Where Are the Students at Georgia Tech and Clemson Basketball Games?

I am wondering about something. I was the watching the Georgia Tech basketball game against Boston College and you could see the student sections at Alexander Memorial Coliseum were really pretty empty.

It was enough that several Jacket fans noticed and it became a thread on The Hive, a Georgia Tech Message Board. I know when I was a student at Georgia Tech in the 90s during the Bobby Cremins era we'd wait for hours to any game against an ACC opponent.

Obviously, losing breeds apathy as evidenced by the empty seats in the cavernous Dean Dome for the North Carolina Tar Heels recently, but Georgia Tech is a 19-9 (7-7) team playing for an NCAA spot. It is not only a problem at Georgia Tech, though.

I live in the upstate of South Carolina not but 40-45 miles from Clemson University, so the sports radio here WCCP 104.9 focuses on Clemson sports.

Clemson is known for legendary support of the football, and the 30,000 fans they typically bring to a bowl game, but it's been a constant complaint from the radio show about why Clemson students aren't filling up their sections.

I've been to a couple Clemson games this year, and I can attest to the fact that there were empty seats against Maryland (maybe the weather), and Virginia, which was on a clear sunny Saturday.

With a school that doesn't have a strong basketball tradition like Clemson, their recent success under coach Oliver Purnell should translate into tremendous student attendance at every game.

What's the problem? Is this a systematic problem across the ACC and country? Typically student tickets are free, so it can't be economy.

My theory on this is that it's due to the diluted ACC. There never a problem to fill student tickets at either school, when a top ranked Duke or North Carolina team comes to town.

This week's AP poll has but one ACC team Duke in the top 25. That's still doesn't completely answer why two relatively successful teams can't sell out student ticket allotments at schools with enrollments well over 10,000.

I can't answer that, maybe some of the students can. They may find these schools one day reducing the number of student tickets and giving them to paying customers, who are willing to go support these schools.

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