Last attended game was Kentucky last year. Before that, NC State in Charlotte.
The costs have definitely kept me from attending games in the past. Used to make 1-2 games a year, even when I was three time zones away, but in recent years it's become more sporadic. Mostly due to costs. I've passed on a number of games just by checking the prices and saying "naaah I'm good."
Along that same line, I've had some lifelong friends who used to go to games with me quite often. Some of it is Tennessee being a strugglebus for the past fifteen years. That probably dampened our collective enthusiasm as well (2022 helped in that regard, as we since went to a game).
But, in thinking about secondary factors like that, it's not just the actual ticket prices themselves. The value proposition has changed. The overly-controlled and monetized gameday experiences, the sport being professionalized, the dwindling significance of the regional rivalries, it all makes that much harder to want to spend exorbitant amounts to come to the games. And the gamedays have become a real mess too. It used to busy but not packed - walk the strip, get a beer, watch the early game on TV for a while. The pregame atmosphere was busy but not jam packed. Not now. Now every gameday feels like a crowded commercial zoo.
