On those rare occasions when USF men’s basketball has been relevant, the community has shown interest. I looked up some attendance stats from back in the day to see if I was hallucinating.
But no, there have been actual good crowds from time to time.
They drew 9,737 for a game at Amalie against West Virginia in 2012.
Nearly 7,000 for a game against Cincinnati in the same year.
More than 6,300 at the Dome in 2013 against Notre Dame. About 6,500 in 2014 vs. Louisville and 7,231 in 2018 against UCF. Long-time USF watchers remember strong crowds for many games during the Lee Rose era. They had full houses (or nearly so) for compelling games during Bobby Paschal and Seth Greenberg’s time.
But here’s the rub: They gotta win. I don’t know why success has been so hard to sustain in MBB, but facts are facts. I am hopeful the new guy will turn things around because USF can win. And if that happens, the YingDome will be rocking.