AD engaging new fans after lowest attendance for Shocker basketball opener in 27 years

It had been four months of anticipation for new Wichita State athletic director Kevin Saal to watch his first men’s basketball game at Koch Arena.

After hearing about WSU fans and how loud it can get in the Roundhouse, Saal said the debut experience lived up to the hype after he watched the Shockers claim a 79-55 victory over Central Arkansas to kick off the 2022-23 season.

“We had a great crowd that came out to watch our guys compete at a really high level and get a victory to start the season,” Saal said. “It’s the first step of a long journey. I’m looking forward to the journey.”

Before the first regular-season game rolled around, Saal and the WSU athletic department had been hard at work to improve the Shocker game-day experience, which has become a hot-button issue among season-ticket holders.

While there are a myriad of reasons why Wichita State has seen its attendance dip in recent seasons, including several factors that are challenging to every school in the post-pandemic world, it was still stunning to see Koch Arena only half-full for Monday’s season-opener.

Monday’s announced crowd of 6,954 fans officially marked the lowest attendance for a Wichita State men’s basketball home-opener in 27 years, edging out the 5,332 in attendance at Levitt Arena on Dec. 4, 1995 when the Scott Thompson-coached Shockers lost, 77-52, to Northern Illinois.

The encouraging news is that Saal is already hard at work to reverse the trend.

WSU hired local media personalities Fayola Oyatayo and Jillian Carroll to serve as emcees to keep fans entertained during breaks in the action. Saal has emphasized attracting more students to games and has local DJ Win Crabtree, known as DJ 4 The Win, set up by the student section to enhance their experience. In the coming weeks, fans will be able to participate in light shows at Koch Arena and compete in Shocker trivia on their phones. He also wants WSU to have a live singer for the national anthem and a halftime show for the fans this season.

“We’ve done three or four listening sessions with our season-ticket holders and we’ve received 150 unique pieces of feedback that we’ve tried to implement in some form or fashion,” Saal said. “It’s been a challenge for us coming in July and trying to make significant changes and improvements in a short amount of time before the basketball season started because it does take time to build into things. But I’m confident our fans will continue to see improvements throughout the season.”

Saal also arranged a special event before Monday night’s game at the NetApp building on campus to provide free food and beverages to 150 fans who aren’t currently season-ticket holders.

WSU is still doing better than most programs to have as many fans as it did on Monday. But there has also been a high standard set for basketball crowds at Koch Arena over the last two decades, and Saal is eager to fill the Roundhouse with 10,000-plus sooner rather than later.

“We’re just talking to people about our mission, our vision and our values for athletics and what we’re trying to accomplish,” Saal said. “We know how important what happens in Koch Arena is to all of that. This was a great first night.”