Stay with us here while we share some news about Western Kentucky volleyball, and we promise: It relates to women’s hoops.
The Hilltoppers hosted the NCAA Tournament first and second rounds a few weeks ago, drawing 9,537 for two days of games of volleyball, including a program record, 5,023, at last Saturday’s matchup. The previous high for a single game? That would be 1,413. WKU had never hosted before.
Do you know what we’d call that? Growing the game. That’s a phrase that women’s basketball heavies often bandy about with enthusiasm about its importance minus substantial evidence as to what’s being done.
The NCAA has flip-flopped over what to do with postseason women’s basketball and has returned to the tired format of the top four seeds in each region hosting games on their home courts. That essentially means the rich get richer and hold a substantial advantage that comes with homecourt. It also means programs like Gonzaga and Delaware (remember when Elena Delle Donne packed ’em in at The Bob in 2013 when the Blue Hens topped West Virginia and North Carolina to advance?) won’t be welcoming opponents into their venues come March unless it’s for WNIT games. The Power 5, teams with double-digit losses, are gifted with high seeding, which means the game will grow about as well as that African violet that rarely gets watered.
We’ve narrated on this before, the fallacy that the NCAA is doing anything innovative when it comes to promoting women’s basketball. Remember, we (and probably you if you’re still reading) are not the audience the NCAA has to capture. We’re sold on the sport. Most aren’t. That’s why the majority of teams in this country continue to play in venues that draw embarrassingly low crowds. Title IX mandates a lot, but none of it has to do with growing a fan base.
The response to this is often a lot of moaning about lack of support for the sport, whether it be from the athletes who play it or the coaches who coach it. Here’s why that rubs us the wrong way. Most of us “support” what is near and dear to us — fundraisers for charities of our choice, for example. Building an invested fan base can’t be just about support. If you want a family or group of 20somethings in your building at night or on a weekend afternoon, “support” isn’t going to get them there. They’re not interested enough in the actual game. Maybe you think they should be; we’d love it if it were so. But it’s not and blaming groups, often men, for not coming, isn’t winning anyone over. Let’s get real. If more women were fans of women’s basketball, we wouldn’t need to discuss growing the game.
Rolling out the ball should be enough. But we know that, for the most part, in WBB, it isn’t.
Growing the game requires innovation and tapping into groups that just might show up if given enough reason. This doesn’t have to be terribly complicated. Remember Hotdog Night in Charlottesville? Education Day at the Constant Center (i.,e., Chartway Arena)? Have you been to a Norfolk Tides game on “Turn Back the Clock” night? There is a way to pack the place.
We ask, Is women’s basketball, are women’s basketball programs asking what can I do to make a fun night out for the folks in my community? What can I do beyond telling them when tipoff is?
In Bowling Green, Kentucky, thousands of folks discovered how much fun watching volleyball in person can be because the Hilltoppers got to host for the first time in their history, In addition to the regular crowd shuffling in, a wealth of new fans sampled kills, digs and blocks at the highest level. WKU can only hope some of their newest fans will be back next fall.
Now contrast that with the WBB postseason. If you’ve been to an NCAA Tournament game, you know the drill. There isn’t an autograph session. Or perhaps a musical draw (Beyonce, do you hear us?) to get young girls in the building and perhaps introduce them to something they’ve never considered watching up close before.
The crowd is typically at arm’s length from the players.
Remember when ODU hosted first and second rounds when Sky Diggins was a media darling? How cool would it have been if there was a photo booth or a headband giveaway or something else beyond the ordinary?
We don’t have all the answers, but remember the mantra about doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?
That’s where we’re at.
Photo courtesy of Western Kentucky Athletic Communications
Our family loved when ODU hosted NCAA women’s basketball games (the first year we went, both Ogwumike sisters were playing together for Stanford University- we were starstruck!) The year Sky Diggs came with Notre Dame and local legend Elizabeth Williams with Duke, the stands were packed. The energy was amazing and the buzz following Diggs when she moved through the building was so fun to witness. Diggs star power and the locals wanting to support Williams drove the large crowds. The NCAA should highlight star players (easily done now a days with social media), and give colleges the opportunity to host, rotating to different areas around the country. I actually think the WNBA should look into something similar to grow their fan base, and really the two should partner together to grow both sports. For the WNBA, why not travel around for some of their summer games in areas like the 757, maybe even sometimes playing in venues near the larger AAU tournaments. If you are curious, check out what the Premiere Lacrosse League did in their inaugural year this past summer where their teams would travel to one large location and host a weekend of multiple games as well as other family activities. It’s time to get creative, let’s keep women’s hoops growing!