UT Mens Basketball

[rwemyss]

Is anyone else getting tired of the misconception that we didn't go to Men's Basketball games until this year? Florida and UK fans use this "I know this is new to you...", and "look at all you fans that magically appear when you are winning" thing that is grating on my NERVES. The enormous size of the Tommy made them think that we weren't there! Let me prove my point with some Stats. I'll start with this year's HOME attendance averages...

2006
1. UK 22,526
2. UT 17,128
3. AR 14,634
4. VU 11,980
5. UF 10,714
6. UA 10,023

Those are the only teams averaging over 10,000. You say "But rwemyss, that's because the Vols are GOOD this year, surely in year's past our attendance record reflected the TEAM's record?!?!" Nay nay... look at the numbers.

2005
1. UK 22,520
2. AR 15,788
3. UT 12,226
4. UA 10,958
5. UF 10,350
6. SC 10,148
7. VU 10,088

Maybe '04 would be more indicative???

2004
1. UK 22,710
2. AR 14,792
3. UT 13,426
4. SC 12,045
5. VU 11,312
6. UF 11,047

The proof is in the pudding folks. While our numbers HAVE gone up, we were in the top 3 in attendace the last two years as well, so don't let anyone give you crap about not knowing anything about Men's Hoops because we weren't good before... we were still there rooting our guys on, at least more than 9 of 11 other teams in the conference!!! We had more people in the building than UF when our record was 14-17 compared to their 24-8!!! If you can't get more people out for a 24-8 team than a 14-17 team... I wonder who is fairweather then.

Give yourselves a pat on the back, Volnation, for being there even when we SUCKED. (those of you that came out to see them that is... on average 12,225) :huggy: :huggy: :huggy:

 

[Freak]

Only problem is that we use paid attendance not actual attendance (right?). So we can say we were in the top 3 in ticket sales. Not sure the actual attendance average was that high the last two years.

 

[hatvol96]

Is anyone else getting tired of the misconception that we didn't go to Men's Basketball games until this year? Florida and UK fans use this "I know this is new to you...", and "look at all you fans that magically appear when you are winning" thing that is grating on my NERVES. The enormous size of the Tommy made them think that we weren't there! Let me prove my point with some Stats. I'll start with this year's HOME attendance averages...

2006
1. UK 22,526
2. UT 17,128
3. AR 14,634
4. VU 11,980
5. UF 10,714
6. UA 10,023

Those are the only teams averaging over 10,000. You say "But rwemyss, that's because the Vols are GOOD this year, surely in year's past our attendance record reflected the TEAM's record?!?!" Nay nay... look at the numbers.

2005
1. UK 22,520
2. AR 15,788
3. UT 12,226
4. UA 10,958
5. UF 10,350
6. SC 10,148
7. VU 10,088

Maybe '04 would be more indicative???

2004
1. UK 22,710
2. AR 14,792
3. UT 13,426
4. SC 12,045
5. VU 11,312
6. UF 11,047

The proof is in the pudding folks. While our numbers HAVE gone up, we were in the top 3 in attendace the last two years as well, so don't let anyone give you crap about not knowing anything about Men's Hoops because we weren't good before... we were still there rooting our guys on, at least more than 9 of 11 other teams in the conference!!! We had more people in the building than UF when our record was 14-17 compared to their 24-8!!! If you can't get more people out for a 24-8 team than a 14-17 team... I wonder who is fairweather then.

Give yourselves a pat on the back, Volnation, for being there even when we SUCKED. (those of you that came out to see them that is... on average 12,225) :huggy: :huggy: :huggy:

One point. Those numbers are for tickets sold. There are a number of donors in the lower level who essentially have seats for life. They have rarely shown up during the bad times, so those "attendance" numbers are distorted. Also, a number of SEC teams, namely MSU, have gyms that can't hold what a half full TBA can. Accounting for the inflation resulting from donor tickets, I don't think UT deserves credit for filling less than half their building. Having sat through all of the Wade Houston era, I will be the first to call out UT fans for staying away in droves through the lean years.

 

[hatvol96]

Also, running the numbers on a percentage of capacity analysis, UT ranks at or near the bottom of the conference.

 

[rwemyss]

I dunno Freak. I got those numbers off of the SEC website. I think we all thought they were much lower than that... whether that is paid or actual... the people that were buying them, bought them for a reason. It is something worth pointing out.

 

[rwemyss]

Also, running the numbers on a percentage of capacity analysis, UT ranks at or near the bottom of the conference.

That's a given, but you would think better teams would be able to get better raw numbers out to watch them (or at least buy tickets) than the Vols of the past couple of years.

 

[hatvol96]

That's a given, but you would think better teams would be able to get better raw numbers out to watch them (or at least buy tickets) than the Vols of the past couple of years.

The O Dome, Coleman Coliseum, and the Deaf Dome all have capacities in the 12,000 or so range. Even if they sell out every game, their raw numbers will be behind UT. I'm not sure the Hump holds more than 10,000.

 

[hatvol96]

Also, I would like to see the numbers if you could separate long term, Arena Fund donor tickets from all other tickets sold. I'm fairly certain those numbers would paint a very sad picture. If one wants to say UT fans are excused for not showing up due to a bad product, that's a plausible arguement, but saying we have good basketball fans is a real stretch.

 

[rwemyss]

The records pages on the SEC website only separate "Attendance" by Home or Away. It was the conference's decision to count tickets sold over turnstiles turned... that said, what's the rule on students? We don't have tickets, does showing up with an ID count as a "ticket sold" or something?

The O-dome is right at 12,000, you are correct... but in that case, if we can sell 12,226... why can't they sell out every night 12,000?

Here's a different route, LSU last year... 20-10 record, the Maravich Center holds 13,472 yet they averaged 9,409??? Which is very similar to the avg. number of turnstiles turned at TBA last year that I found in an article about Peterson's demise (approx. 9,000... citypaper.com)

 

[hatvol96]

The records pages on the SEC website only separate "Attendance" by Home or Away. It was the conference's decision to count tickets sold over turnstiles turned... that said, what's the rule on students? We don't have tickets, does showing up with an ID count as a "ticket sold" or something?

The O-dome is right at 12,000, you are correct... but in that case, if we can sell 12,226... why can't they sell out every night 12,000?

Nobody really sells out every game. I've been to Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville and a number of other "Basketball Meccas." Games over the semester break and against the Louisiana-Monroes of the world don't sell out anywhere. Running at 80+% capacity for the season is very good most places.

To your question, I do believe that the student count is calculated by considering the number of IDs processed for entry as "tickets sold."