Reply To: Attendance Prediction

[LU65Participant]

Student turnout is key and sadly enough I’m not convinced they’re ready to come.  That is, unless we advance under NIT to play in Madison Square Garden.   Then, all bets are off.  Without that, there’s  little to excite the masses with six OOC games “over the mountain” featuring  two yet unnamed “also-rans” from the NIT and four previously scheduled non-descript/low ranking opponents:  FDU, Fordham, Bryant, and Muhlenberg.   To make matters worse, the Bryant and Muhlenberg games take place over Semester Break as does the first game in PL Conference play, Holy Cross.  After that, we host 6 other PL games – two of which (Bucknell and Lafayette) will be carried live over CBS Sports Network  – giving student still another reason to stay home – leaving only games against Colgate, American, Navy and Army.   It’s sad, but I can’t see us breaking the 2000 average attendance figure in 2012-13 unless we do advance to MSG over the Thanksgiving Holiday and play the likes of a Virginia, Kansas State or Michigan.  Then, you could see a groundswell of interest and support building within the community and student body.   Without that, I’ll go with a 1700 average figure this year.