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Post by Commissioner on Jan 29, 2014 8:47:37 GMT -5
Here is HL average Attendance so far, and percent increase or drop from 2013 final numbers:
1. Green Bay 3663, +18.8% 2. Wright State 3661, - 3.3% 3. UIC 2935, +1.7% 4. Oakland 2893, +16.7% 5. Valparaiso 2889, -9.0% 6. Milwaukee 2856, +26.0% 7. Detroit 2594, +16.1% 8. Youngstown State, -11.3% 9. Cleveland State 1974, -9.0%
Some thoughts: - So at this point, 5 teams up, 4 teams down. - Oakland's figure is almost entirely due to their "home" game against MSU at the Palace. Their average attendance for their other 9 home games to date is 1673. However, their average will likely increase. They are averaging 2374 for 3 conference home games, they'll probably draw 4000 for the Titan game, and should also draw pretty well for Green Bay. - Look for UIC to drop into negative territory. They had a fast start with some good non-con games, especially Northwestern, and some unjustified local hype about the team. They're averaging just 2040 for conference play and drew just 1681 for their last home game. - Wright State, OTOH, could get into positive territory if they stay in contention. - Green Bay has benefitted from big crowds for Virginia and Wisconsin, but I don't think they'll fall off, given the season they are having. In fact, I think their numbers will increase. With students back on campus, they drew over 5000 for Detroit last weekend. - Detroit will probably drop, on a combination of too many losses and already having played our big attendance game with Oakland. - Youngstown State's numbers do not include Robert Morris, for which they failed to count attendance. I believe the NCAA will call that a zero, lowering their average to 1977 on the year. Either way, though, I expect their numbers to go up. They're being dragged down by a miserable non-con schedule of Thiel, Westminster, Warren Wilson, Bethune-Cookman, Austin Peay, and South Dakota. They're averaging 3246 in conference play, and as their winning enough they should continue to draw 2500 or more on average. They have already played their big conference rivalry with CSU. - CSU should go up, too. They had a poor season last year and a slow start this year, but they've gone 10-4 since mid-December. Their next 3 are on the road but if they are still in contention after that, the should draw well. They have Green Bay coming in, plus YSU. - Valpo's decline is not surprising given their fall-off from two straight regular season titles. But they get Green Bay, and there's still probably enough Detroit hatred over there to jack up attendance a bit for that game. Don't see them getting into positive territory vis last year, but their average will probably go up a bit.
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Post by Commissioner on Jan 29, 2014 23:13:29 GMT -5
With the cold, the Titans drew just 1452 tonight for last place UIC.
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Post by Commissioner on Feb 12, 2014 8:45:09 GMT -5
Latest numbers:
1. Green Bay 3871, +25.5% 2. Wright State 3776, - 0.3% 3. UIC 2958, +2.5% 4. Valparaiso 2958, -6.8% 5. Oakland 2876, +16.1% 6. Milwaukee 2703, +19.3% 7. Detroit 2533, +13.4% 8. Youngstown State, 2175 -11.3% 9. Cleveland State 1974, -9.0%
Conference Average: 2917, +7.0% These numbers have overall been improving with conference play. UIC is the team notably dropping off its early pace, which isn't surprising given that they had one of the more attractive home non-con schedules, and then all the losing. Oakland will get its biggest crowd of the year (not counting the MSU game at the Palace, which does count in their home attendance figures) when Detroit visits on Friday. Look for CSU's numbers to jump as they've been playing good ball and now get 4 straight home games down the stretch.
Ten Best Drawing Non-Conference Games: 1. Michigan State @ Oakland 13,873 2. Wisconsin @ Green Bay 9,906 3. Virginia @ Green Bay 6,491 4. Northwestern @ UIC 5,630 5. Drake @ UIC 5,245 6, SMU @ UIC 4,438 7. Murray State @ Valparaiso 4,277 8. Bowling Green @ Wright State 3,864 9. St. Louis @ Valparaiso 3,564 10. Manchester @ Wright State 3,486
Does it matter who you play? Damn right it does. We'll know our teams have really made it when the crowds turn out for whomever, but a quick look at the above list confirms that big name teams draw the big crowds. Tough to get those games, though. Manchester at Wright State is the odd game in the list, but that's an early season game when expectations were high at Wright State. It also reflects WSU's generally strong attendance.
Ten Best Drawing Conference Games: 1. Oakland @ Detroit 6,976 2. Green Bay @ Wright State 6,600 3. Milwaukee @ Green Bay 6,071 4. Detroit @ Green Bay 5,503 5. Wright State @ Green Bay 5,098 6. Cleveland State @ Wright State 4,981 7. Wright State @ Youngstown State 4,743 8. Green Bay @ Milwaukee 4,212 9. Wright State @ Valparaiso 4,117 10. UIC @ Wright State 3,786
In state rivalries seem to help. No surprise there.
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Post by motorcitysam on Feb 12, 2014 9:51:31 GMT -5
Thanks, Commmish. Glad to see our attendance is up. Hopefully that trend continues. Looks like Green Bay really got a boost from Virginia and Wisconsin.
I'll bet the harsh winter has had an effect on everyone's attendance to some degree.
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Post by Commissioner on Feb 12, 2014 17:54:14 GMT -5
I don't know how other conferences are doing this year, but NCAA average attendance has been down every year since 2007. So to have a 7% increase in Horizon attendance is probably very good.
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Post by Commissioner on Feb 26, 2014 11:08:57 GMT -5
Unless Wright State loses to UIC *and* Valpo beats Cleveland State on Saturday, or Wright State advances to the Horizon tournament final as the highest seed, the Raiders' home schedule is done. Their average attendance is 3872, an increase of 2.3% from last year's 3786.
Cleveland State has also wrapped up its home schedule unless they host the Horizon tournament final. They averaged 2236 this year, an increase of 3.2% from last season.
Milwaukee is probably done at home unless they sneak into a first round tournament game. They've got a sizable increase in average attendance from 2266 to 2984, an increase of 31.7%. Detroit, and Green Bay are almost sure to average significantly more than last year, too, and remarkably, even UIC can beat last year's numbers if they can get about 2650 down to the gym on Saturday. YSU will be down from last year. Valpo will come out close, depending on how they draw for the final game against CSU and an opening tournament game. Oakland is, of course, less comparable given the change in conference affiliation, but they will have a big percentage boost on the year too.
With these last few games pending, the Horizon is averaging 2967 this year, up 8.9% from 2725 in 2013. I don't know how this compares to numbers across the country, but NCAA D-I average attendance has dropped every year now since 2007, so this looks like a very good development for the league.
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Post by motorcitysam on Feb 26, 2014 16:18:46 GMT -5
That's a great sign for the HL.
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 12, 2014 21:52:35 GMT -5
Here are Horizon team average attendance figures for conference games only, including the conference tournament:
1. Wright State 4756 2. Green Bay 4177 3. Valparaiso 3081 4. Youngstown State 3074 5. Milwaukee 3012 6. Detroit 2807 7. Oakland 2688 8. UIC 2619 9. Cleveland State 2515
Here are the top attended conference games: 1. Milwaukee @ Wright State 7784 (tournament final) 2. Milwaukee @ Green Bay 7113 (tournament semi-final) 3. Oakland @ Detroit 6976 4. Green Bay @ Wright State 6600 5. Milwaukee @ Green Bay 6071 (regular season) 6. Valparaiso @ Milwaukee 5815 7. Detroit @ Green Bay 5503 8. Wright State @ Green Bay 5098 9. Detroit @ Wright State 5042 10. Cleveland State @ Wright State 4981 11. Wright State @ Youngstown State 4743 12. Oakland @ Youngstown State 4392 13. Wright State @ UIC 4362 14. Green Bay @ Milwaukee 4212 15. Wright State @ Valparaiso 4117
Here are the worst attended conference games: 1. UIC @ Valparaiso 1099 (tournament 1st round) 2. Detroit @ Milwaukee 1204 (tournament 1st round) 3. Milwaukee @ Oakland 1427 4. UIC @ Detroit 1452 5. MIlwaukee @ Youngstown State 1505 6. Youngstown State @ UIC 1595 7. Valparaiso @ Detroit 1602 8. Cleveland State @ UIC 1681 9. Oakland @ Cleveland State 1777 10. Valparaiso @ Youngstown State 1938 11. Wright State @ Cleveland State 2023 12. Oakland @ Milwaukee 2047 13. Green Bay @ Detroit 2075 14. Milwaukee @ Detroit 2078 15. Milwaukee @ Cleveland State 2079
I'll post total numbers once we see if any Horizon teams host games in the CIT, CBI, or NIT.
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 25, 2014 19:34:26 GMT -5
Here are final average attendance figures for Horizon teams, with their rank among the NCAA's 351 D-I teams, and their percentage change from last year:
1. Wright State 4117 (127) +8.7% 2. Green Bay 3979 (130) +29.0% 3. UIC 3010* (154) +4.3% 4. Oakland 2875** (160) +16.0% (+ 26.2% compared to 2013 Loyola) 5. Milwaukee 2847 (161) +25.6% 6. Valparaiso 2833 (163) -10.7% 7. Detroit 2472 (180) + 10.7% 8. Youngstown State 2326 (188) -5.1% 9. Cleveland State 2236 (195) +3.2%
*For some reason the NCAA is not counting the 1595 reported fans for YSU at UIC, lowering UIC's average on the NCAA official page to 2896. I assume this will eventually be corrected. ** The NCAA is not counting the 13,873 that attended MSU vs. Oakland at the Palace at Auburn Hills. My reading of the NCAA rules is that this should count as a home game for OU. The NCAA apparently thinks so too, because they count OU as having 15 home games, which is what they had if you count the MSU game. But they don't include exactly 13,873 in Oakland's total attendance. So the NCAA is currently calculating OU at an average of 2142. If you don't count MSU as a home game, Oakland finishes at an average of 2295.
That's pretty good, with 7 of 9 teams showing an increase. Overall, the Horizon average game attendance was up 9.6.
Here are the 25 best attended games: 1. Michigan State @ Oakland 13,873 (at Auburn Hills) 2. Wisconsin @ Green Bay 9906 3. Milwaukee @ Wright State 7784 (Tournament final) 4. Milwaukee @ Green Bay 7113 (Tournament semi-final) 5. Oakland @ Detroit 6976 6. Green Bay @ Wright State 6600 7. Virginia @ Green Bay 6491 8. Milwaukee @ Green Bay 6071 (regular season) 9. Valparaiso @ Milwaukee 5815 10. Northwestern @ UIC 5630 11. Detroit @ Green Bay 5503 12. Drake @ UIC 5245 13. Wright State @ Green Bay 5098 14. Detroit @ Wright State 5042 15. Cleveland State @ Wright State 4981 16. Wright State @ Youngstown State 4743 17. SMU @ UIC 4438 18. Oakland @ Youngstown State 4392 19. Wright State @ UIC 4362 20. Murray State @ Valparaiso 4277 21. Green Bay @ Milwaukee 4212 22. Wright State @ Valparaiso 4117 23. Valparaiso @ Wright State 4081 24. Detroit @ Oakland 4065 25. Green Bay @ Cleveland State 4033
And the worst attended games: 1. Illinois State @ Oakland 1005 2. LaRoche @ Cleveland State 1069 3. UIC @ Valparaiso 1099 (Tournament 1st round) 4. Notre Dame College @ Cleveland State 1121 5. Western Carolina @ Cleveland State 1163 6. Roosevelt @ UIC 1183 7. Westminster @ Youngstown State 1201 8. Detroit @ Milwaukee 1204 (Tournament 1st round) 9. Robert Morris @ Oakland 1238 10. Ohio U. @ Oakland 1315 11. Indiana Tech @ Detroit 1341 12. Bethune Cookman @ Youngstown State 1399 13. Warren Wilson @ Youngstown State 1402 14. Milwaukee @ Oakland 1427 15. Thiel @ Youngstown State 1428 16. Defiance @ Oakland 1433 17. Rochester @ Oakland 1435 18. UIC @ Detroit 1452 19. Austin Peay @ Youngstown State 1460 20. Milwaukee @ Youngstown State 1505 21. Eastern Michigan @ Oakland 1507 22. Robert Morris @ Youngstown Statee 1540 23. Judson @ Milwaukee 1586 24. Youngstown State @ UIC 1595 25. Valparaiso @ Detroit 1602
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 26, 2014 17:26:16 GMT -5
As a point of comparison, here are MAC average attendance numbers this year, with percentage increase or decrease from last year:
1. Ohio U. 6243 -9.9% 2. Toledo 5002 21.3% 3. Akron 3609 -4.6% 4. Buffalo 3486 5.9% 5. Ball State 3066 -1.7% 6. Kent State 2934 10.6% 7. Western Michigan 2675 -2.9% 8. Bowling Green 1759 -11.7% 9. Central Michigan 1694 -5.0% 10. Miami 1201 -14.9% 11. Northern Illinois 1012 -6.9% 12. Eastern Michigan 901 -1.7%
As you can quickly see, 9 of 12 MAC squads declined in attendance, despite this being a strong year for the MAC with several teams in the race for the title. I suspect that when the NCAA issues its final report, average attendance will be down again, as it has been each year for nearly a decade. So the Horizon's performance is impressive.
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 26, 2014 18:19:43 GMT -5
And, here are Michigan's NCAA schools, with final average attendance and percentage increase or decline from last year (D-I schools in bold; D-II in italics):
1. Michigan State 14,797 +3.2% 2. Michigan 12,698 +4.6% 3. Oakland 2875 +16.0% 4. Western Michigan -2.9% 5. Detroit 2472 +10.7% 6. Hope 2459 -10.5% 7. Central Michigan 1694 -5.0% 8. Calvin 1058 -45.7% 9. Grand Valley 1040 -11.4% 10. Michigan Tech 1029 -4.7% 11. Eastern Michigan 901 -1.7% 12. Wayne State 582 +17.8% 13. Ferris State 575 -3.2% 14. Hillsdale 467 0.0% 15. Saginaw Valley State 442 -41.8% 16. Northern Michigan 430 +3.4% 17. Siena Heights 422 +6.0% 18. Northwood 388 -24.5% 19. Davenport 368 -26.0% 20. Alma 315 +5.7% 21. Albion 300 +75.4% 22. Olivet 288 -15.5% 23. Kalamazoo 275 -5.8% 24. Aquinas 175 -29.4% 25. Concordia 171 -9.5% 26. Madonna 163 -22.0% 27. Adrian 144 -56.6% 28. Marygrove 139 +26.4% 29. Finlandia 132 +22.2% 30. *Lawrence Tech 132 -38.3% *Incomplete information
Not available: Andrews, Cornerstone, Grace Bible, Great Lakes Christian, Kuyper, Rochester, Spring Arbor, UM-Dearborn.
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 28, 2014 10:50:07 GMT -5
Here are conference attendance averages (per school, not per game, i.e each school is weighted equally regardless of number of home games):
1. Big 10 13,405 2. ACC 10,253 3. SEC 10,246 4. Big 12 10,187 5. Big East 9699 6. AAC 8563 7. Mountain West 7642 8. PAC 12 7291 9. Atlantic 10 5382 10. Missouri Valley 5346 11. WCC 3837 12. Conference USA 3720 13. Horizon 2966 14. MAC 2799 15. Colonial 2520 16. Sunbelt 2485 17. Big West 2435 18. WAC 2344 19. Big Sky 2121 20. Ohio Valley 2094 21. MAAC 1937 22. Summit 1926 23. Southern 1905 24. Atlantic Sun 1832 25. Ivy 1803 26. SWAC 1801 27. MEAC 1700 28. Big South 1599 29. America East 1546 30. Patriot 1474 31. Southland 1333 32. Northeast 1188
Quick notes: the AAC will drop a lot next year when it loses Louisville and its 20K+ per game. In the Metro Atlantic, Siena averages over 6000; no other school hits 2000. The WCC has a high average thanks to BYU's average of 15K plus; absent BYU they are below 2500, despite Gonzaga's impressive 6000 per game. BYU has the highest attendance/conference average ratio in the nation.
Here are schools that draw at least twice their league average: Syracuse (ACC) 26,253 Kentucky (SEC) 22,964 Louisville (AAC) 21,282 Dayton (Atlantic 10) 12,316 BYU (WCC) 15,875 UTEP (CUSA) 8,088 Ohio U. (MAC) 6,124 Hawaii (Big West) 6417 New Mexico State (WAC) 5948 Weber State (Big Sky) 6834 Siena (MAAC) 6027 Chattanooga (Southern) 3895 Florida Gulf Coast (Atlantic Sun) 4340 Penn (Ivy) 4284 Arkansas Pine Bluff (SWAC) 3832 Hampton (MEAC) 3449 Oral Roberts (Southland) 4236
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Post by Commissioner on Dec 14, 2014 9:00:06 GMT -5
Note: A couple numbers edited after Kevin pointed out a big error (see posts below if interested). Last year the Horizon had an average home attendance in non-conference games of 2720 (not counting MSU/Oakland game at Palace - NCAA does not count that as home game for Oakland). This year it is so far 2409 2597. Most of the most attractive non-con games and rivalries - Wisconsin @ Milwaukee, Wichita @ Detroit, New Mexico @ Valpo, Belmont @ Wright State, Kent State @ Youngstown State, Loyola @ UIC, Toledo @ Cleveland State - have been played, and I expect the 2409 2597 number will actually decline between now and the end of the year. The best remaining games are probably Miami @ Wright State today, George Mason @ Wright State, and Georgia State @ Green Bay. Valpo's only remaining home game is Goshen. Oakland's only one left is Albion. UIC has Tennessee Martin and Judson College. Like I say, I think the numbers will drop. Last year the Horizon was one of just 8 conferences to register an increase in average attendance, but unless conference games draw very well it looks like a decline this year. A plus side is that 5 of the 9 individual teams currently show increased averages, although that could change. Here are last year's non-con home attendance averages compared to this years, with percentage increase decline, and remaining home games: Average Attendance, Non-Conference Home GamesSchool | 2014-15 | 2013-14 | Percent Change | Remaining Games | 1. Wright State | 4149 | 4114 | 0.9 % | Miami (Oh), George Mason | 2. Milwaukee | 3572 | 2477 | 44.2 % | Montana | 3. UIC | 3415 | 3531 | -3.3 % | Tennessee-Martin, Judson | 4. Green Bay | 2950 | 3898 | -24.3 % | Morehead State, Georgia State, Chicago State. | 5. Valparaiso | 2684 | 2701 | -0.6 % | Goshen | 6. Detroit | 2507 | 2089 | 20.0 % | Oral Roberts, Northeastern | 7. Youngstown | 1623 | 1472 | 10.3 % | Kennesaw State, Wilberforce, Northern Kentucky | 8. Oakland | 1617 | 1322 | 22.3 % | Albion | 9. Cleveland State | 1400 | 1918 | -27.0 % | Mount Vernon Nazarene, San Francisco, Eastern Illinois |
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Post by kevinudm on Dec 14, 2014 18:31:14 GMT -5
Commish, there is no question that UWM's drubbing by Wisconsin was a forgettable game. But you still need to include it in your averages! It was, far and away, the best attended game hosted by the Horizon League this year.
If I exclude that game from the numbers, I get an average YTD home attendance of 2409 (your number). If you put it in, the average goes up to 2597. Still below last year's non-con average of 2720, but a lot closer.
Looking at your chart, I couldn't figure out how four schools could have big increases in attendance, two big declines, and three more or less holding constant. And then get the overall decline that you quoted. Looks to me like a formula error, counting the Wisconsin/UWM game in the Milwaukee average but excluding it from the league total.
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Post by Commissioner on Dec 14, 2014 21:55:36 GMT -5
Commish, there is no question that UWM's drubbing by Wisconsin was a forgettable game. But you still need to include it in your averages! It was, far and away, the best attended game hosted by the Horizon League this year. If I exclude that game from the numbers, I get an average YTD home attendance of 2409 (your number). If you put it in, the average goes up to 2597. Still below last year's non-con average of 2720, but a lot closer. Looking at your chart, I couldn't figure out how four schools could have big increases in attendance, two big declines, and three more or less holding constant. And then get the overall decline that you quoted. Looks to me like a formula error, counting the Wisconsin/UWM game in the Milwaukee average but excluding it from the league total. Ho ho, you are right. I've got an Excel spread sheet and somehow that game (because it is entered at the top of the list, being the best drawing game of the year) got left off the formula (if you know Excel, the formula read =AVERAGE(C4:C45) but the Wisconsin/Milwaukee game was listed on line C3. The individual team averages, though (including Milwaukee's), are correct. That still leaves overall average attendance down, as you note, but not so much. Thanks for catching that! P.S. The league average crept up to 2605 today with Montana @ Milwaukee (1781) and Miami @ Wright State (3752).
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