Posted on 10/07/2017 9:58:39 PM PDT by 11th_VA
JANUARY 4, 2017 —Fans in the stands at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans Jan. 2 might have wondered where everybody went.
The announced crowd of 54,077 fell far short of the seating capacity of the cavernous Mercedes-Benz Superdome, which holds more than 76,000. Vast swaths of seats sat empty. The attendance figure was the lowest for the Sugar Bowl since 1939.
But it was hardly alone. The Camping World Independence Bowl, held each year in Shreveport, La., brought just under 29,000 fans through its turnstiles, its worst attendance since 1988. The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas, drew a respectable 59,615, but that was the lowest number since 1998. The TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., counted 43,102 occupied seats, the fewest for that event since 1958.
And it wasn’t just bowl games. For the sixth consecutive season attendance at regular season major college football games dropped as well, down about 7 percent since its peak in 2008, according to an analysis by CBS Sports.
Declining interest in college football would come as a big surprise to fans of the University of Alabama and Clemson University, whose teams will clash in a sold-out, nationally televised championship game Jan. 9. But the national championship playoffs themselves, which involve only three of the more than 40 bowl games played from mid-December into January (two semifinal games and a championship game), may be part of the problem: They turn the other bowl games into essentially meaningless exhibitions, except to their most ardent fans.
Many traditional football powerhouse schools have seen no decline in attendance. But other teams in major conferences have. Attendance at University of Missouri games was down 20 percent compared with 2015, for example; at Minnesota, it was down 16 percent; and at Kentucky and Stanford 12 percent...
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
There are also too many bowl games. The playoff system has the junkies clamoring for 8 teams instead of 4. Where will it end?
There is way too much money to be gained from college playoffs. It is inevitable. We will probably see the playoffs expanded to eight teams too.
I am beginning to wonder if more folks are going to be cautious in regards to major events.
It seemed that sports were king in the US for a long time, but like every other “frenzy”, it has had its day. The hype was overdone, and people are losing interest now. There are so many other forms of entertainment to indulge in these days. Plus it’s hard to stomach the inflated egos, bad behavior, and lack of sportsmanship. I’m so tired of seeing players hop up and show off after making a big play.
Just checked the price of Sugar Bowl tickets. They start at a little over $200 a ticket and go up to $10,000. Then add in the high cost of a hotel room for a couple of nights, taxis, meals, and travel. I’m surprised they fill as many seats as they do.
I paid $200/ticket for the Florida-Michigan game here in Dallas.
Never again.
I can dig up a few more recent articles on specific teams - the trend remains down.,,
Now, we have Big College Football as nothing but a minor league for the moribund corrupt NFL.. All you a--holes who were huffing and puffing for the "playoffs," crippling the attraction of the Bowl games, you got what you asked for. Now drink your lite beer and shut up.
I agree with you 100%, it’s taken away what used to make college football great and different than the other sports in this country.
Now it’s just basically the NFL’s “Mini-Me”.
My favorite was the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.
Yeah the big schools travel well but the non traditional power house fans don’t, especially if their team is 6-6 and headed to the Idaho Potato Bowl
yup- many of the big conferences go 10 deep into bowl game ties...hence, as you mentioned, a 6-6 Texas Tech team could travel to some mundane bowl game during Christmas week and the fans don’t care...
they are also now allowing teams with losing records into bowl games based on graduation rates....a bowl is allowed to invite a 6-7 team to a bowl game over a 6-6 or 7-6 team if the 6-7 team has a better graduation rate...
It IS that way. All .500 teams go to a bowl game.
$200? Ouch! College sports is making the same mistake as pro sports. Every potential revenue stream has to be leveraged to the absolute maximum. Eventually they reach the point of diminishing returns.
I just went to the Rice vs. Army West Point game.
Army scored TWICE in the first 30 seconds, and 3 times in the first few minutes.
The only reason we stayed until halftime was that my 6 year old was performing with her pom pom squad at halftime, but as soon as that happened the whole family GTFOd!
At least they sold beer. Yummy, life-giving beer.
Wouldn’t want to see the halftime show...
When you start having the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and the Buffalo Wings Citrus Bowl, it's gotten a bit out of hand.
Bowl tickets for the Fiesta Bowl are 120 to $735 plus parking. That keeps the attendance in line in my house.
I’ve been to 3 Rose Bowls (1981, 82, 92) and the Orange Bowl(1985). The best way to buy tickets is from the scalers right after kickoff. I bought them through the Alumni Association twice and they were crappy seats and full price which was close to $75 each back in those days. The other 2 bowls the 92 Rose and the 85 Orange, I walked up at game time and bought from a scalper. The Orange bowl tickets were going for $1 on the 50 yard line. Mainly because it is seen as and east coast/southern college game and Washington Fans weren’t going to travel that far. Only had 57,000 in the stands.
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