2013 Enrollment to attendnace ratio.

[okielite]

Got this from a Baylor poster on a WVU board. Thought it was an interesting way to look at attendance and compare the conferences. Really puts things in perspective.

2013 FOOTBALL ATTENDANCE-TO-ENROLLMENT RATIO

CONFERENCE AVERAGE
1. SEC - 2.614
2. Big 12 - 2.374
3. ACC - 2.236
4. Big Ten - 1.917
5. Pac 12 - 1.620
6. MWC - 1.601
7. CUSA - 1.458
8. Sun Belt - 1.136
9. AAC - 1.046
10. MAC - 0.697

BIG 12
1. TCU - 4.77
2. Baylor - 3.02
3. Oklahoma - 2.85
4. Oklahoma State - 2.54
5. Kansas State - 2.17
6. Texas - 1.93
7. West Virginia - 1.78
8. Texas Tech - 1.75
9. Iowa State - 1.67
10. Kansas - 1.26

ACC
1. Clemson - 3.85
2. Wake Forest - 3.82
3. Miami - 3.44
4. Boston College - 2.37
5. Georgia Tech - 2.28
6. Virginia Tech - 2.06
7. Virginia - 1.94
8. Florida State - 1.87
9. Syracuse - 1.82
10. Duke - 1.79
11. North Carolina - 1.75
12. Pittsburgh - 1.73
13. NC State - 1.49
14. Maryland - 1.10

BIG TEN
1. Nebraska - 3.70
2. Michigan - 3.00
3. Northwestern - 2.62
4. Penn State - 2.16
5. Iowa - 2.13
6. Ohio State - 1.85
7. Wisconsin - 1.82
8. Michigan State - 1.48
9. Purdue - 1.24
10. Illinois - 1.04
10. Indiana - 1.04
12. Minnesota - 0.92

PAC 12
1. Stanford - 2.54
2. Oregon - 2.36
3. Southern Cal - 1.92
4. UCLA - 1.73
5. Oregon State - 1.63
6. Washington - 1.57
7. Utah - 1.40
8. Washington State - 1.39
9. California - 1.36
10. Colorado - 1.31
11. Arizona - 1.18
12. Arizona State - 1.05

SEC
1. Tennessee - 3.47
2. Auburn - 3.42
3. LSU - 3.09
4. Alabama - 3.02
5. Mississippi - 3.00
6. Vanderbilt - 2.95
7. South Carolina - 2.68
8. Georgia - 2.61
9. Mississippi State - 2.60
10. Arkansas - 2.43
11. Kentucky - 2.12
12. Missouri - 1.85
13. Florida - 1.70
14. Texas A&M - 1.66

AAC
1. Louisville - 2.37
2. SMU - 1.56
3. Memphis - 1.24
4. Connecticut - 1.02
5. Rutgers - 0.79
6. South Florida - 0.76
7. Cincinnati - 0.74
8. Central Florida - 0.70
9. Temple - 0.68
10. Houston - 0.60

CUSA
1. Tulsa - 4.67
2. Rice - 2.96
3. Marshall - 1.76
4. East Carolina - 1.61
4. Louisiana Tech - 1.61
6. Tulane - 1.48
7. Southern Miss - 1.38
8. UTEP - 1.25
9. UTSA - 0.94
10. Middle Tennessee - 0.77
11. North Texas - 0.59
12. UAB - 0.57
13. Florida Atlantic - 0.50
14. Florida International - 0.32

MAC
1. Ohio - 0.95
2. Toledo - 0.86
3. Northern Illinois - 0.82
4. Bowling Green - 0.81
5. Buffalo - 0.79
5. Miami, OH - 0.79
7. Ball State - 0.75
8. Kent State - 0.70
9. Western Michigan - 0.69
10. Akron - 0.66
11. Massachusetts - 0.58
12. Central Michigan - 0.48
13. Eastern Michigan - 0.18

MWC
1. Air Force - 7.39
2. Boise State - 1.62
3. Wyoming - 1.56
4. Hawaii - 1.54
5. Fresno State - 1.44
6. Nevada - 1.39
7. San Diego State - 0.98
8. Utah State - 0.80
9. Colorado State - 0.75
10. New Mexico - 0.67
11. UNLV - 0.59
12. San Jose State - 0.48

SUN BELT
1. Louisiana-Monroe - 1.97
2. Arkansas State - 1.86
3. Louisiana-Lafayette - 1.54
4. South Alabama - 1.06
5. Western Kentucky - 1.00
6. Troy - 0.64
7. Texas State - 0.53
8. Georgia State - 0.49

INDEPENDENTS
1. Notre Dame - 9.53
2. Navy - 7.85
3. Army - 7.39
4. BYU - 1.97
5. Idaho - 1.49
6. New Mexico State - 1.12

 

[SubbaBub]

Math doesn't work. Uconn has about 20k undergrads. 33k/20k is about a 1.6 ratio.

 

[upstater]

Math doesn't work. Uconn has about 20k undergrads. 33k/20k is about a 1.6 ratio.

Yeah, the math is way off.

 

[okielite]

Math doesn't work. Uconn has about 20k undergrads. 33k/20k is about a 1.6 ratio.

I don't believe it is just undergrads.

According to sources UConn has just over 30k students. Avg attendance was just over 30k. Thus the 1.02 ratio.

 

[UConn9604]

I don't believe it is just undergrads.

According to sources UConn has just over 30k students. Avg attendance was just over 30k. Thus the 1.02 ratio.

I wish this weren't the case, but grad students typically don't have the same level of magnetic attraction to their grad school's teams as undergrads.

 

[okielite]

Yeah, the math is way off.

How so?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Connecticut
Students30,474[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Connecticut_Huskies_football_team
30,698
38,916
42,704
37,861
27,104
22,163
17,086
Average= 30,933

30,933/30,474= 1.02

As you can see the math is extremely close to the data reported.

 

[upstater]

How so?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Connecticut
Students30,474[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Connecticut_Huskies_football_team
30,698
38,916
42,704
37,861
27,104
22,163
17,086
Average= 30,933

30,933/30,474= 1.02

As you can see the math is extremely close to the data reported.

The link link you gave has 18,000 undergrads at Storrs. The 30,000 number includes all campuses in the state of Connecticut. This would be like adding the University of Illinois Chicago to the University of Illinois Champlaign for number of students.

Plus, consider this. Not all schools count attendance in a similar way. UConn counts tickets at the door. Some people weigh buckets of tickets. Pitt counts # of tix sold.

 

[okielite]

The link link you gave has 18,000 undergrads at Storrs. The 30,000 number includes all campuses in the state of Connecticut. This would be like adding the University of Illinois Chicago to the University of Illinois Champlaign for number of students.

Plus, consider this. Not all schools count attendance in a similar way. UConn counts tickets at the door. Some people weigh buckets of tickets. Pitt counts # of tix sold.

Looks like there are many ways to count enrollment as well. I don't buy in to the only counting undergrad students but I do understand the problem of counting different campuses.



On another note I have heard several UConn posters say that only tickets at the door are counted. I looked back in 2010 and the Vandy, WVU , and Cinci are all listed at exactly 40,000. How can that be?

Reminds me of UNC who simply estimates attandnace at games and always reports even numbers because they are simply made up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_North_Carolina_Tar_Heels_football_team

 

[upstater]

Looks like there are many ways to count enrollment as well. I don't buy in to the only counting undergrad students but I do understand the problem of counting different campuses.

On another note I have heard several UConn posters say that only tickets at the door are counted. I looked back in 2010 and the Vandy, WVU , and Cinci are all listed at exactly 40,000. How can that be?

Reminds me of UNC who simply estimates attandnace at games and always reports even numbers because they are simply made up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_North_Carolina_Tar_Heels_football_team

40k for sell outs. Fire marshall doesn't allow anyone in.

After all, UConn's season ticket base is in the high 20k range. With 25-30k tickets already sold, how do you explain 18k showing up for a game in a freezing sleet storm?

 

[okielite]

Here are the attendance numbers by school.
FINAL ATTENDANCE RANKING

P5 CONFERENCE SCHOOLS IN BLUE

1. Michigan - 111,592
2. Ohio State - 104,933
3. Alabama - 101,505
4. Texas - 98,976
5. Penn State - 96,587
6. Tennessee - 95,584
7. Georgia - 92,746
8. LSU - 91,380
9. Nebraska - 90,933
10. Florida - 87,440
11. Texas A&M - 87,125
12. Auburn - 86,657
13. Oklahoma - 84,722
14. South Carolina - 82,401
15. Notre Dame - 80,825
16. Clemson - 80,525
17. Wisconsin - 78,911
18. Florida State - 75,421
19. Southern Cal - 73,126
20. Michigan State - 72,328
21. UCLA - 70,285
22. Washington - 68,769
23. Arkansas - 67,724
24. Iowa - 67,125
25. Virginia Tech - 63,999
26. Missouri - 63,505
27. Arizona State - 62,689
28. BYU - 61,225
29. Kentucky - 59,472
30. Mississippi - 59,393
31. Oklahoma State - 59,126
32. Texas Tech - 57,933
33. Oregon - 57,660
34. Mississippi State - 55,695
35. Iowa State - 55,361
36. Miami - 53,837
37. NC State - 53,178
38. Louisville - 52,914
39. West Virginia - 52,910
40. Kansas State - 52,887
41. North Carolina - 51,500
42. Stanford - 50,743
43. Pittsburgh - 49,741
44. Georgia Tech - 49,649
45. California - 49,329
46. Purdue - 48,953
47. Minnesota - 47,797
48. Arizona - 47,619
49. Rutgers - 46,549
50. Virginia - 46,279
51. Baylor - 45,948
52. Utah - 45,194
53. Indiana - 44,353
54. East Carolina - 43,985
55. Illinois - 43,787
56. TCU - 43,598
57. Oregon State - 42,964
58. Central Florida - 42,084
59. Northwestern - 39,307
60. Maryland - 38,878
61. Colorado - 38,463
62. Syracuse - 38,277
63. Kansas - 37,884
64. Fresno State - 36,917
65. Vanderbilt - 35,675
66. Navy - 35,588
67. South Florida - 34,706
68. Boise State - 34,366
69. Army - 33,956
70. San Diego State - 33,224
71. Boston College - 33,006
72. Air Force - 32,652
73. Cincinnati - 31,771
74. Hawaii - 30,989
75. Connecticut - 30,932
76. Texas-San Antonio - 29,214
77. Memphis - 28,537
78. Wake Forest - 28,414
79. Texas-El Paso - 28,375
80. Washington State - 27,666
81. Duke - 26,062
82. Louisiana-Lafayette - 25,976
83. Marshall - 25,023
84. Nevada - 24,939
85. Arkansas State - 24,913
86. Houston - 24,256
87. New Mexico - 23,441
88. Utah State - 23,263
89. Southern Miss - 22,752
90. Temple - 22,473
91. North Texas - 21,030
92. Ohio - 20,672
93. Northern Illinois - 20,669
94. Tulsa - 19,893
95. Tulane - 19,747
96. Wyoming - 19,476
97. Troy - 18,906
98. Buffalo - 18,802
99. Rice - 18,785
100. Middle Tennessee - 18,715
101. Louisiana Tech - 18,666
102. Colorado State - 18,600
103. Toledo - 18,467
104. Western Kentucky - 18,334
105. Texas State - 18,062
106. SMU - 17,891
107. Akron - 17,850
108. Western Michigan - 17,347
109. Nevada-Las Vegas - 17,212
110. Louisiana-Monroe - 17,035
111. Kent State - 17,018
112. San Jose State - 16,362
113. New Mexico State - 16,050
114. Miami, OH - 15,935
115. South Alabama - 15,926
116. Massachusetts - 15,830
117. Florida International - 15,453
118. Georgia State - 15,434
119. Bowling Green - 15,258
120. Idaho - 14,744
121. Florida Atlantic - 14,552
122. Ball State - 13,817
123. Central Michigan - 13,224
124. Alabama-Birmingham - 10,548
125. Eastern Michigan - 4,051

 

[okielite]

40k for sell outs. Fire marshall doesn't allow anyone in.

After all, UConn's season ticket base is in the high 20k range. With 25-30k tickets already sold, how do you explain 18k showing up for a game in a freezing sleet storm?

Interesting, Guess I never considered that the stadium only holds 40k people. Duh!

Strangely some schools go over capacity for games. Must have more relaxed fire marshalls.

I have nothing to explain about the numbers UConn reports. That is your business. I also have no idea if you really sell 30k season tickets, that seems weird when you look at your average attendance. I can't remember seeing a school who's average attendance is almost the same as the # of season tickets sold. If everybody else in the country uses tickets sold to make their numbers look better why does UConn report tickets used which makes the attendance look much worse than it really is?

Interesting note. Nebraska sold 40k tickets to its' spring game. The fan support they have is simply amazing.

 

[upstater]

Interesting, Guess I never considered that the stadium only holds 40k people. Duh!

Strangely some schools go over capacity for games. Must have more relaxed fire marshalls.

I have nothing to explain about the numbers UConn reports. That is your business. I also have no idea if you really sell 30k season tickets, that seems weird when you look at your average attendance. I can't remember seeing a school who's average attendance is almost the same as the # of season tickets sold. If everybody else in the country uses tickets sold to make their numbers look better why does UConn report tickets used which makes the attendance look much worse than it really is?

Interesting note. Nebraska sold 40k tickets to its' spring game. The fan support they have is simply amazing.

I didn't say the season ticket # is 30k. I said it was between 25-30k. Maybe 27k. It was at 33k a few years ago.

Everybody else in the country doesn't go by tickets sold. A lot of schools do it the way UConn does it. One good reason is that (UNFORTUNATELY) UConn doesn't control its stadium. The gate and everything to do with the stadium is controlled by a private company that won the contract from the state, which controls the stadium. in fact, UConn PAYS rent not only for use of the stadium but also for use of the XL Center. It's absurd, considering UConn is doing the politicos a favor by playing in Hartford, but I believe the rent is $50k per game or something like that. Not sure what the rent for the Rent is.

 

[okielite]

I didn't say the season ticket # is 30k. I said it was between 25-30k. Maybe 27k. It was at 33k a few years ago.

Everybody else in the country doesn't go by tickets sold. A lot of schools do it the way UConn does it. One good reason is that (UNFORTUNATELY) UConn doesn't control its stadium. The gate and everything to do with the stadium is controlled by a private company that won the contract from the state, which controls the stadium. in fact, UConn PAYS rent not only for use of the stadium but also for use of the XL Center. It's absurd, considering UConn is doing the politicos a favor by playing in Hartford, but I believe the rent is $50k per game or something like that. Not sure what the rent for the Rent is.

Interesting that your current season ticket # is 27k and avg attendance is 30k and I assume you are talking about 2010 with 33k season tickets and 38k average attendance. So really you are averaging 3-5k more than season ticket sales. I assume this is at least partly due to playing teams who don't bring a large fan base to games. I bet this number would be huge if UConn was playing in the B1G. I could see B1G teams bringing 10-20k+ fans for games.

I didn't realize your stadium is off campus. That explains all the strange events I saw on it's website. I thought it was odd/cool to have a brewfest at a college stadium on campus. I can see how having a off campus stadium could hurt attendance. Not many power conference schools with off campus stadiums. I guess the bright side is the taxpayers built the stadium for you which is nice, kinda like Louisville building the basketball arena for U of L.

 

[upstater]

Interesting that your current season ticket # is 27k and avg attendance is 30k and I assume you are talking about 2010 with 33k season tickets and 38k average attendance. So really you are averaging 3-5k more than season ticket sales. I assume this is at least partly due to playing teams who don't bring a large fan base to games. I bet this number would be huge if UConn was playing in the B1G. I could see B1G teams bringing 10-20k+ fans for games.

I didn't realize your stadium is off campus. That explains all the strange events I saw on it's website. I thought it was odd/cool to have a brewfest at a college stadium on campus. I can see how having a off campus stadium could hurt attendance. Not many power conference schools with off campus stadiums. I guess the bright side is the taxpayers built the stadium for you which is nice, kinda like Louisville building the basketball arena for U of L.

Some Boneyarders like the stadium off campus because it is in the center of the state, whereas the campus is off a one lane road in a pasture in the northeast corner of the state, but it's only 25 minutes away. I think it's a bad idea, but it now exists. And, originally, they had an agreement to build the stadium on campus in the early 1990s. Politics scuttled it for a few years, and that few years was enough for real trouble to start, when Bob Kraft of the New England Patriots planned to move the Patriots to Hartford in return for a state-funded domed stadium that would house UConn football on Saturdays. When Kraft pulled out, the stadium size dropped by 20k and it became open air. That being said, the stadium was built with very quick expansion (footings in place) to 60k.

 

[whaler11]

Rentschler holds 38,500.

UConn switched halfway through this season from reporting tickets distributed to people in attendance.


I don't know what they will report in the future when they actually sell a game out. If they will still call it 40k or if they will use 38,500.

 

[whaler11]

The most season tickets UConn ever moved was 28,500 and I believe it was 2006.

They were down to like 23,500 in 2013.

 

[okielite]

It looks like you guys still have a lot of potential if you can get your FB fans interested again like they were a few years ago. Getting attendance up over 40k would really make things look better. I'd start reporting tickets sold to help in that category like other schools do.

Even though the particular data with UConn was apparently wrong I think he data is still pretty interesting to look at. It is interesting to see how some schools are maxed out with attendance of 3x+ enrollment. Schools like this dont' have much upside IMO. Also interesting to see schools like USF, UCF, and Houston who have huge enrollment but fairly low attendance.

 

[SubbaBub]

As a FB season ticket holder, I can tell you that perceptions of our FB program from passersby are underestimating what it is and what it could be under the right circumstances. Last season was an outlier. A difficult thing to see or prove when your sample size is 10 years. But, I've been there and can say that in the right conference (the BE > 2004-2012 was no better than the AAC is today) with the right schedule, this area will support a winner. And after a generation of alumni who remember attending these games, attendance will be on par with other schools. Probably not 80k, but 50-60k is a good bet. Obviously, a stadium expansion would be required.

It's important to remember that fewer than 50,000 students have graduated after 4 years of UConn in the D-1 era. CR, a horrible coaching hire have stunted whatever momentum was gained from our run to the BCS.

And yes, we traveled to the Fiesta Bowl in good numbers. I was there and no self respecting OU fan wears blue to a FB game.

 

[okielite]

Unfortunately I don't agree. Since there are no big time FB programs in your region it is hard to say what the potential is for a team like UConn. Increasing attendance from 30k fans to 60k fans is no small feat. Even during your best year you only sold out 3 games in a 40k seat stadium. I think moving to a power conference might help but it also might hurt as it has at other schools who have moved up recently. WVU found this out the hard way. They were used to dominating the BE and playing in BCS games. Instead they have 1 bowl appearance in 2012, a crappy bottom tier bowl that nobody wants to play in NY. And last season they were not even bowl eligible. Attendance has been knocked down considerably. Moving up can be difficult and actually hurt attendance sometimes.

I think the perception of UConn FB is right on for a AAC school with little history and few accomplishments. I think the perception of UConn FB is confirmed with the support it receives from it's own fans. Hard to claim people are underestimating a school that has a small stadium and limited fan support. This is quite common for fans to have an inflated view of their own program.

I'm not sure if you just don't want to believe the reality that FB is by far the most important factor in realignment. If BB drove the Bus UConn would have been in a power conference years ago. In the end you are a victim of your location. It works in your favor for BB but against you in FB. Trying to make New England into college football country is a tall order, obviously you are the best of that region.

 

[Sportsman5]

Unfortunately I don't agree. Since there are no big time FB programs in your region it is hard to say what the potential is for a team like UConn. Increasing attendance from 30k fans to 60k fans is no small feat. Even during your best year you only sold out 3 games in a 40k seat stadium. I think moving to a power conference might help but it also might hurt as it has at other schools who have moved up recently. WVU found this out the hard way. They were used to dominating the BE and playing in BCS games. Instead they have 1 bowl appearance in 2012, a crappy bottom tier bowl that nobody wants to play in NY. And last season they were not even bowl eligible. Attendance has been knocked down considerably. Moving up can be difficult and actually hurt attendance sometimes.

I think the perception of UConn FB is right on for a AAC school with little history and few accomplishments. I think the perception of UConn FB is confirmed with the support it receives from it's own fans. Hard to claim people are underestimating a school that has a small stadium and limited fan support. This is quite common for fans to have an inflated view of their own program.

I'm not sure if you just don't want to believe the reality that FB is by far the most important factor in realignment. If BB drove the Bus UConn would have been in a power conference years ago. In the end you are a victim of your location. It works in your favor for BB but against you in FB. Trying to make New England into college football country is a tall order, obviously you are the best of that region.

I agree with some of what you are saying, but the WV attendance comparison is not good. There are a ton of BIG 10 Alumni in New York and Boston who can drive to Hartford in about 2 hours and would easily help fill a 60k stadium. I don't know exact numbers, but I think it's fair to say there are significantly more BIG 10 alumni close to Hartford than there are Big 12 alumni close to Morgantown.

Also I'm not sure if you are aware, but UConn is increasing it's enrollment from about 17,500 undergrads to about 24,000 undergrads. This started last year and the freshman class will continue to be increased incrementally in size over the next 2-3 years. It will help provide a bump in attendance numbers as students and their relatives will want to attend games. It will also help increase out of state reach for UConn into other states due to more out of state students enrolling.

 

[okielite]

I agree with some of what you are saying, but the WV attendance comparison is not good. There are a ton of BIG 10 Alumni in New York and Boston who can drive to Hartford in about 2 hours and would easily help fill a 60k stadium. I don't know exact numbers, but I think it's fair to say there are significantly more BIG 10 alumni close to Hartford than there are Big 12 alumni close to Morgantown.

Also I'm not sure if you are aware, but UConn is increasing it's enrollment from about 17,500 undergrads to about 24,000 undergrads. This started last year and the freshman class will continue to be increased incrementally in size over the next 2-3 years. It will help provide a bump in attendance numbers as students and their relatives will want to attend games. It will also help increase out of state reach for UConn into other states due to more out of state students enrolling.

I think you could get some help from the B1G alumni in the area but you really should not count on opposing fans filling up your stadium for you. No doubt there are more B1G alumni near you than Big 12 alumni near WVU. Probably at least 10x more.

Increasing enrollment is good but I dont' think enrollment is the issue with your attendance. If you are only averaging about 5k more than what you sell for season tickets you are not getting much interest from the 17k students you already have. I think it is more about getting your students involved more than getting more students. Most legitimate FB schools bring at least 5k students to games and likely more like 10k or 15k. How many students typically attend UConn games?

The problem I see is if for some reason you start losing in your next conference, which is common for teams jumping up to power conferences. Will attendance drop like it has the last couple of years? Likely it will. Another problem is coaching. You guys are going to need to be prepared to pay darn good money to keep a quality coach so they dont' jump to another school willing to pay more. OSU has the same problem. We just lucked out having an alumni as head coach. Before that Les Miles left for LSU after a few seasons.

To get to 60k average attendance you need to literally double the # of fans at games along with adding 20k seats to your stadium. That is going to take a whole lot of work and time IMO. Especially when you consider that you had a CC and BCS game in 2010 and attendance was only 38k. It seems strange to say but you need to get fans excited about FB like they are about WBB and BB. That is a tall order in a region that historically has little interest in CFB.

 

[Sportsman5]

I think you could get some help from the B1G alumni in the area but you really should not count on opposing fans filling up your stadium for you. No doubt there are more B1G alumni near you than Big 12 alumni near WVU. Probably at least 10x more.

Increasing enrollment is good but I dont' think enrollment is the issue with your attendance. If you are only averaging about 5k more than what you sell for season tickets you are not getting much interest from the 17k students you already have. I think it is more about getting your students involved more than getting more students. Most legitimate FB schools bring at least 5k students to games and likely more like 10k or 15k. How many students typically attend UConn games?

The problem I see is if for some reason you start losing in your next conference, which is common for teams jumping up to power conferences. Will attendance drop like it has the last couple of years? Likely it will. Another problem is coaching. You guys are going to need to be prepared to pay darn good money to keep a quality coach so they dont' jump to another school willing to pay more. OSU has the same problem. We just lucked out having an alumni as head coach. Before that Les Miles left for LSU after a few seasons.

To get to 60k average attendance you need to literally double the # of fans at games along with adding 20k seats to your stadium. That is going to take a whole lot of work and time IMO. Especially when you consider that you had a CC and BCS game in 2010 and attendance was only 38k. It seems strange to say but you need to get fans excited about FB like they are about WBB and BB. That is a tall order in a region that historically has little interest in CFB.

I think the BIG 10 schools with a lot of alumni in the area plus the typical few thousand fans from each school that travel to every away game could add 10,000+ in ticket sales. A team like Minnesota will only bring a few thousand, but Penn state or Michigan could bring 15,000 if seats are available. The demand for tickets was insane for the Michigan game last year in Hartford. It was a mix between increased demand due to UConn fans wanting to see a "name" team and Michigan fans willing to pay big money to see their team play close to where they live. Remember that there are 35+ million people that live within about a 3 hour drive of Hartford. The New York, Boston, Providence, Hartford, Worcester metro areas are very densely packed with people and many of them are BIG 10 alum. Watching their team in Hartford could be the only chance to see their team play most years, so they will make a point to go to the game.

Students fill or come close to filling the student section most games, but very few sit in the regular admission seats. I don't have exact stats on the number of student tickets sold. The main issue for students is that the stadium is off campus. So transportation can potentially be an issue. Students will without a doubt be very excited to show up for matchups against most BIG 10 teams. It's harder to get them to watch teams like Memphis and SMU. Also, the more students that go the better and more exciting tailgating is and the larger the student body the greater demand for student tickets. If something is scarce, than the perceived value goes up and it becomes a more exciting event. This is basic human psychology. Also, students who went to the school when UConn was division 1 and more specifically after the new stadium was built are in their 20s and early 30s. As the number of students who went to school when their was a better football culture increases, than the number of general admission season ticket sales will go up and potentially substantially. This will likely take 10-15 to make a big impact, but the number of die hard fans of UConn football will increase every season going forward for at least another 40-50 years.

 

[okielite]

Found this from 2010. Looks like you included student tickets in season tickets sales.
http://blogs.courant.com/uconn_football/2010/07/season-ticket-sales-an-update.html
The number rests at 24,500 today, which includes the student section. That section is sold out (good for them) as they gobbled up their 5,000 tickets.