UConn Women's Success is Boring Their Fans

Is it boring when your team wins all the time? That seems to be the message that fans of the University of Connecticut women's basketball team are sending. Despite a remarkable stretch that has seen the UConn women's team lose just one college hoops game over three seasons, fans have stopped showing up for the games.

At a recent second-round NCAA Tournament game held at the University of Connecticut's home court of Gampel Pavilion, fewer than 6,000 fans filled the 10,000-seat arena. The dramatic drop in attendance at UConn women's games is frustrating to Huskies coach Geno Auriemma.

"I think we have a real spoiled group of fans," Auriemma said after the game.

Based on the disappointing turnout for the tournament game, Auriemma says he'll ask UConn officials not to host any more NCAA tourney action for at least the next five years.

Going into that lightly-attended tournament game which drew the small crowd, the UConn women had won 111 of their previous 122 games, including a college basketball record 90 straight wins. While a dominant team like that might be expected to draw big crowds, the Huskies' attendance continues to decline.

"I guess we need to win more," Auriemma said in exasperation. "Everybody loves a winner, you know."

A year ago, UConn led all schools in attendance for women's college basketball games, drawing over 350,000 college hoops fans to their home and road games. But, as the team mowed through its opponents - winning every game in 2010 by double digits - the home crowds continued to thin.

"I think we've got a real spoiled group of fans that know we're going to win, know we're going to Philadelphia, and assume we're going to the Final Four," Auriemma said in frustration after an announced crowd of just over 5,700 attended the recent NCAA tournament game that marked the last-ever home appearance by UConn star Maya Moore.

The latest attendance disappointment highlights a troubling trend for the highly-successful UConn women's team. Before the recent one-sided margins and near-perfect record, the Huskies were the toughest ticket in the area. Now the winning has become routine and that, coupled with the economic slowdown across the country, has driven attendance down.

"The natural tendency when you become so accustomed to selling out the Civic Center so many times over the years, and all of a sudden you start seeing 11,000 or whatever, you start to panic, wonder where all the fans have gone," Auriemma noted late in 2009. The downtown Hartford arena holds over 16,000 fans, and UConn sellouts were commonplace at one time.

While the UConn women's record on the court has been remarkable, the Huskies record at the box office has been on a steady downard trend. In the 2005-2006 season, UConn averaged over 13,600 fans at each home game. This year, despite the record winning streak and the back-to-back national championships, home attendance for the women's basketball team was barely above 9,000.

"At one time, this used to be the hardest place in America to play," Auriemma says. "I don't think it's that anymore. Times have changed. At one time, every single game was sold out. This used to be the hardest place in America to play. It's not like that anymore."