'It's Cool to Have People Who Are Truly Invested in Us': Illini Create Home-Court Advantage at State Farm Center

A 70-point win in front of 10,000 screaming children. A 20-point win over a ranked opponent. A double-digit halftime deficit-turned-comeback victory. 

State Farm Center has played host to it all.

With its largest single-season attendance in over two decades, the Fighting Illini women’s basketball team have secured back-to-back campaigns with 10+ home wins for just the fourth time in program history.

“Now we're creating some buzz and some momentum, people enjoy watching this team play,” said head coach Shauna Green. “Hopefully, people continue to come, because if we want to continue to try to be in the top half of the Big Ten consistently, you need your fan support. You need a home-court advantage. 

“I want to continue to grow it, and hopefully, we can continue to have those numbers climb every year.”

When Green first stepped foot on campus in March 2022, she highlighted the importance of creating a positive, welcoming, and winning environment at State Farm Center. The Illini averaged 1,237 fans per game the season prior, a mark that ranked second-worst among Big Ten programs.

“You can’t have championship-level programs with empty arenas,” Green said at her introductory press conference on March 22, 2022. “I’ll hold up my end, and I need you guys to bring people out, come support our women, come support us, and make State Farm Center a home-court advantage because that is critical in college basketball.

“A goal of mine is to make this an event for people and families to come and have fun, have that connection, and watch winning basketball. Winning basketball does not always mean the scoreboard; it means doing things the right way. That’s what we need from the community. That’s what we need from our fan base.”

The community answered the call. The Illini drew in over 50,000 fans across the team’s 15 home games in Green’s first season at the helm. Going 12-3 at State Farm Center during the 2022-23 campaign, Illinois won its first nine home games of the season, including a 90-86 victory over eventual-NCAA tournament runner-up No. 12/10 Iowa on New Year’s Day.

The team’s three home losses ranked fourth-fewest in the conference, while those defeats also were the Illini’s fewest in a season in 16 years.

“I said, even at my press conference, that we have to have people come out to support this program. If we want to be a top-25 team consistently in the country and a top team in this league, we have to have the fan support; you just have to,” said Green after Illinois’ final home game of the 2022-23 campaign on Feb. 22, 2023. “This league has set the bar high now. We're happy with 6,000, but everyone else is getting 9, 10, 11, 12, so I'm not going to get too greedy too fast. I'm very, very grateful for the community. Let's just continue to climb, and hopefully, we can get to where a lot of these other programs are because they've built it over time.”

Illinois continued that positive momentum into the 2023-24 campaign, bringing in its largest attendance for a non-Field Trip Day home opener since 2000. Just over one week later, the Illini recorded their third-largest margin of victory in program history in a 103-33 win on Nov. 15.

While the team’s performance on the court was nothing short of spectacular, the environment within State Farm Center was a major factor behind the Illini’s success. In front of a crowd of 11,563 fans, the fourth-largest mark at SFC in program history, Illinois scored its most points in a game in nearly a decade.

“It's harder to hear when there's a huge crowd, and that's what we want every game. It was just really special,” said Illini sophomore Shay Bollin. “I can remember being younger, looking up to so many different college basketball players, being at different games, and being so excited to be there.”

The atmosphere was even more special for Kendall Bostic, who is a student teacher at a local school and had some of her students in attendance. In her third year with the program, Bostic is appreciative of the community’s support through the highs and lows during her time at Illinois.

“It's my favorite game of the year because all those kids are excited to be there. They don't care if you score a point. They're just excited to be there,” Bostic said on Nov. 15 after the game. “It just brought another level of energy for us and kept us going.”

Winning four of their final six home games to close the regular season, the Illini picked up a ranked win during that stretch in an 86-66 win over No. 14/12 Indiana, 86-66, on Presidents’ Day. Registering its largest margin of victory against a ranked opponent in over 25 years, Illinois won three of its final four regular-season games at State Farm Center, a testament to the home-court advantage the fans created this season.

Across the team’s 15 home games during the 2023-24 campaign thus far, the Illini have attracted an average of 4,022 fans per game, the best mark since the 2000-01 season. Bringing in over 60,000 fans for just the fifth time in program history, Illinois could not have had the success it had on the court without the support from the fans in the stands and throughout the local community.

“It's fun to play here. Initially, when I started here, it was a little hard because we didn't have a whole lot of people who wanted to come to our games,” Bostic said. “Being a part of the team that has built that and made people want to come to games, it's really special for me. People genuinely want to be here. Growing the student section has probably been my favorite thing and getting to know the band.”

The Illini's fan support also serves as a boost when the team plays away from home. From Minneapolis for the Big Ten Tournament to conference arenas around the country, Illinois fans have made the team feel right at home even when playing hundreds of miles from State Farm Center in Champaign.

"We definitely appreciated it. It's cool to have a lot of people come up to this game, especially since it's in Minnesota," Bostic said after the Illini's Big Ten Tournament game on March 7. "We appreciate their support through the ups and downs. It was nice to have a good solid fan base here today."

Illinois is not done playing at State Farm Center just yet this season. The Illini will host their first-round matchup of the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament against Missouri State on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT.