When ranking Big 12 basketball arenas, ASU is dead last | Greg Hansen

As the basketball manager at Utah State, I stood at mid-court before tipoff to the BYU-Utah State game and absorbed what was surely the top college basketball arena in America.

BYU was ranked No. 13, and Utah State, two years removed from playing UCLA in the Elite Eight, was a legit Top 25 power.

I asked the Aggies’ top player, Jim Boatwright, for his reaction to the Marriott Center.

“We’ll get them at home,” he said, deadpan.

Indeed, BYU beat the Aggies 101-82 that night before 22,892 fans.

Why is this news today?

BYU, which is averaging 16,931 fans at the since-renovated Marriott Center, will break Arizona’s 39-year streak of leading its league in attendance. The Cougars will also surpass Kansas (15,300) and Iowa State (14,034). No, this isn’t the Pac-12 any longer, where games not involving Arizona often struggled to draw 50% of capacity.

This year, for example, UCLA is averaging a mere 6,519 at Pauley Pavilion. Oregon has drawn just 7,101 at its Nike-inspired basketball plant.

Times have changed. As we have learned the last few months, Big 12 men’s basketball is a step beyond the old Pac-12, with greater interest, more on-court talent, much larger crowds and arenas that haven’t been allowed to decay like that at Arizona State.

Perhaps inspired or embarrassed by ASU’s antiquated Desert Financial Arena, new ASU athletic director Graham Rossini last week hinted that the 51-year-old arena will soon be renovated in an attempt to keep up with the big boys of Big 12 basketball.

He used terms like “significantly enhanced” and talked about the Sun Devils “lacking” in modern amenities, creature comforts and “other areas used by the public that haven’t changed in 25 years.” Or more.

I’ve been to nine of the Big 12 arenas, but with input from colleague Bruce Pascoe, who recently attended Arizona games at Cincinnati, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech and Kansas State, I’ve come up with a first-year rating of the 16 basketball arenas in the Big 12. Here’s the top half:

1. Kansas. Never an empty seat (15,300) and an unmatched hoops history.

2. Arizona. Few ever dispute McKale’s claim at being an elite precinct for good basketball. Former athletic directors Greg Byrne and Dave Heeke spent about $125 million to refresh the arena in recent years.

3. BYU. The Cougars have drawn in excess of 15,000 fans per game for 41 seasons.

4. Iowa State. The Hilton Coliseum, built in 1971, is routinely full at 14,267.

5. Cincinnati. The Bearcats routinely draw 12,000, good or bad in the modern and tasteful Fifth Third Arena.

6. Utah. When the Utes are good, the Huntsman Center, site of the 1979 Magic vs. Bird Final Four, rocks with 15,000.

7. Texas Tech. As Arizona learned last month, the United Supermarkets Arena, at 15,000, built in 1999, is not a place to pad your record.

8. Tie between the small-but-boisterous Fertitta Center (7,100) at Houston, updated in 2023, and the new Foster Pavilion (7,500) that Baylor debuted in 2023. Both are madhouses on game day.

And who’s No. 16? It’s Arizona State, and it’s not close. But at least the Sun Devils eliminated the curtain that blocked off the upper deck and reduced capacity from 14,000 to 10,000 from 2010-18.