Football attendance with surprises

[Boomer]

all Attendance Numbers: AAC, MW, MAC, Sun Belt & C-USA
By El Javi on Apr 7, 2015, 10:28a 3


Tom Gonzales (Miner Rush)
Despite coming off a two win season in 2014, us UTEP types showed up decently in 2015 compared to the rest of the G5 landscape.

 TWEET (20) SHARE (129) PIN
UTEP football and top-10 are two phrases you usually don't see together in the same sentence. Whether it be recruiting classes, overall wins, bowl appearances, or anything else that involves picking the top-10 best anything among college football teams.

Facing 48 years and counting without a bowl win and eight straight losing seasons the 2014 UTEP football team somehow managed to finish among the top 10 of the Group of Five attendance leaders. Out of 60 schools that participated in either the American Athletic, Mid American, Conference USA, Mountain West or the Sun Belt, UTEP finished inside the top 10. We have yet to reach our full potential but once we do, we will be battling for the #1 spot.

Just two years ago half of the top 10 belonged to C-USA and we had no teams outside the top 40. Now due to some questionable replacements by C-USA bossman Britton Banoskwy, seven of our 14 schools are in the bottom 25. The overall average for a C-USA stadium on game day is 19,934. The top three teams that fill seats keep the conference respectable, without them it would look really ugly. Times have changed and getting twenty thousand for a G5 game is considered good I guess.

The newly formed American Athletic Conference leads the group of five in total attendance. Including incoming member Navy, the AAC averages 29,447 per game. They have five schools averaging over 30k and three more who in the recent past have reached over 30k in Houston, UConn, and Cincinnati. Mix that in with the minimum coaches salary of 1.1 million and you can bet the house once the AAC finishes developing they will be bordering the Power Five in a number of facets.

TEAM Average Attendance Conference Record
1. East Carolina 44,786 AAC 8-5
2. Central Florida 37,812 AAC 9-4
3. Fresno St 34,876 MW 6-8
4. Memphis 33,581 AAC 10-3
5. Boise St 32,504 MW 12-2
6. San Diego St 32,294 MW 7-6
7. South Florida 30,694 AAC 4-8
8. Cincinnati 28,860 AAC 9-4
9. UTEP 28,377 C-USA 7-6
10. Houston 28,311 AAC 8-5
11. Air Force 28,161 MW 10-3
12. UTSA 27,576 C-USA 4-8
13. Marshall 27,461 C-USA 13-1
13. Connecticut 27,461 AAC 2-10
15. Hawaii 27,451 MW 4-9
16. Colorado St 26,575 MW 10-3
17. UL Lafayette 25,775 Sun Belt 9-4
18. Tulane 25,012 AAC 3-9
19. Arkansas St 24,861 Sun Belt 7-6
20. Nevada 23,862 MW 7-6
21. Temple 23,370 AAC 6-6
22. Appalachian St 23,166 Sun Belt 7-5
23. Southern Miss 22,739 C-USA 3-9
24. New Mexico 21,937 MW 4-8
25. #FreeUAB 21,841 C-USA 6-6
26. SMU 21,528 AAC 1-11
27. Ga Southern 21,502 Sun Belt 9-3
28. Texas St 20,598 Sun Belt 7-5
29. Ohio 20,515 MAC 6-6
30. Utah St 20,467 MW 10-4
31. Buffalo 20,403 MAC 5-6
32. Old Dominion 20,118 C-USA 6-6
33. La Tech 20,054 C-USA 9-5
34. Tulsa 19,647 AAC 2-10
35. Wyoming 19,599 MW 4-8
36. Toledo 19,548 MAC 9-4
37. North Texas 19,271 C-USA 4-8
38. RICE 18,562 C-USA 8-5
39. La Monroe 18,108 Sun Belt 4-8
40. South Alabama 17,445 Sun Belt 6-7
41. Middle Tennessee 17,408 C-USA 6-6
42. Troy 16,767 Sun Belt 3-9
43. Western Kentucky 16,306 C-USA 8-5
43. Central Michigan 16,306 MAC 7-6
45. Massachusetts 16,088 MAC 3-9
46. Miami (Ohio) 15,906 MAC 2-10
47. UNLV 15,674 MW 2-11
48. Western Michigan 15,625 MAC 8-5
49. Bowling Green 15,228 MAC 8-6
50. San Jose St 15,068 MW 3-9
51. Eastern Michigan 15,025 MAC 2-10
52. Georgia St 15,006 Sun Belt 1-11
53. Florida Atlantic 14,122 C-USA 3-9
54. Northern Illinois 13,563 MAC 11-3
55. Kent St 13,544 MAC 2-9
56. Charlotte 13,278 C-USA 5-6
57. Idaho 12,886 Sun Belt 1-10
58. NMSU 12,269 Sun Belt 2-10
59. Florida International 11,966 C-USA 4-8
60. Ball St 9,289 MAC 5-7
61. Akron 9,170 MAC 5-7
The Mountain West finished in second with an average of 24,855. Their top three teams of Boise State, Fresno State and San Diego State along with only two low averaging teams helped them stay above C-USA and the Sun Belt. With nobody else in the conference labeled as a big draw the MW might find themselves permanently in second place.

One would have expected for the MAC and Sun Belt to fight to stay out of last but that was not the case. The MAC clearly takes over last place

[CajunEXPRESS]

This is a joke, does anybody give any credence at all that TOOlame is No. 18 in attendance. Paid attendance maybe yes, but not butts in the stadium. No way was that stadium 85% filled at any game, much less after the grand opening.

If we did TOOlame math could we crack the top ten, after all we have 18K students who are approved for attendance.

[moorecajun]

What does really surprise me is Northern Ill.'s avg. attendance at 13.5k!

[cajunhawk]

I have hope that since they started using paid attendance for all baseball games...they will start doing it for Football. ____ the clickers...they don't work.

[Boomer]

I have hope that since they started using paid attendance for all baseball games...they will start doing it for Football. ____ the clickers...they don't work.

------I think one post here had an educated guess per stadium still or video of the stands at a game---Drone or google map the game at the end of the 1st quarter and then use some type of advanced/present technology to get a better head count for real attendance---Show that and the total ticket s sold amount also!!!------So as the Tulane Board headline reads that Tulane is 18th in the country in attendance---No mention 0f G-5 and no mention of the Cajuns being ranked ahead and no mention of butts in the seats!!! Of course the LTURers use the close up shots of one section of fans and sometimes they accidently let slip in the empty 2/3rds of the remaining seats!!!

[Lexhead]

I am a little impressed with Southern Miss, given their record in the last few years. I wonder if they are using Tulane/La.Tech math also.

Notable that we would be 4th in attendance in C-USA, behind UTEP (enrollment 23,003), UTSA (enrollment 28,725) and Marshall (enrollment 13,279).

[CajunJack55]

I am a little impressed with Southern Miss, given their record in the last few years. I wonder if they are using Tulane/La.Tech math also.

Notable that we would be 4th in attendance in C-USA, behind UTEP (enrollment 23,003), UTSA (enrollment 28,725) and Marshall (enrollment 13,279).

And if we were actually in CUSA our home attendence would be even better.

[jjlouv]

And if we were actually in CUSA our home attendence would be even better.

No, it wouldn't... The people that are missing the games to go to their duck blinds and such, could care less what conference we are in. I don't understand this thought process. Everyone thinks that a conference change and/or name change would have a "flip the switch" effect, and all athletic programs would suddenly be next level, but I don't see it.

I completely understand the desire to get better, but lately it's like a damn crying towel competition around here...

[CajunEXPRESS]

Nobody says it would be a magic potion. There are however; lots of fans who would come to see LTU R, Rice, USM, vs Troy, Ga St, and Monrow.

[CajunJack55]

Nobody says it would be a magic potion. There are however; lots of fans who would come to see LTU R, Rice, USM, vs Troy, Ga St, and Monrow.

Exactly and more of their fans would travel as well as opposed to the schools we play now.

[jjlouv]

Nobody says it would be a magic potion. There are however; lots of fans who would come to see LTU R, Rice, USM, vs Troy, Ga St, and Monrow.

Last year, we played LTU on a beautiful day, and the attendance was 25,607... Average attendance shown here was 25,775.

It's a convenient excuse, but it's not always accurate.

[Boomer]

Exactly and more of their fans would travel as well as opposed to the schools we play now.

----I guess you kinda answered the question in a way---perception matters and it hurts us in recruiting kids to be in the SB rather than in CUSA---Don't know to what amount since I would choose UL over being in CUSA or AAC for that matter with Tulane----But just think if we would have gotten say 2-3-5 players that we wanted that went to Rice, Houston, Ltur, Tulane, or S Miss!!!! Almost half our recruiting classes would have been better--ergo more wins and more duck hunters in the seats!!! Tier one and conference affiliation with possible history are the only recruiting weapons that they surpass us in presently---We have the City, facilities, attendance, etc to top just about all of these schools!!!