Men's Hoops Attendance Slides for Fourth-Straight Season
Despite posting its first winning home record for the first time in three seasons, attendance continues to slide at Cal men’s basketball games. This year, Cal hoops had a total attendance of 83,996 in 17 home games for an average of 4,941 per game. Playing just 16 home games last season, Cal still had a total attendance of 90,036 or 5,627 per game.
After hitting an attendance apex during the 2015-2016 season, Cal’s home attendance numbers have dropped consistently. In 2015-2016, when the Bears went 23-11 and 18-0 at Haas Pavilion, the total attendance in 18 games was 183,291 or 10,182 per game. Even with 19 games the following season, Cal’s total attendance dropped to 169,298 with an average of 8,910. Cal’s home record that season was 15-4.
| Year | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cal Total Attendance | 83,996 | 90,036 | 125,386 | 169,298 | 183,293 | 145,775 |
| Games | 17 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 18 |
| Cal Average Attendance | 4,941 | 5,627 | 7,375 | 8,910 | 10,182 | 8,099 |
| Cal Conference Rank | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Conference Average | 7,121 | 7,431 | 7,747 | 8,170 | 7,731 | 7,426 |
| National Average | N/A | 4,659 | 4,607 | 4,633 | 4,744 | 4,754 |
| Cal Record (home record) | 14-18 (12-5) | 8-23 (7-9) | 8-24 (5-12) | 21-13 (15-4) | 23-11 (18-0) | 18-15 (11-7) |
Cal had a solid home record this season but was likely still lagging in attendance and fan support from the previous two seasons. The Bears combined for 16-47 over the past two seasons including 12-21 in Berkeley.
Besides home-court advantage and program and team support, the obvious loss in declining ticket sales is revenue. In 2019, Cal generated $2,024,023 in ticket sales, which is the lowest amount since at least the 2008-2009 season.
| Operating Revenues and Expenses | 2019 Men's Hoops | 2018 Men's Hoops | 2017 Men's Hoops | 2016 Men's Hoops | 2015 Men's Hoops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ticket Sales | $2,024,023.00 | $2,646,527.00 | $3,236,708.00 | $3,576,103.00 | $2,626,646.00 |
| Total Revenue | $8,549,969.00 | $8,802,443.00 | $10,854,933.00 | $9,544,998.00 | $9,581,657.00 |
| Total Expenses | $6,841,180.00 | $7,267,290.00 | $8,167,208.00 | $9,935,699.00 | $7,070,499.00 |
| Profit | $1,708,789.00 | $1,535,153.00 | $2,687,725.00 | -$390,701.00 | $2,511,158.00 |
Cal is certainly not alone in its attendance woes when it comes to college hoops. The national average has been declining steadily for more than a decade now. National averages have not been released by the NCAA yet for the 2019-2020 season, but the national average in 2019 was 4,659, up from 4,607 in 2018. That was the first increase in more than a decade, but obviously a very small uptick.
The Pac-12 has particularly had issues attracting fans to games. As a conference, the Pac-12 hasn’t finished higher than sixth in average attendance per game in more than a decade. For reference, in 2019, the Big Ten had the highest average attendance of 12,691 per game. The SEC averaged 11,527, the ACC had 10,912, the Big 12 had 10,170, and the Big East had 9,999. The Pac-12’s average was 7,431 which was more akin to the AAC which averaged 6,739 and MWC which averaged 6,447.
| Team | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 13,654 | 13,744 |
| Utah | 10,561 | 11,067 |
| Arizona State | 9,251 | 10,538 |
| Washington | 8,481 | 7,846 |
| Oregon | 8,038 | 8,531 |
| Colorado | 7,979 | 6,868 |
| UCLA | 6,706 | 8,269 |
| California | 4,941 | 5,627 |
| Oregon State | 4,742 | 5,261 |
| USC | 4,110 | 3,590 |
| Stanford | 3,819 | 3,894 |
| Washington State | 3,165 | 2,318 |
Even with the historically-low attendance, Cal’s per game average was higher than Oregon State, USC, Stanford, and Washington State. Among all Pac-12 schools, only four (Washington, Colorado, USC, and Washington State) saw their averages increase from last season to this season.
Two factors seem to play a role in attendance boosts — the anticipation of a successful season and exciting new players. Looking at the four schools in the conference that boosted rates this year compared to last year, that explanation can be applied to most. Washington had both factors — a top recruiting class with high expectations of a run for the conference title. Colorado lacked the exciting incoming players but was also considered one of the favorites to take the conference title this season. USC also had one of the most exciting freshmen classes coming in this past season.
The momentum created from a fairly successful home performance this season is likely to boost Cal’s 2020-2021 attendance numbers. For the first time in a few years, there’s a bit more excitement and positivity surrounding Cal’s men’s hoops season. To see an even bigger attendance boost, Mark Fox could help himself and the program by bringing in a couple more intriguing recruits.