Women’s basketball players always have served as idols to Sarah Kwasinski. As a youth, Northwestern’s junior center went to women’s basketball games and marveled at the talent on the floor.
Now Kwasinski is on the other side of the hero worshipping, with countless young girls calling her name at Wildcats basketball games.
While Kwasinski enjoys seeing the youth in attendance, the problem is these Girl Scout troops and junior high basketball leagues — along with baby boomers and retirees — often make up the majority of fans to at her games. Other teams in the Big Ten draw thousands of fans every contest, but NU struggles to fill even half of its lower bowl at the 8,000-seat Welsh-Ryan Arena.
“I would take 20 superfans over 1,000 fairweather fans any day, ” junior guard Samantha McComb said.
Unfortunately for McComb and the Cats, die-hard NU women’s basketball supporters are few and far between — especially in the student population. Despite the fact that student admission is free, the only students found at most games are cheerleaders and band members.
“As for student attendance, we haven’t had much success bringing them in,” said NU Director of Marketing Chris Boyer. “At an academic institution like Northwestern, students go to class rather than sporting events.”
Home-Court Advantage?
Apparent student apathy, among other factors, contributes to a history of poor attendance at women’s basketball games.
NU women draw an average of 727 fans per game, which is last in the Big Ten and 86th in the nation. This figure includes a Dec. 16 game against West Virginia in which the Cats invited more than 2,500 kids from local schools to the game for free and had former U.S. Olympic women’s basketball coach Nell Fortner speak to them before the contest.
Excluding the West Virginia game, NU averages 244 people per contest. The Cats (7-11, 0-7 Big Ten) hope to draw more support tonight as they host Iowa (10-7, 4-2) for a 7 p.m. game.
On some occasions the opposing team’s fans even outnumber NU’s. At the Cats’ home game against Michigan State last Thursday, the announced attendance was a generous 376.
“There will be times when we come out an hour before the game to shoot around, and there is more of the opponents’ fans here than our fans,” senior Michelle Zylstra said. “Their fans will be louder than ours. That’s definitely weird.”
Since there are so few people at home games, the players don’t hear only words of encouragement — they also receive their fair share of heckling.
“You try to stay concentrated on the game, but there have been a couple fans that have been pretty rough on us,” said McComb, who might return next week after being out since Winter Break with a stress fracture in her foot.
With Big Ten teams like Purdue and Penn State drawing more than 8,000 people a game, the Cats must make a mental adjustment every time they leave Welsh-Ryan’s cozy confines.
“There are some really great atmospheres in the Big Ten,” Zylstra said. “Even though we’re on the road, it’s still fun to play in those big places.”
Yet there is something to be said about the high school gym-sized Welsh-Ryan and its ability to create a home-court advantage at times — even when there’s barely anyone in the stands.
“When we start doing well, it gets just as loud as any other place,” Zylstra said.
To improve the home-court atmosphere at Welsh-Ryan during women’s games, a black curtain seals off the upper deck seats — an idea originated by Athletic Director Mark Murphy in December. This makes the arena appear smaller and fuller.
Finding a niche
Across the Big Ten, teams thrive off their fan bases and use them as a boost late in games.
“It’s the answer for us,” Penn State coach Rene Portland said. “We have only lost one game here in the past few years, and our fans make our place difficult for opponents.”
In NU’s case, its small fan base could be attributed to a small undergraduate population. NU is the conference’s lone private school.
“We have 8,000 students at Northwestern, while everyone else has 20,000,” NU head coach June Olkowski said. “I also think we are in a different market than the other schools in the Big Ten.”
Boyer and his staff are constantly trying to attract more fans to games. They struggle every year to find a solution to the low attendance.
“In a large market like Chicago, people have many different opportunities to spend their money,” Boyer said. “Women’s basketball is a niche sport, and you have to identify those that you can market to.
“With families and youth making up the majority of our fan base, Thursday night games are not conducive to that,” he said.
But the Cats’ losing tradition also could be a factor in their low attendance. Having won only six league contests in the past four years, the Cats are not likely to attract many casual observers. The people that come to games are those who have a vested interest in watching basketball or seeing a relative play.
“If we were in the top five of the Big Ten, I’m sure more people would jump on the bandwagon,” Olkowski said.
Winning does go a long way in drawing fans to women’s basketball games. No. 5 Penn State (15-3, 8-0) fills three sections with students to see preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Kelly Mazzante and the Nittany Lions do battle.
The facility a team plays in also can be a factor as to whether fans show up. Playing in the spacious Kohl Center, Wisconsin (8-9, 2-5) attracts more than 6,000 people per game.
Although their numbers pale in comparison to their competition, Olkowski and the Cats seem satisfied with their current home and fans.
“I think the fans we have are very vocal, and I think the band does a great job,” Olkowski said. “I think our facility has character, and when you get a lot of people in there, it rocks.”
But Kwasinski likes the small crowds for other reasons.
“I can pretty much tell you every person that comes to our games,” she said. “I see no negative to playing in front of people that you know.”
