2015 Attendance

[Wildfan]

Students like the experience, if they aren't able to drink in the student section they want some way to have fun. If you look at schools with large student sections they normally have fun routines, that may look odd to some people but not to the students. There just doesn't seem to be much other than 3rd downs to get the students involved(and even that was getting tiring last year when 3rd downs were being converted against us and Montana ending). Dance cams, or some student cams or something to get them to notice something other than sit on their phones in between plays. I think some schools even enlists some students to lead chants and such in the student section(not cheer leaders who do the typical U-N-D chant on the sidelines). 

 

That said I still am disappointed in the students for not attending, especially mid day games. Late enough to sleep in and early enough that parties have not started. This is a 4-1 team that is Ranked 25/23. If the team is able to play exciting football and pull out wins at home it will bring students. All it takes is one student saying he had a blast and the game was great to be at and the word spreads like fire. 

 

Students can watch the action on TV if there isn't anything to get them involved, so there needs to give them a reason to see it in person.

[Siouxper Slam 29]

One thing that has always made me curious is how new students know how to do all of the cheers & songs at hockey games, yet there is nothing like that for football (except slapping the seats on 3rd down, which isn't much)?  There needs to be more of a student-driven atmosphere.  Look at hockey games: would you rather go to a game where the students are loud and heckling the opponent, or a game where they aren't there, but maybe you get a better seat?  It's about atmosphere and the students, whether they like it or not, drive it. 

That being said, it is hard to get excited to go to the Alerus Center for a game.  The word "sterile" comes to mind when I walk around the building.  The Alerus is supposed to the home of UND Football, but they aren't showing their pride very well.  Something has to change on that front.

And FYI: UND is not doing blackout before the entrance because it's gotten stale and with the brightness of the video boards, it doesn't really make it "black".  Plus the lights take forever to come back on and they figured it wasn't worth the headaches. 

[UND1983]

One thing that has always made me curious is how new students know how to do all of the cheers & songs at hockey games, yet there is nothing like that for football (except slapping the seats on 3rd down, which isn't much)?  There needs to be more of a student-driven atmosphere.  Look at hockey games: would you rather go to a game where the students are loud and heckling the opponent, or a game where they aren't there, but maybe you get a better seat?  It's about atmosphere and the students, whether they like it or not, drive it. 

That being said, it is hard to get excited to go to the Alerus Center for a game.  The word "sterile" comes to mind when I walk around the building.  The Alerus is supposed to the home of UND Football, but they aren't showing their pride very well.  Something has to change on that front.

And FYI: UND is not doing blackout before the entrance because it's gotten stale and with the brightness of the video boards, it doesn't really make it "black".  Plus the lights take forever to come back on and they figured it wasn't worth the headaches. 

It sure seemed "worth it" to everyone who commented on here and everyone I have talked to.  We will gladly wait out the lights to come on fully while the national anthem is being sung.  Plus, why would they not switch to a dark graphic when the walk-out was happening to darken the video boards?  

All it takes is effort and cooperation since it has already been done!  (not like they are inventing the process)

[homer]

One thing that has always made me curious is how new students know how to do all of the cheers & songs at hockey games, yet there is nothing like that for football (except slapping the seats on 3rd down, which isn't much)?  There needs to be more of a student-driven atmosphere.  Look at hockey games: would you rather go to a game where the students are loud and heckling the opponent, or a game where they aren't there, but maybe you get a better seat?  It's about atmosphere and the students, whether they like it or not, drive it. 

That being said, it is hard to get excited to go to the Alerus Center for a game.  The word "sterile" comes to mind when I walk around the building.  The Alerus is supposed to the home of UND Football, but they aren't showing their pride very well.  Something has to change on that front.

And FYI: UND is not doing blackout before the entrance because it's gotten stale and with the brightness of the video boards, it doesn't really make it "black".  Plus the lights take forever to come back on and they figured it wasn't worth the headaches. 

I don't know how many times UND is going to change the entrance for football.  It may seem like a small deal but that is something that can become a tradition and something fans look forward to.  These are two extremes but right now its so bland I really don't care if I am in my seat before kickoff and I think most fans and students feel the same.  Put the same effort in as other sports.  The videos below are two extremes but these are tradition and something fans look forward to.  How many fans at these schools are still out tailgating when this is going on?  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbvtdXHXaLU

 

[Siouxper Slam 29]

I guess it was something that the athletic department (who runs the in-game entertainment) decided to do.  Seems like last year they tried putting a graphic with a black logo when the band was on the field; it helped but it was really bright. I agree that they need to find a tradition and stick with it (so far, 2-0 at home and leading the conference, it seems to be working).

[ericpnelson]

Kelley and DI Lorenzo should be in a dunking booth pre-game.  That should draw a few extra thousand.  

This is the probably the most creative and most probably effective idea I've heard in threads about football attendence.... Should we do it between the 3rd & 4th quarters to ensure students stay?

[gundy1124]

And......Va Tech got their ass kicked, but a good entrance. 

Seems with a dome stadium we are limited, but I like the team entering through the fan base, like Clemson.

 

[siouxfan512]

This is the probably the most creative and most probably effective idea I've heard in threads about football attendence.... Should we do it between the 3rd & 4th quarters to ensure students stay?

Maybe instead of throwing baseballs at a dunk tank, we could just throw baseballs at them? Thoughts?

[homer]

And......Va Tech got their ass kicked, but a good entrance. 

Seems with a dome stadium we are limited, but I like the team entering through the fan base, like Clemson.

 

I'm not saying it has to be one of those but can we find something and stick with it?  I compare football to hockey (I generally try not to), I won't miss a Friday night hockey entrance.  I get goosebumps everytime.  After game one for football the last few seasons, I make zero effort to get to my seats prior to kickoff.  Its boring.  And judging by the lines we'll see trying to get up the escalators on Saturday at 1:02, most fans feel the same way.  

[gundy1124]

I'm not saying it has to be one of those but can we find something and stick with it?  I compare football to hockey (I generally try not to), I won't miss a Friday night hockey entrance.  I get goosebumps everytime.  After game one for football the last few seasons, I make zero effort to get to my seats prior to kickoff.  Its boring.  And judging by the lines we'll see trying to get up the escalators on Saturday at 1:02, most fans feel the same way.  

We are missing a 'coolness' factor for football that hockey has, no doubt. (and it's probably not even cool to say 'coolness')  I don't have a good answer except everyone likes a winner and a program they can be proud of.

[UNDBIZ]

And FYI: UND is not doing blackout before the entrance because it's gotten stale and with the brightness of the video boards, it doesn't really make it "black".  Plus the lights take forever to come back on and they figured it wasn't worth the headaches. 

Then let's leave the lights on in the REA during the hockey intro.  You mentioned the Al having a "sterile" environment.  Leaving the lights on during the intro is a contributing factor to that sterility.

[ericpnelson]

Maybe instead of throwing baseballs at a dunk tank, we could just throw baseballs at them? Thoughts?

it's a football game, so i think it should be a football... maybe call it #chuckthepigskin

[the green team]

Did we dim the lights during our national championship season in the Alerus?  I'm thinking no (correct me if I'm wrong)... we had a good atmosphere then and not nearly as nice video boards etc...

IMHO- Win, and the atmosphere will be special.

I'm getting old, I don't want to go to outside games in November...I will go to the Alerus in November.

[Cratter]

While reading the last page, one thing comes to mind.

I was a student at UND in the "glory days of UND football" 2001-2005.

And for most of those game the upper student sections were still about half full if that. There was pages and pages on this message board complaining about the student populations at the football games.

Winning will not solve all.

Fans need to realize, "It is what it is."

Edited October 8, 2015 by Cratter

[CMSioux]

I totally agree - new generation means new priorities and interests. There is no single reason - "in my day" we would walk over to Memorial stadium from the dorm. There was usually plenty of room, a big drunk buy might stand up once in awhile and lead cheers but it wasn't very rowdy unless it was SU - the Greeks would come over intoxicated make some noise for a little while and then disappear. Maybe it's more obvious because we are inside and the emptiness is more obvious? 

[Siouxper Slam 29]

Then let's leave the lights on in the REA during the hockey intro.  You mentioned the Al having a "sterile" environment.  Leaving the lights on during the intro is a contributing factor to that sterility.

The REA is equipped for the lights to go on and off quickly...think they're called shutters.  If the Alerus could do that, it would be great to have it dark, with the smoke and fireworks going off. 

I can't imagine UND would agree to a contract where the Alerus Center does not have to make any changes to their decor and make it feel like UND's home field.  Alerus Center has dropped the ball big time and fans are noticing the lack of effort to make the place look good.

[johnsowe]

JMU's attendance is among the best in the FCS, but is on a constant decline

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By Andre Haboush | The Breeze | Updated 10 hours ago

 

JMU has maintained an attendance rate that ranks in the top three of the entire Football Championship Subdivision since the 2011 Bridgeforth expansion.

 

According to the NCAA, JMU averaged 19,816 attendees per home game in 2014, the second highest in FCS, but the numbers have dipped every year since 2011.

 

In 2013 there was an average of 21,011 attendants per home game. In 2012 there was 22,783, and 2011 — when three of the five home games sold out — had an average attendance of 25,002, 125 more than the stadium’s current max capacity of 24,877. 

 

Through the first four games of this 2015 season, attendance is at 19,586 people per game. However, 2010 was the last year when Divison I saw an increase in its Football Bowl Subdivision and FCS attendance.

 

“You have to remember this team was last in the playoffs in 2011 and started last year 2-3,” Interim Director of Athletics Communications Kevin Warner said. “So 2012, 2013 and the beginning of last year was a middle-of-the-pack team, then all of a sudden we won seven games in a row to make the playoffs. There’s some catching up to do there in terms of students, especially being used to this being a winning program. Historically, our older fans know what we’ve done in last decade.”

 

The team is off to a 5-0 start this season, and its offense leads the FCS. The only other Division I team in the nation to have more total offensive yards a game is Baylor University, which is ranked third in the FBS Associated Press Top 25 poll. 

 

Although the Dukes haven’t make the playoffs as often as preferred in recent history, the team’s last losing season was in 2002.

 

“I think overall, we’re in a pretty good place,” Warner said. “We’re leading the CAA by a lot in attendance. We’re right near 20,000 per game and the next best in the CAA is 14,000 … Even if you look at the next level up conferences, if you look at Conference USA, the MAC, Sun Belt, we’d be right in the middle of the pack of those schools.”

 

Although last year’s team started the season slowly, the opposite of this year, attendance dropped a small bit, but largely went unchanged. The cause behind the slightly greater drop off  this year could be unfavorable weather conditions this season.

 

“Certainly there have been a couple of factors working against us — the weather, having four home games in five weeks is a lot,” Warner said. “That’s asking a lot of our fans, and some of that is out of our control how that schedule worked out in terms of getting conference games early on at home.”

 

JMU’s first season of football was in 1972, making the program younger than many others. That could also play a part in current attendance.

 

“I think the fact that we’re a young school overall, still factors into it. This is the 44th year of JMU football,” Warner said. “In the grand scheme of college athletics that’s still a pretty young school. So you could say that 20,000 per game is pretty good for a school that has some history … We have a really spirited group of alumni and current students, but we’re still young in tradition.”

 

According to Warner, due to the program’s young age, only now are legacy families starting to create a stronger tradition of coming to Harrisonburg on Saturdays. Jeff Bourne, JMU’s athletic director, also welcomes the generating of future JMU alumni and fans at a young age.

 

 “Having gone through some very successful years here, and what I consider exceptional student attendance, I think there’s been a tradition of attendance,” Bourne said. “Every year though, you have to capture that, and you capture it when your team is exciting and it’s winning.

 

Bridgeforth gained roughly 10,000 new seats in the expansion four years ago. No longer do sellouts happen as often as they once did.

 

“The attendance problem appears to be one that many schools are experiencing,” Charles King, JMU’s senior vice president of administration and finance, said in an email. “I think one problem is with the expansion of the stadium [is that] getting a ticket is not a challenge like it was before we expanded the stadium. Students know that seats are always available so they do not see the urgency to reserve a seat.”

 

For students, other obligations may cut down on free time available to attend games.

 

“JMU is a good academic school and the students at JMU take their academics seriously, so there certainly could be decisions by individual students to concentrate [on] academic needs over the weekend,” Warner said. “The other piece is this is a really involved campus, students at JMU don’t just come to JMU to go to classes. They’re in four, five or six organizations and they’re probably on the exec board for two or three organizations.”

 

While the reasons for why students and fans not being able to come are understood, the exodus of students well before the end of a game isn’t as clear.

 

“It’s something we continue to talk about in meetings every single week, something we will continue to push and try to think of what we can do,” Warner said. “It’s a national thing. It seems to be a culture influence with 18-to 22-year-olds and their decision-making processes. I don’t know what that is, if it’s attachment to technology, if it’s attention span with games getting longer all the time.”

 

As part of trying to convince students and alumni to come and stay for the entirety of the game, Michael Carpenter, the assistant athletic director for ticketing and customer relations, and others have produced a number of plans and programs to persuade people to partake in football games.

 

The Dukes Rewards program came out in Sept. 2014 to encourage attendance by giving redeemable points toward gaining free gifts such as jerseys and shirts. Students earn points by going to games and “checking in” via the smartphone app. They earn even more for staying all four quarters.

 

“They’re encouraging students to take us up on that and earn some additional prizes and help us with social media efforts to get to games,” Carpenter said. “Our ongoing email communications, which keeps students in the know of what’s going on with JMU athletics, so we email two to three times a week. Football game weeks even more, so people know how to reserve a ticket, to know what time the games are.”

 

Several activities have been planned to promote JMU’s last two regular season home game this season — against the University of Richmond for homecoming on Oct. 24 and against Villanova University in the finale on Nov. 21

 

“Attendance is really predicated on tradition,” Bourne said. “It’s a very high level, exciting brand of football when you watch your team play. You got a team that’s scoring more points and has more offensive yards than any school pretty much in the country, and it’s a very exciting brand of football to watch, and I think that in of itself will help with attendance going forward.”

 

Contact Andre Haboush at habousaw@dukes.jmu.edu.

 

 

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[johnsowe]

I guess it's not just us

[Siouxper Slam 29]

I guess it's not just us

No.  Even the mighty Nick Saban can't get fans (particularly students) to stay at Alabama games.  It's an epidemic, so to speak.

[SiouxVolley]

No.  Even the mighty Nick Saban can't get fans (particularly students) to stay at Alabama games.  It's an epidemic, so to speak.

There so more to it than boredom.  If a student doesn't get to sit by someone their interested in, or if they do and hit it off, they go home.  A football game can be a giant hitting on party for some students.

[mksioux]

I think more night games (except when the hockey team is town) would be helpful.  It might not help with the students, who may not want to "waste" a Saturday night on a football game, but it would certainly help with adults.  Lots of adults have kid activities, and other responsibilities, on Saturdays. It may not always be practical to start tailgating at 10:00 a.m. and not get home until 5:00.   I could not get away with that 5 or 6 times a fall.

But it appears UND likes the 1:00 start.  Maybe UND perceives it as an advantage in the Big Sky where opponents are in the mountain and pacific time zones.  

[UNDColorado]

There so more to it than boredom.  If a student doesn't get to sit by someone their interested in, or if they do and hit it off, they go home.  A football game can be a giant hitting on party for some students.

Haha true story.

One year I was in the first row of the upper bowl at the REA and I saw this girl right below me on the lower bowl look at me a few times so I took my ticket and wrote my phone number on it and threw it to her...it worked out lol.

Much more interested in the actual game now.

[fightingsioux4life]

I think more night games (except when the hockey team is town) would be helpful.  It might not help with the students, who may not want to "waste" a Saturday night on a football game, but it would certainly help with adults.  Lots of adults have kid activities, and other responsibilities, on Saturdays. It may not always be practical to start tailgating at 10:00 a.m. and not get home until 5:00.   I could not get away with that 5 or 6 times a fall.

But it appears UND likes the 1:00 start.  Maybe UND perceives it as an advantage in the Big Sky where opponents are in the mountain and pacific time zones.  

I think this whole obsession with 1pm games started with Dale Lennon. I heard him say he doesn't like night games, so that is probably why they stopped doing them. The first year in the Alerus Center (2001), we had night games until hockey started and they were very well attended. I think we should definitely go back to that.

PS: At least we don't have those infernal 11:00am kickoffs they have at Minnesota. I honestly don't understand what television has to do with that. A lot of programs don't do that.

[82SiouxGuy]

I think this whole obsession with 1pm games started with Dale Lennon. I heard him say he doesn't like night games, so that is probably why they stopped doing them. The first year in the Alerus Center (2001), we had night games until hockey started and they were very well attended. I think we should definitely go back to that.

PS: At least we don't have those infernal 11:00am kickoffs they have at Minnesota. I honestly don't understand what television has to do with that. A lot of programs don't do that.

11 am starts are a Big 10 thing, not a Minnesota thing. They have been for many years. I don't know where it started for sure, but I know that they have been doing it since ABC was broadcasting the conference games in the 60's or 70's. ABC wanted it so they could have college football starting at 12 noon on the east coast, and then they had a contract with one of the other conferences (I think it was either Pac 10 or Southwest Conference) to start at 3 pm Eastern. It gave ABC a draw to pull in viewers at the beginning of the adult viewing day (right after the cartoons) and keep them. The Big Ten Network keeps the start time for the same reason. They have name schools playing at 12 noon and then they have additional games later in the day. The Big Ten Network sets the times for most of those games and decides who plays at 11 am, who plays at 2:30 pm (instead of 2 like before) and then they usually have an evening game.

[gundy1124]

I think more night games (except when the hockey team is town) would be helpful.  It might not help with the students, who may not want to "waste" a Saturday night on a football game, but it would certainly help with adults.  Lots of adults have kid activities, and other responsibilities, on Saturdays. It may not always be practical to start tailgating at 10:00 a.m. and not get home until 5:00.   I could not get away with that 5 or 6 times a fall.

But it appears UND likes the 1:00 start.  Maybe UND perceives it as an advantage in the Big Sky where opponents are in the mountain and pacific time zones.  

Right on!  Soccer in the morning, followed by hockey, barely caught the stream of Portland St game.