February is almost a wrap and attendance is all over the place. Some games with good match ups barely had friends and family attending, and others had real life student sections and swaths of full stands.
The good and the bad so far and a February top ten attendance ranking
The good
The University of Richmond did not waste the opportunity of bringing the Terps and Cavaliers to Spider Land. UR averaged 3210 in these games, which was good enough for Richmond to be #3 in total men’s college attendance for February. The Spiders had average attendance in 2023, so we will be watching to see if Spider lacrosse was a two-hit wonder or a rising destination for lacrosse fans in the Commonwealth Capital. Duke and Georgetown also visit the James River city in 2024.
Syracuse attendance-Of course the indoor Dome helps, but SU is the kind of program that can get nearly 4000 for a game against Utah on Wednesday at noon, which it did. Less than a handful of programs will reach SU’s February attendance by the end of the year. So far, 21,146 fans have come through the JMA Dome turnstiles with a home game with Army still coming this month.
The Hopkins Loyola game. It is always better when these two North Baltimore programs do not cannibalize each other’s attendance, which they did on February 3. On February 27, Hopkins and Loyola combined crowds by playing each other. Loyola brought a student section to Homewood. This game had an attendance of 4201, ranking as the second-best crowd so far in 2024 overcoming wicked windy weather in the thirties.
The bad
Competing games at the same time in the same city. See Hopkins vs. Denver and Loyola vs. Georgetown
Games scheduled in the workday. See Hopkins vs Towson at 4pm on a Tuesday. (Attendance 785)
Not enough marquis games in the warmer south. Michigan played Marquette in front of a nice crowd of 3051 in Naples, Florida. There is an opportunity for more Arctic power brands like Penn State, Ohio State, and Notre Dame to play high profile games in Texas, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and California to help spread the game, while not subjecting the players and fans to their home winter climates. Think of it as an early season bowl game. Of course, it would be even better if there were more D1 programs in the South and West.
Air Force attendance-I do not enjoy picking on cold climate programs in February, but Falcon attendance is not Aiming High. AF has had three worthy opponents come to Colorado Springs so far this year (Marquette, Ohio State, Stony Brook) The Falcons beat Stony Brook in an OT thriller in the football stadium in front of 167. AF is averaging 216 over the opening three home games. Comparatively, mountain programs Utah and Denver are averaging 1651 and 2086 this February. The Air Force lacrosse team shouldn’t be flying a solo mission in Colorado Springs.
February final weekend 2024 Home Attendance Top 10 (Total Rank, Average Rank)
1. Syracuse (1,1)
2. Virginia (3.2)
3. Richmond (2,5)
4. Maryland (5,3)
5. Hopkins (4, 6)
6. Denver (7,8)
7. tie Navy (6,12)
7. tie. Loyola (9,9)
7. tie UNC (14,4)
10. Ohio State (13,8)
Next Utah (12,10)
Attendance #’s as of Sunday 2/25/2024. This may be adjusted to account for games between February 26 and 28.
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