Former SU WBB player shares her perspective on low attendance numbers

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The JMA Wireless Dome holds 30,000 fans for basketball, yet the women’s team hasn’t even reached 3,000 at any of their home games.

“I was watching as a fan and could tell that there weren’t many fans there,” said Isis Young, who played for the SU women’s team from 2016 to 2019. “And that is deflating as a player when you come out and have the Syracuse logo on your chest and you want to perform and you know that the men’s game three days prior had 30,000 people there.”

The lack of fans at the SU women’s basketball games raised frustration from Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack after her squad lost to the University at Albany Wednesday night at the last minute.

“Nobody cares about our program, nobody cares about women’s basketball,” Coach Legette-Jack said Wednesday night.

However, Isis Young believes the blame can be put on several different parties.

“Hey maybe it’s on the team to make sure they go out and meet new fans,” Young said. “Maybe it’s on the campus and university to make sure they’re highlighting and marketing the team is playing today.”

Young brought up several ideas the team could do, such as blowing up basketballs on the quad and then heading over to the game.

“I don’t care if you need to go to class with 15 flyers and tell people to pull up to your game,” Young explained. “It really doesn’t matter how it gets done as long as there are fans in the building cheering on a very good basketball team.”

Ultimately, she thinks building stronger relationships with the community will boost the crowd size in the stands.

“I would love to see more of an effort from Syracuse and the team building relationships in the community to get fans to come to the game because they met you, know you, because you shared a joke and a laugh and not because of how well you can shoot the ball.”

Some of the students who go to the women’s games said the crowds were small but mighty.

“There are a lot more people for the men’s games but for the women’s games, you can tell that the fans are more dedicated, more energy to equal because they’re so dedicated to the women’s team,” Anna Stodieck, a member of the Syracuse Pep Band, said.

“The fans that are there are more engaged and dedicated,” Dreyson Hill, also a member of the Syracuse Pep Band, said. “Whereas some people go to the men’s games and it’s like ‘a Syracuse game lets go’, but for the women’s games it’s like they’re there really for the team and to be engaged.”

They believe those who don’t go to a SU women’s basketball game are missing out.

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