Colorado Buffaloes Basketball Attendance Issues Highlighted in Latest Report

The Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball team showed promise as one of the younger squads in the Big 12, but the program has a ways to go when it comes to home-game attendance.

Colorado Buffaloes Basketball Attendance Ranking

According to college basketball analyst Jeff Fuller, Colorado had the second-lowest average attendance in the conference with 6,207 fans filtering into the CU Events Center each home game. Per Fuller, Colorado's average attendance ranks No. 75 in the country.

colorado buffaloes basketball attendance average big 12 rankings cu events center tad boyle fernando lovo isaiah johnson — Mar 7, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes dance team performs in the second half against the Arizona Wildcats at the CU Events Center. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

In the Big 12, the TCU Horned Frogs ranked below the Buffaloes with an average of 5,321 fans per home game.

The Colorado crowd has proven that it can fill the CU Events Center. In the Buffaloes' regular season game against Arizona, the reported attendance nearly reached 9,000 fans at 8,953 total.

Six schools in the conference average over 10,000 fans at their home games, and BYU ranks No. 5 in the nation with an average of 18,073 fans per game. Behind BYU, Kansas (15,307), Arizona (14,297), and Iowa State (14,051) all represent the Big 12 in the top-20 attendance rates in the country.

While some attendance numbers can be tied to team performance with Kansas, Arizona, and Iowa State sitting towards the top of the conference standings, BYU is only one place above Colorado in the Big 12.

On the other hand, Houston is the No. 2 team in the Big 12 but they rank No. 11 in the conference when it comes to average attendance at home games.

Big 12 Basketball Attendance Rankings

Here is the full Big 12 attendance ranking, per Fuller:

1. BYU
2. Kansas
3. Arizona
4. Iowa State
5. Texas Tech
6. West Virginia
7. Cincinnati
8. Arizona State
9. Kansas State
10. Utah
11. Houston
12. Baylor
13. UCF
14. Oklahoma State
15. Colorado
16. TCU

Colorado Buffaloes Aware of Attendance Issues

When the Colorado Buffaloes hired athletic director Fernando Lovo, there was some optimism that new energy could help bring fans into the CU Events Center for basketball games.

At his introductory press conference, Lovo spoke about making Colorado an elite destination, and he also talked about getting to know his new colleagues like basketball coach Tad Boyle.

"The first 30, 60, 90 days are all about listening and learning. One of the things, first and foremost, I plan to meet with every one of our staff and coaches individually and spend some really intentional time with them because I think you have to have relationships before there's anything else," said Lovo.

Meanwhile, Boyle also spoke about increasing basketball attendance and putting in the required effort.

"I know what we need. I'm willing to help. I'm not sitting here with my hand out begging. I'm willing to do whatever I need to help put people in the stands," Boyle said, per ESPN.

The Buffaloes are led by junior guard Barrington Hargress and junior forward Bangot Dak, but the program also has a young core of freshman guard Isaiah Johnson, sophomore forward Sebastian Rancik, and freshman forward Alon Michaeli.

While boosting attendance is key for Colorado, so is keping this Buffaloes team together for future seasons.

Colorado squares off against Oklahoma State in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday, March 10, at 7:30 p.m. PT. It's win or go home for Colorado unless the Buffaloes are invited to (and accept the invitation) to a postseason tournamet like the NIT.

SIGN UP FOR THE COLORADO BUFFALOES ON SI NEWSLETTER HERE!