Big women's hoops crowds as easy as one, two, free?

Getting the crowds out to women's basketball games isn't easy. But it can be done.

Cadillac college programs such as Tennessee and Connecticut average more than 10,000 fans a game. Tennessee led the nation last year at 13,999. UConn had 10,514.

Guess that's what happens when you've won 14 national championships, as Tennessee (8) and Connecticut (6) have between them. You just unlock the doors, roll out the ball and people show up.

But even teams that are perennially solid draw well. Iowa State, which has never won a national championship,and not been to a Final Four, is a perennial 20-win team with 9,754 fans per game. Oklahoma and Purdue, which are among the best teams, are at 9,007 and 8,971, respectively.

As I mentioned last week, special players can also bring out the fans. Baylor is averaging 6,625 fans a game, and I'm sure each one of them is thrilled every time sensational 6-foot-8 freshman Brittney Griner throws down one of her fabulous dunks.

But what do you do when your coach's name isn't Pat (Summitt) or Geno (Auriemma), you don't have a long history of winning, and you don't have a 6-foot-8 phenom who can dunk like a guy on your roster?

Well, first your marketing and ticketing departments have to work really hard.

But, if you ask me, I think getting everyone associated with the program acquainted with the word "free" would be even more effective.

As a color analyst for the Big Ten Network, I've been around the league and have seen firsthand some of the big crowds that help make the Big Ten one of the top conferences in the nation in terms of attendance. I've also seen some sparse crowds, and our homestate Big Ten teams, Northwestern and Illinois, fit into that category.

Both programs have had success and have drawn well at times in the past. But both have struggled in recent years. And neither has a Brittney Griner clone on its roster.

Northwestern has the added challenge of being in a market that is flooded with other entertainment options, both sporting and cultural.

The marketing departments at Northwestern and Illinois both do a good job with the occasional special promotion and big group sale for women's basketball games, but I've been to games at both schools where the crowds are less than 1,000.

My feeling is this: the doors have to be unlocked anyway. The lights and heat will be turned on regardless. Security and concession workers are tapped to come no matter how many fans do.

Why not just play the free card and see what happens?

Make women's basketball tickets at Northwestern and Illinois (and any other school that is struggling) free not just for one gimmicky game, but for an entire season. Maybe two or three seasons if necessary.

People like free, no matter what it is. I know I do.

Even if tickets are $5 a pop, which is approximately what they are now at both schools, that's $20 for a family of four just to walk through the door. Add some snacks and a program and pretty soon you've spent $50 on a women's basketball game.

In this economy, that's an easy cut for a lot of people.

Free tickets put fans in the stands, maybe some who have never been to a game, or been inclined to.

Guess what? Maybe they'll end up liking it. Maybe they will come back again.

In the meantime, your program may get better. Maybe it starts winning, pulling some newsworthy upsets. Maybe the postseason starts becoming a reality.

Now, you have built up a fan base but you also have a program that is strong enough to drive interest on its own merits. Maybe then you start charging for tickets.

I laid out my plan to the sales and marketing guys, Ryan Chenault of Northwestern and Chris Hanna of Illinois, and they liked the idea. But they also said that test games have shown that free tickets don't necessarily translate into repeat customers. And that giving away free tickets can, in a sense, devalue a product, as in, "Ewww. Those tickets are free, this must not be any good."

I see what they're saying, but I don't agree. Women's basketball that doesn't meet the criteria I outlined above (being Tennessee or Connecticut, having a winning tradition, having a phenom on your roster) is a tough sell.

It's even tougher during an economy like this, so throw caution to the wind, along with those ticket prices.

What do you think? Would you be more inclined to try out a women's basketball game in Evanston or Champaign, or in Lincoln Park, or anywhere if tickets were free?

I'd appreciate the feedback, because I'd love nothing more than to figure out a way to get more fans to women's basketball games. There are some talented players out there and they deserve some support, too.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com