South Carolina women's basketball: How big are the Gamecocks' road crowds?

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Anecdotally, everyone knows that other teams see an attendance boost when the Gamecocks come to town. How much of a bump do teams actually see?

I compiled the numbers. Included is each team’s average home attendance for all games other than South Carolina, the attendance for the South Carolina game, and the percent increase. 

I included the neutral site game in Sioux Falls against South Dakota State for informational purposes, but I didn’t include it in the average. Kentucky also received special treatment since the Wildcats have played two home games at Rupp Arena instead of Memorial Coliseum. The crowds at Rupp almost always see a bump because of the venue change. 

Every opponent saw an attendance bump when Playing South Carolina. It ranged from Mississippi State and Kentucky, who saw increases of less than one thousand fans, to Clemson and Cal Poly, who saw nearly three times a normal crowd.

On average, South Carolina drew 160% of a team’s average attendance. If anything that figure is conservative because I didn’t control for any other outliers

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Including Sioux Falls, all nine opponents drew above their season average for South Carolina. South Carolina is the highest draw to date for Clemson, Stanford, Cal Poly, and Georgia. The Gamecocks were the second-highest draw for Maryland, South Dakota State, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt. South Carolins was the second-highest draw for Kentucky, and highest at Memorial Coliseum.

The biggest surprise is probably the increase at Stanford. The Cardinal have been the second-ranked team for most of the season, yet they drew 218% of their normal crowd for South Carolina.

The bumps for Clemson (281%) and Georgia (241%) are less surprising, since both are an easy drive from Columbia and so there was a sizable chunk of Gamecock fans making the trip.

Regardless, the facts clearly back up the perception.

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Totals (excluding South Dakota State, using combined totals for Kentucky): 

• Attendance for South Carolina:41,011
• Average attendance (excluding USC): 25,569
• Percent of average attendance for USC: 160%

Maryland

• Average attendance (excluding USC): 6,926
• Attendance for USC: 9,244
• Percent of average attendance for USC: 133%
• Season high: 12,556 (12/11/22 UConn)

Clemson

• Average attendance (excluding USC): 1,086
• Attendance for USC: 3,051
• Percent of average attendance for USC: 281%
• Season high: 3,051 (11/17/22 South Carolina)

Stanford

• Average attendance (excluding USC): 3,347
• Attendance for USC: 7,287
• Percent of average attendance for USC: 218%
• Season high: 7,287 (11/20/22 South Carolina)

Cal Poly

• Average attendance (excluding USC): 851
• Attendance for USC: 2,384
• Percent of average attendance for USC: 280%
• Season high: 2,3884 (11/22/22 South Carolina)

*South Dakota State

• Average attendance (excluding USC): 1,488
• Attendance for USC: 2,369
• Percent of average attendance for USC: 159%
• Season high:3,136 (1/14/23 South Dakota)

Georgia

• Average attendance (excluding USC): 2,578
• Attendance for USC: 6,225
• Percent of average attendance for USC: 241%
• Season high: 6,225 (1/2/23 South Carolina)

Mississippi State

• Average attendance (excluding USC): 4,922
• Attendance for USC: 5,776
• Percent of average attendance for USC: 117%
• Season high: (6,023 (1/1/23 Ole Miss)

Kentucky

• Average attendance (excluding USC): Memorial: 3,076, Rupp: 5,669, Combined: 3,547
• Attendance for USC: 4,016
• Percent of average attendance for USC: 131% (Memorial), 113% (combined)
• Season high: Memorial: 4,016 (1/12/23 South Carolina), Rupp: 7,927 (12/11/22 Louisville)

Vanderbilt

• Average attendance (excluding USC): 2,312
• Attendance for USC: 3,028
• Percent of average attendance for USC: 131%
• Season high: 4,830 (1/8/23 Tennessee)
• **Excluding South Carolina and Tennessee, Vanderbilt is averaging 2,032. USC had 149% of that average.

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