Boulder – Another chapter in the Ricardo Patton era comes to a close Saturday when the outgoing Colorado men’s basketball coach is saluted in a ceremony following the final home game of a difficult season.
For all concerned, it seems, the end couldn’t come soon enough.
“This has just been a very odd year in many, many ways,” CU athletic director Mike Bohn said. “Anytime you’re not in a building mode, it can be frustrating for many people.”
The lame-duck season – CU is 6-19 and last in the Big 12 at 2-13 – has been tough on the coffers. Entering Saturday’s game against Nebraska, home attendance is down from last season by an average of 1,707 fans per game.
Bohn said the lost revenue from diminished ticket sales has not been calculated and would be impossible to estimate because of the wide range in ticket prices.
Using the low-end general admission price of $7 per seat as a conservative average, the loss in ticket revenue would add up to $167,286 through 14-of-15 home games. Reserved seats range in price from $9 to $35. Game tickets in season packages are priced lower, as are those sold to students, children and seniors. And that’s not counting lost revenue for concessions, or merchandise or due to the lack of TV appearances.
Disappointing attendance can’t solely be attributed to Patton’s lame-duck status or to the team’s poor record, Bohn said. Snow fell on almost every home date, he said, often making road conditions a concern.
“We’ve had a freak show of a winter,” he said.
Certainly the awkward nature of a lame-duck season didn’t help. Determining that his chances of getting a contract extension were nil, Patton announced Oct. 25 that this, his 11th full season, would be his last. That caught everybody by surprise, including Bohn.
Some athletic directors might have immediately shown Patton the door. But Patton was allowed to complete the final year of his contract, worth about $750,000. Bohn said the eight freshmen should be given the opportunity to play for the coach who recruited them.
“It certainly wasn’t an ideal situation,” Bohn said. “But I don’t regret any of the scenarios that played out. I know Ricardo did all he could. It’s a young team.”
Bohn insists finances didn’t play a part in his decision to let Patton complete his contract. But Bohn eliminated men’s tennis last May to save money. CU was not in position to pay two coaches for the same position.
Bohn hopes not, but Patton might hear some boos Saturday from antsy fans hoping a new coach will bring more excitement during March Madness. Patton enters his final home game at 183-159, including 79-107 in conference play.
Bohn, in his second year as athletic director, acknowledged Patton’s accomplishments came during a period when the basketball program was underfunded, underpromoted and underappreciated.
According to the most recent financial data supplied to the Department of Education, the Colorado men’s basketball program finished with a surplus of $950,359 for the 2005-2006 season. But that included a Big 12 distribution of $1,865,000 – meaning the program ran a deficit of $914,641 last season. The numbers this year could be worse.
“If you look at the 10 years prior to me being here and my years here, I think there is no way to say we didn’t do a better job than what had been done,” Patton said. “Was it as good a job as everybody wanted? Probably not. It wasn’t as good as I wanted.
“The one thing I’m certain of is, we did the best job we could do, given certain circumstances.”
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
Dwindling fan base
The home attendance averages at Coors Events Center during Ricardo Patton’s 11 full seasons:
Season Average Record
2006-07* 3,311 6-19
2005-06 5,018 20-10
2004-05 4,209 14-16
2003-04 5,593 18-11
2002-03 6,858 20-12
2001-02 5,006 15-14
2000-01 5,230 15-15
1999-00 5,009 18-14
1998-99 4,308 18-15
1997-98 4,554 13-14
1996-97 5,782 22-10
*one home game remaining
Note: Patton was 4-9 in the 1995-96 season after being promoted Jan. 16, 1996.
Source: CU media relations
