When the women's basketball team runs out on the court Saturday night against No. 2 Connecticut, it will be experiencing a different type of Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first time in program history--the sold out type.
After years of striving for the program's first sellout, the Blue Devils have finally reached the magic 9,314 person capacity for a women's game at Cameron. Last season Duke thought it might be able to hit the goal versus arch-rival North Carolina, but in the end it missed, drawing 6,904 people.
"Its just an awesome feeling to know that the arena is sold out," junior point guard Vicki Krapohl said. "Coming in my freshman year we had support, but it was nothing like this. I'm really excited to have a chance to play in front of a sellout crowd in Cameron."
Historically the women's program has struggled to draw fans, having a hard time competing with a national men's basketball powerhouse that plays games during the same season, in the same arena, on the same campus.
Recently, the women have begun to build up a fan base of their own thanks to both their rise to national prominence and the lack of men's tickets.
Many fans who turned to the women's team admit to doing so originally because they wanted to watch Duke basketball and the men were sold out; however, more recently, the women's team has been attracting fans because they've consistently been playing some of the best women's collegiate basketball.
The University has also sold the women's program by targeting less to the campus community and more to greater Durham. Thanks to their work with the community, the women's team has also been constructing a sizable youth fanbase.
"The best thing about being ranked No. 1 is that it draws interest--it's made people curious to know what we're about," head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "That's really helped with our attendance. People are talking about us more, around campus and in the community as well."
Despite their No. 1 ranking, the Blue Devils have still had attendance problems relative to some other schools. While other national powerhouses, Connecticut and Tennessee averaged 10,000-plus fans a game last season, Duke brought in just over 3,000 per contest.
Until as recently as this season, when the Blue Devils drew 7,534 for the matchup against Florida State, their lack of fan support still drew criticism from the NCAA community.
On several occasion in past years, Goestenkors had commented that recruiting would be easier if she could sell the same type of Cameron Crazies atmosphere that the men use to draw players.
As recently as November, Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma said that his Huskies draw more to a Blue-White scrimmage than the women's basketball team does to real games.
A few months later Auriemma and his crew will find a different situation for their Cameron debut, and according to the Connecticut coach, the Huskies expect Duke's sell-out crowd to be a major advantage.
"As far as the Cameron Crazies go, I don't think they will be as effective as the Duke basketball players will be," Auriemma said, adding in jest that he did think the Cameron crowd would give Duke a 20 point cushion.
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