Predicting Women's Division I Sports Attendance: An Analysis of Institutional Characteristics

D. Erin Shackelford
T. Christopher Greenwell

A great deal of research is devoted to the study of factors affecting spectator attendance; however, the majority of these studies have focused on men's sports. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to analyze the relationship between specific factors and spectator attendance at selected NCAA Division I women's sporting events. Based on a review of related literature, five characteristics that may affect attendance were selected for this study: city population, student enrollment, competition from other Division I universities, competition from professional sports teams, and previous season's winning percentage. These characteristics were analyzed to determine how they predict attendance at NCAA Division I women's basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball events. Results indicated that previous season winning percentage and the presence of other Division I institutions predicted attendance for women's sports. Student enrollment predicted attendance for each of the sports except women's soccer.