As interest in women’s sports continues to grow nationwide, the upcoming fall athletic season is an ideal time to foster on-campus enthusiasm for the games to come.
Marquette’s women’s teams have what it takes to excel on their own, but a boost in campus and community support might be what’s needed to finally bring their game to the forefront of the conversation.
Events that connect university sports teams with the broader campus community bridge the gap between athletes and students, creating an intersection that uplifts both groups and generates excitement.
The growing national attention toward women’s sports provides Marquette a chance to promote its women’s teams more effectively, amplifying their presence in the athletic landscape.
Female athletes are currently making their mark across various sports, most notably in basketball. As a proclaimed basketball school, it’s necessary to include the women’s team in the campus-wide culture surrounding the sport.
This isn’t to say that Marquette doesn’t put in effort to include them in the wider narrative, but there’s some catching up to do when it comes to matching the effort given to the men’s team. The goal should be equal promotion and support for all sports that benefits the entire athletic program.
Women’s basketball at Marquette is poised for a breakthrough season despite the coach and player shifts that transpired after the previous one.
The team certainly lost a few big names to transfers—Liza Karlen to Notre Dame and Mackenzie Hare to Iowa State—alongside Jordan King graduating, but a lot of talent remains, and an incredible amount has transferred in. As the new season approaches, the team is likely focused on rebuilding and continuing the success they achieved last spring.
This makes fan engagement on campus more critical now than ever. The largest contributor to enthusiasm and support for basketball at Marquette is arguably the robust and energetic student section that makes its presence known at each game.
While the configuration of the two sections differs due to respective venue sizes, a simple reconstruction of the designated student zone within the Al McGuire Center might push more students to engage with the games that occur there.
As far as home game attendance goes for Marquette teams, men’s basketball leads with 16,307 average attendees, and volleyball leads women’s sports with an average of 2,549 attendees per game. Women’s basketball had an average attendance of 1,830 for the 2023-24 season, a number that will hopefully grow in the upcoming season.
The success of the men’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams in attracting fans to their games can be largely attributed to their effective promotional strategies. Marquette Volleyball recently shared their promotional schedule, which included events such as student appreciation nights with free Chick-fil-A and family fun nights throughout the season. Men’s basketball follows a similar method, with themed games and giveaways that occur periodically during the game.
What would this look like for women’s basketball? Pre-game events such as a picnic by the Al McGuire Center or hosting game-day watch parties at the Annex could further build an on-campus community that is excited and motivated by the notion of women’s sports and watching them.
Promoting special game nights for all sports across campus would be beneficial as well, something similar to a student appreciation night for any sport could bring in a lot of new student viewers, especially when there’s an incentive.
With a commitment to organizing these events, Marquette could build its fan base and boost interest in women’s sports across campus. Combined with the current energy surrounding women’s sports as a whole, this could very well be the season that reinforces Marquette’s status as a name in college basketball.
Attending games is just the beginning; Marquette Athletics has the opportunity to develop a community that empowers women’s sports on campus and around the world.
This story was written by Lilly Peacock. She can be reached at [email protected] or Twitter/X @lillypeacockMU.
