WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Attendance by the numbers ASHLEY BEACH ASST. SPORTS EDITOR MATTHEW GEIGER DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR It’s no secret that women’s sporting events have lower attendance than men’s. It happens at the professional, collegiate and high school level. Women’s sports are less viewed. The Phoenix Mercury had the highest average attendance of 2021 in the WNBA. The Mercury’s average attendance number was 5,849. On the other hand, the Chicago Bulls had the highest average attendance of the NBA with 20,697 fans at games. There is a stark difference in these numbers. It is not that the women’s teams are in a smaller market — they’re just not as attended. Basketball is a worthwhile sport to attend at Ohio University, whether it be men’s or women’s. The men’s team, coached by Jeff Boals, was the 2021 Mid-American Conference Tournament Champion and went to the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The women’s team, coached by Bob Boldon, reached the semifinals of the 2021 MAC Tournament and played in the 2021 Women’s National Invitation Tournament. Despite having two successful teams, OU is not exempt from the attendance epidemic. The attendance numbers at home conference games for the men’s and women’s teams at OU are not the same. Each team has a weekday game and a weekend game — the women primarily play on Wednesdays and Saturdays, while the men play on Tuesdays and Fridays. There’s plenty of chances to catch the Bobcats. Tim Conway, a sophomore studying media arts production, finds that the midweek games provide him something fun to look forward to. “The Convo just has a great atmosphere,” Conway said. “It’s something to do on a Tuesday night. OU, when (it is) good, like (it is) this year, it’s just fun to watch.” All of these games are free for OU students through tickets on ohiobobcats.com. For non-students, a men’s single-game ticket is as low as $15 and is purchased by seat. Women’s single-game tickets are sold at a flat-rate of $5, and tickets are $2 for groups of 10 or more. Sometimes, the seats in The Convo are left empty, though. Here’s a look at Ohio’s season: 18 / FEB. 24, 2022
Kent State was the men’s first home conference game of the season on Jan. 7. Within that same week, the men faced Bowling Green. The women faced Northern Illinois
on Jan. 8 and Kent State on Jan. 12. Both teams returned to The Convo after road trips for the weekend of Jan. 21. The men lost to rival Toledo that Friday, and the women faced Bowling Green on Saturday. The women also celebrated Cece Hooks’ achievement of being the new all-time leading scorer in Ohio history. That day, Hooks broke the MAC all-time scoring record in front of the women’s biggest home crowd of the season.
