Quinnipiac women’s lacrosse head coach Danie Caro admitted Quinnipiac could be doing more to increase attendance at their games. Other spring coaches are just thankful for the few fans they have.
“We don’t really publicize anything beyond the website,” Caro said, referring to QuinnipiacBobcats.com. The 2010 NEC runner-ups averaged just 125 fans per home game. “[The athletics department] does send e-mails and that sort of thing, but we don’t do any printed schedule cards or posters. There are probably some opportunities we’re missing.
“The athletic department does take advantage of the digital media, but sometimes this generation is so in tune to technology that they don’t notice that, whereas they might notice a poster or a schedule card.”
A study by the Sports Marketing Association found an athletic department must actively reward students for attending games. San José State University has found success improving attendance by rewarding lucky fans with free tuition or money toward books.
One thing all Quinnipiac spring coaches agreed on was that weather was the biggest factor for how many people attend the games, as the tennis, baseball, softball and lacrosse complexes are all outdoors at the Mount Carmel campus in Hamden, Conn.
At bigger schools like the University of Tennessee, where school spirit gushes around campus, bad weather doesn’t stop die-hard fans from attending games. However, a study from Western Illinois University cited weather as a key uncontrollable variable for predicting attendance.
With Quinnipiac’s addition of the TD Bank Sports Center at the York Hill campus three years ago, winter sports attendance has soared. The basketball and hockey complex is regarded as the top athletic facility in the Northeast Conference for basketball and the Eastern College Athletic Conference for hockey.
“It’s something new, it’s state-of-the-art,” Senior Associate Director of Athletics Bill Mecca said. “I really do believe it’s the facility that generates the incredible support we got this past year.”
Northen Kentucky University found out the hard way that a new stadium – or even success – doesn’t guarantee improved attendance.
Junior Ben Wald, a York Hill resident, attended nearly every home hockey game this past winter, but hasn’t stopped by to watch a single spring sporting event.
“I’m a very social person. I love seeing people and being around a lot of people; the TD Bank Sports Center makes it easy to see everyone,” Wald said. He reasoned he didn’t attend the games in the spring because “it’s more scattered in a wider area.”
The men’s hockey and basketball teams averaged a combined 4,430 fans per home game . The two most-attended sports in the spring, baseball and men’s lacrosse, combined for 810 fans per home game.
Below is a map that shows the attendances of Quinnipiac’s baseball, softball and lacrosse teams plus the top two competitors in each respective sport from the Northeast Conference.
Quinnipiac’s baseball and softball fields reside next to the freshman dormitories, while the tennis courts and lacrosse field are a few hundred yards in either direction.
Softball head coach Germaine Fairchild disagreed with Wald, saying the close proximity made it more accessible for students to attend the games.
“I love our location. I think baseball is in a great spot too,” Fairchild said. “I think it’s kind of a neat atmosphere when they’re playing and we’re playing and you can walk back-and-forth between. It’s really a neat setup.”
Below is a podcast featuring sophomore second baseman Alex Murray and Coach Fairchild.
Sophomore Connor Gillivan, also a Mount Carmel campus resident, appreciated the fact that the spring athletic complexes were in walking distance from his dorm.
“You can walk down there, enjoy the weather with your friends and watch the games,” he said.
Posted by Lenny Neslin 
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