It’s simple — the best team on campus is the women’s basketball team.
Ricky Clark | Argonaut
They are currently 10-0 in Western Athletic Conference play and are dominating their opponents. The 10-0 mark is the first time since the 1985-1986 season that the Vandals have seen this type of success. They might be on their way to second straight WAC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth.
There has been one problem with the season though — not many fans are showing up in the stands to show their support for the Vandals.
This is a problem that has been going on for plenty of years. But now, as a result of Idaho coach Jon Newlee’s efforts at building the team, they are showing signs of doing big things now and in the foreseeable future.
It seems though, that even with the success the team is bringing to Idaho, they still can’t bring in a decent crowd.
The seating capacity for the Cowan Spectrum is set at 7,000 people. The average attendance for a women’s game is 472 people. That is a fairly low number compared to the men’s team, who racks in an average of 1,494 fans a game. Idaho’s opponents also average a much higher attendance at 1,170.
This is not a good number for a NCAA Tournament contender.
They play five of their last six games at home and they play four of their last five home games in the Cowan Spectrum. They have one game that will be played in Memorial Gym, because of the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival being on campus. Wouldn’t it be great if we could get a packed house for those games?
Many people think that women’s basketball isn’t as exciting as a men’s game can be. A woman’s game doesn’t often have the same flashy dunks, athleticism or physicality that one would normally see in a men’s game.
With this team though, you don’t need that brand of basketball while watching them. What the women bring to the table is fundamentally sound basketball.
They aren’t flashy by any means. The women do what they need to do to get the ball in the hoop. Idaho is outrebounding other teams and outshooting their opponents on the 3-point line and the free-throw line. They are doing everything right to help win ball games.
Newlee has said before that the team likes to play in front of a crowd. They like to impress people. It would be great if the fans of this team can get out to the games and support the team. Not only will they appreciate it, but it could get them ready to play in bigger environments like the Orleans Arena for the WAC Tournament or even the NCAA Tournament crowds that they would be seeing when they win the WAC Tournament title.
Rick Clark can be reached at [email protected]