This article originally appeared on December 17, 2013 on The Arkansas Traveler website, uatrav.com.
Empty seats at Bud Walton Arena have become commonplace in recent years, as attendance has dropped 62.5 percent since the 1993-94 season, when it opened.
This season alone, attendance is down nearly 20 percent from last year through six games, with less than 5,559 people attending per game.
The drop can be attributed to many factors, but the main one is the quality of nonconference opponents Arkansas has played this season.
The Razorbacks have played lesser-known teams such as SIU-Edwardsville, Southeastern Louisiana and Savannah State and have what’s widely considered one of the weakest nonconference schedules in the country.
“Tickets used to be $9, but now they’re $25,” former season ticket-holder Dean Hutchinson said. “That’s too much for the product you’re receiving.”
Even when Arkansas has played better teams, the attendance is still lower than last season.
Last year’s nonconference slate featured games against No. 3 Syracuse and Oklahoma, while this year’s prominent games were against SMU and Clemson.
A season-high 19,259 fans saw Syracuse defeat the Razorbacks 91-82 and another 9,501 came to the Oklahoma game.
However, an average of only 8,180 came to Arkansas’ marquee matchups against the Mustangs and Tigers this season.
The low number of fans at the SMU game prompted SMU head coach and basketball Hall of Famer Larry Brown to say that Bud Walton was nothing like the Razorbacks’ former home.
“No offense to Arkansas, but I’ve been in loud buildings,” Brown said. “I was in Barnhill (Arena). You talk about a loud building.”
Brown’s sentiment is held by many Arkansas fans, as well.
Hutchinson was on the waiting list for season tickets at Barnhill Arena for three years, before Bud Walton opened and he was finally able to purchase them.
“In 1994, there wasn’t much difference in the noise level between Barnhill and Bud Walton,” Hutchinson said. “That hasn’t been the case recently, though.”
Another reason for the low attendance numbers is the weather.
Two days before Arkansas’ game against Clemson, Winter Storm Cleon moved through Fayetteville and dumped five inches of snow and ice on the University of Arkansas campus.
Roads were still in bad condition the afternoon of the game, prompting UA officials to offer incentives to students to come. All students got into the game for free, as well as free pizza and free scantrons.
However, some students came because they were bored.
“There was nothing else to do,” UA freshman Garrett Tallman said. “I heard we were good this year and I figured Clemson would be a good game.”
The students came out in large numbers, but 5,795 purchased tickets went unused.
Despite the low attendance, head coach Mike Anderson has said several times that he is not concerned about the crowd.
“Our fans came out,” Anderson said. “We appreciate them for that.”
In a little over 20 years, the Razorbacks have a 277-66 record at Bud Walton Arena, good for an .808 winning percentage. Arkansas’ attendance has been ranked in the top 30 in the NCAA each of those years, too.
There have been 57 games at Bud Walton in which there was an attendance over 20,000, but the last one came in 2001.
While it has been six years since the Razorbacks’ attendance was ranked in the top 10 of the NCAA, Bud Walton Arena still has credibility, among other coaches, as one of the best home court advantages in the country.
“It’s a great place,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said after his team’s 74-68 loss to the Razorbacks. “I know it wasn’t a true Bud Walton Arena crowd, but the people who were here were loud.”
Arkansas’ next home game is Thursday against Tennessee-Martin. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will air locally on the Razorback Sports Network.
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