From field trips to fandom at SDSU, plus this week's schedules

This week’s schedule comes with a closer look at how one simple idea, field trips, has become a powerful gateway to women’s basketball fandom at SDSU.

On a Wednesday morning in January at Viejas Arena, the sound was unmistakable. Thousands of kids in grades K–8 filled the seats, screamed on cue, waved at players, and replaced the muted energy of the typical crowd of 1,700 adults with the full-throated excitement of eight thousand kids.

At its core, the idea is simple. Field trip games give kids the chance to experience a college campus, watch high-level basketball, and see women competing at the top of their sport. For San Diego State, the timing couldn’t be better. The Aztecs are 15–3, sit alone atop the Mountain West conference standings, have won 11 games in a row, and are coming off a season in which they captured the Mountain West tournament title.

The big crowds matter for the athletes, too. The players work relentlessly, compete hard, and rarely get to play in front of packed weekday crowds. The recognition, at 8,000 strong, matters.

Field trip games themselves aren’t new. SDSU has hosted them since at least the 2018–19 season. But over the past three years, the upward shifts in attendance have been extraordinary.

In 2022–23, two field trip games drew crowds of 2,102 and 4,150. This season, those numbers jumped to 3,707 and a stunning 8,054, an all-time attendance record for women’s basketball at San Diego State.

The impact doesn’t stop when the final buzzer sounds. Kids go home talking about the game, telling their parents about the players, the noise, the excitement, and asking to come back. That ripple effect is showing up in the numbers. In 2022–23, SDSU averaged 1,108 fans per game. This season, the Aztecs are on track to double that with an average of 2,249.

That growth isn’t coming solely from the increased attendance at field trip games. In 2024–25, average attendance for non–field trip games was 1,442. This season, non–field trip games are averaging 1,690, already a 17 percent increase from last year.

It is difficult to attribute attendance growth to any single factor, but the exposure generated by field trip games, introducing thousands of young fans to the program at once, certainly doesn’t hurt.

That kind of growth doesn’t happen by accident. Continue reading here.

This week is full of pro and collegiate tennis and a chance to root for No. 1 basketball teams all over the city. Collegiate golf, waterpolo, and swim & dive are also making a splash. While you’re at it, don’t forget to head over to the fundraiser for One of Us Bar, where you’ll have a chance to support the growth of San Diego’s first sports bar dedicated to showcasing women’s sports.

San Diego will soon have a dedicated home for women’s sports in North Park.

Attend the Fundraiser + Silent Auction
Jan. 31 @ 1 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Hosted at Original 40 Brewing Company
RSVP and Get More Information Here

Until Monday,
Her Sports San Diego