Future college football fans

[wizards8507]

This is an old article but I stumbled across it while reading about the decline of golf in America. We take it for granted at Notre Dame, but it seems to be that student attendance at CFB games is hurting at a lot of schools, with some places putting up truly pitiful numbers.

Next generation of ticket-holder a concern as students don't show up for college football games - ESPN

The concern is that these kids are the "season ticket holders of tomorrow" and they just don't see the value of attending games in person when the TV product is so good with HD and whatnot. Thoughts about the diagnosis of the problem and potential solutions?

 

[pumpdog20]

They're going price out a lot of people as well.

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

This may be controversial but I'm a strong believer in WiFi at games, if you want to motivate students to attend.

 

[Wild Bill]

Sell beer.

 

[BurningRiver]

Sell beer.

boom

 

[MNIrishman]

I'm going to second the ticket prices. $110 face (even for scUM) is ridiculous. Also as a four-year resident of Minneapolis, where tailgating for the Gophers is godawful, a good tailgating culture is supremely important.

 

[Ndaccountant]

There have been times when I went to ND games knowing that I was going to miss another game on TV that I would love to watch. It was worth it, but some might not have the same affinity for their time as I do.

Where this really comes into play is the body bag games. If ND played 2 or 3 body bag games a year (say, Idaho and Youngstown State), I could see attendance eventually falling. At first it might not, since you will have fans that have always wanted to go to a game snatch up some tickets. But, that well runs dry eventually then who is left to buy the tickets?

 

[MNIrishman]

There have been times when I went to ND games knowing that I was going to miss another game on TV that I would love to watch. It was worth it, but some might not have the same affinity for their time as I do.

Where this really comes into play is the body bag games. If ND played 2 or 3 body bag games a year (say, Idaho and Youngstown State), I could see attendance eventually falling. At first it might not, since you will have fans that have always wanted to go to a game snatch up some tickets. But, that well runs dry eventually then who is left to buy the tickets?

Yeah the body bag games suck. Didn't Nick Satan have an issue with those games and attendance at Bama?

Edit: He did. Missed that in the article. Turns out games against Georgia Southern are not interesting. Thank goodness for surveys to illuminate the subtleties of fan behavior.

 

[Rack Em]

The money grubbing and commercialization of the CFB gameday experience is threatening to ruin the sport's financial integrity.

Thankfully for ND, there is a very good tailgating experience coupled with things to do on campus (Basilica, Grotto, the Dome, etc.) that enhance the on-campus experience. What does one do at a O$U game if not boozing in the parking lots or otherwise being a complete loser? You don't go on campus to visit those types of things. And there certainly wouldn't be a reason to go back on campus a second time. ND is different in that regard and that will ultimately be a reason why it's insulated from these types of apathetic fan forces. Visiting campus is truly an "experience" and not just a means of getting to tailgating lot.

Over Christmas break I met up with some friends from high school to watch the Mizzou game. My friend's parents were having a game watch and invited a fair number of their adult friends. I had several of the guys ask me if I could help them get ND tickets for this fall because it was on their "Bucket List" of things to do together. Think visiting Arizona State for a game is on anybody's bucket list? Or Washington? Or Virginia Tech? Or Arkansas? Or South Carolina? No.

Regional schools will continue to struggle with attendance while the traditional national powers will not. ND is in the upper echelon of that league due to tradition but mostly do to what it stands for.

 

[MNIrishman]

The money grubbing and commercialization of the CFB gameday experience is threatening to ruin the sport's financial integrity.

Thankfully for ND, there is a very good tailgating experience coupled with things to do on campus (Basilica, Grotto, the Dome, etc.) that enhance the on-campus experience. What does one do at a O$U game if not boozing in the parking lots or otherwise being a complete loser? You don't go on campus to visit those types of things. And there certainly wouldn't be a reason to go back on campus a second time. ND is different in that regard and that will ultimately be a reason why it's insulated from these types of apathetic fan forces. Visiting campus is truly an "experience" and not just a means of getting to tailgating lot.

I'd say this is a major issue at Minnesota. The campus mostly blows chunks as far as architecture and character are concerned (proximity to a great city and a beautiful river notwithstanding). The commercialization in the stadium is abhorrent as well. They should have just eaten the cost of not having it sponsored and called it "Minnesota Stadium" as opposed to "TCF Bank Stadium."

 

[NDinL.A.]

It's not just college football. Every sport needs to be weary. The home viewing experience has gotten too good, and is starting to outweigh the traffic, overcrowding, crazy $$$, etc.

College football is still great bc of the tailgating and atmosphere (well, ND games can be a drag bc of the fans sitting on their asses), so I'll always be at the games, but I can see why fans don't like to go to live sporting events.

 

[Voltaire]

I had several of the guys ask me if I could help them get ND tickets for this fall because it was on their "Bucket List" of things to do together. Think visiting Arizona State for a game is on anybody's bucket list?\

Going to a party at ASU is on my bucket list.

 

[TheTurningPoint]

The difference between ASU and ND.

This is ASU's hostess program.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bUe6A0OU1h0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Rack Em]

The difference between ASU and ND.

This is ASU's hostess program.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bUe6A0OU1h0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Tough life decision:

Q: "Should I be a whore for the football team?"
A: "Yes because then everyone will like you only because you're a whore for the football team!"

 

[koonja]

This topic inspired me to finally pull the trigger on the Vizio 5.1 Sound bar and sub woofer I've been on the fence about.

This wouldn't fly at NCAA games (at least not yet), but I've always thought it'd be cool if they created an app that lets you choose from ~ 3 players on the team at NFL games, and listen to their conversations, trash talk, etc, all game long.

We have the technology, and I think it'd be awesome to listen to Richard Sherman for a game. I suppose the hold up is privacy/schemes getting out, but I'm sure they could figure something out.

 

[Rack Em]

Going to a party at ASU is on my bucket list.

But are you going to travel across country to watch an ASU game for the experience? No. No one would ever say that or believe it.

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

Going to a party at ASU is on my bucket list.

It's not that sweet. If you are just talking about tailgating, it's all in the parking lot. The views are cool because the mountains are right there, but other than that the tailgating blows.

 

[Rack Em]

The difference between ASU and ND.

Todd Graham is a mega douche. Don't forget about that subtle difference.

 

[wizards8507]

I'm going to second the ticket prices. $110 face (even for scUM) is ridiculous. Also as a four-year resident of Minneapolis, where tailgating for the Gophers is godawful, a good tailgating culture is supremely important.

I'd agree if that were the price for every game everywhere, but that's a highly demanded game. $110 face and there are still people paying twice that and gladly. You can't single out one of the most expensive games all year as a reason why attendance is hurting because attendance ISN'T hurting at ND, and sure as hell not at that game.

I'm more worried about the schools where tickets are cheap and they STILL can't sell any.

 

[wizards8507]

But are you going to travel across country to watch an ASU game for the experience? No. No one would ever say that or believe it.

They have 58,000 undergrads, meaning they should have seven or eight times the number of alumni of any age as ND. That should be more than enough to fill a stadium six times a year.

 

[wizards8507]

Major college football attendance hits worst average since 2003