That old saying about being able to manually count the crowd at a sparsely attended basketball game? Somebody could do that a few years ago at the University of Denver.
“Our crowds weren’t very big when I first got here,” DU senior guard Brian Stafford said. “One of the things I’ll always remember is maybe being a part of getting that changed. We’ve got a great atmosphere in here now.”
Sports fans have rediscovered college basketball along the Front Range, and arenas are jumping. It’s happening at Colorado. It’s happening at Colorado State.
And even Denver’s Magness Arena, which in past years produced all the clamor and excitement of a piano recital, suddenly has become a place to be. DU had to give away tickets as recently as five years ago, averaging 1,472 fans for that 2006-07 season. Eight of the 14 home games drew fewer than 1,000 fans, including almost completely ignored contests against New Orleans (570), Sacramento State (642) and Arkansas State (661).
Larger crowds helping
This season, the Pioneers have averaged 5,903 fans per conference home game — a figure that could increase Sunday with regular-season finale against North Texas. Capacity in Magness is 7,200 for hoops, so crowds of 6,000 feel and sound bigger.
“It’s part of the transformation of this program,” DU coach Joe Scott said of the exponential jump in fan interest.
Colorado is averaging 7,588 fans in the Coors Events Center this season. That’s up more than 100 percent over the average of 3,324 per home game five years ago. And there is an announced sellout (11,064-plus) expected for Sunday’s home finale against Pac-12 leader California.
“That’s helped us,” CU coach Tad Boyle said.
Just a few years ago, a poll of Big 12 men’s basketball players ranked the Coors Events Center as “worst atmosphere” among venues in that conference. Now, visiting Pac-12 coaches and players say Boulder is one of the toughest places to play.
“I’ve had guys from other teams tell me, ‘I haven’t heard it this loud in a long time,’ ” Colorado freshman guard Askia Booker said this week. “It’s crazy. Sometimes it gets so loud I can’t hear teammates, I can’t hear our coaches.”
Buffs credit C-Unit
Former Buffs coach Jeff Bzdelik deserves credit for moving the CU student section and the pep band to behind the south goal, adjacent to the opposing team’s bench. The student section has grown in size and decibel level during Boyle’s two seasons.
Colorado’s “C-Unit” was named on a Facebook site as one of the nation’s 16 best student sections for college basketball. To reward those efforts, the athletic department has made arrangements for 50 C-Unit members to travel, expense-free, to Los Angeles to support the Buff men’s and women’s teams in the Pac-12 tournaments March 7-10.
Who could have imagined the Coors Events Center becoming “a pit”?
“When I got here four years ago, I always hoped we would get a student section like other programs had,” CU senior forward Austin Dufault said. “Now, I think we have the best student section in the Pac-12. And we’ve been pretty much everywhere.”
Dufault said the team looks over during pregame warm-ups and checks out which big heads have shown up for that game. “I know Coach Boyle has a pretty funny one,” he said. “A lot of the signs are pretty funny, the effects-of-altitude signs are great. It’s fun to see what people come up with.”
More mojo in Moby
Colorado State is averaging 5,513 this season for conference home games. As recently as 2008-09, an average home crowd of 3,257 made Moby Arena feel empty, quiet, even unimportant.
That’s changed dramatically. CSU players cited the impact of their crazed home crowd after big wins over Wyoming and nationally ranked San Diego State and New Mexico.
An announced sellout crowd of 8,745 packed Moby Arena for the Rams’ 54-46 victory over Wyoming on Feb. 18 and made its presence known. The Cowboys managed just 18 points in the second half.
“I thought the atmosphere in our game at Colorado State was terrific,” Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt said. “You could smell it and touch it, the buzz in the gym even hours before the game.”
Teams and school administrators have made efforts to boost attendance. They have spoken to student groups, improved amenities, offered ticket deals and, in some cases, spent more advertising dollars with newspapers and radio.
But the tried-and-true way to attract sports fans is a winning product. Colorado (18-9, 10-5 Pac-12), CSU (17-9, 6-5 Mountain West) and Denver (20-8, 10-5 Sun Belt) are on the rise.
“There are a lot of options for people in Colorado,” CSU coach Tim Miles said. “You’ve got the outdoors, the fine arts, professional sports. You have to be successful. When teams are successful, fans really come out, enjoy the atmosphere and support the teams. It’s a lot of fun. It makes me feel tingly just thinking about it.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
