Sports

ACC Expansion Creates Attendance Crisis Subjecting Teams To Awful Sing-Alongs In Empty Arena

#College Basketball
by Last Updated

iStockphoto / © Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images


The first round of the ACC Basketball Tournament started on Tuesday afternoon. Pitt faced conference foe Stanford in Game 1 to get the event underway.

Not many attended the opener in person. Those that did distracted Cardinal players with bad karaoke.

The tournament is being held in Charlotte, a location many blasted following a move from Greensboro. At one point in time, the week-long event was viewed as an unofficial holiday.

That is no longer the case.

Greensboro represented a central location for easy travel from the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and Georgia. For much of the league’s history, the large majority of the schools were located in those states.

Conference expansion has changed that. Now, the ACC boasts teams from coast to coast. The basketball reach expands from California, to Indiana, to upstate New York, to Texas, and down to South Florida.

Realignment repercussions are being seen in this year’s postseason.

No one attended the ACC Tournament opener.

Pitt played Stanford in Game 1. The two teams battled to produce a buzzer beating finish. Not many witnessed the fireworks in person.

Empty seats littered the arena. The move from Greensboro to Charlotte had little impact.

Pittsburgh is nearly 400 miles away from the North Carolina hub. Stanford’s campus is closer to 2,300 miles.

Both trips would likely involve airfare. Most aren’t willing to make the 7-hour drive from Pennsylvania for a midweek matchup.

A coast-to-coast trek is even less desirable.

There are other factors outside of location impacting attendance. Obviously, performance plays a role. Neither of these teams had legitimate NCAA Tournament hopes. Both finished in the bottom half of the league.

Timing also plays a part as the midweek schedule makes travel more difficult.

Expansion, however, is a major player. Attendance issues have been seen in football, too. With little on the line, Stanford and Pitt basketball fans refused to show up.

Those that did made an impact, though.

Stanford players were subjected to awful karaoke.

With the arena empty, the few fans in attendance could be heard loud and clear.

During free throw attempts, one group of Pitt supporters belted out terrible renditions of popular 90s songs. The Goo Goo Dolls, The Cranberries, and Creed all made appearances.

The sing-alongs had little impact on the free throw shooting as Stanford connected on 5-of-6 attempts. Still, that one miss would prove to be the difference in a 64-63 defeat.

With the loss, the Cardinal season ended. At 20 wins, they could be in line for a postseason invite, though it will not be in the NCAA Tournament.

Pitt, meanwhile, moves on to the next round of ACC play. They’ll face NC State in Game 2. The crowd should be a bit larger given the proximity to Raleigh, but it likely won’t favor the Panthers as it did in their opener.