Information Please! Avg. Attendance at Ford Stadium in 2003?

[MrMustang1965]

Anyone got that at their fingertips? Thanks! (Yeah, I know...I could have called the SMU Athletic Office to get the info but it's a long distance call!)

[EastStang]

I don't have it right at my fingertips but it was slightly over 17,000. NCAA.org has all that data.

[PK]

Here is the link.

http://web1.ncaa.org/d1mfb/Internet/att ... NDANCE.pdf

We are ranked at 101.

[MrMustang1965]

SMU's average attendance in '03 was 17.435. As a comparison, here's a ranking of the Top 10 Div. 1-AA teams per average attendance in '03.

1. Yale 23578
2. Montana 22469
3. Florida A&M 21323
4. Southern U 19732
5. Delaware 18895
6. Jackson St. 18196
7. Citadel 16759
8. N.C. A&T 16066
9. Youngstown 16004
10. McNeese 15986

FYI: Montana travels to Huntsville, TX in September to play Sam Houston State. McNeese State, future home of SMU QB Tate Wallis (????), has an unbelieveable fan base for a school located in Lake Charles, LA. And the Cowboys' fans travel well, too!

[emmitt01]

What are you going to do when Big XII teams don't come to Ford to boost the number? I'm not casting aspersions as UNT did the same thing with Baylor coming this year, but I was at several of your games including homecoming. Saying there were 13,000 there is being a little generous.

[Dooby]

Is there a point?

[EastStang]

He's just a jealous UNT graduate. He keeps slamming our attendance any chance he gets. . I guess he figures that his school will look better if he keeps trashing others.

[Dooby]

Is there a point to this whole thread? What is the point of comparing our attendance numners to some 1-AA schools?

[MrMustang1965]

Is there a point to this whole thread? What is the point of comparing our attendance numners to some 1-AA schools?

The point is: how is it that a Div.1-A school in a MAJOR metropolitan area like D-FW can't pull in better attendance numbers than six of the top 10 Div.1-AA schools that are located in much smaller communities? Yeah, I know. Winning is the answer. But I don't believe in that fully...I remember the glory days of the Pony Express when SMU's attendance numbers were only slightly better. What's it going to take to get the citizens of Dallas (and not just the Park Cities) to come to SMU football games? We're the ONLY NCAA Div. 1-A team in the city!

[EastStang]

Part of it is the following: What else is there to do in those small communities? Do they compete against professional football, basketball, baseball, and hockey? Several of the schools are historically black colleges with large constituencies (and much better bands). Several are functionally the state University of the entire state (albeit unpopulated ones), and one 200 year old Ivy League School which is the alma mater of the last three U.S. Presidents.

[Greenwich Pony]

Actually, I don't know how Yale draws so well. There are a gazillion things to do up here besides go to a Bulldog game (though they may become my adopted team now), they're located in the middle of nowhere, have terrible town-gown relations (comparatively) and the stadium, while huge, isn't all that convenient to anything...

[Boston Pony]

The Game (Harvard/Yale) nearly sells out the Yale Bowl (50-60k). The rest of the season, their attendence is probably around 10k.

[Greenwich Pony]

I guess that makes sense. It doesn't seem like that many people show up, but then the Yale Bowl is cavernous...

[Diehard Pony]

Mr. Mustang I am not sure why it was so important for you to know our attendance numbers during an 0-12 season, but now you know.

For everyone else, keep in mind that our reserved seats go for $25 / each, and $75 / each in the Stadium Club which is sold out each and every season (whether attended or not). Comparison of our football revenues with the programs that Mr. Mustang listed is apples and oranges.

We all know that attendance must be increased dramatically, but the exercise we just went through is just that, an exercise with no real value.

[jtstang]

Mr. Mustang I am not sure why it was so important for you to know our attendance numbers during an 0-12 season, but now you know.

For everyone else, keep in mind that our reserved seats go for $25 / each, and $75 / each in the Stadium Club which is sold out each and every season (whether attended or not). Comparison of our football revenues with the programs that Mr. Mustang listed is apples and oranges.

We all know that attendance must be increased dramatically, but the exercise we just went through is just that, an exercise with no real value.

Wrong, sunshiner. The value is to remind in these trying times that D-1 football status is in jeopardy. From the NCAA Division 1 manual:

20.9.6.3 Football-Attendance Requirements. [I-A] The institution annually shall average at least
15,000 in actual attendance for all home football games. (Revised: 4/25/02, effective 8/1/04)
20.9.6.3.1 Counting Attendance. For purposes of computing attendance figures, an individual may
be counted if any one of the following conditions applies: (Revised: 4/25/02, effective 8/1/04 )
( a ) Attendees are issued tickets that are collected upon admission to the game and retained;
(Revised: 4/25/02, effective 8/1/04 )
( b ) Attendees enter through and are counted by a turnstile that is monitored by a representative
of the department of athletics who verifies in writing the accuracy of the count on a per-game
basis; or (Revised: 4/25/02, effective 8/1/04 )
( c ) Attendees enter through a gate at which a representative of the department of athletics
counts them individually with a manual counter, and the representative provides a written
statement verifying the accuracy of the count on a per-game basis. (Revised: 4/25/02, effective
8 / 1 / 0 4 )