ACC deals with low attendance

The day before the North Carolina game, head coach Mike Krzyzewski did something unusual—he talked for roughly six minutes about the state of Duke’s conference, the ACC.

In his comments, he acknowledged the downturn in attendance at ACC games, stressing that conference officials must continue to remain vigilant to keep fans coming.

“It’s a constant struggle [to draw] attendance in the league,” Krzyzewski said. “Too much TV? I don’t know. You have to keep working at it.”

The game the following day against the Tar Heels was sold out—like many games in Cameron Indoor Stadium before it. Deputy Director of Athletics Chris Kennedy said that attendance numbers at Cameron have not been affected by the economic downturn. Similarly, ESPN spokesman Michael Hume said in an e-mail that television ratings for ACC contests are “essentially the same as last year.”

But not all ACC games have garnered similar demand for tickets as Duke—nor is the interest of television viewers paying off with fans in seats. The 2010 ACC Tournament in Greensboro, for example, drew about 15,000 fewer fans than in 2006 in the same city. And, as originally reported by USA Today last week, attendance numbers for the league as a whole this year have declined. With an average crowd of 9,634 people, this could be the first time in 20 years that the conference has failed to break double-digits in average attendance.

Still, officials at the ACC believe the conference is not in dire shape. They said the attendance numbers for regular season games will go up, and that the tournament will draw large numbers.

“Is attendance [for the regular season] down at this point? Yes, but I think you’re going to see that gap close,” ACC associate commissioner Amy Yakola said. “You have conference games in play, you have some pretty big rivalries still to take place.”

“[With the numbers we have], I think attendance will be good for the Tournament,” added Karl Hicks, ACC associate commissioner in charge of men’s basketball operations.

“You’ve got to stay with 16,” Krzyzewski said. “We’re a one time zone league. You have to give us a chance to play in different time zones.... This conference did not become what it is because we stayed isolated in this region. It became what it is because we got out of it.”

The ACC’s 16-game conference schedule is a rarity among the major conferences. The only major conference other than the SEC without an 18-game schedule, the ACC considered switching to 18 contests in 2009. No plans materialized two years ago, but coaches and league officials are again discussing the idea of moving to 18 games, Hicks said.

Extending league play could have some negative consequences, Hicks said. Some coaches might eliminate marquee non-conference games from their schedule.

“If you add two more battles on the floor, will a coach be disinclined to have those marquee matchups that spread the word about the ACC?” the associate commissioner asked. “It’s hard to say whether it’s a good thing to do or not.”

For Duke, extended league play could mean fewer opportunities for out-of-conference rivalry games, like contests against St. John’s or Temple.

“The ACC is great, it prepares you in its own way for the NCAA Tournament,” Kennedy said. “But we know each other so well that it’s great to play a team like Temple in early February. They play different.”

The Duke athletic department will back Krzyzewski’s position on the matter, Kennedy said.

“Our position is going to be whatever Coach K’s position is in that regard.”

ESPN, which has a 12-year, $1.86 billion deal with the ACC, declined to comment on the possible move to 18 games.