According to the Mountain West 2025 attendance analysis, the Fresno State football games averaged over 38,000 fans per game. It was the second year in a row they led the Mountain West and Group of Five schools in attendance. 

The same cannot be said for attendance at Bulldog home games at the Save Mart Center. 

The Bulldogs’ home arena, the Save Mart Center, seats over 15,000 for home basketball games; however, men’s and women’s basketball have combined to draw over 4,500 for a home game just one time this season. 

Attendance for Fresno State men’s basketball has been slowly dwindling since its move to the Save Mart Center in the 2003-04 season. During the 2011-12 season, average attendance dropped from 7,332 in the previous season to 6,066. In the 2024-25 season, average attendance was 5,137. Through 11 home games at the Save Mart Center this season, the average attendance stands at just 3,617. 

“I don’t know if it was COVID specifically, but coming off that, it feels like every year it’s gotten a little bit less and less attendance- wise,” said Aaron Johnson, assistant athletics director for ticket sales and service. “It’s a common problem across live events and, in today’s world, there’s so much out there to compete with live events. It’s never been easier to watch a game on your TV.” 

As of Jan. 21, the Bulldogs’ highest-attended home game was their Jan. 17 63-60 win over the University of Wyoming, which drew 6,539 fans. 

Before that, however, the highest attended basketball game of the season wasn’t even at the Save Mart Center — it was Fresno State men’s basketball’s one-game return to Selland Arena. The game was on Nov. 30, where 4,374 fans attended the Bulldogs’ 76-71 loss to California State University, Bakersfield. 

For context, Gonzaga plays in a 6,000-seat arena, and its men’s basketball team has sold out every home game at McCarthey Athletic Center this season, with women’s basketball averaging over 5,000 in attendance. Meanwhile, Fresno State is struggling to even quarter-fill its home court.

Inconsistency on the court has contributed to declining attendance. Last season, the Bulldogs won just six games and lost 26. Their last winning season was 202122, when they won 23 games.  In the 23 seasons the Bulldogs have called the Save Mart Center home, they have just nine winning seasons and one NCAA Tournament appearance. The ‘Dogs currently sit at 9-9 on the season, 3-4 in Mountain West Conference play.

The Save Mart Center also does not give Fresno State a true home court advantage like other home courts across the country do. While a student section exists, it is not enforced, as students who attend home basketball games sit among other fans. 

The lack of a student section, or even student presence, at home games prevents the Save Mart Center from becoming anything close to what Selland Arena was. The school is a commuter campus, meaning the majority of students travel in rather than live on or near campus.

“We’re happy and grateful for the students that are going,” Johnson said. “I think as (the student presence) grows, the student section will take care of itself. because once you have more than a couple hundred students there, they start to fill the section and realize ‘hey this is something I want to be a part of.’” 

The arena has become a burden on the university due to declining attendance and the remaining $26 million in debt, which is not expected to be paid off until 2031.

“You need to do that because it’s how you build fans,” Mastro said. “Look at football. They’re an older fan base that has been built on culture and event experience that people fell in love with going to games.” 

Jake Mastro, assistant athletics director for marketing and fan engagement, said he wants to target kids and young fans to build a long-term fan base. 

The Bulldogs’ move to the Pac12 is expected to help boost the school’s athletic attendance. They are set to play established Pac-12 schools Washington State and Oregon State, as well as perennial basketball contender Gonzaga. 

However, better days could be on the horizon for the Save Mart Center and Fresno State basketball. Home attendance for the men’s team has been over 4,000 for the Bulldogs’ first two home conference games against Utah State University and the University of Nevada, Reno. The men’s basketball team has already surpassed its win total from last year in just 15 games. 

There is no doubt that Fresno State football has the attendance to outperform other schools that are set to join the Pac-12. But football is not the only sport joining the new conference. To truly hang with the other Pac-12 schools, Fresno State needs to solve its Save Mart Center problem.