Was the attendance at last nights game. I thought winning would bring out the fans. Instead, everyone wants to watch at home. Maybe we should drop basketball.

^ or maybe fire the worthless bureaucrats markeisha everett & jim knowlton who got no idea how to market/sell tixs to women's basketball depute its attendance crushing records being set across the nation this season??

the men's basketball attendance is also abysmal, just winning games does NOT increase a fanbase in the modern era

don't be a dumb azz#

I'm not the one who said winning would bring out the fans. but those reading this board don't need outside advertisement. they already know. so it is addressed to them.

Shocky1 said:

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^ or maybe fire the worthless bureaucrats markeisha everett & jim knowlton who got no idea how to market/sell tixs to women's basketball depute its attendance crushing records being set across the nation this season??

the men's basketball attendance is also abysmal, just winning games does NOT increase a fanbase in the modern era

don't be a dumb azz#

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You certainly don't have all of the answers!!

And there is absolutely NO need to call people names.
You seem to be leading a charmed life on this site. Maybe the mods should re-think that?

Catch 22 . The more fans, the more it helps with winning. So which comes first, the fans or the winning.

CalWSportsFan said:

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Also, why not reach out to Valkyries and see if there can be some kind of free ticket promotion or at least promote games (for Cal and Stanford) via their email list. I know Stanford has an upcoming tournament to be held at the Chase Center later this month....https://chasecenter.com/events/invisalign-bay-area-womens-classic-20241220/

....makes sense to leverage the Bay Area fan bases for both college and
WNBA since there will be much cross-over appeal I'd think?

I just subscribed to two season tickets for the Valkyries (despite their hideous logo/uniforms) and will make sure to wear my Cal gear proudly during those games...

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Brilliant idea; please nag the Athletic Department.

I agree that Cal marketing is lousy, but it's always been hard to draw a crowd for a 6pm weeknight game.

"The current game day experience, with loud incessant canned music, cannot have been requested by the customers. When you cannot even talk to the person next to you, staying home and watching on television is a good option."

I very much agree about the damned music. Whom do we write about this, perhaps pulling a little rank about being a long-time season ticket holder, etc., etc.?

BearBint said:

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"The current game day experience, with loud incessant canned music, cannot have been requested by the customers. When you cannot even talk to the person next to you, staying home and watching on television is a good option."

I very much agree about the damned music. Whom do we write about this, perhaps pulling a little rank about being a long-time season ticket holder, etc., etc.?

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I tried. Got a canned answer about responding to what players and many fans like. Why don't they just look at the empty seats?

just to clarify my earlier comments, they wuz not directed at wvit whose wbb passion is respected by me

the truth of the matter is that markeisha everett is not only arrogant but she got a poor work ethic preferring to close the door to her office & look at social media instead of branding/marketing/building the fanbase

she has torpedoed football & men's basketball tix sales by not offering FREE tixs to all students

and wbb attendance is floundering under her direction at a time the wnba franchise got 20,000+ season tix deposits, the bay area demand for cal wbb is clearly there but the marketing is not

cal wbb needs NEW fans & specifically families for which the product is a natural fit as a value play proposition

charmin grabbing the mic & talking to the same hundred 70+ year old current fans is not gonna increase attendance and/or grow the fanbase

The best fans in the game – period.

20,000 season ticket deposits and another day closer to tip-off at Chase Center. Let’s keep making history together. #JointheAscent pic.twitter.com/vMOlRc6qk3

— Golden State Valkyries (@wnbagoldenstate) November 12, 2024

I deal with the noise by wearing earbuds. I can still converse easily but the overall noise (music and PA) is muted pretty well. I'll definitely need them for Valkyries games since the WNBA "experience" is way louder and nearly non-stop compared to college games.

annarborbear said:

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There are now two important further steps in regaining fan interest:

1. Get back in the AP and Coaches Poll Top 25 - Which now seems realistic.
2. Beat Stanford - Which will generate a lot of local positive press and publicity.

And then once the fans return, improve the game day experience so that they will want to come back.

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this is NOT gonna move the dial on growing the fanbase, if people have never been to a wbb game then just winning won't materially change the attendance numbers

there should be 10,000+ fans at every bears basketball game, that's never gonna happen with markeisha running the show

It's a tough racket.

I've had season tickets since Milica Vukadinovic/Jackie Lear played. I've seen the attendance trends. It was a good crowd back then to have 1000 fans at a game. When that team drew 4200 for a Stanford game, it was considered shockingly good.

When UConn came during the Gottlieb era, that drew 10K+. A Cal/Stanford game during the Boyle era drew 10K+.

The Bay Area does respond to 'events'. Those were events.

The Boyle era made some noise and attendance increased. Gottlieb's teams had success with the Final Four appearance and attendance increased. During this time, there was promotion and efforts to increase the fan base...and attendance did grow to around 2500+/game.

But as soon as Anigwe (and Gottlieb) left, there was a downward trend and we're back to trying to build it up again.

If this team continues to win, some build-up will happen organically. <<< This is why it is paramount that Cal beats Pacific and Stanford.

But to take that next step, the administration needs to couple the success of the team with proper promotion, I agree.

My last note is who is the Cal WBB fan base? Other than the cadre of fans that are always in attendance, I would say grade school to middle school youths (and their parents). The issue with that is most youths are playing organized sports or other organized activities (starting at the 10U level!). This takes both the kids and the parents away from attending. What needs to be done to make it so a Cal WBB game is a 'go-to' event?

If there is another group of potential fans out there, please weigh in!

Again, it's a tough racket.

Admittedly UCLA and SC WBB have had major success recently (UCLA currently is ranked no. 1 and SC went to the finals last year), but they are killing it with home attendance, and that is saying something for USC which historically doesn't draw big crowds for either gender. If in state rivals can get the crowds out, why not Cal when it is a ranked team, and this team looks like it has the goods to be a ranked team through out the year? There is a problem if they are not drawing.

My favorite cheer by the Straw hat Band is when an opposing player misses free throw, they shout "You let the whole team down".. Great cheer.

The best pool of available attendees is students.

Tween and teen female athletes do not have the time to come to games in Berkeley. Their schedules are packed with practices, games, academics and school social life.

Older fans, like most of us here, don't like the music and the noise and the hassle so it takes some strong motivation to get us to the gym.

And then there are basketball fans, who can choose from a bunch of live events: college men, high school boys, high school girls (there are some entertaining games there too), the Warriors, other women's teams. A good high school boys' game in a packed gym is a fun experience, for $10, free parking and easy access (usually). Those who live close to Berkeley can get to Cal games more easily than St. Mary's or Santa Clara, but those who live elsewhere (Walnut Creek, say) have easier options.

Or they can stay home, and pick and choose from about 25 games every night.

And most alums will go to the men's games rather than the women's, given a choice. Going to both is a huge commitment of time and energy.

Which again brings us back to students, especially female students. If female students supported the women's team as much as they do the men's team, that would be a huge difference. But they don't, and never have, even at schools where the women's team is very good. Some do, of course, but the bulk of students go to men's games.

It's possible to flip that demographic, though, but it's the most accessible and also does the most to create a fun and energetic atmosphere.

Upcoming game with Stanford is an opportunity for good attendance

If Cal wins they should definitely be in top 20

Just my opinion, I know the "game day experience" comes into play but this should not be the focus when dissecting the lack of attendance at these games. Its not the "game day experience" issue that's keeping people from coming, it's the lack of exposure, motivation, and marketing innovation. that gets them to the game in the first place which is truly lacking in this situation.

wvitbear said:

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Was the attendance at last nights game. I thought winning would bring out the fans. Instead, everyone wants to watch at home. Maybe we should drop basketball.

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Attendance at the event is the barometer of whether a program should exist?
It's also December in the middle of the OOC schedule...the women have done next to nothing over how many years and you want Cal to be "Iowa West" because they have started well?
You are as good of a Cal women's basketball fan as there is (based on your postings and observations here) and let's hope they keep it up, and this continues to grow....

ClayK said:

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The best pool of available attendees is students.

Tween and teen female athletes do not have the time to come to games in Berkeley. Their schedules are packed with practices, games, academics and school social life.

Older fans, like most of us here, don't like the music and the noise and the hassle so it takes some strong motivation to get us to the gym.

And then there are basketball fans, who can choose from a bunch of live events: college men, high school boys, high school girls (there are some entertaining games there too), the Warriors, other women's teams. A good high school boys' game in a packed gym is a fun experience, for $10, free parking and easy access (usually). Those who live close to Berkeley can get to Cal games more easily than St. Mary's or Santa Clara, but those who live elsewhere (Walnut Creek, say) have easier options.

Or they can stay home, and pick and choose from about 25 games every night.

And most alums will go to the men's games rather than the women's, given a choice. Going to both is a huge commitment of time and energy.

Which again brings us back to students, especially female students. If female students supported the women's team as much as they do the men's team, that would be a huge difference. But they don't, and never have, even at schools where the women's team is very good. Some do, of course, but the bulk of students go to men's games.

It's possible to flip that demographic, though, but it's the most accessible and also does the most to create a fun and energetic atmosphere.

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Right, because females supporting female sports directly has never been a correlation in research and focus groups going back to the 90s.

wvitbear said:

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My favorite cheer by the Straw hat Band is when an opposing player misses free throw, they shout "You let the whole team down".. Great cheer.

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That is such a nasty taunt, and I just love it.

ClayK said:

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Which again brings us back to students, especially female students. If female students supported the women's team as much as they do the men's team, that would be a huge difference. But they don't, and never have, even at schools where the women's team is very good. Some do, of course, but the bulk of students go to men's games.

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That is an interesting point. A friend of 50 years follows football (family's from Nebraska) and the Warriors, and had a soccer-playing daughter of whom she was very proud. All this, plus being a Marxist, feminist labor organizer, etc. My friend will combine live football games with a short vacation in L.A. or Vegas or wherever, but she still does not go to WBB games, and never has. Less dynamic/speedy/potentially, excitingly dangerous? No hot male athletes?

I'll bring this up with my friend one of these days, although of course she's unlikely to change now. We like what we like. I just want to know her reasons.