College Football’s Growing Problem: Empty Seats

[Huskybite]

College Football’s Growing Problem: Empty Seats

My apologies if this was already posted. We are not alone

WSJ is a paywall. Here's another site with similar conclusions:

College football's attendance problem is secretly huge

 

[uconntailgater]

Horrible cell phone reception during the tailgate & game, while not being able to update social media could be a factor?

 

[champs99and04]

I think, much like the NFL, it's a reflection of the fact that attendance/viewership/popularity really only had one way to go - down.

Products peak and then they dip and then they surge back towards the top. To the extent that people are finding reasons to not attend is merely a symptom of human nature.

 

[freescooter]

I think, much like the NFL, it's a reflection of the fact that attendance/viewership/popularity really only had one way to go - down.

Products peak and then they dip and then they surge back towards the top. To the extent that people are finding reasons to not attend is merely a symptom of human nature.

Some of that for sure. And some is that sellouts were never consistent except at a handful of places. A sellout was reserved for a major power visiting a traditional rival or a championship/other big game.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Part of the problem is the Rent is used mostly for just home football games. It could be used for concerts, public events, other sporting events -- that way the state could earn some extra revenue. East Hartford was a strange place to put it in the first place, but we are stuck with it for now.

 

[Husky25]

A program that has gone 27-59 and 0-1 in bowl games, since the BCS season 7+ seasons ago (of 8-5, 0-1, BTW) can't fill the stands in year 8? Shocker.

Part of the problem is the Rent is used mostly for just home football games. It could be used for concerts, public events, other sporting events -- that way the state could earn some extra revenue. East Hartford was a strange place to put it in the first place, but we are stuck with it for now.

How does hosting non-football events help football attendance?

Also the original proposal for Adrien's Landing included a stadium in downtown Hartford to be shared with the Patriots. Gillette Stadium holds 68,000. When UMass originally went FBS, they literally shut down 3/4 of the arena and I don't mean tarping the upper deck, teams would play to an empty endzone. I doubt the East Hartford location with plenty of parking (i.e. tailgate space. Something that would by close to impossible in a city environment.), easy access to three major highways, and at least decent sightlines from anywhere in the seating area moves the needle much. At least not as much as other factors, all of which have been listed ad nauseum.

 

[CL82]

Back in day, televised games were a rarity and TV quality sucked (not that we knew any better). You really can see the game 'better' on a 60" HD TV, though nothing competes with the experience of being there.

We talked about it ad nauseum, but I think that games in Storrs would draw better. You'd get more students, plus visiting parents and with a sensible tailgating policy the time people got in and left would be more feathered out. College games are played in out of the way campuses all across America and somehow they make it work.

Thursday night games, after 7 years of suck, wouldn't look any better than last week though no matter where the game was played.