‘Win as a community’: How Wichita State is trying to bring fans back
For two decades, Wichita State men’s basketball showed what was possible when a program and its city moved in lockstep.
Koch Arena wasn’t just full, it was alive, a place where the energy of 10,506 strong could tilt games in favor of the Shockers.
Those days have been gone for some time, but Wichita State believes that connection can be rebuilt. Not by living in the past, but by lowering barriers, reengaging the community and earning trust again.
Through a community-first initiative led by athletic director Kevin Saal, one centered on affordability, accessibility and outreach, the Shockers are trying to bring fans back to the Roundhouse and restore the atmosphere that once made 21st and Hillside one of the most intimidating places to play in college basketball.
The Shockers (6-4) host DePaul (7-3) at 11 a.m. Saturday with tickets as low as $20 available through the WSU ticket office.
“We know we have to win as a community, which means we win by the volume of people in the building,” Saal said. “And that volume of people in the building we’re used to, that’s what we’re trying to get back to.”
Wichita State basketball battles declining attendance
During the Gregg Marshall era, WSU routinely sold out its home games and never dipped below 10,000 fans in attendance.
That stretch of course coincided with sustained national relevance, conference championships and repeated NCAA Tournament appearances. But it’s approaching nine years since the last time the Shockers won a game in March Madness, a reminder of how long it has been since WSU occupied that space.
The attendance decline began amid a perfect storm of events. Marshall’s departure, the coronavirus pandemic and a sport undergoing rapid change collided almost simultaneously. In the years since, a long list of contributing factors has chipped away at crowds: on-court results, constant roster turnover driven by the transfer portal, frustration with players being paid, the convenience of streaming games at home, the declining national profile of the American and a fan base impacted by COVID.
The financial impact has been significant: WSU reported $4.5 million in men’s basketball ticket sales in fiscal year 2020, the last season before the pandemic. In fiscal year 2024, that figure dropped to $2.8 million — a 38% decrease and a $1.7 million difference.
When Saal arrived in 2022, he made it a priority to understand why fans had disengaged. He hosted five listening sessions with season-ticket holders of varying ages and backgrounds and collected 170 unique pieces of feedback. Within his first year, Saal said roughly 90 of those concerns were addressed, ranging from parking and concessions to the overall game-day experience.
“Shocker nation has spoken about ticket prices and we’re listening,” Saal said. “With expenses going up astronomically in the athletics industry, for anybody to be reducing ticket prices is unheard of. But we understand we have to win as a community and we need our community.”
How WSU is trying to win back fans with ticket pricing
That listening process led to a deliberate shift in ticketing strategy.
WSU is offering its lowest season-ticket prices in 15 years and its lowest single-game pricing since the 2017-18 season. Several ticket segments were reduced, others held flat and general admission tickets have been lowered to $20 for select games, including Saturday’s matchup against DePaul. The Shockers also have their most weekend home games in seven years, which Saal hopes makes attendance more accessible.
Saal said WSU sold approximately 500 new season tickets this season and retained about 90% of last year’s season-ticket holders.
“We believe we’re headed in a different direction than we have been in the last three years,” Saal said. “And this community ticketing initiative has been a big part of it.”
The community-first approach has extended beyond pricing. One of the most visible elements of the initiative has been encouraging new fans, especially young fans, to experience Shocker basketball firsthand.
It began when Shane and Kianne Prill purchased 50 season tickets and donated them to Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters. Rick and Barbara Hemphill followed with another 50 tickets for organizations including United Way, veterans groups and Stand Together. Tony and Sherl Weatherbee matched the effort, then Tom and Myra Devlin added another block of donated season tickets.
“Shocker basketball has been a lifelong passion of ours,” Tony Weatherbee told GoShockers.com. “We want to see it return to the level we all know it can be — and we believe part of that solution is investing in our community and inviting others to do the same. The Prill’s and Hemphill’s lit the spark, and we knew we wanted to join this important initiative right away.”
Unlike single-game giveaways, these are full season tickets, allowing local charities and organizations to bring children to every home game throughout the season and build long-term connections with the program.
“This is about so much more than basketball,” Myra Devlin told GoShockers.com. “It’s about showing up for each other, lifting up our community, and creating moments that inspire.”
WSU head coach Paul Mills has reinforced that message with players, encouraging them to engage with fans after games. Earlier this season, Kenyon Giles and Dillon Battie were both spotted returning to the court to give a pair of shoes away to young boys decked out in Wichita State gear.
Shockers know they can still pack Koch Arena
If there was any doubt that Shocker fans still care, it vanished this past summer.
The AfterShocks’ run to the championship in The Basketball Tournament brought Koch Arena back to life. Attendance was modest early, then steadily grew with each win. By the title game in August, more than 9,000 fans packed the Roundhouse, despite a roster that featured only four former Shockers and sometimes none on the floor during key moments.
“It was a roster where there was not a lot of familiarity and those guys were getting paid,” Saal said. “The fact that we had 9,000 people in the building shows you there is still a population in Wichita that will respond when we’re successful, regardless if players are being paid or if they’re familiar with the roster.”
“What that tells you is we’re sitting on a big pile of gunpowder,” Saal added. “We just need a spark.”
Mills saw the same lesson.
“If we’ll get better, Wichita will show up,” Mills said. “I think that’s what TBT proved.”
It’s difficult for newcomers to fully grasp the years of frustration that have built up among Shocker fans. But this group of WSU players saw the fan base’s passion firsthand in August, and more importantly, its potential.
That experience only sharpened their hunger to give Wichita a winner.
“You could see that hunger with the fans during TBT,” center Will Berg said. “We want to be the team to get back to the tournament and give this city and this program a great year again. When we step off the court when we’re done here, I think all of us want to be proud of the things we accomplished in our time.”
Why the home crowd still matters for WSU
Mills understands what a full Koch Arena can do.
He coached there on the opposing sideline with Oral Roberts in 2019 when more than 10,000 fans watched Wichita State win 68-59.
He knows how crowd energy can translate directly to winning basketball. He’s spoken openly about how a loud Roundhouse can propel defensive stands, inspire players to chase loose balls and sustain momentum during crucial stretches.
Mills has spoken with past coaches like Gregg Marshall and Mark Turgeon, as well as past WSU assistants, and they all say the same thing: a full Koch Arena is a weapon.
“Everybody always tells me about the force that is involved when Wichita State is good at basketball and what it does for the city,” Mills said. “So we understand that we have a responsibility here. It’s my job to make sure we get better. And if we get better, then the market will demand we get bigger.”
WSU’s responsibility to earn the fans back
Saal often points to a number: 2.5%.
That’s the percentage of Wichita’s population needed to fill Koch Arena. Saal is doing everything in his power to help, but there is only so much an athletic director can control.
In the end, the quickest and most effective way to bring the Roundhouse back to life is winning on the floor.
Mills understands he doesn’t just have to win, he needs to win championships.
“My focus isn’t on winning games, it’s how do you win championships?” Mills said. “A lot of teams win games. How do you win championships? So my questions are: ‘Does this look like championship habits? Does this look like a championship practice? Does this look like championship behavior?’”
So far the results have left something to be desired, as WSU has finished in the bottom-half of the American in Mills’ first two seasons. The attendance numbers reflect that disappointment.
After averaging 5,935 fans per home game in Mills’ first season, that number dipped to 5,786 in his second year. Through just five games this season, WSU is averaging 5,467 fans. Outside the 8,253 fans for a Kansas State game last December, a crowd boosted by visiting fans, the last time WSU cracked 7,000 in attendance was the final home game of Mills’ first season.
This season could be different if WSU continues stacking wins. Even with a winless trip to the Bahamas, the Shockers are ranked No. 75 in the latest NET rankings and are the second-ranked team in the American by those metrics.
So with WSU lowering ticket prices, investing in the community and opening its doors wider than it has in years, the potential is there. Now, it’s up to the Shockers to give them a reason to come back.
Mills is up for the rebuilding challenge.
“I’ve always been a challenge guy,” Mills added. “The more they say you can’t do something, the more I’m itching to go prove that I can.”
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