Women’s athletics are on fire at Iowa State, and it’s not just winning teams that are drawing crowds, say members of the Athletic Department.

The ISU women’s basketball team, which is currently 13-2, has experienced record attendance this season. Almost 7,000 fans showed up to the Kansas game earlier this month at Hilton Coliseum.

Women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly said that is 10 times the average attendance from a few years ago.

“When we came four years ago, they averaged about 700 people,” Fennelly said. “We’re currently averaging 4,500 people.”

Standing at third in attendance for the Big XII conference, Fennelly said people are drawn by the quality of the program.

“There’s interest from a lot of people when you can produce an event that’s fun to watch and cost effective,” he said.

Attendance is up for other women’s sports, as well, said ISU Athletics Director Gene Smith.

The women’s soccer team achieved a record attendance at its final game last season, and women’s gymnastics, swimming and tennis also have risen in popularity.

Smith credits his quality coaching staffs for the increased attention.

“We have great coaches who work hard to give the marketing department a product to sell,” Smith said. “They understand the big picture … that athletics is just a part of the institution.”

The Athletic Department’s marketing team also has worked to bring people to women’s events. Smith said there was no marketing department when he arrived at ISU in 1993, but it has strengthened during the past few years.

“We’ve slowly developed a marketing department that has grown to a point where it can focus on more than football and men’s basketball,” he said.

Fennelly also credits the Athletic Department for the surge in attendance at the women’s basketball games.

“They want the women’s force to succeed,” Fennelly said. “They’ve given us a lot of opportunities to not only make our teams better, but to showcase our teams.”

However, the excitement for women’s sports isn’t just generated by the Athletic Department, Smith said. More young girls are playing sports than ever before, and these aspiring athletes are looking for role models, he said.

“Ten years ago, no one would have called me and asked me [about women’s athletics] because they had no interest and assumed the public had no interest,” he said.

“Our society is finally to a point, and often I think Iowa is ahead of a lot of other states, where young girls participating in sports is the norm,” Smith said.

Women’s athletics also provide an affordable way for families to attend college sporting events, Fennelly said.

“In most cases, women’s sports are a good entertainment value when a family is trying to stretch a budget,” he said.

Admission to women’s games currently costs $5 for adults and $3 for children high school age and younger and ISU students. Smith said the Athletic Department hopes to keep prices affordable but may face a $1 increase next year due to an increase in expenditures.

Whatever the reasons for the enthusiasm for women’s sports, the teams are enjoying the support.

“[The players] feel a responsibility to the fans, and I think the fans in turn really motivate the kids to play better and do better,” Fennelly said. “They don’t come just to come; they come to cheer and yell, and that’s what you want fans to do.”