NCAA Basketball: 5 smallest arenas entering 2019-20 season

By Erik Mauro | Nov 5, 2019

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 16: A general view as the Vanderbilt Commodores play the Northwestern Wildcats during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /

2 of 6

SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 18: Fans cheer as West Virginia Mountaineers takes on Marshall Thundering Herd in the first half during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena on March 18, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) /

5. Hornets Nest, Sacramento State – Capacity: 1,012

The oldest arena on the list, this one belongs to members of the Big Sky, the Sacramento State Hornets. The Hornets Nest opened back in 1955 and still stands to this day.

A common theme you will see in this list is a lack of NCAA Tournament appearances. The Hornets have not made one since making the jump to Division I, and their last appearance in Division I was in 1988. They have made the CIT once as a Division I member, back in 2015. They beat Portland before losing to Northern Arizona.

Brian Katz will enter his 12th season as the Hornets head coach this season, and has just one winning season to show for it, the CIT performance back in 2015 where the program ended with 21 wins.

The fanbase doesn’t really show up for Hornet Hoops, with the high attendance last year being just 977, and that was senior night for the last game of the season when parents and family are all there to watch their graduating seniors.

The attendance problems surely have something to do with the product being put on the floor, but the small attendance figures also don’t help to create a very healthy home-court advantage.

Home/NCAA Basketball News