WVU basketball attendance ranks 39th in nation
The WVU basketball season did not end how the players and fans wanted this past season.
The Mountaineers certainly had the potential to go further in the NCAA Tournament and they definitely had the will to win it all. A bad draw and an inspired Stephen F. Austin team made sure that the Mountaineers were one-and-done.
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Getting the WVU basketball team to the tournament for another year was a big lift by the crowds at the WVU Coliseum. For the second-straight year, the loud and proud fans cheered the Mountaineers at a near-record pace.
The WVU basketball team averaged 10,583 fans at games this past season.
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That is the sixth time the Mountaineers have eclipsed the 10-thousand mark since Bob Huggins took over as head coach before the 2007 season.
For a team that competed near the top of the Big 12 Conference standings all season long, that number is certainly something all fans across the Mountain State can be proud of.
What’s a little disheartening is that the total attendance figure could have been much larger.
The Mountaineers caught some bad luck, weather-wise, this season. A handful of weekday games came at the same time as monstrous snow storms which blanketed the region. It’s hard enough to drive around Morgantown during rush hour, anyway. Add a few inches of snow to the area and it’s downright impossible to get anywhere.
Thousands of WVU basketball fans found that out before games against Kansas and Texas this season.
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A late-arriving crowd, because of the snow and a terrible traffic scene outside, saw the WVU basketball team upset No. 1 Kansas on Jan. 12.
There’s no question that a huge, raucous crowd energizes the Mountaineers and makes the WVU Coliseum one of the toughest places to play in the country.
Ticket prices go up consistently, but Mountaineer fans have been able to take advantage of some great deals put on by the West Virginia marketing department, too. It’s good to see fans of all ages taking advantage of their time and money to attend as many WVU basketball games as they can each year.
According to WVUsports.com, the Mountaineers checked in at No. 39, nationally, in terms of basketball attendance this past season.
That’s not a bad number; it could be better and it could be worse. What is fascinating is that the state of West Virginia ranks No. 38 in terms of total population, with just over 1.8 million people within the borders.