Wichita arena, women's NCAA tournament receive high marks

Judy Southard has seen her fair share of women's NCAA Tournament games during her career. A longtime senior associate athletic director at Louisiana State, she served on five women's basketball committees, including two as the committee chair.

She was at Intrust Bank Arena for the first-round games of the women's tournament Sunday.

And she had high praise.

"I think Wichita's a great site," Southard said. "I think this arena is the perfect facility, especially how they have cordoned it off and turned it into a (7,000)-seat facility. It's a perfect facility for an event like this."

Those words were exactly what tournament manager Brad Pittman wanted to hear.

"That's good, that's good to hear," he said. "Obviously their input and what they say means a lot, so that's a good compliment and that's good stuff to hear."

Sunday's attendance was 4,549.

"That's awesome for a neutral site that doesn't have a home team," Pittman said. "That shows the community supports women's basketball, and that's a good thing to have."

The fan support for the first game, which Wisconsin-Green Bay won 59-55 over Arkansas-Little Rock, was especially strong. Part of that was due to a large Green Bay contingent.

"It's been a great day," said A.J. Boleski, Intrust Bank Arena's general manager. "We're very excited with the crowds that we've had. It's been a good college atmosphere.... The Green Bay fans, the band and the cheeseheads and everything. It was a good atmosphere."

The second game, which Michigan State won 69-66 over Northern Iowa, had fewer fans possibly because of the Little Rock and Green Bay fans leaving, and that the game time coincided with the Kansas men playing their third-round game in the NCAA Tournament.

Not everything went perfectly smoothly, but they were minor details.

One glitch was the statistics above the scoreboard didn't update early in the game.

"That's something we worked through," Pittman said. "That's the first time we have done that. We didn't do it when we played here in December (for the Tulsa-WSU men's game). When you first do something, there's always trial and error."

But that was a rare noticeable problem on an otherwise smooth day.

"For the teams and for the fans, yes, I would say that," Pittman said. "Anytime you do an event, there's always little things behind the scenes that people don't see that don't go well. It's just my personality, but that eats at me. But for the most part, what the people saw, what teams enjoyed, what the NCAA saw went really well, and I'm very happy with the way it went."

The fans appeared to enjoy their time.

Scott Wood came to the games with his three daughters, including Angela and Aimee, who played basketball at Northwest High.

"I am the dad of four girls, and I want them to be a part of something in support of women," he said.

Angela Wood, who played at Bethel College, last attended NCAA Tournament games when she was in middle school. She watched the Kansas State women play in Manhattan. Sunday, she had no rooting interest in any of the teams, but that was fine.

"It's just a fun atmosphere to be in," she said. "The NCAA Tournament is what college basketball is all about. It's enjoyable watching Division I women's basketball. It's good games, whether you know (the teams) or not."

Linda Gill came to Sunday's games because she's a women's basketball fan. Gill, a season-ticket holder for the Wichita State women, bought her tickets to the women's NCAA Tournament in August.

"I'm pretty pleased with the attendance," she said. "I wish we'd had a few more. I'd like to see some young teams participating. But other than that, I'm pleased."

Asked if Wichita sold itself well as a possible site for more NCAA events, Gill said, "I hope so. I'd like to see a regional here; that would be great. Of course, I'd love to see the Final Four."

Whether Wichita will get another NCAA event is an unknown. But a favorable response by players, coaches and NCAA officials to post-event evaluations would help.

"I certainly think the group from Wichita State has done a great job as a host institution," Southard said. "The arena is a great facility, and I think our student-athletes and coaches are having a first-class experience, and that's the important thing. Good games, great competition.

"All in all, I think things are going real smooth."

This story was originally published March 21, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Wichita arena, women's NCAA tournament receive high marks."