(08-15-2014 11:52 PM)EagleX Wrote:  why are you doing this? as a mod, you KNOW how it will turn out

People will certainly turn things negative. All I can say is "glass houses". I don't see any 40,000 or 50,000 averages here. The conference needs good showings across the board.

(08-16-2014 09:14 AM)ODU AGGIE Wrote:  

(08-16-2014 08:33 AM)MT FAN Wrote:  Wow! What happened to Rice's following? Serious question.

The death of the SWC and the birth of the Big 12 without the Owls is what happened to Rice . When the Owls were playing competitive conference games with Texas, Texas A&M, Arkansas, and Houston (and to a somewhat lesser degree Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU and SMU) -- playing to a full stadium was a regular ocurrence.

Playing a C-USA home schedule (even C-USA 2.0) just cannot compete with the draw they had in the hayday of the SWC. It will be interesting to see how many turn out to see ODU.

You're right, but it goes farther than that. Thirty plus years of losing football, the advent of pro sports in Houston, the rapid growth of the city making travel difficult, and the rise of another school drawing away casual fans were all factors, too. Rice used to be the big ticket in Houston. Nevermore.

Still we have had big crowds much more recently than the fifties, drawing crowds of 40K or 50K even with the last 15 years.

(08-16-2014 12:26 PM)stanman505 Wrote:  I took a look at the numbers and compared them to what UTEP had for an attendance average last season. UTEP was 2-10 last year and had only 5 home games and averaged 28,375 fans. That would be the highest attended game for the following schools: Charlotte, FIU, ODU and WKU and finish in the top ten for: FAU, La Tech, MTSU, UNT and UAB. I am sorry but that is just sad.

UTEP is in the middle of a desert waste land, and they have no competition for viewers.

(08-16-2014 08:08 AM)ODU AGGIE Wrote:  You can go ahead and put in ODU's paid attendance for the year at 20,118 per game for every game.

They've changed the official number slightly every season. I wonder if they'll have a few more standing room only people this year.

(08-16-2014 12:48 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(08-16-2014 12:26 PM)stanman505 Wrote:  I took a look at the numbers and compared them to what UTEP had for an attendance average last season. UTEP was 2-10 last year and had only 5 home games and averaged 28,375 fans. That would be the highest attended game for the following schools: Charlotte, FIU, ODU and WKU and finish in the top ten for: FAU, La Tech, MTSU, UNT and UAB. I am sorry but that is just sad.

UTEP is in the middle of a desert waste land, and they have no competition for viewers.

UNT went to a bowl game last year and didn't even have one game with attendance to place it in its top ten all time. I'm sorry but fan support in the CUSA 3.0 is very disappointing. Attendance numbers like these will be used as a reason to give CUSA a smaller television contract or to place the CUSA games on crap days and crap times. I just don't think there is any excuse for a school to not average over 35K when they have a winning season and go to a bowl game. The only exception would be that their home stadium can't hold that many fans.

8 of 14 don't even hold 35,000+. I'd say you're going to be disappointed a lot.

Stadium Capacity:
Legion Field 71,594
Alamodome 65,000
Sun Bowl 51,500
Rice Stadium 47,000
Joan C Edwards 38,227
M. M. Roberts Stadium 36,000
Apogee Stadium 30,850
Floyd Stadium 30,788
FAU Stadium 29,419
Joe Aillet Stadium 27,717
Smith Stadium 22,113
Foreman Field 20,118
FIU Stadium 20,000
Jerry Richardson Stadium 15,314

(08-16-2014 01:39 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  8 of 14 don't even hold 35,000+. I'd say you're going to be disappointed a lot.

Stadium Capacity:
Legion Field 71,594
Alamodome 65,000
Sun Bowl 51,500
Rice Stadium 47,000
Joan C Edwards 38,227
M. M. Roberts Stadium 36,000
Apogee Stadium 30,850
Floyd Stadium 30,788
FAU Stadium 29,419
Joe Aillet Stadium 27,717
Smith Stadium 22,113
Foreman Field 20,118
FIU Stadium 20,000
Jerry Richardson Stadium 15,314

Wow. Lots of small stadiums.

The top ten lists did show lots of disparity. When we screen out games in which visitors accounted for most of the attendance, it gets even scarier.

If stadiums are small, then they should be sold out... all the time.
The same was expected from the departing schools- Tulsa, SMU, Memphis, etc., so no one should get their feelings hurt.

UTEP needs to get a good team on the field to have a 40-45K avge attendance season. SO we have work to do too.

(08-16-2014 01:22 PM)stanman505 Wrote:  

(08-16-2014 12:48 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(08-16-2014 12:26 PM)stanman505 Wrote:  I took a look at the numbers and compared them to what UTEP had for an attendance average last season. UTEP was 2-10 last year and had only 5 home games and averaged 28,375 fans. That would be the highest attended game for the following schools: Charlotte, FIU, ODU and WKU and finish in the top ten for: FAU, La Tech, MTSU, UNT and UAB. I am sorry but that is just sad.

UTEP is in the middle of a desert waste land, and they have no competition for viewers.

UNT went to a bowl game last year and didn't even have one game with attendance to place it in its top ten all time. I'm sorry but fan support in the CUSA 3.0 is very disappointing. Attendance numbers like these will be used as a reason to give CUSA a smaller television contract or to place the CUSA games on crap days and crap times. I just don't think there is any excuse for a school to not average over 35K when they have a winning season and go to a bowl game. The only exception would be that their home stadium can't hold that many fans.

Did you do any research before writing this? North Texas took 35,000 fans to the HOD Bowl last season. Our stadium only holds around 30,000. I'm not saying we don't need to average more, just that your logic is wrong, and we have issues UTEP doesn't face.

It's easy to say every team should average 35,000, when your team doesn't have to contend with the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Texas Rangers, and other 2 FBS programs. UNT averaged over 21,000 at home last season. That's a good start for a team that hasn't been in a conference with another Texas program in several decades.

Attendance across C-USA West will increase over the next several seasons, as long as we continue to field at least three strong programs a season.

(08-16-2014 02:04 PM)RUNVSFD MINER Wrote:  

(08-16-2014 01:39 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  8 of 14 don't even hold 35,000+. I'd say you're going to be disappointed a lot.

Stadium Capacity:
Legion Field 71,594
Alamodome 65,000
Sun Bowl 51,500
Rice Stadium 47,000
Joan C Edwards 38,227
M. M. Roberts Stadium 36,000
Apogee Stadium 30,850
Floyd Stadium 30,788
FAU Stadium 29,419
Joe Aillet Stadium 27,717
Smith Stadium 22,113
Foreman Field 20,118
FIU Stadium 20,000
Jerry Richardson Stadium 15,314

Wow. Lots of small stadiums.

The top ten lists did show lots of disparity. When we screen out games in which visitors accounted for most of the attendance, it gets even scarier.

If stadiums are small, then they should be sold out... all the time.
The same was expected from the departing schools- Tulsa, SMU, Memphis, etc., so no one should get their feelings hurt.

UTEP needs to get a good team on the field to have a 40-45K avge attendance season. SO we have work to do too.

Really? SMU sold out C-USA conference games?

You should be thanking us for our 21,000 average. If you watched our games, you'd know people actually come to our football games. SMU reports an annual average, but anyone who's watched their games knows nobody's there.

Feeling aren't being hurt, but UTEP and UTSA have very unique situation. Very few FBS programs enjoy larger markets with no football competition for attendance. We want larger crowds too, but we can't just snap our fingers and make it happen.

(08-16-2014 02:58 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(08-16-2014 02:04 PM)RUNVSFD MINER Wrote:  

(08-16-2014 01:39 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  8 of 14 don't even hold 35,000+. I'd say you're going to be disappointed a lot.

Stadium Capacity:
Legion Field 71,594
Alamodome 65,000
Sun Bowl 51,500
Rice Stadium 47,000
Joan C Edwards 38,227
M. M. Roberts Stadium 36,000
Apogee Stadium 30,850
Floyd Stadium 30,788
FAU Stadium 29,419
Joe Aillet Stadium 27,717
Smith Stadium 22,113
Foreman Field 20,118
FIU Stadium 20,000
Jerry Richardson Stadium 15,314

Wow. Lots of small stadiums.

The top ten lists did show lots of disparity. When we screen out games in which visitors accounted for most of the attendance, it gets even scarier.

If stadiums are small, then they should be sold out... all the time.
The same was expected from the departing schools- Tulsa, SMU, Memphis, etc., so no one should get their feelings hurt.

UTEP needs to get a good team on the field to have a 40-45K avge attendance season. SO we have work to do too.

Really? SMU sold out C-USA conference games?

You should be thanking us for our 21,000 average. If you watched our games, you'd know people actually come to our football games. SMU reports an annual average, but anyone who's watched their games knows nobody's there.

Feeling aren't being hurt, but UTEP and UTSA have very unique situation. Very few FBS programs enjoy larger markets with no football competition for attendance. We want larger crowds too, but we can't just snap our fingers and make it happen.

I didn't say SMU sold games out. I said they were expected to improve their attendance.

Well, if we are to be thankful for 20K, then we really are just another Sun Belt.

Student body alone should account for that. So the market theory only goes so far.

The key to good attendance is to follow the lead of San Diego St and when it becomes apparent on Friday or Saturday that attendance that week will suck, take baskets full of tickets and give them away (tickets distributed) to businesses or hobos or whoever. That way we can all have great attendance levels, or at least as high as the number of tickets we can print.[/align]

(08-16-2014 12:48 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(08-16-2014 12:26 PM)stanman505 Wrote:  I took a look at the numbers and compared them to what UTEP had for an attendance average last season. UTEP was 2-10 last year and had only 5 home games and averaged 28,375 fans. That would be the highest attended game for the following schools: Charlotte, FIU, ODU and WKU and finish in the top ten for: FAU, La Tech, MTSU, UNT and UAB. I am sorry but that is just sad.

UTEP is in the middle of a desert waste land, and they have no competition for viewers.

Surrounded by desert, yes. El Paso itself is wonderful.

I seriously doubt you'll see good attendance for either FIU or FAU for a long time if ever. Im talking like 10 years or so. With Football being so new to both schools there just aren't a lot of alumni that have it as part of their memories so they have no reason to invest in FAU football now. That will change as you have more alumni entering the workforce who remember the games and experiences fondly. FAU has gone to great lengths to make sure that the students are heavily involved in game day and the experience. This will pay dividends down the road, but it is not a short term fix for attendance issues. Winning is the ONLY short term fix IMHO.

S. Florida is a front running phony area and unless you are at the top of the top of whatever league your in there will not be sell outs. The Dolphins and Cane's have trouble selling out now despite their deep history and traditions. There is simply too much to do in S. Florida for folks to get excited unless there is a ton of national attention.

(08-16-2014 04:39 PM)OwlFamily Wrote:  I seriously doubt you'll see good attendance for either FIU or FAU for a long time if ever. Im talking like 10 years or so. With Football being so new to both schools there just aren't a lot of alumni that have it as part of their memories so they have no reason to invest in FAU football now. That will change as you have more alumni entering the workforce who remember the games and experiences fondly. FAU has gone to great lengths to make sure that the students are heavily involved in game day and the experience. This will pay dividends down the road, but it is not a short term fix for attendance issues. Winning is the ONLY short term fix IMHO.

S. Florida is a front running phony area and unless you are at the top of the top of whatever league your in there will not be sell outs. The Dolphins and Cane's have trouble selling out now despite their deep history and traditions. There is simply too much to do in S. Florida for folks to get excited unless there is a ton of national attention.

Spot on.

It's super hard for even us Hurricanes to get the stadium with 60k-70k every game. We'd have to be the top-ranked team in the country to sell out every game, including "cheap" games. FAU and FIU face the same problem, but it's magnified since they're not even on the same level as UM.

(08-16-2014 02:58 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  Feeling aren't being hurt, but UTEP and UTSA have very unique situation. Very few FBS programs enjoy larger markets with no football competition for attendance. We want larger crowds too, but we can't just snap our fingers and make it happen.

And UNT has a bigger enrollment than both UTSA and UTEP. You're also a lot older than UTSA therefore a lot more alumni. You also have the advantage of nearby DFW hiring your grads, UTEP grads usually have to move to the bigger cities.

The shear size of alumni and students alone should be enough to sell out Apogee. Let's not put all the blame on pro teams and the other FBS programs(which are private).

(08-16-2014 01:22 PM)stanman505 Wrote:  

(08-16-2014 12:48 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(08-16-2014 12:26 PM)stanman505 Wrote:  I took a look at the numbers and compared them to what UTEP had for an attendance average last season. UTEP was 2-10 last year and had only 5 home games and averaged 28,375 fans. That would be the highest attended game for the following schools: Charlotte, FIU, ODU and WKU and finish in the top ten for: FAU, La Tech, MTSU, UNT and UAB. I am sorry but that is just sad.

UTEP is in the middle of a desert waste land, and they have no competition for viewers.

UNT went to a bowl game last year and didn't even have one game with attendance to place it in its top ten all time. I'm sorry but fan support in the CUSA 3.0 is very disappointing. Attendance numbers like these will be used as a reason to give CUSA a smaller television contract or to place the CUSA games on crap days and crap times. I just don't think there is any excuse for a school to not average over 35K when they have a winning season and go to a bowl game. The only exception would be that their home stadium can't hold that many fans.

why 35K? why not 40K? or 73K?

What is "absolute zero", Alex?

(08-16-2014 12:36 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  

(08-16-2014 12:34 PM)ODU AGGIE Wrote:  If you are going to finish with, "...that is just sad", you can take ODU off the list. S. B. Ballard Stadium has been sold out for every Monarch home game for the past five years -- all of the years for Monarch football since football was reinstated in 2009. ODU is in the early design/concept phase for a new and larger stadium to be ready in 2018. There is nothing sad about that, and support for ODU football is alive and flourishing.

This. Several schools don't have stadiums like the Sun Bowl, and would have much higher records if they did.

Not true, because if they did have bigger stadiums there would be more empty seats. It's just that they're not coming to the games.

We have real fans that do come to the games in both sports. If we have winning teams in both expect many sell-outs as that is the norm. Take me for instance, I have not gone to weddings of family members, or birthday parties if they schedule them on game days. I've been admonished for this but I tell them that they should have looked at the game schedule before making a date for their parties. And many UTEP fans are the same.

(08-16-2014 06:07 PM)olliebaba Wrote:  

(08-16-2014 12:36 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  

(08-16-2014 12:34 PM)ODU AGGIE Wrote:  If you are going to finish with, "...that is just sad", you can take ODU off the list. S. B. Ballard Stadium has been sold out for every Monarch home game for the past five years -- all of the years for Monarch football since football was reinstated in 2009. ODU is in the early design/concept phase for a new and larger stadium to be ready in 2018. There is nothing sad about that, and support for ODU football is alive and flourishing.

This. Several schools don't have stadiums like the Sun Bowl, and would have much higher records if they did.

Not true, because if they did have bigger stadiums there would be more empty seats. It's just that they're not coming to the games.

We have real fans that do come to the games in both sports. If we have winning teams in both expect many sell-outs as that is the norm. Take me for instance, I have not gone to weddings of family members, or birthday parties if they schedule them on game days. I've been admonished for this but I tell them that they should have looked at the game schedule before making a date for their parties. And many UTEP fans are the same.

and yet, on the national stage, nobody draws any distinction between your beloved home team and the programs you mock.

(08-16-2014 01:39 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  8 of 14 don't even hold 35,000+. I'd say you're going to be disappointed a lot.

Stadium Capacity:
Legion Field 71,594
Alamodome 65,000
Sun Bowl 51,500
Rice Stadium 47,000
Joan C Edwards 38,227
M. M. Roberts Stadium 36,000
Apogee Stadium 30,850
Floyd Stadium 30,788
FAU Stadium 29,419
Joe Aillet Stadium 27,717
Smith Stadium 22,113
Foreman Field 20,118
FIU Stadium 20,000
Jerry Richardson Stadium 15,314

Word from the Charlotte fanbase is that the folks in the AD have scoffed at the idea of expanding the stadium in the forseeable future, even if there is excess season ticket demand. So, enjoy that perpetual attendance boat anchor, I guess?