As I sat with only two other reporters along a nearly empty press row Saturday night watching Northern Colorado play basketball, it occurred to me that I was watching the most successful college team in the state this season. It’s UNC’s sixth at the Division I level. It had no band. Of the 1,586 fans, only 44 were in the designated student section.
I know. I counted them.
After Tuesday’s win against Johnson & Wales, the UNC men’s team was 11-15 and 6-6 in the Big Sky. This is followed closely by Denver (10-13, 5-7 Sun Belt), a team near my neighborhood that doesn’t muster a breath of curiosity past University Boulevard.
In fact, the state of Colorado rightfully lays claim as the worst college basketball state in the union. Combine Colorado (9-13, 1-7 Big 12), Air Force (9-13, 0-9 Mountain West), Colorado State (8-15, 3-6 Mountain West), UNC and Denver and you have combined records of 47-69 (.405) and 15-35 (.300).
The only state close is Georgia with Georgia Tech (10-12, 1-8), Georgia (9-14, 0-8), Mercer (14-11, 8-6), Georgia Southern (7-15, 5-9), Kennesaw State (7-16, 3-11), Georgia State (7-17, 5-8) and Savannah State (12-12, independent) at 66-97 (.405) and 22-50 (.306).
But at least the state of Georgia has fans. Georgia Tech is averaging 7,448 fans at home games and Georgia 6,586. Attendance in Colorado is getting close to Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference level: CU (4,262), CSU (3,169), Air Force (2,708), Denver (2,113) and UNC (1,304).
Frankly, I don’t see this changing for a while. CU coach Jeff Bzdelik and CSU’s Tim Miles must rebuild in very strong leagues, and it has become increasingly clear that Air Force caught lightning in a bottle, first with Joe Scott as coach and then with Bzdelik.
Denver’s best chance is ditching the Sun Belt and joining the West Coast Conference with Pacific. However, league power Gonzaga will block that until both programs improve their RPIs to where they won’t drag down the league.
The state’s best shot for its next NCAA Tournament entry could be UNC. The Big Sky has no consistent power and only six teams go to the conference tournament. UNC might possibly get a first-round home game.
But one alum described UNC as a “suitcase college.” At the end of the last class Friday, students pack a suitcase and go home for the weekend. Then again, you could say that about the rest of the state. What reason do they have to stick around?
