(11-16-2010 06:05 PM)TroyFootball05 Wrote:  Well, from my experience, a lot of people have a hard on for attendance like its the ultimate measure of a team. I think its a part of it. But if we're gonna be honest, those "home away from home" home games are not true home games. They might count toward NCAA requirements, but it is not a true account of ULM or FAU's fanbase at all. To me it's just a fancy term for an away game (FAU) and a game at a nuetral site (ULM). Those games are obviously filled with much more Michigan State and Arkansas fans than if they had been played at home. They are not home games, they just count toward NCAA attendance.

Hell, if I had a rolex made by some bootleg company, it might have the rolex name on it, and it might look like one, but it's not a rolex.

Amen

Well maybe we should all care. Attendance requirements are meant to be a minimum. Whew we made it is not the attitude we need to have as a conference . Gee we found a loophole is not either. If your school has been playing football for 10 or 30 or 50 years and you have to fight to average 15k, why have a FBS football program? Because you can? This applies to MBB too. USA played a conference away game last year against a team in the middle of the conference race and the actual body count was less than 150. Why do they play basketball if on any night 150 show up? Because they can?
I know this is not a popular statement. Just my opinion and I am often wrong. Just remember when we talk about conference expansion the ability to compete is maybe less important than the ability to put butts in seats. Adding great new markets only helps if the market you add cares about the program.

(11-16-2010 11:39 PM)OldJaguar Wrote:  Well maybe we should all care. Attendance requirements are meant to be a minimum. Whew we made it is not the attitude we need to have as a conference . Gee we found a loophole is not either. If your school has been playing football for 10 or 30 or 50 years and you have to fight to average 15k, why have a FBS football program? Because you can? This applies to MBB too. USA played a conference away game last year against a team in the middle of the conference race and the actual body count was less than 150. Why do they play basketball if on any night 150 show up? Because they can?
I know this is not a popular statement. Just my opinion and I am often wrong. Just remember when we talk about conference expansion the ability to compete is maybe less important than the ability to put butts in seats. Adding great new markets only helps if the market you add cares about the program.

We played an away conference game (hoops) last year and had more fans than the home program. How do I know ? I counted.

(11-17-2010 12:04 AM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  

(11-16-2010 11:39 PM)OldJaguar Wrote:  Well maybe we should all care. Attendance requirements are meant to be a minimum. Whew we made it is not the attitude we need to have as a conference . Gee we found a loophole is not either. If your school has been playing football for 10 or 30 or 50 years and you have to fight to average 15k, why have a FBS football program? Because you can? This applies to MBB too. USA played a conference away game last year against a team in the middle of the conference race and the actual body count was less than 150. Why do they play basketball if on any night 150 show up? Because they can?
I know this is not a popular statement. Just my opinion and I am often wrong. Just remember when we talk about conference expansion the ability to compete is maybe less important than the ability to put butts in seats. Adding great new markets only helps if the market you add cares about the program.

We played an away conference game (hoops) last year and had more fans than the home program. How do I know ? I counted.

Not to pick on the dearly departed, but I can't tell you how many times Cajun fans did that to UNO in basketball and baseball the last few years.

(11-17-2010 04:51 AM)AstroCajun Wrote:  

(11-17-2010 12:04 AM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  

(11-16-2010 11:39 PM)OldJaguar Wrote:  Well maybe we should all care. Attendance requirements are meant to be a minimum. Whew we made it is not the attitude we need to have as a conference . Gee we found a loophole is not either. If your school has been playing football for 10 or 30 or 50 years and you have to fight to average 15k, why have a FBS football program? Because you can? This applies to MBB too. USA played a conference away game last year against a team in the middle of the conference race and the actual body count was less than 150. Why do they play basketball if on any night 150 show up? Because they can?
I know this is not a popular statement. Just my opinion and I am often wrong. Just remember when we talk about conference expansion the ability to compete is maybe less important than the ability to put butts in seats. Adding great new markets only helps if the market you add cares about the program.

We played an away conference game (hoops) last year and had more fans than the home program. How do I know ? I counted.

Not to pick on the dearly departed, but I can't tell you how many times Cajun fans did that to UNO in basketball and baseball the last few years.

I remember USA having more fans than UNO one year when I went...

This seems like the thread to pose the question. I am having a spirited debate on The Den about actual attendance in late season games versus early season. I have been relying mostly on my own experiences over the years and anecdotal evidence gathered here and there so maybe I am WAY off on this but there's a variety of perspectives on here so I will pose the question.

Do most of you see a drop in attendance on average later in the season? I realize that certain rivals draw well regardless, but on average does this happen at your school?

(11-23-2010 03:21 PM)Crump1 Wrote:  This seems like the thread to pose the question. I am having a spirited debate on The Den about actual attendance in late season games versus early season. I have been relying mostly on my own experiences over the years and anecdotal evidence gathered here and there so maybe I am WAY off on this but there's a variety of perspectives on here so I will pose the question.

Do most of you see a drop in attendance on average later in the season? I realize that certain rivals draw well regardless, but on average does this happen at your school?

I think it has to do with a number of things. Disappointing records (more often than not for most Sun Belt programs, unfortunately), even last year when MT got on a roll late, the 3-3 start with two particularly disappointing losses, the attendance suffered and was not acceptable in the later season for a team on its way to a bowl, and then the weather has an impact later in the season as well. I've always thought when gameday weather doesn't get above 50, some fans don't want to deal with the cold and stay home.

(11-14-2010 10:54 AM)MG61 Wrote:  This week

20,243 Troy v FIU
14,904 USA v Ark-Mont.
14,227 Muts v UNT
12,044 FAU v ULL
11,826 ASU v WKU

Year to date - # home games in parenthesis

26,871 ULM (4)
20,801 Muts (5)
20,214 FAU (4)
19,683 Troy (4)
18,765 USA (7)
18,469 ULL (4)
17,394 ASU (5)
17,169 FIU (3)
16,871 UNT (5)
15,141 WKU (4)

How about an attendance update? I'll take whatever you decide and promise not to b#@%$) about "actual" home game attendance.

(11-29-2010 11:36 AM)AstroCajun Wrote:  

(11-14-2010 10:54 AM)MG61 Wrote:  This week

20,243 Troy v FIU
14,904 USA v Ark-Mont.
14,227 Muts v UNT
12,044 FAU v ULL
11,826 ASU v WKU

Year to date - # home games in parenthesis

26,871 ULM (4)
20,801 Muts (5)
20,214 FAU (4)
19,683 Troy (4)
18,765 USA (7)
18,469 ULL (4)
17,394 ASU (5)
17,169 FIU (3)
16,871 UNT (5)
15,141 WKU (4)

How about an attendance update? I'll take whatever you decide and promise not to b#@%$) about "actual" home game attendance.

I quit doing attendance updates because of all the b!*#hing.:odie:

(11-29-2010 04:14 PM)MG61 Wrote:  I quit doing attendance updates because of all the b!*#hing.:odie:

If we all quit posting because of ULL bitching about ULM, or ULM bitching about ULL, then there wouldn't be any new threads.

Games this past week:

ULM vs ULL 9,215
MTSU vs FAU 10,140
FIU vs ASU 14,588
Troy vs WKU 16,004
UNT vs Kansas State 21,952

Average attendance for year for TRUE home games:
MTSU 19,024
Troy 18,947
USA 18,765
UNT 17,718
ASU 17,394
ULL 17,383
FIU 17,169 (one home game remaining vs MTSU)
FAU 14,910 (one home game remaining vs Troy)
WKU 14,577
ULM 13,818

If you count in Michigan State's fans at FAU's "home" game in Detroit, and Arkansas' fans for ULM's "home" game in Little Rock, then you have:
ULM 20,799
FAU 20,214
MTSU 19,024
Troy 18,947
USA 18,765
UNT 17,718
ASU 17,394
ULL 17,383
FIU 17,169
WKU 14,577

Thanks for the update. I really wanted to know what the numbers looked like heading into the clubhouse. I had no agenda in asking.