Regarding attendance ... a recent graduate of Rutgers told me this evening that the school used to give out free tickets to basketball games to all the students at Rutgers. I can't confirm this actually happened, but it is what the Rutgers alum told me.
At SJU things are quite different, as we make our students pay for tickets. Then about 10% of them, maybe more, sell them to non-students (I don't blame the non-students who buy these by the way, I love anyone who loves SJU and tries to support the team in this tough economy).
Why can't SJU "prime the pump" so to speak and give tickets to all SJU students, at least for games played at CA. Free. Students with tickets would have to show ID to get in. The women's team just filled CA to capacity by giving away tickets to non-SJU students (to local school children). Many many SJU students have NEVER been to a game. They have no clue of the SJU tradition. They are not sensitized to the team. In order to bring them into the culture, history, and fun, the school should just give them tickets. I think it would be in SJU's best interests too, as "priming the pump" like this would lead to future ticket sales.