UL's announced average attendance of 16,883 in '17-18 was the school’s lowest since '83-84GETTY IMAGES
The Louisville men's basketball team averaged 15,816 fans over its first 10 home games at the KFC Yum! Center, including contests against Kentucky and Michigan State, which would put the school on pace for its "lowest home attendance average" since '80-81, according to Tim Sullivan of the Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL. UL moved from the smaller-capacity Freedom Hall in '11, and last season "marked the first time in 23 years that Louisville failed to rank among the NCAA’s top five schools in average home attendance." UL's announced average of 16,883 in '17-18 was the school’s lowest since '83-84. But this season "has been worse." Six years since averaging 21,571 spectators during its '12-13 championship season, UL has "experienced an overall attendance plunge" of more than 26% per game. Just two years ago, the "last season of Rick Pitino’s coaching tenure, the Cardinals averaged 20,846 at home." The school has "tried to reverse the trend through a variety of initiatives including the sale of partial season packages and the implementation of dynamic pricing policies." New this year is a Perfect Attendance Perks loyalty program. Season-ticket holders who have "at least one ticket scanned at all 18 home games are eligible" for a 10% discount on '19-20 season tickets. Additional incentives are "available to those who have tickets scanned to at least 15 games" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 1/7).
