Few thoughts here in no particular order or even directly related to the question at hand:
** Brint is right, Wintersession is the killer with no students on campus. That isn't going to change. However a couple alternatives - tap into the COT during January - these are local people, who are still in town, and not all of them are 50 year olds going through job re-training. COT students can buy the athletic pass now of course, but offer a Wintersession Pass (maybe $10?) for student pass for all games during Wintersession to COT students (and include high school kids enrolled at COT in dual credit classes)
** I agree with GF24 - no more gimmicks to attract a crowd. It cheapens it for everyone
** If I was a student I wouldn't want to go to a game with all the old people who go to the game. What young kids wants to go to an old person's party? Sometimes you need to go backwards to go forwards. need incentives to move the old people out of the lower bowl and away from students (more comfy seats, free entrance to the skyclub, free metamucil, free kids seats in the lower bowl, whatever it takes) Griz BB will not flourish when the average age of attendees is 60+
**The attendance levels during the Griz heyday were not sustainable, so we might need to to think of new benchmarks for what is success. Think about this - 9,000+ people at a BB game night in and night out, student enrollment of about 8,000, city population under 30,000, county population around 70,000. Does any really think it was normal for 1 of every 3 - 4 people to be at a college basketball game? Add in that Missoula High Schools also drew a lot of fans, that is a lot of basketball attendance. Of course the population has grown, but it has also aged considerably. Attendance when Heathcote took over were closer to what they are today.
**When Griz BB was in it's heyday the drinking age was 18 then 19. Kids could drink, go to the game then go to a bar. Now when 18 - 20 year olds want to drink they are looking for a party. I think this has an effect on attendance for college kids.
**The people (generation) who created the zoo and enjoyed those sideline seats - still have those sideline seats. Like most things with the Baby Boomer generation, they demanded and got everything when they were young, and they have kept demanding and getting as they get old. A vain attempt to try to stay young, I suppose. Time to pass the torch and step back and let the younger generation have their time.
** I agree with GF24 that basketball and football crowds experience are not the same, and shouldn't be - witness the crowd cheering when Weber was on defense, like they were trained at the football games. Pretty tough to apply football crowd noise rules to basketball, possession changes too quickly and there is no snap count to disrupt.
** I don't know why but it really irritates me to see Griz fans show up at the big games wearing their Griz football attire at basketball game. That is probably more of a "me" issue.
** no offense GF24, but it also irritates me when people who don't live in Missoula say they would do or pay anything for a chance to live in Missoula/Montana and to go to the games. Apparently "anything" excludes actually sticking around Montana and taking the lower wages or sacrificing to live in Montana - the restaurants here are full of waiters and waitresses who substitute teach while waiting for that full time teaching job to open up - these people are giving a lot to still live here). I used to be one of those people who talked about "one day" as I passed up lower paying jobs in Montana to make more elsewhere. Finally I realized it was my fault I didn't live in Montana, I was the one choosing not to live here to make better wages elsewhere. Been making lower ages ever since, and have never regretted the decision. Maybe I am like the ex-smoker who can't stand other people who smoke? None of this irritation applies to those who serve in the military.