Declining attendance numbers at Penn men's basketball games this season may not be the biggest concern for the players, but the numbers do worry University marketing officials.
College senior and varsity basketball player Dan Solomito said he "honestly didn't know there was a drop off or decline" in this season's men's basketball attendance.
But Bill Richter, the University's coordinator of marketing and promotions, said he definitely has noticed the dropoff.
Richter has observed that, although attendance numbers have not dropped dramatically, they have dropped "enough to make [the University] concerned" -- this being "the first year we noticed [a drop]" when in prior years attendance "has been steadily climbing."
In order to combat this season's low turnout, Richter and the marketing department have gone to great lengths to draw larger crowds.
This season's efforts include a heavy ad campaign in both the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Daily News, which provide coverage for the Philadelphia area.
"I don't know of any collegiate program in the city that does a campaign near as extensive as that," Richter said.
New concessionaire ARAMARK has signed on to help make food at the concession stands more affordable, and various ticket discounts are being offered for sponsors and special events.
One such event will take place Feb. 15 when fans with a resemblance to Penn's basketball coach will participate in the much-anticipated "Fran Dunphy Look-alike Contest."
"I will do anything to help people come to the game and to support these guys," Dunphy said with a laugh.
The coach said he will go to great lengths to help pack the Palestra.
"You get involved in the game even more so when you have that kind of great support coming from especially the students," he said. "These are their peers and they would really love to see the students get behind the team."
And despite the fact that Solomito hasn't noticed a decline in the team's fan base at the Palestra, he readily concedes that a full gym helps the team.
"It's definitely like a sixth man when the Palestra is loud and rockin'," he said.
Solomito attributes any slight decrease in attendance this year to a possible "backlash from last year" as "the only thing [he] can think of as why the numbers have fallen."
The Penn men's basketball team finished 12-17 last year, missing the postseason for the first time since 1997-1998.
"Last year, I felt we had the attendance, but we didn't perform," Solomito said. He contrasted that with this season, one in which he said "we have been playing well. We're having a good season."
The Quakers are enjoying a successful season, and even an "exceptional" one, according to Richter.
But last weekend's loss to Columbia left the team 2-2 and in fifth place in the Ivy League. Perennial league rival Princeton is 4-0 and in first place.
The heated competition for the NCAA tournament bid will leave Solomito and the rest of the team highly affected by the presence of their fans in the upcoming games.
Dunphy stressed the importance of a packed home gym.
"I think the guys feed off of it, I really do," he said.
Although this year's situation has left Richter and others in the athletic department "perplexed," Richter also offered a few reasons why support might be suffering.
"This is a national university-wide phenomenon... not unique to Penn," he said. "Throughout the country, athletic departments are struggling to maintain support."
Richter also cited the economy as causing people to be "much more selective in spending their entertainment dollar."
Richter's primary complaint is not just the empty stands, but the fact that they do not fill up until well after the game has started.
"Students are arriving very late to games and not creating an atmosphere before tip off," Richter said.
