Windham Wrap-up: Alabama Softball is Model of Fan Engagement for Women’s Sports

One weekend into the season, Rhoads Stadium has already experienced its first sellout.

It was a successful weekend on the field for Alabama softball, remaining undefeated with fives wins over three days in the Easton Bama Bash. But off the field, or I guess I should say, surrounding the field, was just as successful. 

In the numbers released by Alabama Athletics, the attendance was nearly 11,500 across the three days of games at Rhoads Stadium. Before the season started, the program announced that it had reached 3,200 season tickets sold, which was the max number and a new program record. 

The stadium holds right around 4,000 people, and we saw the first sellout of the season for the Saturday games against No. 8 Virginia Tech and Middle Tennessee. 

There's no place like Rhoads! 🏡

Thank you to all 11,425 fans who came out for @AlabamaSB this weekend! 🥎🎉#PartyAtRhoads | @TMobile pic.twitter.com/ih4KIrPjsT

— Alabama Athletics (@UA_Athletics) February 20, 2022

The significance of having 4,000 people wanting to view an on-campus college softball game early in the season cannot be understated. It just goes to show the type of program and culture that Alabama softball and head coach Patrick Murphy have built. 

People want to support a winner, but it's not just the championships won on the field that have brought in the fan involvement. Murphy is a master at engaging in the community and building support for his program. Whether it's from softball camps in the summers that allow hundreds of little girls to learn from their role models, or trivia nights with the booster club, or handwriting thank you notes to boosters and season ticket holders, the Crimson Tide knows how to build and retain support.  

The fruit of that labor was shown by the thousands that showed up for non-conference matchups in cold weather in late February this past weekend to watch the No. 2 team in the nation. 

Sure there are other great examples— women’s basketball at Tennessee built by Pat Summitt in the 80s and 90s, what Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley have built at UConn and South Carolina in the last decade. We’ve even seen Sarah Patterson build it at Alabama and form a rivalry with Suzanne Yoculan at Georgia that was good for both programs and consistently put 10,000-15,000 people in the stands for gymnastics. But Alabama is capitalizing on a growing sport's popularity and contributing to it with thousands of people who support the program. 

Success breeds success, and I have a feeling that won't be the last sellout we see at Rhoads Stadium this spring.