BATON ROUGE — LSU’s Lady Tigers basketball program, among the nation’s best on the court last season, was also among the top when it came to fan support.
LSU not only vaulted to the top of the nation with a 30-4 overall record and a final national ranking of No. 3, but the Lady Tiger fans also made a significant jump in the national ranks. LSU had the second largest average attendance increase in the nation from 2001-02 to 2002-03. LSU’s attendance increased of 3,096 per game last season was second in the nation to Minnesota’s 3,441. LSU also landed 20th in the nation in average home attendance with an average of 4,457 fans visiting the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for the 15 home games.
“I am sure that women’s basketball is the next baseball here at LSU,” LSU athletics director Skip Bertman said. “Once people get involved in the game, see the athletes and get to know them personally, they become attached. It is a family sport with a family atmosphere.”
The fan support did not just come at home for the Lady Tigers. LSU also finished 15th in the nation in total attendance (home, away, neutral), drawing 137,825 fans in 34 games.
“Three major things propelled us to the height we reached this year with our attendance,” LSU head coach Sue Gunter said. “One was the 2001-02 team.
People became attached to the ‘Magnificent Seven’ team and all the things that happened to us during the course of that year. Number two was Baton Rouge high school star Seimone Augustus signing in April and joining our program and the third thing is Skip Bertman and the athletics department’s commitment to raise attendance to a higher level.”
During the season LSU broke the single-game attendance record for a women’s basketball game in the state of Louisiana. The first record-breaking crowd of 11,252 paid to see the No. 5 Lady Tigers defeat No. 15 Penn State on Jan. 4 in the annual Pack the PMAC promotion. LSU downed the Lady Lions 80-63 in the nationally televised game.
Less than two months later the record was not only broken, but it was shattered when 15,217 fans paid to see the third-ranked Lady Tigers host No. 2 Tennessee on Feb. 23. The 15,217 was the first sellout from a women’s game in PMAC history and was the fourth-largest crowd to see a basketball game of any kind in the building, falling less than 400 shy from LSU’s men’s attendance record.
In addition to the two record crowds, LSU had over 3,000 fans attend six other games, including 5,455 that witnessed the 70-59 victory over Vanderbilt.
A successful 2002-03 season that included a SEC Tournament title, 13 wins over top 25 teams and a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight, will feed the upcoming 2003-04 season led by returning all-Americans Seimone Augustus and Temeka Johnson.