What Was The Main Reason for Small Attendance for NIT UIC Game?

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3Cats4CAL
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11:08a, 3/19/26
what is your opinion for the main reason(s) for the poor attendance # ?
Day and time of the game
Poor promotion and advertising
NIT not NCAA Tourn.
Letdown after loss to Pitt on Senior Day with packed house
Other
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Jeff82
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11:15a, 3/19/26
Day and time of the game. 8 p.m. tip for me (San Jose resident) means getting back around midnight.

It's Finals Week for students, I believe.

The lack of marketing didn't help, but I doubt we would have had a big crowd regardless. From what I saw on TV, there wasn't a big crowd for the Nevada game up in Reno either.
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Bobodeluxe
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In reply to Jeff82 • 11:21a, 3/19/26
Jeff82 said:
Day and time of the game. 8 p.m. tip for me (San Jose resident) means getting back around midnight.

It's Finals Week for students, I believe.

The lack of marketing didn't help, but I doubt we would have had a big crowd regardless. From what I saw on TV, there wasn't a big crowd for the Nevada game up in Reno either.

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Jeff82
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11:23a, 3/19/26
OK. I probably misheard what someone else said. Supposedly there were no classes this week (mid-terms?) and next week is supposedly off as well.
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RedlessWardrobe
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In reply to 3Cats4CAL • 11:28a, 3/19/26
3Cats4CAL said:
what is your opinion for the main reason(s) for the poor attendance # ?
Day and time of the game
Poor promotion and advertising
NIT not NCAA Tourn.
Letdown after loss to Pitt on Senior Day with packed house
Other

In addition, the attendance has been relatively bad all season long. Wouldn't expect an NIT game against a team that is basically unknown to make any difference.
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Onebearofpower
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11:32a, 3/19/26
It's the NIT against UIC. Attendance at most of the first round games was pretty bad.
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BerkeleyBAT
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In reply to RedlessWardrobe • 11:41a, 3/19/26
RedlessWardrobe said:
3Cats4CAL said:
what is your opinion for the main reason(s) for the poor attendance # ?
Day and time of the game
Poor promotion and advertising
NIT not NCAA Tourn.
Letdown after loss to Pitt on Senior Day with packed house
Other

In addition, the attendance has been relatively bad all season long. Wouldn't expect an NIT game against a team that is basically unknown to make any difference.

NIT attendance everywhere is pretty poor. Out of 16 first round games, 9 of them had "crowds" under 2000 and only 3 were over 2565 (NM, Nevada and Wichita).

Some other examples:
Oklahoma St--1581
Auburn--2169
Wake Forest--1823
Yale--542
Seattle U--686

So, for what it's worth, we are not alone.
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socaltownie
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12:11p, 3/19/26
Actually week before spring break
Take care of your Chicken
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Big C
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In reply to socaltownie • 12:26p, 3/19/26
socaltownie said:
Actually week before spring break

Why is it that there are no classes the week before Spring Break? That sounds like what Spring Break is supposed to be, in and of itself!


Back to the reasons for poor attendance...

- season ticket holders did not already have a ticket for this unforeseen game which all of a sudden gets scheduled four days in advance. Instead, they proactively had to want to clear their schedule and go buy a ticket. Considering it was the pissant NIT, that wasn't enough motivation for some*


* note that I attended, personally... and the poor attendance disappointed me,,, but I think that was the mindset
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Calfan92
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12:49p, 3/19/26
When your kid is playing in the consolation round of the soccer tourney and he/she doesn't play much and you roll your eyes that you have to drive to San Jose at 8am and you run out to get a Starbucks instead of sitting there to watch marginal soccer with a coach losing his mind on why the players are marginal.

While not apples to apples to above, Cal basketball is still a marginal product (better, but still not good as a team or with star power) against an even more marginal team no one, before this week, had ever heard of or had an interest in ever seeing. There is no prize, really, for winning that game, or even the NIT. Heck, everyone was more interested in the Crown and playing real competition. The people promoting the team did not go to Cal and have proven over and over again that they don't really care and don't want to take the time to learn why some do. I guess I'd want to know a reason why I should go, cause I'm not alone if, at tip, there were still tickets in Row 1 for under $40.

My first solution is the obvious - remove the Co ADs and anyone else below them who did't go to Cal. Everyone wants to be IU now, so I pulled up their athletic department. I'm four people in - starting at the top, and every single one of them went to IU and most were also involved in athletics at some level while an undergrad. Cal needs Cal love to get this turned around and employees who don't have the love to start surely won't get it from their paycheck and their "job".
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BeachedBear
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In reply to 3Cats4CAL • 12:56p, 3/19/26
3Cats4CAL said:
what is your opinion for the main reason(s) for the poor attendance # ?
Day and time of the game
Poor promotion and advertising
NIT not NCAA Tourn.
Letdown after loss to Pitt on Senior Day with packed house
Other

Poor attendance relative to 10-20 years ago? The world has changed.

Poor attendance relative to this season at Haas? Mostly short notice for consolation round. I don't recall a large NIT Crowd at Haas (ever). I do recall a pretty good crowd for an NIT game in the 80s when Campy was the coach. I believe it was the first post season in a LOOOONG time. Oh and that was when the world hadn't changed.
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NVBear78
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1:06p, 3/19/26
The first time Cal played in the NIT tournament under Campanelli we had a completely packed house. It was our first postseason play since the national championship year.

I was a young Alum then and the game was sold out, and I ended up going around to dorms and buying a students ticket who posted it on a bulletin board
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Onebearofpower
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In reply to 3Cats4CAL • 1:20p, 3/19/26
3Cats4CAL said:
what is your opinion for the main reason(s) for the poor attendance # ?
Day and time of the game
Poor promotion and advertising
NIT not NCAA Tourn.
Letdown after loss to Pitt on Senior Day with packed house
Other

The Pitt game was not a packed house trust me lol.
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Big C
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In reply to Onebearofpower • 1:28p, 3/19/26
Onebearofpower said:
3Cats4CAL said:
what is your opinion for the main reason(s) for the poor attendance # ?
Day and time of the game
Poor promotion and advertising
NIT not NCAA Tourn.
Letdown after loss to Pitt on Senior Day with packed house
Other

The Pitt game was not a packed house trust me lol.

Not to mention, Senior Day has lost a bit of its luster since the days of getting to salute our four-year players,
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stu
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In reply to Big C • 1:36p, 3/19/26
Big C said:
Onebearofpower said:
3Cats4CAL said:
what is your opinion for the main reason(s) for the poor attendance # ?
Day and time of the game
Poor promotion and advertising
NIT not NCAA Tourn.
Letdown after loss to Pitt on Senior Day with packed house
Other

The Pitt game was not a packed house trust me lol.

Not to mention, Senior Day has lost a bit of its luster since the days of getting to salute our four-year players,

What's a four-year player?
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Onebearofpower
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In reply to Big C • 1:44p, 3/19/26
Yeah because now some seniors are only here a year so lots of fans barely know them. It's a strange era of NCAA basketball.
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MSaviolives
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In reply to NVBear78 • 1:59p, 3/19/26
NVBear78 said:
The first time Cal played in the NIT tournament under Campanelli we had a completely packed house. It was our first postseason play since the national championship year.

I was a young Alum then and the game was sold out, and I ended up going around to dorms and buying a students ticket who posted it on a bulletin board

That was a big deal since it had been so long since Cal had any post season games. And yeah Harmon was rock'n that night, as the Kevin Johnson-led Bears fell a bit short of Loyola Marymount!

As for the reason for the poor turnout last night: PTSD from attending the last NIT game against Cal State Bakersfield.
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BearSD
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In reply to BerkeleyBAT • 3:33p, 3/19/26
BerkeleyBAT said:
NIT attendance everywhere is pretty poor. Out of 16 first round games, 9 of them had "crowds" under 2000 and only 3 were over 2565 (NM, Nevada and Wichita).

Some other examples:
Oklahoma St--1581
Auburn--2169
Wake Forest--1823
Yale--542
Seattle U--686

So, for what it's worth, we are not alone.

The NIT is not the same product it was 20 or 40 years ago. This year's NIT has 32 teams and only 4 are "power conference" teams. Wake Forest, Oklahoma State, and Auburn are in the same boat as Cal, trying to sell tickets (at prices mandated by the NIT) to fans disappointed (or disenchanted) about not being in the NCAA tournament, for games against mid-major opponents outside the top 100.

That's not a knock on the quality of the other teams; St. Joseph's, for example, is going to be a challenging opponent. It's just a fact that it's a very uphill battle for any of the four power conference teams in this field to generate fan excitement in a tournament that is 87.5% mid-major teams.
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smh
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In reply to RedlessWardrobe • 4:10p, 3/19/26
RedlessWardrobe said:
> In addition, the attendance has been relatively bad all season long. Wouldn't expect an NIT game against a team that is basically unknown to make any difference.

yeah, makes sense RW, except for having "NIT game" selling it # next!
fwiw, many iopponent links are found here..
https://sjuhawks.com/sports/mens-basketball
https://sjuhawks.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster

and the most recent win..
https://sjuhawks.com/news/2026/3/19/mens-basketball-holds-on-to-advance-in-nit.aspx
sighned, not dead yet # funk trunk; i.c.e. too
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RedlessWardrobe
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In reply to smh • 4:28p, 3/19/26
smh said:
RedlessWardrobe said:
> In addition, the attendance has been relatively bad all season long. Wouldn't expect an NIT game against a team that is basically unknown to make any difference.

yeah, makes sense RW, except for having "NIT game" selling it # next!
fwiw, many iopponent links are found here..
https://sjuhawks.com/sports/mens-basketball
https://sjuhawks.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster

and the most recent win..
https://sjuhawks.com/news/2026/3/19/mens-basketball-holds-on-to-advance-in-nit.aspx

When I used the word "unknown" I was referring to name recognition, not the ability to look something up. Sunday night when I saw that Cal was playing "UIC" I had no idea who that was.
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Go!Bears
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In reply to NVBear78 • 5:23p, 3/19/26
NVBear78 said:
The first time Cal played in the NIT tournament under Campanelli we had a completely packed house. It was our first postseason play since the national championship year.

I was a young Alum then and the game was sold out, and I ended up going around to dorms and buying a students ticket who posted it on a bulletin board

That was Harmon. 6.6k. Easier to pack. Still, that was a fun time. I don't remember. Did we win? Didn't matter. Doesn't matter. We were at the start of something good. It would be great if today felt like that. I don't think it does.
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Harky4
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5:28p, 3/19/26
Lack of marketing and a ineffective ticket office; plus

Absence of free tickets for Cal students and local high school students;

As a consequence of the absence of current leadership at Cal Athletics

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smh
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In reply to Go!Bears • 5:29p, 3/19/26
Go!Bears said:
> That was Harmon. 6.6k. Easier to pack. Still, that was a fun time. I don't remember. Did we win? Didn't matter. Doesn't matter.
> We were at the start of something good. It would be great if today felt like that. I don't think it does.

doesn't necessarily apply to you G!Bs, but sometimes old fools should try'n remind ourselves..
"hey me, lighten up francis", then eat dessert first
sighned, not dead yet # funk trunk; i.c.e. too
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Go!Bears
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In reply to smh • 5:41p, 3/19/26
smh said:
Go!Bears said:
> That was Harmon. 6.6k. Easier to pack. Still, that was a fun time. I don't remember. Did we win? Didn't matter. Doesn't matter.
> We were at the start of something good. It would be great if today felt like that. I don't think it does.

doesn't necessarily apply to you G!Bs, but sometimes old fools should try'n remind ourselves..
"hey me, lighten up francis", then eat dessert first

It probably does. I hope that the golden age is yet to come, and not in the rear view mirror.
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