The Kentucky Wesleyan College men’s and women’s basketball teams have dominated at home, winning 84% of their games at the Owensboro Sportscenter over the past two seasons.
The success is returning the Sportscenter to its reputation as a tough venue for GMAC conference opponents and other non-conference teams, with increasing crowd sizes.
“We’ve got to be mature enough as a program to find success under any circumstance, regardless of the crowd,” said head men’s basketball coach Drew Cooper, the 2023-24 GMAC Coach of the Year. “But it’s tough to ignore that three seasons ago, we lost three overtime games and another one-possession game at home, with half the crowd we’ve had for some of our big wins the last couple of years.”
While the arena hasn’t returned to the legendary days of consistent 3,000-plus crowds, the momentum is evident. Cooper said the fans who have attended recent games have felt the energy, and the players feed off it.
Two seasons ago, Kentucky Wesleyan made a deliberate effort to boost crowds by collaborating with regional nonprofits and organizations. The impact hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“It’s the old chicken or the egg,” Cooper said. “You could say, ‘If you win, you get a crowd,’ but if you get the crowd rolling, it can really help you start winning. Coming out of COVID, crowds were down, and we underperformed. There’s a clear correlation between our success and games with bigger crowds.”
More than 25 nonprofits have participated, featuring in-game promotions on the Sportscenter’s big screens, public address announcements, and pregame and halftime performances. Children also enjoy end zone inflatables at most games.
“What we’ve been able to do with nonprofits is exceptional,” said Eddie Kenny, VP of external relations. “Owensboro isn’t a small market. There are 100,000 people in the county, and the numbers grow when you expand out 60 miles. We’ve even had the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation bring busloads of kids and last season; Special Olympics expanded their game invites beyond Daviess County. We want Wesleyan basketball to be one of their go-to events.”
With a 5,000-seat historic arena, the Panthers feel they are just scratching the surface. Last year, both the men’s and women’s teams made the NCAA tournament, each winning 21 games. Excitement is building for the upcoming season, and the college plans to engage even more community partners to experience KWC basketball at the Sportscenter.
“We try to make it easy for them,” said Mark Shook, VP of Athletics. “Simply show up, get in through Gate 4, have fun, and cheer. Our student-athletes and supporters love seeing more people in their seats. It also gives more exposure to our corporate sponsors.”
The women’s home opener is on November 8 against Kentucky State at 5:30 p.m., and the men will face Simmons College on November 14 at 7 p.m. The full schedule is available at kwcpanthers.com.
Nonprofits interested in attending can contact Jordyn Barga at [email protected].
Tickets can be purchased at the Owensboro Convention Center or by calling 270-687-8800 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
