Just an article about fan support and attendance at games.
You would think that an AP championship would bring some fans to the stands; I guess going to the beach is more pressing.
What a freakin joke????
Plenty of Fans Disguised as Bleachers
The excuses for poor turnstile activity are nearly as plentiful as the number of tickets that go unsold. Some are legit, like having a hideously inept team to follow or a huge stadium to try and fill. Others are pretty flimsy, like competing with great weather. Of the 20 prominent programs that averaged below 75% of capacity this past fall, six played in December bowl games.
Grandstanding: For the first time in many years, USC has escaped this ignominious category. Buoyed by the rousing success of the team, the Trojans had almost 11,000 more fans per game at the Coliseum last fall than they had in 2002.
- It?s conceivable the new Trojan patrons simply came across town from the Rose Bowl. UCLA?s attendance fell by almost 9,000 fans per game for pretty obvious reasons?most weeks they tough to watch.
- Minnesota is crunching numbers regarding the feasibility of building an on-campus, multipurpose football stadium, a wonderful concept that would certainly improve attendance. No Big Ten team should be subjected to playing in a cavernous, homogenized venue like the Metrodome. The Gophers lease with the dome expires in 2011.
- Since Arizona averaged more than 51,000 fans per game in 1999, attendance has dropped in each of the last four seasons. The ?Cats have tried a number of fan-friendly and family-friendly marketing plans, but the masses won?t return until the team improves on the field.
- Someone contact the PriceWaterhouse auditors because an 11% rise in attendance for 1-11 East Carolina is difficult to rationalize.
- Consecutive seasons of declining attendance is reason No. 5 why North Carolina head coach John Bunting has a tenuous hold on his job these days.
- One-half of all Pac-10 teams are featured in this dubious category, none from the states of Oregon or Washington.
- Gary Nord could have been fired for any number of reasons after last year?s 2-11 debacle. A 54% drop in attendance since 2000 couldn?t have helped his cause. The downward trend will be halted with Mike Price in El Paso.
- Attendance at Amon G. Carter Stadium was up 30% in 2003. Impressive considering TCU has a student body of just slightly more than 8,000.
- Rutgers experienced a major and unexpected 38% increase in attendance last season. There?s certainly more room for improvement, but that kind of an up tick is something the Knights can certainly build upon.
- Winning puts fannies in the seats. Witness Memphis, which played in a bowl game for the first time in 32 years and averaged more than 40,000 spectators a game for the first time since 1976. The Tigers led C-USA in average attendance on the strength of a 28% increase versus 2002.
- College football fans in northern California have plenty reasons to blow off Stanford games these days, but Cal? Jeff Tedford?s team is far too exciting to be playing in front of a half-empty stadium. With expectations high for 2004, the numbers should improve later this year.
% Of Capacity
School Stadium 2003 2002 2001 Avg. Attendance (2003)
Arizona Arizona 74 80 79 42,765
Arizona State Sun Devil 74 62 66 54,248
Illinois Memorial 74 78 78 50,961
Marshall Marshall 73 73 66 27,837
UNLV Sam Boyd 70 75 67 25,805
Minnesota Metrodome 69 66 68 44,148
Bowling Green Doyt L. Perry 69 58 58 21,002
Vanderbilt Vanderbilt 68 77 82 28,282
Indiana Memorial 67 60 62 34,983
Rutgers Rutgers 66 48 49 27,339
Memphis Liberty Bowl 65 47 41 40,622
Cincinnati Nippert 62 80 66 21,827
Northwestern Ryan Field 61 59 73 28,763
UCLA Rose Bowl 60 71 68 56,636
Baylor Floyd Casey 60 56 61 29,851
Duke Wallace Wade 59 68 57 20,026
Stanford Stanford 52 45 60 44,870
California Memorial 51 49 44 38,305
San Diego State Qualcomm 44 47 44 22,626
Temple Lincoln Field 36 29 27 24,137
Tier One - The Top Programs | Tier Two - Scalper's Paradise | Tier Three - Bring your Bushnells
You would think that an AP championship would bring some fans to the stands; I guess going to the beach is more pressing.
What a freakin joke????
Plenty of Fans Disguised as Bleachers
The excuses for poor turnstile activity are nearly as plentiful as the number of tickets that go unsold. Some are legit, like having a hideously inept team to follow or a huge stadium to try and fill. Others are pretty flimsy, like competing with great weather. Of the 20 prominent programs that averaged below 75% of capacity this past fall, six played in December bowl games.
Grandstanding: For the first time in many years, USC has escaped this ignominious category. Buoyed by the rousing success of the team, the Trojans had almost 11,000 more fans per game at the Coliseum last fall than they had in 2002.
- It?s conceivable the new Trojan patrons simply came across town from the Rose Bowl. UCLA?s attendance fell by almost 9,000 fans per game for pretty obvious reasons?most weeks they tough to watch.
- Minnesota is crunching numbers regarding the feasibility of building an on-campus, multipurpose football stadium, a wonderful concept that would certainly improve attendance. No Big Ten team should be subjected to playing in a cavernous, homogenized venue like the Metrodome. The Gophers lease with the dome expires in 2011.
- Since Arizona averaged more than 51,000 fans per game in 1999, attendance has dropped in each of the last four seasons. The ?Cats have tried a number of fan-friendly and family-friendly marketing plans, but the masses won?t return until the team improves on the field.
- Someone contact the PriceWaterhouse auditors because an 11% rise in attendance for 1-11 East Carolina is difficult to rationalize.
- Consecutive seasons of declining attendance is reason No. 5 why North Carolina head coach John Bunting has a tenuous hold on his job these days.
- One-half of all Pac-10 teams are featured in this dubious category, none from the states of Oregon or Washington.
- Gary Nord could have been fired for any number of reasons after last year?s 2-11 debacle. A 54% drop in attendance since 2000 couldn?t have helped his cause. The downward trend will be halted with Mike Price in El Paso.
- Attendance at Amon G. Carter Stadium was up 30% in 2003. Impressive considering TCU has a student body of just slightly more than 8,000.
- Rutgers experienced a major and unexpected 38% increase in attendance last season. There?s certainly more room for improvement, but that kind of an up tick is something the Knights can certainly build upon.
- Winning puts fannies in the seats. Witness Memphis, which played in a bowl game for the first time in 32 years and averaged more than 40,000 spectators a game for the first time since 1976. The Tigers led C-USA in average attendance on the strength of a 28% increase versus 2002.
- College football fans in northern California have plenty reasons to blow off Stanford games these days, but Cal? Jeff Tedford?s team is far too exciting to be playing in front of a half-empty stadium. With expectations high for 2004, the numbers should improve later this year.
% Of Capacity
School Stadium 2003 2002 2001 Avg. Attendance (2003)
Arizona Arizona 74 80 79 42,765
Arizona State Sun Devil 74 62 66 54,248
Illinois Memorial 74 78 78 50,961
Marshall Marshall 73 73 66 27,837
UNLV Sam Boyd 70 75 67 25,805
Minnesota Metrodome 69 66 68 44,148
Bowling Green Doyt L. Perry 69 58 58 21,002
Vanderbilt Vanderbilt 68 77 82 28,282
Indiana Memorial 67 60 62 34,983
Rutgers Rutgers 66 48 49 27,339
Memphis Liberty Bowl 65 47 41 40,622
Cincinnati Nippert 62 80 66 21,827
Northwestern Ryan Field 61 59 73 28,763
UCLA Rose Bowl 60 71 68 56,636
Baylor Floyd Casey 60 56 61 29,851
Duke Wallace Wade 59 68 57 20,026
Stanford Stanford 52 45 60 44,870
California Memorial 51 49 44 38,305
San Diego State Qualcomm 44 47 44 22,626
Temple Lincoln Field 36 29 27 24,137
Tier One - The Top Programs | Tier Two - Scalper's Paradise | Tier Three - Bring your Bushnells
