15k tickets sold, but 9 k in actual attendance

[Dominicanhog]

Well, I'd say that depends on the game. When the games were sellouts, the were limited to the student section capacity. I know for the KY and Florida games last year the students filled that up and overflowed to the upper deck in areas that didn't sell.

you had big games during both periods .. but average attendance is 5000+ per game less now...  you think students have had very little to do with this drop, but they have not picked up the slack either?

[ricepig]

you had big games during both periods .. but average attendance is 5000+ per game less now...  you think students have had very little to do with this drop, but they have not picked up the slack either?

Well, they've just been allowed to expand beyond there 3000 seats recently, and that was only because someone wasn't paying $25 to sit there. I agree that student participation should be higher, but as the father of some, they like courtside, not upper deck, haha.

[(notOM)Rebel123]

I did. I have 4 season tickets to basketball, and if I am unable to go I make sure to find someone who I know will go. It blows my mind how many season ticket holders decide not to go to a Razorback game, but sit on the tickets instead of finding someone who will use them. I understand people cannot go to every game, but we are now 7 home games into the season, and not one has broken 10k attendance.

I may be wrong, but I honestly believe if the players know the fans are behind them then they will play much harder in each and every game. The players only see the 7000 in BWA, and the 200 who tweet them that they suck after a loss. It is obvious that our players feed off the crowd when playing at home.

I was there, as well. I always enjoy the games regardless of the opponent. I know  season ticket holders that just sit on their tickets when they can't go. Maybe they just don't want to mess with finding someone to use them. I've told several of them to please call me before they just sit on them. There are a lot of kids who never have the chance to go to a game. I can find someone to use their tickets.

[(notOM)Rebel123]

Well, they've just been allowed to expand beyond there 3000 seats recently, and that was only because someone wasn't paying $25 to sit there. I agree that student participation should be higher, but as the father of some, they like courtside, not upper deck, haha.

Hey, front row of the upper deck is a great view.

[ricepig]

Hey, front row of the upper deck is a great view.

I've set there several times, but seriously, how many times as a student did you trudge up to the top? You just thanked the pledge for holding your seat like I did.

[PonderinHog]

I was there, as well. I always enjoy the games regardless of the opponent. I know  season ticket holders that just sit on their tickets when they can't go. Maybe they just don't want to mess with finding someone to use them. I've told several of them to please call me before they just sit on them. There are a lot of kids who never have the chance to go to a game. I can find someone to use their tickets.

What about a 57 year old kid

[(notOM)Rebel123]

What about a 57 year old kid

You bet!

[ricepig]

What about a 57 year old kid

Too old, 56 is the age limit.....

[(notOM)Rebel123]

Too old, 56 is the age limit.....

Maybe Ponderin could get a gig as a "seat-filler" ala Kramer on Seinfeld. Heck, Cosmo Kramer came away with a Tony for Scarsdale Surprise.

[rude1]

Fans IMO are waiting to see something different. Until this team shows that it is for real, I don't expect you will see much difference in attendance. Too many times over the last 15 years or so it has looked like the program was ready to recover and make that leap, only to for it not to happen. Can't keep getting hopes dashed and think everyone is going to keep getting excited any time you win against a good opponent. We have had good wins in the past that never seem to lead to anything of substance by seasons end.

[Letsroll1200]

I'm amazed that in football we can lose a close game to Alabama and Miss State but the conversation from the media members is Arkansas football is so close. On the other hand, Arkansas basketball can beat Kentucky on the road and at home but our media members are still saying we are far from being a top program. I just don't understand that narrative! The razorbacks are going to win in basketball and people should take notice.

[3of5-2]

Here's your answer.
Football attendance 70,000 plus
Basketball attendance 9,000 minus
MA has had 3 plus years and no NCAAT
BB one plus year and is in a bowl.
SEC football is king. Heck, except for Kentucky, basketball is barely ahead of baseball.

[dsims2k3]

Here's your answer.
Football attendance 70,000 plus
Basketball attendance 9,000 minus
MA has had 3 plus years and no NCAAT
BB one plus year and is in a bowl.
SEC football is king. Heck, except for Kentucky, basketball is barely ahead of baseball.

You can get a bowl bid with a .500 record and a 2-6 sec record.
Thats the equivalent of going 15-15 with a sec record of 5-13 in hoops.

[Dominicanhog]

You can get a bowl bid with a .500 record and a 2-6 sec record.
Thats the equivalent of going 15-15 with a sec record of 5-13 in hoops. A bowl bid is much easier to attain.

which Mike has never done.. actually not even close...

[Letsroll1200]

Here's your answer.
Football attendance 70,000 plus
Basketball attendance 9,000 minus
MA has had 3 plus years and no NCAAT
BB one plus year and is in a bowl.
SEC football is king. Heck, except for Kentucky, basketball is barely ahead of baseball.

That's like going to the CBI tournament in basketball! Nothing to boast about

[3of5-2]

We sucked at football in 2012 and 2013, and have sucked at basketball longer than that. If MA can get us to the NCAAT this year, everyone, well almost everyone, will be just as happy for him as they are for BB.

[downsouthhawg72]

Our fans suck. I made the drive up from Little Rock but people from the surrounding areas can't seem to leave their house to make it. Pathetic I would say.....but just watch how many people make it to Houston..FOOTBALL STATE & fans instead of the U of A fans like they should be. We're really helping recruiting also....if i was a top recruit I would love to come play for a team that can't even get 10k fans in the seats.....sarcasm!!!!!! Yea we lost the last 2 games, sooooo what. That team deserve a freaking packed house against a 7-1 team not named Kentucky or Florida. The cold heart truth is we have a horrible fan base for basketball.....a lot of people talk the talk but don't walk the walk. Walking the walk is filling the Bud up.....that haven't happen yet.

[razorbackchamps94]

Against a 7-1 elite eight team on a Saturday afternoon. 11 k empty seats.

Apathy is complete.

We must win on the road .. Everybody knows we win at BWA...

[-Blu]

That's like going to the CBI tournament in basketball! Nothing to boast about

LOL, I was thinking the same the same thing.  In football all you have to do is win 6 games to make a bowl.  You can literally make your schedule where you beat 4 cupcakes then only have to win 2 conference games. 

If all CMA had to do to make the NCAA tournament is beat the cupcake teams and win 25% of the conference games, We would have been in the tournament his first year.  Not knocking the football program, they showed great improvement this year, but don't try to compare making a lower-tier bowl game to the NCAA tournament.

[Dr. Starcs]

No doubt making the ncaat is much tougher. The percentages say so.

My beef is that in today's game, it should not take longer to rebuild a basketball program than a football. 4 years should be a reasonable expectation to make the big dance.

[dsims2k3]

No doubt making the ncaat is much tougher. The percentages say so.

My beef is that in today's game, it should not take longer to rebuild a basketball program than a football. 4 years should be a reasonable expectation to make the big dance.

It is not the case anymore and it looks like it has been done by  design with the way big bucks are involved in college football.

[3of5-2]

No doubt making the ncaat is much tougher. The percentages say so.

My beef is that in today's game, it should not take longer to rebuild a basketball program than a football. 4 years should be a reasonable expectation to make the big dance.

It should have been a contractual expectation to make the big dance in 4 years. Especially at the amount that the contract is at.

[HognitiveDissonance]

I'm amazed that in football we can lose a close game to Alabama and Miss State but the conversation from the media members is Arkansas football is so close. On the other hand, Arkansas basketball can beat Kentucky on the road and at home but our media members are still saying we are far from being a top program. I just don't understand that narrative! The razorbacks are going to win in basketball and people should take notice.

I can answer that. I, personally, have always had higher expectations for hoops. Always. This is a monster league in football; in hoops, not so much. There is no question that Ark is a Top 3 job in the SEC. I think most anyone would tell you that. No way would you say that in football. So yes, the bar is raised higher for hoops, and it should be. We should be a minimum NCAA tourney team every year; that should be the floor to this program.

[HognitiveDissonance]

We've seen the last 3 years that this simply isn't true.

The team continues to improve, and the foundation is obviously in place, but the collective response has been a yawn.

I remember Final 4s and National Championships. 'Progressing' by a few more wins each year just doesn't so much for me, especially when none of those seasons ended in the NCAAs.
Either I'm jaded by past success or your definition of improvement is lacking.
In Mike's own words, he expected to be in the NCAAs by year 3. I'll let him do the talking.

[ErieHog]

I remember Final 4s and National Championships. 'Progressing' by a few more wins each year just doesn't so much for me, especially when none of those seasons ended in the NCAAs.
Either I'm jaded by past success or your definition of improvement is lacking.
In Mike's own words, he expected to be in the NCAAs by year 3. I'll let him do the talking.

You remember those things because they were at the *end* of the building process;  1990, 1994, and 1995 required 1985-86, and a number of other comparably 'lost years', with terrible road teams.    We have no patience at all, now. 

[hogsanity]

We've seen the last 3 years that this simply isn't true.

The team continues to improve, and the foundation is obviously in place, but the collective response has been a yawn.

IMO, a lot of that has to do with the regular season not meaning much in college b-ball, especially the non-conf. People do not really care until it gets down to bubble time. If you are safely in, playing for a higher seed, or are on the bubble come late FEB, people start to pay attention.

And, it is just not really that big of a deal to go to a game in BWA any more. As someone pointed out, they got free tickets just walking up.

Finally, a lot of us still are not sold on the product. I watched the game Sat. All i could think, while Dayton turned it over and bricked shot after shot, was how the Hogs should be up by 30+. Not only did they not build on the lead after half time, they actually let Dayton outscore them 32-29. A 69-55 snoozer.

[ErieHog]

IMO, a lot of that has to do with the regular season not meaning much in college b-ball, especially the non-conf. People do not really care until it gets down to bubble time. If you are safely in, playing for a higher seed, or are on the bubble come late FEB, people start to pay attention.

And, it is just not really that big of a deal to go to a game in BWA any more. As someone pointed out, they got free tickets just walking up.

Finally, a lot of us still are not sold on the product. I watched the game Sat. All i could think, while Dayton turned it over and bricked shot after shot, was how the Hogs should be up by 30+. Not only did they not build on the lead after half time, they actually let Dayton outscore them 32-29. A 69-55 snoozer.

This is the sort of thing that leaves me shaking my head.

This is likely one of the two or three worst beatings Dayton will take all year.      You don't run good basketball teams like that out of the gym.

Our 'fans'  have a cloudy recollection of history,  and ask for a product that didn't exist to the extent they remember it,  in a market place where it has long disappeared from any shelf.

[Hogfaniam]

Arkansas media is crazy about the 6-6 Razorbacks but gives very little coverage. I can't figure out why the attendance is so poor when this team and coach have been first class off the court. Mike just has to keep winning and get Monk!

The university's growth will come from engaging the 18-34 demographic.  Those older than that went through the Nolan issues and subsequent coaching carousel.  We lost a lot of fans that got turned off to basketball.  A lot of my acquaintances got a bad taste in their mouth and they may never come back.  Their loss, but you have to acknowledge it, whether you like it or not.

Multiple NCAA tourney teams will get some back.  Keep dripping the water on the rock.  It will eventually wear through.

[hogsanity]

This is the sort of thing that leaves me shaking my head.

This is likely one of the two or three worst beatings Dayton will take all year.      You don't run good basketball teams like that out of the gym.

Our 'fans'  have a cloudy recollection of history,  and ask for a product that didn't exist to the extent they remember it,  in a market place where it has long disappeared from any shelf.

Hogs shot almost 50% from the floor, 76% from the line, out rebounded the flyers by 9, forced 15 to's, flyers shot 40% from the floor and 57% from the line. In games like that, any team can get run out of the gym.  One thing no one mentioned, the Hogs were actually -1 in turnovers.

But, I think you are right, those of us around my age ( 44 ) think the Hogs were scoring 120 every night in the "good ole days ", and winning by 70. I know that is not how it was, but most of the time, they were not clogging through 69 point performances when the numbers were like they were Saturday.

From 89-about 98 Arkansas basketball was a must see for me, I made every game I could, and watched the rest if they were on tv ( yes there was a time when not all game were on ). For the 94 Ky game, we had an ice/snow storm, and I walked a long way dragging a sled ( so i could sled home ) to get to my parents house because my power was out and I had to see the game, they still had power so I walked there, up hill ( thus the ability to sled home ). Now, I won't even come in from shooting hoops with my kid, or working in the yard, or a hundred other things. I'll dvr it, and zap through it in about 30 mins.

But, I do not find college basketball, in general, nearly as entertaining as I did back then. Other than tournament games, I can not remember the last time I sat down and watched a college bball game that did not include the Hogs. @0 years ago I watched big Monday, Super Tuesday, whatever they called the other nights, and all Saturday.

[Mike Irwin]

We should move all home basketball games to Little Rock. 

It will never happen of course but they would draw better in central Arkansas no question in my mind. NWA is football country. Central Arkansas leans more to basketball.

[(notOM)Rebel123]

It will never happen of course but they would draw better in central Arkansas no question in my mind. NWA is football country. Central Arkansas leans more to basketball.

Central Arkansas has a chance to prove it on Saturday.

[TomBigBeeHog]

Central Arkansas has a chance to prove it on Saturday.

My wife and I will be there so at least two people will attend.

[TomBigBeeHog]

Must admit I was tempted to watch this one at home but wifey bought tickets without telling me. Glad she did. It's not a premier matchup by any stretch but I love watching them live. It's totally different than home. I get really into the game and yelling at the ref's.

I think that's why my wife buys me tickets, she likes to pretend she is taken aback by the intensity of my rants at the games but privately thinks its cute. That's what I tell myself anyway.

[Buck Brewer]

Any chart with Memphis attendance numbers are flawed, they have been fudging the numbers for several years now and in a big way since last year.

[Atlhogfan1]

This is the sort of thing that leaves me shaking my head.

This is likely one of the two or three worst beatings Dayton will take all year.      You don't run good basketball teams like that out of the gym.

Our 'fans'  have a cloudy recollection of history,  and ask for a product that didn't exist to the extent they remember it,  in a market place where it has long disappeared from any shelf.

Isn't that cloudy memory the reason we had to head back this direction?  Didn't it begin disappearing 15 or so years ago and we have chosen to repeat it? 

Dayton wasn't going to be threat in BWA with how poorly they shoot. 

[ErieHog]

Isn't that cloudy memory the reason we had to head back this direction?  Didn't it begin disappearing 15 or so years ago and we have chosen to repeat it? 

Dayton wasn't going to be threat in BWA with how poorly they shoot. 

It began disappearing about the same time our relevance ended.  And Dayton is more than a threat-- they're a good basketball team.

Our defensive effort was the difference in the game;  that level will win a lot of games, against a lot of teams.

[Atlhogfan1]

It began disappearing about the same time our relevance ended.  And Dayton is more than a threat-- they're a good basketball team.

Our defensive effort was the difference in the game;  that level will win a lot of games, against a lot of teams.

Yet we have gone back to a central member of the decline. 

They are a good basketball team.  They weren't going to be in a position to win in BWA. 

Defensive effort for a half against a team that can't take advantage of good perimeter looks. 

[hogsanity]

It began disappearing about the same time our relevance ended.  And Dayton is more than a threat-- they're a good basketball team.

Our defensive effort was the difference in the game;  that level will win a lot of games, against a lot of teams.

Hogs held Dayton about 2% under their season fg %, only turned them over 2 above their to avg ( hogs were actually -1 in to's ), held them to exactly their normally 3pt %, and held them 10 under their normal ppg. It is not like they held a great shooting, 3pt bombing team to numbers well under their season average.

The 1st half was a good half, not great, but good.

[ErieHog]

Yet we have gone back to a central member of the decline. 

They are a good basketball team.  They weren't going to be in a position to win in BWA. 

Defensive effort for a half against a team that can't take advantage of good perimeter looks. 

They were entirely capable of winning in BWA.     They just didn't have an answer for Portis, and we shot FTs well down the stretch, to keep them from getting back into the game.

[3of5-2]

Dayton is not a very good basketball team. Neither is Clemson, and neither is SMU. We won 2 of the 3 that we should have won. The mere fact that it is even being debated by you and old uncle Joe, should tell you that not many people are convinced that the Hogs are as good as they SHOULD be.

[3of5-2]

It will never happen of course but they would draw better in central Arkansas no question in my mind. NWA is football country. Central Arkansas leans more to basketball.

I would agree with that. Good points as always.

[Danny J]

They were entirely capable of winning in BWA.     They just didn't have an answer for Portis, and we shot FTs well down the stretch, to keep them from getting back into the game.

I will also add we held them WAY below their average for FT scoring per game. I believe going into the game they were averaging right about 26pts per game from the foul line.

[hobhog]

Central Arkansas has a chance to prove it on Saturday.

I have been to every LR game held, and just now realized we are playing here Saturday. It has not been promoted one iota. I'll be there, but with a directional school I've never heard of dont think attendance will be great- but probably over 12K.

I think attendance in all sports is a generational issue. The 25 and under crowd was raised with every game on TV. Used to be a big deal to be on TV, and if you wanted to see the Hogs you went to the actual game. Now, the HDTV generation stays at home/bar unless its a huge game.

[Cresthog]

Has Verizon ever had more than like 14k at a game?

Ever?

[Atlhogfan1]

Has Verizon ever had more than like 14k at a game?

Ever?

Largest for one of Mike's teams was 11,700 for Houston.  Other two were around 10K.  I don't think SEMO outdraws Houston. 

[Nipsey Mussle]

Hogs shot almost 50% from the floor, 76% from the line, out rebounded the flyers by 9, forced 15 to's, flyers shot 40% from the floor and 57% from the line. In games like that, any team can get run out of the gym. 

But how many teams will do those things against Dayton this year? I think that is the point you are missing.

You have been MUCH better on here so far this season though, I must admit.

[Hogfaniam]

Largest for one of Mike's teams was 11,700 for Houston.  Other two were around 10K.  I don't think SEMO outdraws Houston. 

12,691 tickets sold

[hogsanity]

But how many teams will do those things against Dayton this year? I think that is the point you are missing.

You have been MUCH better on here so far this season though, I must admit.

No idea who will do what against Dayton. Right now Dayton is shooting just under 43% for the season, and under 30% from 3 pt range, and turning it over about 13-14 times a game. Hogs were actually -1 in to margin last Sat.

I have said I think this is a tourney team, the Hogs, but if they make it it will be because they go 12-6 or better in the sec, not because they beat Dayton, at home, in December. Even with last years weak ooc schedule, the Hogs would have been in at 12-6 ( actually probably at 11-7 ).

I do commend the upgrade in some of the ooc opponents.

[(notOM)Rebel123]

I have been to every LR game held, and just now realized we are playing here Saturday. It has not been promoted one iota. I'll be there, but with a directional school I've never heard of dont think attendance will be great- but probably over 12K.

I think attendance in all sports is a generational issue. The 25 and under crowd was raised with every game on TV. Used to be a big deal to be on TV, and if you wanted to see the Hogs you went to the actual game. Now, the HDTV generation stays at home/bar unless its a huge game.

FWIW---Dickie Nutt is the coach at SEMO. But I agree. Doesn't seem to be much push to promote the game. Be interesting to see how much the UofA does to promote the baseball game vs. Memphis at Dickey-Stephens in March.

[thirrdegreetusker]

15k paid isn't bad at all. Dayton made the Elite 8 but I'm not sure the casual fan sees that as a marquee match up.