Last spring, the athletic department announced that all student tickets will be free for the 2019-20 men’s and women’s home basketball games. The reaction by the student body was pure excitement. I, too, was excited to not have to pay $80 to attend basketball games.
Then, it hit me.
The proclamation of free tickets is the athletic department’s way of saying this team is not worth paying to watch.
The attendance of students at men’s games this season will drop significantly compared to what it has in the past because students have no incentive to attend games. When I was paying $80 at the start of the season, I made sure I was in Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena for every home game.
If I am paying in advance for these games, I will guarantee my attendance. Now that tickets are free, what is the incentive for the student body to attend games? It certainly isn’t a first place finish in the Atlantic 10 Conference or a projected NCAA Tournament bid projected by Joe Lunardi, ESPN pundit and former director of marketing and broadcasting at St. Joe’s.
Throughout my four years at St. Joe’s, the tickets for the women’s basketball games at Hagan Arena have also been free. The attendance reflects that.
The women’s basketball team has the skill and ability to make waves in the A-10 this season. The A-10 preseason rankings has them finishing in 10th place, which is higher than the men’s team, but does not reflect the skillset the women’s team will bring to the court this season.
Is making student tickets free to men’s games Director of Athletics Jill Bodensteiner’s, J.D., way of evening the playing field for students to attend men’s and women’s home games this season? Doubtful.
Free tickets are an attempt to gain a positive review from the student body after five players, with eligibility, left the team at the end of last season and some recruits decommitted due to the abrupt and poorly timed firing of former Head Coach Phil Martelli.
The first game of the season for the men’s basketball team saw a packed student section witnessing Head Coach Billy Lange’s first victory as the Hawk’s head coach. I expect the next home game against Saint Francis University will see similar attendance from students because they are expecting another victory.
The first time the Hawks lose at home this season, the student section will decrease in attendance. The Hawks won’t be undefeated at home this season. Each time a loss at Hagan Arena occurs, fewer students will come back. It has been this way for each of my four years on Hawk Hill.
Free tickets won’t change that.
If anything, free tickets will make the drop in student attendance happen even quicker. Students have no motivation to watch a team that is projected to finish in the bottom quarter of the A-10.
If you will be in attendance for every men’s game for the simple fact that tickets are free, you better be in Hagan Arena for every women’s game too. If you are not in class, you no longer have an excuse not to attend.
Free tickets to the men’s basketball games serve as a way for the athletic department to get students in seats for the start of the season to show the public that they are doing something right. In reality, free tickets have devalued the men’s basketball team just as the women’s team has been devalued for years.
