NCAA Basketball: 5 smallest arenas entering 2019-20 season
By Erik Mauro
4. Sharp Gymnasium, Houston Baptist – Capacity: 1,000
A nice, even number for the first time on the list, and probably the last. If you like rounding numbers, wait until the next entry ruins it. Trust me, the next attendance number is going to bother you.
Anyway, The Southland’s Houston Baptist Huskies have been to the NCAA Tournament one time in 1984, losing to Alcorn State. After that, they moved to NAIA where they would stay until 2007, moving back to Division I. They have yet to make it back to the NCAA Tournament but have made the CBI and CIT one time each, losing in the first round each time.
Ron Cottrell enters his 28th season leading the Huskies, as he led them from the NAIA transition back to the Division I transition. The Huskies were a mainstay in the NAIA Tournament and Cottrell needs just 13 wins to get to 500 in his Houston Baptist career.
The Huskies sold out one game last year, against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, where the Huskies squeaked out a one point win. Home court advantage, perhaps? They drew one other game with just over 900 people, but none of the other home games reached 800 fans in the bleacher seats.