“We’ve got to do more with Memorial." Why Mark Byington is Frustrated With Attendance
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NASHVILLE—-The generally politically correct, non-confrontational version of Mark Byington that often runs press conferences in the visitors tunnel of Memorial Gymnasium left the room for nearly a minute and a half.
Byington had a message that he needed to get off his chest. So, when the second-year Vanderbilt head coach finished his sentiment on the status of Vanderbilt wing Mike James, he overlook the silence in the room with a move that was perhaps his most noteworthy in the media room since taking the Vanderbilt job two springs ago.
“There was another thing,” Byington said to break up the quiet moment in the media room and to segway himself to another point that he picked up by listening to Vanderbilt women’s basketball coach Shea Ralph–who he says has a “terrific team” after her team’s Nov. 10 season opener. “We’ve got to do more with Memorial.”
The gym that Byington and Ralph have each seen at its best with sold out crowds that sway the results of games has been barren through the first week of their respective seasons. By the end of Byington’s team’s 92-62 win over Eastern Kentucky, only the first row of the bench-filled student section at Memorial Gymnasium was full.
Wednesday night’s attendance was announced as 5,667, but appeared to be closer to 3,000 than the official number. With 40 minutes to go until tipoff, Vanderbilt’s student section had one student in it. The cause could be attributed to the football boom that has overtaken Vanderbilt’s campus, Vanderbilt’s lack of marquee non-conference home games or perhaps a misstep in marketing. Byington is more worried about fixing it for his team–which he believes can win big–than getting to the root nowadays, though.
"You're going to like this team," Byington said. "But at the same time, I feel like we need to make this a great environment, whether it's who we are playing, the time of the day or anything else, come join us now. Be a part of this now and don't wait."
Byington–a lifelong college basketball guy–knows as well as anyone in that media room the reality that a buy game against a team ranked outside the top 200 in KenPom isn’t the draw that the Gymnasium will bring come league play, but he’s urging his program’s fanbase to come out to see his team–which is ranked 12th in KenPom–rather than waiting for a marquee opponent to come into town.
It hasn’t always been this way for this program in this gym. Its student turnout for non-conference games during the school year appeared to be better in its 9-23 season under Jerry Stackhouse than it is these days despite the improved on-floor product. Even if it were on the level of that turnout, it wouldn’t touch what this program did when this gym was at its best.
“We need to do a better job with the student section,” Former Vanderbilt center Will Perdue told Vandy on SI. “We need to do a better job. I understand Eastern Kentucky, but that's the one thing I want to try to help with. When I was here with CM. It didn't matter who we were playing. It was packed every night. It was must see basketball. That's what we need to get back to.”
Perdue has made an effort to get Vanderbilt’s former players back to the gym with his Nashville Basketball Initiative organization–which is a third-party organization with the mission of helping Byington’s program stay afloat in college sports’ current landscape.
Former Vanderbilt star Barry Goheen came along with Perdue while Shan Foster was on the call for the game, but it wasn’t enough to stop Byington and staff from looking around with disappointment at the stands on Wednesday. Byington has previously publicly expressed his displeasure with Vanderbilt’s place in the revenue sharing landscape and is now speaking out again.
"The people that came out tonight, we really appreciate your support, the ones that are watching at home, we don't feel that support,” Byington said. "This place is great. It's loud. We talk a lot about Memorial Magic, but the truth behind the magic is when people are in the stands."
Ralph’s program–which is coming off of two-consecutive NCAA Tournament berths–isn’t experiencing much magic these days, either. The opening-night attendance for the Vanderbilt women’s opener against Furman was just 2,352 and appeared to be significantly less than that.
Vanderbilt got the job done that night with a 96-48 win, but is still waiting on something that will help push it over the edge.
"It makes a huge difference, look at football," Ralph said. "I would love for more people to come to the games. The atmosphere creates this undeniable home court advantage, and we desperately need that in the league that we play in."
Ralph’s remarks went as far as offering to provide tickets via email and endorsing the idea that she would do “anything” in order to draw up support for her program. Byington didn’t go quite that far on Wednesday night, but he knew he couldn’t go quietly into the night.
Perhaps it should’ve been done earlier to prevent this, but Byington had to do something. In an era where Vanderbilt’s athletic department has become a rising tide, its basketball crowds have been the only thing left behind.
It’s noticeable, too. Noticeable enough that the even-keeled coach had to get desperate in front of the mic.
"We're looking around tonight, and we've got to do more with Memorial," Byington said. "We've got to support this team now and build along the way, and not wait for an opponent to come in and take over this place."
_(1)-b3e453dfe426b2dd4b83a12540ebdb37.jpeg "Joey Dwyer")
Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Southeastern 16 and Mainstreet Nashville.
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