Women's basketball teams bring home the bacon

From free beer and bacon to in-demand tickets, women's basketball programs across the country are finding creative ways to attract bigger crowds this season.

The hope is, once more fans check out the action, they'll want to keep coming back. And though it's too early to tell if these unusual promotions have hooked any rooters for life, there's no doubt they're causing quite a stir.

Kansas State gained attention several weeks ago when the school offered 300 pounds of free bacon to students who attended the women's season opener. It drew twice as many students as last year's average and each student came away with five strips of bacon.

Louisville coach Jeff Walz offered a voucher for a free beer or soft drink to 2,500 fans legally old enough to drink when the fourth-ranked Cardinals faced LSU in the preseason NIT. It was a Thursday night game and Louisville had more than 8,000 people show up.

"I thought it worked out very well," Walz said. "It was a promotion to say thank you to all our friends. I never dreamed it would turn into such national attention. I was trying to say, 'The first drink's on me. Thanks for coming out and I appreciate how loyal you are.' ''

No. 14 Colorado had its own idea of how to draw more students to its home game against Iowa on Nov. 20 -- offer men's basketball tickets for the game against Kansas. More than 2,000 students showed up and saw the Buffaloes win a 90-87 thriller.

"To have the fan support we did was pretty awesome," Colorado coach Linda Lappe said. "They got a great show and helped us. It was a real advantage having the students there, which made it feel more like a college atmosphere."

Lappe knows that a loud student section can have a greater impact at a women's game.

"Men's teams see it all the time, whereas it's a lot rarer in women's games," she said. "When we first got here we had maybe five students, now we get like 200. The students make it a fun environment for everyone else. They are funny, have great sayings and dress in funny costumes. It's more entertaining for everyone and definitely adds to the overall experience."

All three promotions prompted some backlash, whether it be for promoting drinking or making a mockery of women's sports. But that comes with the territory, according to Walz.

"There's always going to be someone complaining," he said. "I've reached out to a few of them and called them. Once they understood what we were trying to do, they wished me a great year."

Colorado faced criticism that offering men's tickets at a women's game was selling its own program short.

Walz didn't think so at all.

"I thought it was a great idea. We just want fans to come one time and see how good our game is," he said. "Hopefully, some of them will be impressed how talented the women are and want to come back again."