According to NCAA attendance figures, the Big Sky was 22nd out of 32 Division I conferences in men's basketball attendance last year (2108 per game) -- that's down from 18th in both 2013 and 2014. Cleary the historical trend is downward: with slight bumps up in specific years, Big Sky attendance has gone down consistently from 1987, when it reached a high over 5,000 per game. That same attendance today would put the Big Sky in the top 10 in the nation.
So what happened? Well, Boise State, Idaho and Reno left the league, all three schools that, back in the 1980s and 90s were drawing fairly significant crowds -- and who also were league rivals for Idaho State and could guarantee putting 4,000 fans or more in the seats when they visited Pocatello. (And yes, Idaho did come back to the league, but when they returned they brought a shell of their former powerhouse program and dwindling attendance numbers).
Those schools that traditionally drew well were replaced by schools like Portland State and Sac State, who traditionally do NOT draw well. You had the erosion of the fan base in Pocatello, where Idaho State used to draw 4 to 5,000 fans for games against Weber, Montana, Boise State and Idaho, and almost always over 3,000 for conference games. The long run of bad basketball coupled with the deterioration over time of facilities has dragged the fan base down to about 1,500 a game for Idaho State.
And then you have the gradual, but noticeable decline of the fan base among the league "powers," Montana and Weber State, who still lead the conference in attendance, but rarely ever fill the house like they used to back in the "glory days."
Finally, you have the fact that college basketball, outside the top 9 or 10 conferences, has become a boutique sport. The American Conference ranked No. 8 in average basketball attendance last year -- at just 6,284 a game. Weber State beats that most nights. There is very little difference in attendance from the 13th rated conference (Mid-American) down to No. 23 (Sun Belt). The MAC averaged 2,885 per game, the Sun Belt 2,039. Hardly discernible in the grand scheme of things. For a whole host of reasons -- too many games on TV, one-and-done nature of its best players, smothering nature of all things football -- college basketball is just not a hot sport in all but the biggest hotbeds.
I am cautiously hopeful a new Big Sky Commissioner will get some kind of endorsement from the people who hire him -- the Presidents --- to pursue a more aggressive agenda to improve Big Sky basketball. A TV contract would be great (although I'm not sure how many people will watch Big Sky games with SO much other basketball on, but at least you can tell a recruit he's going to be on TV). Scheduling agreements with other, similar D-1 conferences like the Big West and the WAC would also be a step forward. And incentives to improve facilities and attendance would also be a nice idea. But keep in mind, many of these things have been tried already (a number of conferences have turned down Big Sky overtures to have a "challenge" style tournament, for example), and many conference schools are facing decreasing enrollments, and don't have the "deep pocket" supporters needed to build new facilities. Keep in mind, also, that football typically wags the dog in just about every athletic department, and nothing is going be done that takes away resources from football programs.
But a new perspective on these issues would certainly be welcome from the Commissioners Office, and hopefully that would reflect a new concern from the Presidents who ultimately will have to endorse -- and pay for -- any such changes.
