Sports - Are Lady Cards too good for us?

Women’s sports lead LU but fans don’t seem to appreciate them

AFTER WINNING 24 GAMES to win the Southland Conference regular season title and reaching the SLC tournament final, one would think the Lamar women’s basketball team would be playing in front of packed houses. Unfortunately, it’s quite the opposite.

Attendance actually decreased by about 30% over the 2023-2024 season.

The Lady Cardinal soccer team won the SLC regular season title and the conference tournament, before making an appearance in the NCAA tournament in 2023. That’s good enough to draw big crowds to the LU Soccer Complex, right? Apparently not.

The same goes for softball. Across the board, women’s sports do not get the attention they deserve. Lamar students clearly don’t care about women’s sports.

Over the last three years, Lamar women’s athletics have racked up eight championships and have represented Lamar and the Southland across many NCAA tournaments.

The Lamar athletics marketing department is doing everything they can to bring students into the stadia. Despite free T-shirts and food at almost every game, students still don’t show up. It costs nothing for a student to attend a game, yet there seems to be more non-student fans at the games that actually have to pay.

“That’s been some success,” athletics director Jeff O’Malley said. “I think where we struggle is just trying to outreach and get the information into the students’ hands about when games are. We promote everything on social media. We send out emails as well, but not all students are reading emails anymore. We try to find the best way to communicate with our students, but it’s tough when they’re not all attracted into one place.”

The Neches Federal Credit Union Arena at the Montagne Center holds 10,080, but the average attendance for women’s basketball games this past season was 761, compared to last year’s 1,089. Lamar is sixth in attendance in the SLC, despite being the second best team in the conference. Attendance has dropped to the lowest it’s been in the last four years.

“The fans are a huge part,” head coach Aqua Franklin said. “If we can get home court advantage, playing in front of our fans, there’s clutch free throws and having the gym loud from them cheering on the Lamar team. Our opposing team can’t hear their plays or hear their coaches trying to direct them and things like that. That plays a huge part.

“But also our players feed off of that. They feed off the support.”

On Feb. 8, 2025, the Lamar softball team faced off against No. 1 University of Texas at home. That game saw an attendance of 1,200 people, but the stadium was burnt orange. Despite Lamar being the only university in Beaumont, and Austin being four hours away, students would rather support UT than their own alma mater.

Attendance really matters for the athletes. It gives them something to play for.

“ Smaller crowds just don’t really affect our game,” catcher Cimara-lei Wessling said. “When we’re in front of a bigger crowd, I feel like my dugout is a lot more fired up. We want people to hear us. Like one time, one of our sold out games had people in the stands banging on stuff to the beat of the music and everything. It was like such a good environment for us to be in. And we were like, these guys, they have our back.”

Admittedly, Lamar used to be the laughing stock of SLC athletics, winning only eight softball games and four volleyball games in 2021, and the basketball team was under .500. However, since then, Lamar has built a winning culture throughout all sports.

In 2024, softball won 26 games, volleyball won 15 games, and basketball won 22 games. Lamar even won the 2024 SLC Commissioner Cup, 14 points ahead of McNeese, led by the women’s teams.

When football was taken away in 1989, the city got used to not having athletics to root for, softball head coach Amy Hooks said. When football was reinstated in 2011, women’s soccer and softball were brought in to balance scholarship opportunities under Title IX rules.

While it took a while to build the programs, all of the women’s sports made an appearance in the SLC tournaments last year. One couldn’t look at the Southland postseason without seeing Lamar in it.

So why is attendance struggling? Clearly performance isn’t the issue. Students need to support women’s athletics. Imagine how much better they would be knowing they have a loyal fan base to support them, instead of having the away team supporters making all the noise.

“We beat Baylor, and it was so funny because everyone that was there was Baylor fans,” Wessling said. “But, like, why couldn’t it have been our fans as well? I think the score would have been probably even better.”

The teams are doing everything they can to get the word out. The Lady Cardinals are always up to date on social media, posting on game days to let the people know they’re playing. The Lady Cardinals have also gotten involved in the community, not only at Lamar but also in Beaumont.

“We’ve had a ton of people that we’ve met at a community service event or maybe we were out putting posters up or whatever, say, ‘Hey, I’m going to come to this game.’” Hooks said. “And the girls were like, ‘OK, make sure you stay and say hi because we want to make sure you’re there.’"

Hooks said community outreach pays dividends and she receives emails from people telling her the players were “awesome.”

The Lady Cards aren’t your stereotypical stuck up athletes whose egos are too big to talk to anyone. They always engage with anybody that supports them, no matter who they are. All of the teams can be found interacting with fans, signing posters, giving autographs and taking pictures after games.

Despite the teams’ successes, small crowds can negatively impact recruiting, making it hard for the teams to maintain their high standards. When a recruit comes to Lamar to see the campus, how many leave disappointed after seeing the lack of student body at the games? How is Lamar supposed to attract new players with an empty fanbase?

Lamar’s women’s athletics have proven time and time again that they are among the best in the Southland Conference. With championships, NCAA tournament appearances, and an undeniable winning culture, these athletes have given their school and community every reason to rally behind them. Yet, the lack of support continues to be a glaring issue.

Winning should bring excitement. Success should bring pride. But without a strong fanbase, these achievements feel hollow.

The Lady Cardinals have done their part, now it’s time for Lamar students to do theirs. Showing up to games isn’t just about entertainment; it’s about fostering school spirit, supporting fellow students, and creating an atmosphere that fuels even greater success.

Lamar’s women’s teams aren’t just representing the university, they are defining its athletic legacy. The question remains: will students finally recognize and support them, or will these champions continue to compete in near-empty stadiums?

Being a Cardinal is more than going to class. It’s also about being a member of a community. And the so-called big schools should not have a monopoly on spirit.