Temple wants more fans at the Liacouras Center. Step 1: Winning more games.
A sellout when the Owls men's basketball team hosted No. 3 Houston was a sign of how things could be. Now, the goal is sustainability.
One of the goals for Temple athletics in 2023-24?
Sell out the Liacouras Center. Again and again.
The Owls got a taste of what that atmosphere could look like just this past season, when the men’s basketball team played No. 3 Houston in front of a sold-out crowd on Feb. 5. It was the first home sellout since 2020 against Villanova for a team that averaged 5,055 fans at the Liacouras Center this past season.
“Most games besides Villanova, [it] [has] not even been half-full,” said season ticket-holder Dan Abramowitch, 51, following Temple’s 79-76 overtime win against South Florida on Jan. 25.
The atmosphere against Houston was a sign of how things could be. Now, what is Temple’s plan to get fans to the Liacouras Center on a consistent basis?
The plan for more fans
For Scott Walcoff, Temple’s senior associate athletic director for external operations, the first step is reaching out to Owls in the city.
“[There are] 135,000 Temple alumni in the Philadelphia metro area,” Walcoff said. “One out of every seven graduates in this area is a Temple graduate.”
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But there also has to be a better product on the court.
Temple has not made an NCAA Tournament since 2019, and losing games naturally hurts attendance. The task of bringing the men’s team back to prominence rests squarely on the shoulders of new head coach Adam Fisher, a former assistant at Penn State known for his recruiting skills. This past season, he helped the Nittany Lions secure an at-large bid and reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Fisher is looking to replicate that success here at Temple, which went 9-7 at home this season (16-16 overall).
Walcoff said winning is a “huge part” of increasing attendance.
“We’ve got a tremendous group of coaches and student-athletes,” he said. “I have no doubt all those efforts are going to translate to winning, and, yes, that will also help increase attendance.”
‘Finding the sweet spot’
Temple also wants to create a positive game-day experience that will entice more fans.
“We can all do a better job,” Walcoff said of engaging fans. “I think it’s finding the sweet spot of how we engage the Temple family, whether that’s students and staff, whether that’s alumni, the general fan who happens to be a fan of Temple, parents of students, whoever that may be.”
Having smaller crowds than normal at basketball games is not solely a Temple issue. Many Big 5 programs have seen their attendance drop.
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“I think a lot of the younger generation, especially if you are not from the area, you probably don’t know what the Big 5 is,” said Katie Colbridge Ganzelli, Temple’s marketing coordinator for on-campus initiatives.
The Big 5 recently announced a revamp of its model and added Drexel to the fray in April. And whether it’s Big 5 matchups or top conference opponents, there is excitement within the Temple community about the future.
“I won’t rest easy at night until there are 10,206 people in there for every game,” Walcoff said, referencing the Liacouras Center capacity. “That’s a sellout. ... That’s really what I truly believe. In my mind, with the number of alumni we have in this area and the student body that we have … that is what we should be striving to [do].”
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The bottom line? Derek Horne, Temple’s executive senior associate athletic director for strategic initiatives and sports, offered a straightforward response.
“We just have to work hard to get fans and butts in the seats,” he said.
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