Disappointing Attendence at SLU Hockey Games
In recent years, it has become apparent that far more people attend the St. Lawrence men’s ice hockey games than the games played by its counterpart. Both teams have taken center stage in St. Lawrence University’s athletic tradition for decades.
However, it is common to see Appleton Arena’s 3,200 seats filled near capacity for a men’s game and close to empty for a women’s game that is being played on that same day.
“We just want to get Appleton rocking,” said men’s ice hockey head coach Mark Morris. Morris hopes more people will come to the games in Appleton Arena to support both teams.
“This is a historical building that we get to play in and both teams have played on the big stage,” said Morris. “While we have never had discussions amongst my staff about the difference in attendance we encourage anyone to come to the games.”
The head women’s ice hockey coach, Chris Wells, thinks it would only take one game for people to want to watch his team.
“It’s a great game to watch and usually when people come to one, they usually come back for another,” said Wells. “Many are surprised at how good the game is and the pace of play.”
For Wells, the three best sounds in Appleton Arena are the siren after a goal, the fans chanting “S..L..U, S..L..U” and the student section singing “When The Saints Go Marching In” after a goal. In response to his team’s lower attendance rate, Wells does “not see the difference in attendance as a problem.”
“There is a national trend of decreasing spectator attendance [in all sports], which has been a topic of conversation at all levels of the NCAA,” said the St. Lawrence assistant athletic director for facilities and game management Franco Bari.
As a former soccer player and coach here at St. Lawrence, Bari thinks “there was really no difference in the level of competitiveness, promotions or even advertising, yet the men’s sports still had and have a stronger showing.”
He believes that the difference in attendance at men’s and women’s hockey games on campus is important, but he said it is not an isolated trend.
“This is absolutely a problem and it’s much bigger than the attendance inequities here at St. Lawrence University,” said Bari.
This continued disparity in attendance at the men’s and women’s games have resonated heavily with at least one of the women’s players.
“The whole student section was filled for the men’s game on Friday night against Clarkson University,” said women’s hockey player Kalie Grant ’21. “We played Clarkson four hours beforehand and it was near empty.”
Grant acknowledged the rule against checking other players in the women’s game as a potential turnoff to attendance, but she explained that no one should be deterred from watching them.
“We’ve had some really good seasons in recent years, but a lot of the women’s teams don’t get the same support as the men.”