MAC Attendance

[MT Blue]

And we thought our attendance was bad.... anyone seen the crowd shots of the Miami vs Akron game on ESPN2??? Lol. Looks like a few family members and the band are the only ones in the stands.


Literally there are twice as many people on the field than it appears to be in the stands

 

[sWiley]

Yeah the Buffalo vs. BGSU game is no better.

At the end of the day we only had a few hundred at the UTEP game so we really don't have much room to talk. The MAC games in late November/December have always been ghost lands and always will be.

 

[sWiley]

I must say, I LOVE how when MAC play rolls around they're playing on Tuesday & Wednesdays and then you get the Fun Belt on Thursdays and some random games on Friday. It's a gamblers dream to have football every night these week night games give more exposure to the MAC and Sun Belt than a lot of you realize. There are people wagering all over the entire WORLD on these games. And with gambling soon to be legal in many other states (and legal in all states eventually), these week night games are only going to gain in popularity.

I can't believe CUSA doesn't do some week night games. It's gotta bring in more money than having a few thousand fans show up on a Saturday.

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

We actually have had well attended games during the week. I would rather play on a Thursday than a Friday.

 

[FranklinRaider315]

Friday’s are bad for CFB, period. It’s high school night. The AAC has a crappy Friday night commitment with ESPN and CBS.

 

[MT01]

AAC has only had a couple of Friday night games. It's not like the AAC is doing much with the ratings on Saturday.

Their marquee match-up of the year (allegedly) UCF vs. Memphis drew 440,000 viewers on a Saturday on ESPN2. Navy/Tulsa (251K). Houston/Temple: (209K). Temple/ECU: (61K). UCF/Cincy (131K). Navy/Memphis: (295K). Cincy/USF (173K). UCF/SMU (353K). All of those on Saturday. I could go on.

MT/Marshall Friday night was better than all of those (453K).

In fact, one of AAC's best ratings was on a Friday (UConn/Memphis: 769K).

Thursday night used to be for college football until the NFL moved int and basically took it away. If you guys haven't noticed there are more than double the number of Friday games than Thursday on ESPN networks. The high schools can deal. I'm completely fine with C-USA going to Friday nights if it means we get back on ESPN and ESPN 2. We need that exposure more than anything else (so long as it is not going to Tues/Wed to do it). If we could get 10 to 12 Friday night games that would be a major improvement over what we have right now, which in 2017 was two.

 

[FranklinRaider315]

We are discussing butts in seats. Not TV ratings.
The only reason I mentioned the networks was because of the TV contract.

 

[blueboro007]

Face it...attendance has been declining at college games for several years....not just here.

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

There is no doubt about attendance dropping. Numerous articles from college and pro addressing the shift. I think the problem is fascinating because it tells a lot about how conveniences, technology, and the generational shift is changing spectator events.

Not going on any numbers but the Sounds sure do a good job in bringing in crowds when I attend. Lets face it...nobody cares if they are going to win their division. It is the experience. Granted they are not on TV but the area in the outfield where there are games, putt putt, and food/drinks is really neat. Outside of different music coming out of the speakers, our in game experience is the same as it was when I was in school.

Another thread for another day.