Will TV kill the gate?

[Stallion]

a reminder of SMU's attendance AFTER Russ Potts left and Bob Hitch took over as AD-and got rid of the free tickets to maximize revenue--1982:40,863 1983: 39,499 1984: 39,903 1985: 34,617 1986 35,677. Admitedly, we will never have UT and A&M to build those numbers again but we do have the tremendous advantage of a state of the art facility like Ford and The Boulvard. 28,000-30,000 is a very doable number if we build a competive program in a more attractive conference.

[Charleston Pony]

I agree, but would make that average more like 25k. Averaging that figure would mean an occasional sellout and rarely fewer than 20k, which is a decent crowd in Ford. If we can do that without the help of UT and A$M, I'd be pleased. I've said since my days in Durham attending Duke games in their 35k horseshoe stadium that SMU needed a similar on campus facility, and now we have it. We could become Miami and not sellout Ford consistently. I'm sure you are aware from those attendance figures you posted, Stallion, that even during those top 25 years, SMU had trouble drawing more than 25k for some opponents.

I agree that the key is putting a quality product on the field. SMU needs to recapture the support of it's area alumni who have lost interest and needs to arouse the curiosity of Dallas sports fans to be successful at the gate. Let's just hope Bennett and his staff are the ones who can get it done.