If you were one of the more than 5,700 people, on average, who made the trip to Carver Arena for one of Bradley’s basketball games this year, it wouldn’t have been too difficult to notice there were a lot more empty seats than there used to be.
Bradley’s attendance has been a hot-button issue for fans for years, and the recent lack of success under former head coach Geno Ford didn’t help. Under Ford, Bradley saw a 23 percent decrease in attendance that coincided with losing records in three of Ford’s four seasons at the helm, according to a database of attendance numbers kept by the NCAA.
As far back as 2005, Bradley finished in the top three in average attendance in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), yet even after the team’s struggles, they find themselves third in the Valley in average attendance since 2011, behind just Creighton, who left the conference before last season, and Wichita State.
How can Bradley maintain their position at the top of the attendance lists? The answer is simple: Bradley isn’t the only school dealing with a decline in attendance.
The problem becomes clear just by looking at other schools around the region. While the average attendance for the NCAA as a whole has remained remarkably consistent over the last decade, other teams have seen measurable declines in attendance barring on-court success, which Bradley certainly has not had.
Take fellow Valley members Drake and Evansville, for example. Drake averaged just over 5,000 fans per game this last decade, but the last three seasons by themselves average out to fewer than 3,900 fans per game. Evansville has dropped nearly 500 fans per season themselves. Schools like Butler University in Indianapolis and Xavier University in Cincinnati have actually seen attendance increase, but improved play on the court is largely the reason why.
Bradley has seen attendance plummet from just shy of 10,000 fans per game down to the current level, and a lack of student interest could be seen as a reason why.
Aaron Ferguson, co-President of the Bradley Red Sea, listed two reasons why he believes students do not attend the games.
“I think the biggest two factors are establishing trust and winning,” Ferguson said. “I don’t think the students trust other student-athletes, especially after last season with men’s bball. It’s important that athletes don’t seem to be ‘bigger’ than everyone else because they play a sport. Any way they can bridge that gap is huge.”
Associate Athletic Director for External Affairs Brett Burchette said Bradley has already had discussions on how to increase attendance at Bradley’s games this upcoming season, starting with the changes made to the coaching staff.
“We can highlight a lot of positive change that we have in terms of new excitement, a new direction for Bradley basketball with the hiring of coach Wardle,” Burchette said. “It’s already got people talking about what the future is going to bring for the program.”
While people may be talking about the future, Bradley also plans to remind them of the team’s past, according to Burchette.
“I think for us, highlighting the history of Bradley basketball is going to be important this season,” Burchette said. “Past greats, from individual and a team perspective, is something we’re going to work on from a marketing perspective. Next year is a historical year in terms of the 10th anniversary of our Sweet 16 appearance, our 1000th MVC game. It gives us a great opportunity each game to bring and recognize someone, which I think will be a good connection point for Bradley alums and those who have been Bradley fans.”
Burchette also said Bradley could introduce new ticket packages to appeal to families, giving them more flexibility when picking games to attend.