Why is college football attendance down?

Simple: $$$$$$
Over saturation
Poor seats
Other things to do
Haves vs have nots
Commercial time outs
On, and on, and on.
 
@olgoldandwhite is probably right. Cost of tickets, parking, food, etc keeps rising. And most games can be watched on television so it makes it easy for people who don't feel like anteing up for season tickets.
 
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The need for constant stimulation by the next generation of fans. I don't like commercial breaks but the one thing I dislike more is constant bitching about commercial breaks by fans around me. It's a beautiful day out, you have one of 6 or 7 Saturdays to watch your team, you're with friends and family but nonetheless you feel the need to wine and moan during every break. Rant over.
 
TV, I hear it all the time, "don't go 'cause they can watch their team and also see other games they want to see". Don't know game time because of TV, can't make plans for sitter etc.
 
i'm for additional (and bigger main board) video boards that play other college games while our game is going. have one board sponsored by ACCNetwork. One by SECNetwork. or something like that. i mean i'm going to the game either way but it would add some entertainment value. and I agree that HDTVs have changed everything for home viewing.
 
gtg970g said:
The need for constant stimulation by the next generation of fans. I don't like commercial breaks but the one thing I dislike more is constant bitching about commercial breaks by fans around me. It's a beautiful day out, you have one of 6 or 7 Saturdays to watch your team, you're with friends and family but nonetheless you feel the need to wine and moan during every break. Rant over.
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Okay Boomer
 
gtg970g said:
The need for constant stimulation by the next generation of fans. I don't like commercial breaks but the one thing I dislike more is constant bitching about commercial breaks by fans around me. It's a beautiful day out, you have one of 6 or 7 Saturdays to watch your team, you're with friends and family but nonetheless you feel the need to wine and moan during every break. Rant over.
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I have to say that the flow of a football game was so much nicer before over commercialized TV games. But I am not whining. Kids today do not leave their closets. Esports is the future, like it or not.

I have to say that I have been arguing forever that the ACC needs to prioritize developing fans more and getting the last drop of money less. Early season Tech games should be at night.
 
$40 + for three to have a chick fil a, fries, drink, in bds
 
On top of the season ticket cost, I’m looking at dropping at least $150 each game I go to between fuel/vehicle and food costs. That doesn’t include the cost of a hotel when it’s a night game (or the drag of driving up and back in the same day if it’s not a game requiring an overnight stay). I can easily see how people choose to stay home.
 
Why is attendance down? My couch is more comfortable than aluminum bleachers, my AC and heater can be controlled from my couch, I can pause the game to take a piss or dump without waiting in a line, my fridge is 12 feet from the couch, I can stand or sit all game without anyone around me bitching, and my TV and sound system are dope as hell. And my kids have activities on Saturdays.

Source: season ticket holder who hopes to get lucky and be able to attend 1-2 games a year but still buys season ticks.
 
Colleges chose to follow the money. Networks want noon games, fans hate noon games.

Thursday games are hit or miss, but when the miss, they miss badly. Who wants to fight traffic to see <insert metro team> vs crappy opponent? Or drive out to the middle of nowhere to see <cow town team> vs nobody? The same goes for Friday games.

And stop trying to force people into crappy 10” bleacher seats. Nobody wants that crap. Boddy Dood should lose 10k seats and have everything except the north and south sections as seats.

TV is killing live attendance because that is what works for tv.
 
WracerX said:
Colleges chose to follow the money. Networks want noon games, fans hate noon games.

Thursday games are hit or miss, but when the miss, they miss badly. Who wants to fight traffic to see <insert metro team> vs crappy opponent? Or drive out to the middle of nowhere to see <cow town team> vs nobody? The same goes for Friday games.

And stop trying to force people into crappy 10” bleacher seats. Nobody wants that crap. Boddy Dood should lose 10k seats and have everything except the north and south sections as seats.

TV is killing live attendance because that is what works for tv.
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Conferences chasing money too.... things like upending long-standing rivalries to realign for a few extra mil
 
Haven’t attended a game in quite a few years as work and life have been hectic. A day attending the games are good fun with good friends but an extremely long day after a full work week. As noted you don’t get to see much around the country unless your crew has a tv. Couple that with diminishing expectations for your favorite team (my problem and opinion) it begins getting a bit monotonous.
As for following a college football season from the television...again monotonous. Too many games that mean little. Get burnt out about 3/4 through the season until the rivalry games then again with many of the bowl games. Boring watching teams not show up for bowl games they don’t care about or players sitting for the draft. The conferences need better balance against each other and also in their conference. The SEC really does have a monopoly on players, facilities, and fans. There are really only one or two ACC schools that without doing something extraordinary can challenge half their conference year in and out. Yes, sometimes win a game but on average no. Same for all of the other conferences. This has been before with other conferences and things adjusted over time but with many people moving towards following other sports it does feel this will not change anytime soon. When ND and ugag play at ND and close to half of the stadium is dwags that is telling. 1) There needs to be less teams in FBS and the out of conference games need to be selected more by the conferences or some group to promote interest in matchups instead of the schools deciding it all. Something similar to the ACC/Big thingy in basketball. 2) There should be no NCAA guidelines on academics, it should be left to the schools as only schools that take academics seriously are punished by these rules anyway. 3) NCAA penalties due to cheating should be decided and punishments handed out by a predetermined set of guidelines. Shouldn’t matter who you are or who you play for. 4). Bowl selection should be pre determined by conference rank and tie in or matchup based. The numbers a team draws or influence inside the conference should not be able to be a factor.
 
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KrazieJacket said:
Haven’t attended a game in quite a few years as work and life have been hectic. A day attending the games are good fun with good friends but an extremely long day after a full work week. As noted you don’t get to see much around the country unless your crew has a tv. Couple that with diminishing expectations for your favorite team (my problem and opinion) it begins getting a bit monotonous.
As for following a college football season from the television...again monotonous. Too many games that mean little. Get burnt out about 3/4 through the season until the rivalry games then again with many of the bowl games. Boring watching teams not show up for bowl games they don’t care about or players sitting for the draft. The conferences need better balance against each other and also in their conference. The SEC really does have a monopoly on players, facilities, and fans. There are really only one or two ACC schools that without doing something extraordinary can challenge half their conference year in and out. Yes, sometimes win a game but on average no. Same for all of the other conferences. This has been before with other conferences and things adjusted over time but with many people moving towards following other sports it does feel this will not change anytime soon. When ND and ugag play at ND and close to half of the stadium is dwags that is telling. 1) There needs to be less teams in FBS and the out of conference games need to be selected more by the conferences or some group to promote interest in matchups instead of the schools deciding it all. Something similar to the ACC/Big thingy in basketball. 2) There should be no NCAA guidelines on academics, it should be left to the schools as only schools that take academics seriously are punished by these rules anyway. 3) NCAA penalties due to cheating should be decided and punishments handed out by a predetermined set of guidelines. Shouldn’t matter who you are or who you play for. 4). Bowl selection should be pre determined by conference rank and tie in or matchup based. The numbers a team draws or influence inside the conference should not be able to be a factor.
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monotonous post tbh
 
1. College students simply don’t enjoy football as much. Fewer have played in high school. Fewer have come to college games growing up.
2. TV saturation has fans staying at home to watch their own teams play and watch other games of interest.
3. TV and it’s affect on scheduling. You don’t know kickoff times until 13 or 6 days ahead. This is a difficulty for season ticket holders who travel some distance for games or who have busy personal and family schedules
 
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