With each step taken forward by the three gym-confined programs at Portland State—volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball—the Peter W. Stott Center gets exposed like a rat scurrying for cover when the basement light comes on.
In the past two years, the three teams have combined to be the best trio of any program in the Big Sky Conference.
Better than Sacramento State who is struggling at all three sports of late.
Better than Weber State who lacks a solid women’s basketball or volleyball team.
And better than Montana, who has struggled recently at men’s basketball and volleyball.
With a regular season championship in volleyball last season and a first-place finish in the conference tournament this year, volleyball has become the top team in the Big Sky.
Women’s basketball has started this season 4-0 in the Big Sky and will likely fight out top honors with Montana, a team they split regular season games with last year.
And all of the Portland State campus knows about the success of the men’s basketball program. Or do they?
The Vikings are, undoubtedly, the top college team in the state and ranked in the top 10 in the Sagarin mid-major poll.
The squad features a group of extremely talented players that play an exciting brand of team basketball under head coach Ken Bone.
They have terrific shooters in guards Jeremiah Dominguez and Dominic Waters.
They have a high-flying athlete in forward Phil Nelson.
And they have solid role players that do all the little things in forwards Julius Thomas and Tyrell Mara.
The stars seem to have perfectly aligned for fans to come to the dingy and ridiculed Stott Center and cheer on their squad. And it seems like they are coming.
More than 1,400 showed up on Saturday to watch the Vikings take down Idaho State. And Thursday night there were nearly 1,200 that came to see an intense game between Weber State and the Vikings.
Among those in attendance were a ton of local media looking to spotlight the Vikings after their terrific start this season and Trail Blazers center Greg Oden, who drifted in at halftime.
But Oden and any other basketball player will tell you that sheer attendance numbers at a game do not provide a team with a home-court advantage. The Stott Center, already unimpressive because of its high-school size and cheap advertising, looks only more pathetic when fans fail to fill the 1,500 seats.
Despite their dominance of the conference—the Vikings have won 18 of 19 in Big Sky play—the Vikings are averaging 992 fans per game, just seventh best in the conference.
Now averaging just fewer than 1,000 fans is certainly not a bad showing, particularly at this school where athletics are at a distinct disadvantage because of the apathy of the student body.
But averaging that many quiet fans, which is what Vikings fans were for the most part of the action in the two games over the weekend, is downright unpardonable.
I think the administration, coaches and players have realistic expectations about student support at home games. They are thrilled to get students out to their games.
But simply coming out does not give the Vikings the advantage that they need in any sport.
During Thursday night’s game, the men’s squad was in desperate need of some crowd involvement as they squandered an opportunity to secure an early season grasp of the Big Sky Conference.
Saturday night the crowd was relatively quiet until a brief skirmish—the Scuffle at the Stott—at halftime ignited them.
The Stott Center could easily become one of the most difficult venues for opposing teams in all sports.
The lack of arena seating gets fans closer to the court than they would be at most gyms. If taken advantage of, the students could occupy the entire south and west sides of the gym—probably some 750 seats.
Current students may not be able to change the fact that the Stott Center is the smallest gym of any team that is ranked on that Sagarin mid-major poll.
But improving the home court advantage might not be about changing the venue as much as changing the dedication of the fans.