ECarolina 45,000
Navy 36,000
UCF 42,000
Tulsa 20,000
Houston 22,000
SMU 18,000
If we put 40K in every game we could have made a good case for entry against everybody except LV. 31,000 not in the ballpark.
What do these numbers mean? If we're talking about "could," then the correct attendance figures are from MD, Rutgers, WVU, Cuse, Pitt, and Nebraska, not the schlock we are stuck in this conference with. If you mean that increased attendance will make us more attractive than these schools that's another issue.
None of these schools, with the possible exception of UCF has an outlet to a major conference in the foreseeable (if ever) future. Who is going to take Tulane? The SEC? No. They have Louisiana sown up. The ACC? It provides an outlet into New Orleans, but it becomes a geographic outlier. Can the ACC network (allegedly anyway...) successfully force the New Orleans market to put it on basic cable? Unless there is a contingent of people in Louisiana who even know there is another school outside of LSU in the state, I'm not holding my breath. Same for the Big 12. Tulane loses to at least BYU, Cincy, and UCF. Unless they are looking to go to 16, forget about it. What about Navy? They might gain viewership when they play big opponents, but are their games must-see TV when the opponent is Marshall? What about Houston and SMU? They bring in huge markets (Houston and Dallas). Well, they are part of the AAC, and that contract is pretty putrid. Who exactly is clamoring to pay big money for the 5th and 6th most important BCS teams in Texas? They are redundancies for the Big 12 and the SEC (TAMU). Well, the ACC doesn't care about academics anymore.... But on what planet do those schools have the athletic pedigree of Louisville? Not Earth in 2014. In 1980, maybe... but today, forget it.