Attendance for FSU men's basketball soaring with home success

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Rob Magliacano never turns down the chance to watch a Florida State men's basketball home game. His friends are the same way. Or rather, at least they are now.

There was a time when Magliacano, a senior criminal justice major from Tampa, had to plead with his friends to watch a game at the Tucker Center.

"It was almost like pulling teeth to get them to go," Magliacano said. "Now? It's not even a question. So I think it's becoming more appealing to the casual fan."

As FSU continues to win, the amount of fans wanting to watch college basketball's newest box office draw continues to rise. FSU is averaging 8,866 fans for all games and 10,315 fans for ACC games to mark the highest attendance the program has seen in four seasons, according to figures supplied by the university.

Ranked No. 19 in The Associated Press Top 25 Poll, the Seminoles (21-6, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) have become one of college basketball's more intriguing stories throughout the 2016-17 season.

They've spent all but three weeks ranked in the AP poll. By Jan. 23, the Seminoles were the No. 6 team in the nation, which was the highest in-season ranking in more than 20 seasons.

Recent inconsistent road play has seen the Seminoles slip in the polls, but the team appears bound for a high seed in the ACC Tournament in early March. It also looks like the Seminoles will return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012.

Monday night could see FSU pad its win total when it hosts ACC cellar dweller Boston College (9-18, 2-12) at 7 p.m. Playing a sub-.500 team might not sound like a draw, but FSU officials said last week they had less than 200 tickets available for the game. FSU also has already sold out of general admission tickets for its final home game March 4 against Miami.

This is the second straight season the program has seen a rise in attendance. FSU went from averaging 6,703 fans for overall games and 7,541 fans for ACC games in 2014-15 to drawing 7,337 and 8,360 in 2015-16.

As for this year, the program has seen an increase of nearly 21 percent for overall games and more than a 23 percent bump for ACC games.

"We always said, 'If the team does what we think it can do and it can come together,' which ... is a credit to the coaching staff, then, you're hitting your sweet spot," said Karl Hicks, FSU's deputy athletics director for external operations. "And that's what you see here in these numbers."

The Seminoles are an ACC-best 16-0 at home. FSU and No. 8 North Carolina, which has a 13-0 home record, are the only unbeaten teams in the ACC. As of Week 16, the Seminoles are one of 16 teams who haven't lost at home this season.

Other undefeated home teams include No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 and defending national champion Villanova, No. 4 Arizona and No. 6 Oregon.

Aside from a growth in overall attendance, there's also been a rise in student attendance for home games.

Two years ago, the school averaged 975 student ticket claims for overall games and 1,385 for ACC games. Last year, there was an increase of 37 percent for an average of 1,339 students for non-conference games and a 25 percent hike for an average of 1,734 students for ACC games.

This year? FSU is averaging 2,032 for non-conference games and a whopping 2,843 for ACC games. It's an increase of 51.7 percent for overall games and nearly 62 percent for ACC games.

And Hicks said the increase in attendance is even more dramatic than the numbers suggest. In the past, he said, students have received tickets but have not always attended those games.

"What you've seen this year as you've looked at the north end zone is that their claims have mirrored their attendance," Hicks said.

Magliacano said the return of sophomore swingman Dwayne Bacon and the addition of freshman forward and potential NBA Draft lottery pick Jonathan Isaac generated initial excitement among students.

But he feels FSU's 88-72 win over Duke on Jan. 10 is what eventually sold more students on coming to games.

"It's the name," Magliacano said of the draw of playing the Blue Devils. "I would say 60 to 70 percent of the fans there thought, 'This is going to be a good game.' Duke could start the ACC 0-5, and we'd still have a packed house."

While acknowledging that most early season non-conference games are a tough sell -- especially with football still in season -- Hicks noted that the Seminoles' game against in-state rival Florida does historically draw well. More than 10,000 fans came to watch the Seminoles grab an 83-78 win over the Gators on Dec. 11.

Hicks added that the win over the Gators came at an opportune time. The victory was after football season and around Christmas Break, which created some buzz for when FSU opened conference play with an 88-72 win over Wake Forest on Dec. 28.

"You have to play games at times when people can come and see them, and that goes for any sport here," Hicks said. "If you play a game at a time when it's not convenient for folks to come, don't expect huge crowds unless you're bring in an unbelievable brand."

Prior to coming to FSU in 2014, Hicks was the ACC's senior associate commissioner for men's basketball operations.

He said the conference contacts administrators and coaches at each school about logistics before finalizing the ACC schedule. It was during that time when the ACC asked FSU if it would want to play an early conference game in December.

The advantage to playing an early game is getting an extra bye week later in the season. The downside is taking a risk fans won't show up when the university is out for winter break and the campus is dormant.

"From my point of view, during Christmas Break, there's cabin fever," Hicks said. "People are at home, [elementary, middle and high school students] are at home and from a marketing standpoint, they're looking for something to do."

By marketing that game to families, FSU was able to draw more than 8,800 fans for the Wake Forest game on a Wednesday night.

Hicks said "brand names" like Duke or North Carolina will always draw strong crowds, so it actually works better for FSU to have them during the week. Another brand that draws well is Notre Dame.

Getting fans to come in large droves for weekend games is easier regardless of opponent, but it gets simpler if the team is winning.

Longtime season ticket holder and FSU alum Charles Dudley said recruiting high-end players like Bacon, Isaac and freshman guard Trent Forrest play a part in generating interest.

That said, it still comes down to one thing.

"It's win, win, win," said Dudley, a Tallahassee-based attorney and lobbyist who graduated from FSU in 1990 and received his law degree in 1993. "People love a winner, and they want to see their team win."

Dudley, who is both a Golden Chief and TipOff Club member, is a long-time season-ticket holder who has noticed an attendance spike and all that comes with it.

He said the growing attendance means there's more game traffic going into and coming out of the Tucker Center. It also means fans are now experiencing longer waits for concessions and restrooms than in previous seasons.

Plus, there's the passion he has viewed on social media. Dudley, who said he is a supporter of FSU coach Leonard Hamilton, said he's seen comments on Twitter from fellow fans who are upset at Hamilton for the team's road losses, including Saturday's defeat at Pittsburgh.

Dudley compared it to what he heard and read on social media about the football team last season when fans wanted Jimbo Fisher to make a change at defensive coordinator.

"My social media has been really hot on the coach in the last 24 hours," Dudley said. "That tells me how high the level of intensity for basketball is here now."

Both Dudley and Magliacano said that if FSU can continue to win over the long term, it should lead to the university changing the seating for the student section.

FSU currently sits students in the north end zone alongside the Seminole Sound Pep Band, where they have been rowdy but not necessarily close to the action.

"To see the students are doing their job, it's surreal to me," Magliacano said. "Even for the bigger games two years ago, there would be empty seats behind the hoop. It's great and everything, but I think FSU does need to do something to compensate the students more."

Magliacano said if FSU continues to have more seasons like this one, he would like to see the student section resemble something similar to Duke or UNC, with the students closer to the floor. He would also like to see the student section have a unique name akin to Duke's "Cameron Crazies."

Dudley said he wants to see something similar, but he understands how it could be a tough choice for the university.

"Duke has a whole side of students in what you could call the premium seats," Dudley said. "The question becomes: How do you handle big donors who want those seats versus having a more active fan base?"

Hicks said having students in the end zone is not unusual for ACC programs. He said both Louisville and Virginia Tech have students in the end zone.

Hicks added that there has not been any recent discussions about altering the student section.

"The reason why you wouldn't is you're trying to get to your sweet spot, which is where you are right now," Hicks said. "Now, once you get to your sweet spot and start having some of the results that we're having, you could toy with some other things.

"But be careful with what you toy with. You don't want your experimentation to be something that will pop a balloon, let's just say. But, yeah, we could look at some other things."

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