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.
Nat Martinez snaps a pic with fans. Derrick Tuskan/San Diego State
Resources and People Who Care
One of the biggest shifts has come behind the scenes. SDSU now has two marketing staff working with women’s basketball instead of one, and that investment matters. Having staff who are passionate may matter even more. Just talk to Armando Rueles and Reed Plunkett, and their commitment shines through.
“I think that the biggest thing has been just the passion that Reed and I have behind supporting the program,” said Rueles. “When we first came into this job… we really made it an effort to go all in and try to maximize the reach of the brand awareness for the program, and that… led us to the field trip games, where we saw an opportunity to really expand upon what’s been done in the past.”
That expansion meant more outreach, and more intentional relationship building with schools across San Diego County.
“It’s all about relationship building, especially with those games,” said Plunkett. “It’s the schools, the teachers… This year, we had a closer communication with San Diego Unified School District, so just making sure that we put in the effort into these relationships.”
Rueles shared that one of the biggest drivers of growth has been repeat attendance.
“A lot of schools, when they come, we’ve noticed that they have a really great experience, and they want to come back the year after that,” he said. “So we have a lot of schools that are recurring attendees.”
Kids bring handmade posters to cheer on the athletes. Derrick Tuskan/San Diego State
Removing Barriers and Adding Experience
The games are free for students, teachers, and chaperones. Schools handle transportation, while SDSU coordinates logistics at SDSU, from ticketing to parking to concessions. Schools also get information about how to get a campus tour so that they can arrange those as part of their day.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for them to be able to access an event like this,” Rueles said. “Anybody and everybody who wants to come, we will offer them free tickets.”
Operational details have evolved as well. Whereas concessions are usually cashless at Viejas, kids do not typically have a credit card at their disposal, so for the field trip games, cash is king. Aztec Shops also offers a specially priced meal deal for the field trip games to make them more accessible than usual for games at the arena. Merchandise is also geared toward younger fans.
By lowering barriers and customizing the experience, the program is making strides toward creating positive first impressions and long-term loyalty among kids. The staff have found ways to bend standard operations to meet young fans where they are, and that matters.
“Just paying attention to the details and being able to make it slightly better wherever we can find,” Plunkett said. “That’s completely a team effort throughout the department.”
This season also brought a new presenting sponsor. SeaWorld San Diego added an educational element, an important component for many schools.
“Sea World San Diego stepped up this year, and they were the presenting sponsor of the field trip games,” Rueles said. SeaWorld shared exhibits and opportunities for kids to learn about marine life before the game.
A Moment That Still Feels Unreal
The attendance spike has surprised even those closest to the program.
“I never would have thought I’d see 8,000 people (at a women’s basketball game at SDSU),” said Ben Pearson, SDSU’s Assistant Communications Director who oversees women’s basketball.
For the players, the environment is unforgettable.
“You can literally feel the floor shaking,” said CJ Latta, a transfer from Utah State. “They are so loud. It’s fun.”
Latta played in field trip games before, but nothing like this.
“They weren’t,” she said when asked if they were as big at Utah State. “I love playing in front of a lot of people… It makes the game just a lot more fun to have all these supporters in the crowd.”
“For all of us, that's one of our “Whys” as to why we play,” added Latta. “(We play) to inspire the younger kids, so seeing that they're all here and so willing to get those autographs. I think it's fun because I once was that little kid to go into college games (and say), ‘Whoa. These girls are so cool.’ So it's really awesome be able to be able to inspire them.”
That's one of our “Whys” as to why we play. (We play) to inspire the younger kids … I once was that little kid to go into college games.
For sophomore Kaelyn Hamilton, the post-game moments stand out.
“I think the kids bring the best type of energy,” she said. “Especially after the games, getting to see them and the way that their eyes light up when we’re able to sign stuff for them… it’s just the best feeling after games.”
Alyssa Jackson, who spent last season rehabbing an injury and has come back strong this season, feels the same connection.
“The kids bring great energy,” Jackson said. “When they’re out screaming our numbers, and we give them a wave, they scream.”
“You can hear (the noise) on the court,” Hamilton said. “It’s almost to where you can’t hear your teammates, or even the coaching staff.”
Still, the tradeoff is worth it.
“I love the atmosphere,” Jackson said.
Players sign autographs and give high fives after the game. Derrick Tuskan/San Diego State
Building the Next Generation
For SDSU, the long-term goal extends far beyond a single weekday game.
“Just getting (the kids) on a college campus is huge,” Rueles said. “Especially for the middle school students that are starting to think about college as a real possibility.”
If today’s field trip becomes tomorrow’s family outing, then the roar of 8,000 kids isn’t just a one and done.
It’s a way to build the students’ lifelong connection to women’s basketball.
