A little long, but a pretty good article.

https://www.si.com/college/2020/01/10/c ... cline-ncaa

Enjoyed it. As a 68 year old Boomer living 2 hrs from Boone weather is a big issue. TV also make it easy to miss a game.

I graduated in 2012...in going to games since...way before I knew that attendance was suffering nation wide, I've made many comments to my wife about how different (especially male) students are at the games.

We saw a kid with pink hair, and another kid wearing what looked to be female leggings. I told her "college football wont be around in 20 years if these are the men of the future".

Those kids have a right to be like you and I. But to expect them to really care about football for the long haul....I'm not sure.

Just a personal observation I've noticed in recent years.

Also conferences are becoming too large geographically and TV technology is do advanced it makes watching the game at home more enjoyable and affordable than it ever has.

Rekdiver wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 10, 2020 2:33 pm

Enjoyed it. As a 68 year old Boomer living 2 hrs from Boone weather is a big issue. TV also make it easy to miss a game.

As a boomer older than you and now living 4 hrs away it is just too much for us to handle - For about 10-12 years we never missed a home game but we were only 2 1/2 hrs away and we could make the round trip in one day - It's expensive with gas, food and tickets (no way for lodging) and at our age it takes a toll - the games on TV have made all the difference - it is not the reason we stay home but it surely makes staying much more pleasant - our daughter and son-in-law never missed a game for all those years (I bought 6 season tickets) but they have a little Mountaineer now and they haven't been to a game for several years

I 1,000% agree with this statement and don't think it gets enough attention across all of college football:

The cost of attending a game has increased dramatically over recent years. Not just ticket prices, but required donations for season tickets, hotel prices, fuel prices, and food. Plus, most away conference games are simply too far away to attend without taking time off of work on Friday at a minimum.

As I mentioned in an earlier thread, our closest conference away games are approximately 5+ hours away from the home field.

I would never trade what we have achieved and enjoyed by moving up. One of the things I really miss was the closer proximity of away conference (and sometimes playoff) games, which made them easier to attend in one day from Boone (ETSU, WCU, Elon, Furman, Wofford, etc.).

Hopefully there will be a conference realignment soon that will allow for a more regional conference footprint, and make it more feasible time and expense-wise to attend away games. Not only would it save money for the alumni and fans, but also the travel costs of all sports for the University.

If the tickets for our home games were say, $20 that would equate to $400,000 (assuming sales of 20,000 tickets). If concession prices were also cut dramatically would the sales increase dramatically? Keep beer prices the same as it appears that they sell no matter what. How much is the per game gate averaging now for our home games if you consider season ticket prices? About how much is netted on concession prices? If ticket and concession prices were cut to the bone (just for argument sake) would we see a huge uptick in attendance? Would that be enough to offset gas, hotel and eating costs incurred no matter what? All that being said is economics purely a driving force? You have to believe that being able to watch games from your recliner on a huge flat screen television (crappy cameras aside) makes a huge difference>

AppDawg wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:44 pm

I 1,000% agree with this statement and don't think it gets enough attention across all of college football:

Which is why we have to stop playing FCS teams. Play good G5 or P5 games and just have 5 home games in a year sometimes. There will be years where you have 6 or 7 home games and vice versa. I think if Central Florida or Wake Forest was coming to Boone instead of Morgan State people would be way more excited. You also run the risk of having trouble getting the players up for these games against FCS teams. We need to make our OOC as strong as possible.

TV
Other options for entertainment

Boomers health
Gen X’s kid activities
Gen Y TV and other activities

It’s all about Internet and TV. Video killed the football star.

Appstate88 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 10, 2020 8:25 pm

It’s all about Internet and TV. Video killed the football star.

Ironic, the thing that has made the money could kill the game atmosphere.

On top of the reasons already mentioned regarding TV, here is another: The uncertainty that a game time can be changed shortly before (12 days?) gameday. For many that plan to travel, that is a wildcard which could prevent them from making definite plans to attend.

I’ve really started to wonder if smaller stadiums are the answer to preserving the game atmosphere while TV makes the money. G5 stadiums at 15 to 20 K seats up close to the field would provide a great game atmosphere for the players and plenty of fans for the tv cameras. It would also be a little more exclusive which would prompt folks to buy tickets in advance. I love a full stadium and almost hate a half empty stadium.

AppStFan1 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 10, 2020 7:21 pm

Which is why we have to stop playing FCS teams. Play good G5 or P5 games and just have 5 home games in a year sometimes. There will be years where you have 6 or 7 home games and vice versa.

I too would like to see fewer FCS games on future schedules. Not only is it a less interesting game, but it hurts our strength of schedule. We only get 4 OOC games, we need to make them count.

The classic objection is "we need an easy FCS win for bowl eligibility." Frankly, if we can't get to 6 wins in the Sun Belt with out playing a FCS, we don't deserve a bowl.

We should be scheduling with an expectation of excellence, not holding ourselves back for fear of failure.

It seems I remember some on here complaining that many FBS teams would not play APP when we were in FCS -

SayYesToTheRock wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 10, 2020 9:37 pm

AppStFan1 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 10, 2020 7:21 pm

Which is why we have to stop playing FCS teams. Play good G5 or P5 games and just have 5 home games in a year sometimes. There will be years where you have 6 or 7 home games and vice versa.

I too would like to see fewer FCS games on future schedules. Not only is it a less interesting game, but it hurts our strength of schedule. We only get 4 OOC games, we need to make them count.

The classic objection is "we need an easy FCS win for bowl eligibility." Frankly, if we can't get to 6 wins in the Sun Belt with out playing a FCS, we don't deserve a bowl.

We should be scheduling with an expectation of excellence, not holding ourselves back for fear of failure.

I think our future OOC schedule looks challenging enough...

2021
Sept. 4 vs. East Carolina (Bank of America Stadium - Charlotte, N.C.)
Sept. 11 at Miami (Fla.)
Sept. 18 vs. ELON
Sept. 25 vs. MARSHALL

2022
Sept. 3 vs. NORTH CAROLINA
Sept. 10 at Texas A&M
Sept. 17 at Marshall
Sept. 24 vs. THE CITADEL

2023
Sept. 2 vs. GARDNER-WEBB
Sept. 9 at North Carolina
Sept. 16 vs. EAST CAROLINA
Sept. 23 at Wyoming

2024
Aug. 31 vs. EAST TENNESSEE STATE
Sept. 7 at Clemson
Sept. 14 at East Carolina

2025
Sept. 20 vs. SOUTH CAROLINA

2026
Sept. 5 at East Carolina
Sept. 19 vs. CHARLOTTE

2027
Sept. 18 at Charlotte
TBA at South Carolina

2028
Sept. 16 vs. CHARLOTTE

2029
Sept. 15 at Charlotte

ESPN +

Appstate88 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 10, 2020 9:55 pm

I think our future OOC schedule looks challenging enough...

Replace the Gardner-Webbs and Elons on our schedule with Memphis or UCF -- the increased SOS makes a huge difference in achieving program goals: a NY6 bowl and being nationally ranked.

If we're going to boost attendance, putting a quality product AND bringing a quality opponent is important. Many will skip the obvious blowouts in favor of ESPN+.

I recognize we may have to schedule FCS some years when no home-and-home agreements can be made. In those cases, I hope to see regional FCS teams that may bring a lot of fans: namely WCU and ETSU.

FCS games don't really kill our attendance. Obviously, it's better when Miami, Wake and even Charlotte come to the Rock. Regional G5's that can bring 3K or 4K certainly help.

In 2015-Howard outdrew a Homecoming Wyoming Crowd
In 2017 Savannah State was a lead-in game to Wake Forest, but still drew 20,000
In 2018 a home opener against Gardner Webb outdrew a season finale, trip to the Sun Belt Championship clash with Troy (and we had a larger attendance against FCS Gardner Webb, than Charlotte did when we packed their stadium)
This year, ETSU was our third biggest crowd (behind Charlotte and ULM for homecoming)

Boise State--2019 Portland State, Idaho State 2015--Otherwise, they have been able to schedule home and homes with P5's (Virginia, BYU, Washington, and Washington State) and G5's (UConn, Troy and Lousiana)
Central Florida--2015 Furman 2016 SC State 2017-Austin Peay 2018 SC State 2019 Florida A&M


2015 Home Attendance

Howard 24,314
Wyoming 19,345 (HC)
Georgia Southern 24,121 (Thursday)
Troy 26,130
Arkansas State 18,721 (Thursday)
Louisiana 16,124

2016 Home Attendance
Miami 34,658
Old Dominion 23,274
Georgia State 24,782
Idaho 26,931 (HC)
Texas State 28,472
ULM 18,699

2017 Home Attendance
Savannah State 20,109
Wake Forest 35,126
New Mexico State 22,787 (HC)
Coastal Carolina 30.179
Georgia Southern 23,110 (Thursday)
Lousiana 23,411

2018 Home Attendance
Gardner Webb 21,084
South Alabama 25,862 (HC)
Louisiana 27,082
Georgia State 22,315
Troy 20.410
Louisiana 14,963 (Sun Belt Championship)

2019 Home Attendance
ETSU 25,147
Charlotte 29,182
Coastal Carolina 25,055
ULM 27,717 (HC)
Georgia Southern 18,796 (Thursday)
Texas State 22,125
Louisiana 18,618 (Sun Belt Championship)