Kentucky still #1, but college basketball attendance down nationwide

There’s been a lot of talk about the number of empty seats at Rupp Arena this season, but decreased attendance is a problem nationwide, and Kentucky still fills more seats than any other program in the country.

I spent the morning looking at the numbers and eight of the top ten programs in attendance last season are experiencing significant drops in attendance this season. Through seven home games, Kentucky’s attendance is down 13%, due in part to a very weak non-conference schedule; however, the crowd at Rupp for the Harvard game was the best yet, with 22,922 fans on hand to watch the Cats beat the Crimson. With Virginia Tech and Louisville coming to Rupp in the next few weeks and a stronger conference schedule on the horizon, I’d expect Kentucky’s attendance to continue to rise.

What about the rest of the country? Here’s a look at last year’s top ten in attendance and how they’re faring this season. Keep in mind the numbers are from each school, so the figures are likely inflated.

Home attendance in college basketball 2016-17 vs. 2017-18

2016-17 Rank	School	2016-17 Average	2017-18 Average	Difference
1	Kentucky	23,461	20,497	Down 13%
2	Syracuse	21,181	18,853	Down 11%
3	Louisville	20,846	18,354	Down 12%
4	North Carolina	18,067	15,025	Down 17%
5	Creighton	17,412	15,984	Down 8%
6	Wisconsin	17,286	17,287	No change
7	Maryland	16,628	14,426	Down 13%
8	Kansas	16,395	16,300	No change
9	Indiana	16,363	15,027	Down 8%
10	North Carolina St.	15,906	13,569	Down 15%

As you can see, North Carolina has by far the biggest drop in attendance thus far, down 17% from last season. Right now, Tar Heel fans are only filling about 70% of the Dean Dome, which holds 21,750. How about those defending national champs!

Louisville got a small bump thanks to Saturday’s game vs. Indiana, but the number of empty seats in the Yum Center this season tells you exactly how Cards fans feel about life post Rick Pitino:

Siena vs. Louisville, December 6

Relatively light attendance at tip-off for tonight’s @LouisvilleMBB game. Wuddup? 7PM start? @SienaMBB ? Concourse socializing? 🏀 pic.twitter.com/cHZ6awzwoc

– Terry Meiners (@terrymeiners) December 7, 2017

Indiana vs. Louisville, December 9

This new trend has kept @EmptySeatPics busy:

Western Carolina vs. North Carolina, December 6

Ohio vs. Maryland, December 7

It's finals week @umterps but didn't think it would stop the crowd from showing up pic.twitter.com/1joKmuzxSK

— SportsBizWiz (@SportsBizWiz) December 8, 2017

Miami (OH) vs. Missouri, December 5

Of course, as conference play starts, attendance will likely go up everywhere, but after a rough November, it’s good to know that empty seats aren’t just a problem at Rupp and Kentucky fans still support their team more than any other fan base in the country.

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