1st we are a part of a macro trend in spectator sports of declining attendance. The NFL sees it, and NEARLY all college programs, especially ones at our level are experiencing it. Only a few programs with long, deep traditions have been able to buck this trend. There is NOTHING in our history to suggest we should be lumped with those few programs.
2nd. We are coming off a pretty negative few years. Both in wins losses and also in off field drama. People do not like to be associated with that.
3rd. The local economy is still rough, and for those that have recovered I'm sure many are still trying to rebuild savings. The university overshot on increasing prices and that will take a while to unravel.
4th. We still remember the early HUD years. That was a very special combination of circumstances. We had come off of several years of NEARLY getting over the hump and making a bowl. There was a LOT of pent up desire to finally see that. Then HUD comes in, and his overriding talent is hype. He did a great job of hyping the program. When that coincided with those 4 bowl games, interest peaked. Also, at the SAME EXACT TIME, the local economy boomed. So there was lots of excess money. It was a perfect storm, that we just cannot compare today's situation to.
This rebuilding will take longer. I'm still confident Napier will build a better foundation than HUD and we will see better fan support. But it will take time and has nothing to do with the local citizens being unusually fickle or whatever.