COLUMN: Getting fans can be easy

Scott Miller, Commentary For several years, the Penn Athletic Department has tried to fill those glaring empty seats through little promotions, men's and women's doubleheaders, unique events and playing the "free admission" card. Yet nothing seems to work on the long-term front. If the Athletic Department is trying to fill seats on a night-to-night basis, then they should keep doing what they're doing. But if long-term increased attendance is their desired goal, there is only one solution -- a winning tradition. The Ivy League has only one prize to give out at the end of a season and that is the NCAA Tournament berth. If the Quakers could string together two or three consecutive championship seasons, then a long-term increase in attendance would result. In 23 seasons of Penn women's basketball, plenty of talent has come through the Palestra in a Penn uniform. But the Red and Blue never had anything to show for it. And with fair-weather fans dominating this West Philadelphia campus, nothing -- not even free admission -- will boost the fan base. Take football for example. During the Quakers' 23-game win streak, Penn was head and shoulders above the league in attendance. This year, Penn only drew 12,669 per game -- Penn's lowest level since 1981. The only explanation -- the bandwagon. While concerts, free food or laser shows boost football attendance for those particular games, when the next weekend comes around, that concert or that laser show doesn't do a darned thing. The Provost's Cup, designed, in part, to aid the student showing at the women's basketball game this past Friday was clearly a bomb. Only 50 people showed up for the event, and only 135 more showed up for the actual contest -- almost 100 people less than the home season average. While the interaction between the faculty, staff and students was spectacular, important, informal and fun, it did nothing for the Quakers. Similarly, last year's Penn-Princeton home doubleheader brought 1,200 people to watch the women -- 880 more than usual. That matchup clearly had no long-term effects as demonstrated by this year's attendance. To be fair, the official attendance numbers are inaccurate. With nobody at the door counting people entering the Palestra, the official numbers are simply inflated or deflated estimates. People at the games today will claim there is increased attendance. The point, however, is that little nightly events, while fun and worthwhile for some, are not the answer to the question of season-long attendance. Winning is that answer. To give Penn a winning tradition to compliment its male counterparts (which has also seen attendance sag due to a lack of "fair weather"), the athletics administration and coaches need to sit down and figure some things out. The obvious question is whether or not Penn coach Julie Soriero should be fired. Supporters would say that, including the class of 2001, she has put together two of the finest recruiting classes the Ivy League will have ever seen. The Soriero faithful would like to see what she can do with the players she recruited. People calling for her head, however, would make reference to the fact that she has had only one winning record in her eight-year tenure and in the past two years has lost 12 of 16 games decided by seven points or less. They would say Soriero has not infused a winning attitude, and she has failed to show any coaching excellence during those close games when it shows. While the administration ponders Soriero's fate, Soriero herself, along with her staff, should focus on instilling that winning attitude. Talking to some of the players reveals a slew of excuses for the past two disappointing seasons and a desire to find just that spirit. It is clear, however, that the players can't give it to themselves. To draw Connecticut- or Tennessee-esque numbers (consistent sellouts) is impossible. But today's state of women's college basketball has a proven a high level of popularity and national enthusiasm. Just because the Ivy League isn't close to that level doesn't mean that teams are stuck in the Stone Age of women's basketball. Soriero and the department need to work together to get some better teams -- with their name recognition, spirit and budding winning traditions -- on the Quakers' schedule. Promise the Red and Blue players of today and tomorrow a tough schedule against those established, well-supported and popular programs so those players can see what the big time is like. With a combination of good coaching, a winning attitude and a tough schedule, there is only one way for the women's basketball program to travel -- up. And that is where the only cure to the attendance plague will be found.