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Wall St J article on college football attendance

One tidbit in the clear was that some team had actual turnstile count 36% below ticket sales.
 
When you start an article about college football attendance with a citation about a University of Minnesota home game, you're really not very bright.

Minnesota plays in a relatively new stadium on campus. Capacity is around 50K. They do not expect to sell out and rarely do. And they don't sell out for lots of reasons.

1 - The university is enormous and has plenty of alums. But many alums don't spend all four years living on campus, and most people here who didn't go to the U did not grow up rabid Gopher fans. A good comparison might be the University of Maryland only the U is located smack dab in the middle of the metro. I could literally walk from the Gophers stadium to the new Vikings stadium in about 15-20 minutes. The campus spans the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and St. Paul.

2 - A lot of Minnesotans end up attending Wisconsin (better school with in-state tuition reciprocity), Iowa, Iowa State, North Dakota, North Dakota State, etc. Any loyalty those people had to the Gophers goes poof.

3 - This is a pro sports city. Vikings, Twins, Minnesota United, the Wild and the T-Wolves - they all suck attention away from college sports. And, to be clear, we are not a huge market. I think there are under 4 million people in our metro area. Plenty of things to divide attention here.

4 - This is, rather uniquely, a hockey market. Pro, college, high school and even youth hockey. And, make no mistake about it, November counts as hockey season here.

5 - The program is mediocre and has been mediocre for many years. There is no big natural recruiting base. And the few stellar recruits that are from here are prone to go to schools where college sports is the ONLY game in town. Wisconsin, Iowa and even, occasionally, places like Alabama or Ohio State.

6 - Fans here are legendary for being fair weather. Combine all of the above with that fact and making attendance gains is tough.

Not saying there aren't issues with the sport elsewhere, but this is a really poor place to measure the health of college football attendance in any meaningful way.
 
Yeah, but they're still over-reporting actual attendance.
 
Along with many other schools.

In related news, Nick Saban criticizing Alabama students' turnout for the Louisiana Lafayette game. Can't imagine why they wouldn't want to battle 90k people to sit in the blazing hot sun to see Bama blow out the Rajun Cajuns.
 
Buttermaker said:
Along with many other schools.

In related news, Nick Saban criticizing Alabama students' turnout for the Louisiana Lafayette game. Can't imagine why they wouldn't want to battle 90k people to sit in the blazing hot sun to see Bama blow out the Rajun Cajuns.
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At the same time there is a 10+ year wait for season tickets. Seems to me if there is that much demand, there ought to be a way to sell off the non attending students seats.
 
Demand for season tickets to see the big SEC games doesn’t mean demand to see OOC cupcakes.
 
Saban already has titles and $Texas: now he's gunning for the perfect attendance award.
 
An area blog guy, bobleesays .com, pretty good comments usually, coined his observation some time back. An easy chair, 65 inch tv, and handy refrig, are killing football (sports) attendance.
 
raldeac said:
An area blog guy, bobleesays .com, pretty good comments usually, coined his observation some time back. An easy chair, 65 inch tv, and handy refrig, are killing football (sports) attendance.
Click to expand...

Nothing says fun like sitting alone in your man cave.
 
For me it comes down to whether I have 8+ hours to devote to travel to and attend a Wake Forest football game in comparison with all the other things I have to do and want to do on a typical Saturday in the fall. One game a year is usually enough for me, especially considering the goal of making a second or third tier bowl game. If you look at this year's home schedule there are only four or five decent home opponents and you have to figure that two of them are going to blow us out.
 
Looks like Wellman count has permeated lots of college football!

"...When Arkansas hosted No. 21 Auburn, scanned attendance was more than 25,000 lower than announced attendance. Overall last season, Arkansas’s scanned home attendance was 58% of its announced attendance as the Razorbacks went 4-8.

...Florida State, which won the 2013 national title, last season had a scanned attendance that was 57% of its announced attendance...
 
Literally every game is now televised. Entertainment options abound, particularly for students who decades ago had the choice of go to the game or study. Never missed a home football or basketball game will school was in session at WF; that mindset doesn't exist for college students these days even among those that consider themselves sports fans. Fans don't need to attend the games to keep up the teams and the sport; in fact, it's easier to follow and more information can be gained if you don't attend. This is reality in every sport. The trend for new football, baseball, hockey and basketball arena construction is small and intimate.
 
Climate change also plays a role. “Football weather” starts later and later especially in the South. Sitting in metal seats at noon in 90 degree weather is just not appealing.
 
Add the Noon kickoff and it is even worse. (Ph mentioned)
When I was at Wake I also attended every football, basketball, and usually home baseball games. Now, students have excellent teams in soccer, tennis, even field hockey to draw interest. Can't attend them all and graduate.
 
If the tickets are actually purchased, they should count. The only people who should really care are the concessionaires as they won't make as much.
 
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