come up with a program. They could do a better job than what's going on right now. I still think division 2 Athletics is a pretty good product, they simply need to promote it better. They seem to be afraid of failing. They are already failing at the gate, except for Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington.
NNU -- 1,145 per game, super impressive, great job. They're usually about 800 which is nice. This year they've gone the extra mile for a really good team.
CWU -- 713, really good, but I thought they'd do a little bit better. It's not like there's a ton of stuff to do in the winter in Ellensburg. But you can't make people go to games. Wildcats have a good team this year. I thought they'd draw around a thousand a game.
UAA -- 683, solid but Anchorage is a big place and there's not another University in town. I expected better though, I think the team is pretty average this year.
MSU-Billings -- 475, good team, only game in town for miles around. Maybe there's another any NAIA school in Billings, I'm not sure. Recently they've played really good ball and people haven't shown up.
WWU -- 442, they have the same coach but they are not the same program they were maybe a decade ago. I also don't think it's a big sports town but they probably should work on getting better crowds.
St Martin's -- 407, head scratcher here. St Martin's is going on nearly a decade of really good, competitive basketball. It's not like Olympia is a hot spot, especially in the cold, rainy winter. They should get better crowds. They are well coached and have exciting players.
Alaska Fairbanks -- 286, it seems like they could be doing better with a new coach, who is pretty good. Not a great team but they can upset anybody on any given night. Decent size population up there. Probably could draw better at the gate.
Simon Fraser -- 270, I've never understood Simon Fraser's desire to play American sports. It's supposedly supposed to give them some boost in publicity and reputation. When you cut your football program and then you're getting 270 people a game in men's basketball, I'm sorry but you suck. Join the Canadian League.
Seattle Pacific -- 270, Underachievers of the decade. I remember when they used to contend for national titles for a span of about six or seven years. Those two coaches have long since left, as did Ryan Looney who was pretty good. But as I noted in a story a couple weeks ago, you wouldn't know the campus existed even in the Queen Anne neighborhood, of which it resides. They're not good this year but they could do better at the gate.
WOU -- 127, this is what happens when you suck beyond compare. I believe they are working on the worst record in school history. The athletic department doesn't want people to know that and they don't want you to know no one's going to the games. They actually don't want you to know anything. It's really bad there in men's and women's hoops and I'm not confident they're going to do the things to change it.
* What these numbers show me is that the West Coast really isn't big into sports. But two, these athletic departments just don't market their programs at all. They expect people to show up when they don't even know when the games are. You wouldn't have to hire some expensive marketing firm or even a full-time marketing person. Find some business students or marketing majors to come up with a program. They could do a better job than what's going on right now. I still think division 2 Athletics is a pretty good product, they simply need to promote it better. They seem to be afraid of failing. They are already failing at the gate, except for Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington.
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