"Maybe UCLA has discovered the answer to boosting home attendance at men's basketball games. Just have Jordan Chiles perform at every halftime. When the Olympic gymnast put on her "Dancing with the Stars" routine in November during an otherwise humdrum matchup against Pepperdine at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins drew 9,103 fans. It remains, by far, their largest crowd of the season."
""That's a Martin Jarmond question," UCLA coach Mick Cronin said Friday, referring to the school's athletic director. "You know, there's only so many things I can worry about. I've been getting that [question] since my days at Murray State. Donors, fans, friends of mine come with ideas - marketing, tickets. They have whole divisions of the athletic department to worry about that."
Jordan Chiles' "Dancing with the Stars" halftime routine in November drew 9,103 fans to Pauley Pavilion, the season-high crowd. UCLA averaged 5,211 fans at home entering the Maryland game, ranking third-to-last among 18 Big Ten teams and ahead of only Northwestern and USC. Common reasons for low attendance include high ticket prices and student winter break; newer contributors include team underperformance and marquee nonconference matchups staged as neutral-site NIL fundraisers. Attendance is expected to increase for marquee conference games such as a projected 10,000-plus crowd for Purdue and the February USC rivalry. Responsibility for attendance and related fundraising rests with the athletic department.
Read at Los Angeles Times
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]