Homecoming attendance? 18,132 (merged)

[ManAboutTown]

Its not an isolated incident we have left a trail of bodies from our own stupidity in the past and nothing Maggard or Napier can do to fix it. WE HAVE TO GET the under 35 crowd engaged to rebuild what we lost

Again, this is not the past. This is something else. I bet if we’re winning and it’s good for business, ATMOS will crawl their asses back and act like big supporters. I prefer the businesses that stick with us through thick and thin.

[HoustonCajun]

Again, this is not the past. This is something else. I bet if we're winning and it's good for business, ATMOS will crawl their asses back and act like big supporters. I prefer the businesses that stick with us through thick and thin.

Our people need to call on these companies that left and initiate them on the great changes that are occurring. They likely won't come back on their own. We need to invite them back.

[ManAboutTown]

Our people need to call on these companies that left and initiate them on the great changes that are occurring. They likely won't come back on their own. We need to invite them back.

Agreed. But they need to be receptive to the call.

[SlickRick]

In case you didn't notice, getting more people to attend our games is what this entire thread is about. We all agree that it's extremely hard for us to get butts in the stands. This being the case, why we allow the idiot in charge of the music volume to play it as loud as he does is a mystery to me. Some people have simply said to heck with it and are staying home.

Our traditional gameday experience is being traded for what someone thinks the "young" fans want. Well, those "young" fans are apparently not interested enough to show up at a game at Cajun Field. We run the risk of alienating some of our base if we're not careful.

This.

[RaginCajun77]

A big problem with attendance is our failure to create new fans. I decided to put together a document going back to 1995 when I became a fan. How do we create new fans? Easiest way is to start with our Freshmen, 18 year olds. Looking back from 1995 to 2010, you will see the current age of those 18 year old Freshmen. These are the individuals who are in our target market for season tickets/attending games. The problem is they didn't have much to get excited about, two winning seasons between 1995 and 2010. Building a bigger fan base is a complicated matter, it gets even more complicated when you missed the boat for a long time.

[Duggie35]

Again, this is not the past. This is something else. I bet if we’re winning and it’s good for business, ATMOS will crawl their asses back and act like big supporters. I prefer the businesses that stick with us through thick and thin.

I am about to have some work done on my home. I got three bids, but I will not be going with the low bid. One of the reasons (among a few others) that I have selected the company I will be using is because of their support of UL athletics! I have also informed them that their support of UL played a big part in their getting the job!

[Oiler]

I am about to have some work done on my home. I got three bids, but I will not be going with the low bid. One of the reasons (among a few others) that I have selected the company I will be using is because of their support of UL athletics! I have also informed them that their support of UL played a big part in their getting the job!

That's a good thing that you are doing, but in the grand scheme of things, it changes nothing.

Our fan base of what I'd call "die hards" is around 15,000 at best. We've got another 5K-10K casual fans that'll usually show up if the weather's nice and LSU isn't playing at home or on TV. That gives us a reasonable probability of averaging between 20k and 25k for home games in an "average" season. If we're having an extraordinary season, maybe 5k more.

This is who we are. A mid-level G5 football program that struggles (just as many others do) to maintain fan interest in a product that is being weakened by the ever widening interest in P5 level football. I hate to say it, but the creation of the P5 has basically relegated the rest of us to D-IAA status, and that's a hard thing to sell.

[billbeck451]

This past week is a bad gauge of attendance, if there is no place to stay then people aren't going to come. And last weekend there were no hotel rooms, even the Travel Lodge on Pinhook parking lot was full and I wouldn't let my dogs stay there anymore. It was a nice little hotel, but its just gotten to old and run down. I bet that if you would have found a room for Saturday it would have been in the $200 range. Even the Best Western Vermillion was close to $100 for Friday night with multiple others in the $125-150 range for Friday. this a very real factor

A better idea would be the November 10th game which is a campus open house day which will bring in loads of seniors who are deciding on which school they wish to attend. Hotel rates will be back to normal and their wont be multiple festivals going on.

[Duggie35]

That's a good thing that you are doing, but in the grand scheme of things, it changes nothing.

You are right, but it's something I hope will let them know that their support of UL is appreciated and will encourage them to continue that support.

[basinbear]

This has been discussed. You don't just schedule 4 or 5 months out from the start of the season and the Festival was likely scheduled a couple of years prior.

next years Festival is October 10 thru 13, 2019 and the Festival in 2020 is from October 8th thru 11th. I looked it up on their website but apparently thats too much work for our Alumni Association.