A Look At Alumni Stadium's Per-Game Attendance History, 1995-2010
by Brian Favat on Jun 28, 2011 8:01 AM EDT
in Boston College Football
Email
Print
Yesterday's excellent conversation about the Boston College football marketing challenge got me looking at BC's home per-game attendance figures. I went all the way back to the 1995 season to see which opponents have filled Alumni.
The 1995 season was the first year of Alumni Stadium's current configuration and 44,500-seat capacity. After the 1995 renovations, the Eagles actually sold out the first 10 games of the 1995 and 1996 season. That streak was snapped by Temple, who drew just 42,463 in the 1996 home finale.
Top 10 Lowest Attendance Non-Conference Home Games (1995-2010)
1. Army (1997) -- 13,309
2. Buffalo (2006) -- 14,682
3. Kent State (2009) -- 25,165
4. Rhode Island (2008) -- 32,628
5. Northeastern (2009) -- 33,262
6. Baylor (1999) -- 33,756
7. Central Michigan (2009) -- 34,128
8. Weber State (2010) -- 34,168
9. Kent State (2010) -- 35,122
10. Georgia Tech (1997) -- 38,462
Of the above list, just two of the 10 are BCS AQ conference programs -- Baylor and Georgia Tech, before they were a fellow ACC member. The rest of the eight include 4 MAC schools, 3 Division I-AA schools and Army. The 13,309 listed attendance for the 1997 Army game was the all-time low for the 44.5k seat Alumni Stadium. Army traveled to Chestnut Hill to end TOB's first season on the Heights (BC went into that game with a record of 3-7 ... Army was 4-5).
Here are the the programs that have helped BC sell out Alumni Stadium more than once from 1996-2010 (last sellout year in parenthesis):
1. Notre Dame -- 6 (2010)
2. Virginia Tech -- 4 (2006)
2. Miami -- 4 (2007)
4. Syracuse -- 3 (2004)
In addition to those four programs, these programs have all played in front of a sold-out Alumni Stadium crowd: Army, Clemson, Connecticut, Florida State, Maryland, Michigan, Navy, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and West Virginia.
I think it's interest to see which programs have helped BC sell out Alumni Stadium and where we've struggled to put butts in seats. After seeing some of these attendance figures, interested in your thoughts here.
35 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Yesssss
My wife and I were two of the 14,000 at the Buffalo game. It’s hard to imagine that there were even that many there. It was a game against a team no one cared about, and to add to it the weather was atrocious. It was like a monsoon there, I just remember being soaked to the bone and my cell phone was ruined.
Writer at BC Interruption SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
Follow me on Twitter
Buffalo game...
I was there, too, and there is no chance there was over 5,000 people at that game. I was one of maybe twenty students in the student section. I really think there were more players and staff on the field than people in the stands.
Buffalo
Same feelings. No way there was more than 5,000 (and I think that’s generous). I felt like there were maybe 100 students including myself…no one in the upper decks and a few sparsely situated underneath the awnings. I thought there were probably 2,000.
Too bad, that was probably Chris Crane’s best ever game.
Too bad, that was probably Chris Crane’s best ever game.
Too funny.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
by Brian Favat on Jun 28, 2011 11:01 AM EDT up reply actions
FSU '07 WTF
I would also highlight (or lowlight?) our inability to sell out the Florida State game in 2007. We’re undefeated, ranked #2 in the country and a big name program like FSU comes to the heights, there is no rain, we have a Heisman candidate QB and yet we still can’t sell 44,500 tickets? I give up!
There is no sense to be made from our attendances any longer. That game demonstrates all that is wrong with our AD.
by chicagofire1871 on Jun 28, 2011 11:24 AM EDT reply actions
I agree that Florida State 2007 was a lowlight, but there was in fact plenty of rain …
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
by Brian Favat on Jun 28, 2011 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions
Uhh no rain?
It was a monsoon.
Really?
Huh. I could’ve sworn there was no rain that night. Well I guess that’s an excuse. We always have one, right?
by chicagofire1871 on Jun 28, 2011 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions
a press account from the 11/2007FSU v BC game
Welcome to the press box at Alumni Stadium on the campus of Boston College here in Chestnut Hill, Mass. As always, it’s good to be here.
And especially good today. The view from my seat: A steady and relentless downpour … an American flag that’s doing its best to stay attached to its pole … and about two dozen fans wearing plastic over their bodies as they sit through this stuff.
As you’ve probably heard, the weather up here is absolutely awful. Rainy and about 30 mph winds.
game was at 8 pm too
Not to many people was to be driving at night in horrible rain, esp with family in tow.
Still ...
8-0 and #2 in the country. Coming off an incredible come-from-behind 14-10 win in Blacksburg 10 days earlier …
Kinda an indictment on the fans.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
by Brian Favat on Jun 28, 2011 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions
not really
It really was a very stormy night in November in New England. the Weather SUCKED. Only the die-hards would show. The time and weather made it unsuitbale for families and more casual fans.
In your defense
the rain began to subdue during the 2nd half. But that entire day and first half it was a downpour. Believe it was from a Hurricane that had traveled up the East Coast. People who were trying to travel up for the game could have passed because of the weather being so bad/dangerous.
Flat against ND 2010
This info reinforces the fact that the ND game last year was a disaster. There was a sold out crowd and BC came out “flat”. ND scored like three times in the first ten minutes. In addition, Chris Crane turned out to be a more than adequate qb. The snide comment just doesn’t wash. He broke his leg on a scramble and deserves a little more respect When he went down, the backups were horrible.
Chris Crane
In 2006, Chris Crane was having a mediocre season. However, he then beat Notre Dame and won at Florida St. on senior night. (Wikipedia) He then broke his collar bone against Wake Forest. The team went to the ACC Championship game. Chris signed with the Indianapolis Colts as a free agent. He was cut and brought back after a qb injury as third string and then was cut again. Evidently, the Colts thought that at 6 ft 4 that he had potential. He played last year in the Arena Football League.
Correct
C. Crane redshirted in ‘04. Played sporactically in ’05,’06,’07 and was hurt in ’08. (Wikipedia)
That was a fantastic history of Chris Crane. Thank You.
Writer at BC Interruption SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
Follow me on Twitter
I notice that 5 of the 10 worst non-con attendance numbers are in the last five years.
'11: Minimum Goal: Win 10 games again
'10: 7th in offense, 41st in defense. Division Champions. 10-4. (6-3)
'09: 3rd in offense, 107th in defense. 7-6 (4-4)
Tomahawk Nation Nole-Holds-Barred Analysis of FSU Sports!
Follow Tomahawk Nation's Twitter feed!
Coincidence?
… and five of BC’s seven home games against I-AA opponents (from 1995-2010) have all occurred in the last five years …
Weber State (2010)
Northeastern (2009)
Rhode Island (2008)
Massachusetts (2007)
Maine (2006)
BC played just two I-AA opponents between 1995-2005 — UMass in 2004 and Northeastern in 1999.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
Personally Attended
I personally went to 6 out of the 10 worst attended games in Alumni history as a student…just ridiculous.
I’m in the same boat as you Murph. It would have been 7 if I hadn’t missed the Northeastern game for my honeymoon. Pssst. Stupid honeymoon. No excuse.
Writer at BC Interruption SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
Follow me on Twitter
I, on the other hand, am pretty sure I’ve attended none of those games …
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
Impressive..but I got you by 1
5 as a student and 2 as an alum.
Anyone who went to that Buffalo game will always have my utmost respect as a True Eagle. Buffalo stunk, Crane was starting, and that rain was relentless.
I just happened to go to BC when we decided to schedule some pretty crappy opponents (Kent State twice, Rhode Island, Northeastern, Central Michigan, and Weber St.). i was spoiled my freshmen year with Matt Ryan’s last year at BC…
also, conference:
1) What did conference-game attendance look like in the Big East days? What does conference-game attendance look like in the ACC?
2) familiarity vs unfamiliarity
(Assuming a program is able to sell-out home games against good teams, familiar or unfamiliar,)
I believe it is easier to draw fans to games against familiar-but-bad programs than it is to draw fans to games against unfamiliar-but-bad programs.
We know the cast of characters in-conference during the Big East days. When BC was an independent, I saw a schedule that was typically east of the Mississippi River and generally more northern than southern. Students, alumni, and the casual Boston fans grew up with these schools. You see cars with bumper stickers from these schools. These schools, playing good or bad football, are familiar schools.
Flash-forward to the ACC days. The choice to go to the ACC made a lot of sense, financial and otherwise. It’s a good place to be.
But also know a large chunk of the schedule once filled with games against familiar schools (Pitt, Syracuse, WVU, Rutgers, Temple, UConn) has been replaced by unfamiliar schools (UNC, NCSt, Duke, Wake Forest, Clemson, UVA, Maryland, Georgia Tech). This assumes games against Miami and VT will sell out for familiarity (FSU for glamour) reasons.
It is also easier to sell-out games against relatively close programs because their fans are close enough to want to go. Do the Southern teams travel well enough to want to visit Boston in the last few months of the year?
Now, regionalism is not the only thing that breeds familiarity. Time does, too, and I’m sure 20+ years of playing ACC schools will only help. But when BC left the Big East for the ACC, it was effectively starting over from scratch.
How does this relate to non-conference scheduling? Apathy. When BC played familiar schools in-conference, it could afford the unusual sacrifice game against a 1-AA or weak 1-A school. At least the rest of the schedule was recognizable. But now? Can Joe Fan get pumped for UMass and Wake and Duke and NC State? Does Joe Fan even recognize this schedule anymore?
Well, two things happened about the same time as the Big East divorce: 1) college football added a 12th game and 2) BC started scheduling a I-AA opponent every season.
So with the move to the ACC we effectively added an extra game to the schedule and an annual I-AA opponent. BC only played two I-AA opponents between 1995-2004 (the Big East years) — Northeastern in 1999 and UMass in 2004. Now we are using the 12th game to schedule a I-AA program annually. Tough to compare.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
I wrote a post about this tomorrow, but here's the data ...
Conference opponent per-game attendance from 1995-2010 (# of games in parenthesis, has to be >1)
Big East
1. Miami (5) — 43,518
2. Syracuse (5) — 42,627
3. Virginia Tech (5) — 43,427
4. West Virginia (5) — 41,648
5. Connecticut (3) — 39,983
6. Pittsburgh (5) — 39,298
7. Temple (4) — 39,254
8. Rutgers (5) — 38,253
ACC
1. Virginia Tech (3) — 43,648
2. Florida State (3) — 41,531
3. Clemson (3) — 41,167
4. Maryland (3) — 41,115
5. N.C. State (3) — 40,200
6. Wake Forest (3) — 38,939
7. Virginia (2) — 37,275
A couple notes:
- Virginia Tech attendance has been fairly constant from the Big East years to the ACC, with Virginia Tech ACC games leading all conference opponents.
- After VT the ACC version, the next four on the list are Big East teams — Miami, Virginia Tech, Syracuse and West Virginia, which would support your theory.
- After the top 5 though, Florida State, Clemson, Maryland and N.C. State have outdrawn UConn, Pittsburgh, Temple and Rutgers
- Trading Rutgers and Temple for Wake Forest and Virginia has basically been a wash.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
downward trend for ACC home game attendance
I was able to find game-by-game attendance dating back to joining the ACC— where can I find Big East era attendance?
Regardless, “multiple games against an ACC-conference opponent” features a disturbing, downward trend. Economy? Quality of football? Was “newness” wearing off?
Virginia Tech
2006: 44,500
2008: 44,127
2010: 42,317
Florida State
2005: 44,500
2007: 40,065
2009: 40,029
Clemson
2006: 44,500
2008: 41,863
2010: 41,137
Maryland
2006: 44,500
2008: 42,767
2010: 36,078
NC State
2005: 42,826
2007: 42,513
2009: 35,261
Wake Forest
2005: 33,632
2007: 42,292 (one of only two improvements)
2009: 40,892
Virginia
2005: 35,286
2010: 39,263 (the other improvement)
Miami
2007: 44,500
Duke
2006: 42,326
North Carolina
2009: 41,272
Georgia Tech
2008: 40,106
I’ve also noted that trend. I think it’s attributable to a bit of each of the reasons you listed.
Here is the Big East data. Last night I compiled all the home attendance data from 1995-2010 using the media guide at bceagles.com. Most follow a bell curve trend from 1995 (first year of 44.5k Alumni Stadium) to 2004, but that makes sense given the lean years of the late 1990s. UConn’s attendance continually went up as they emerged from being a transitional I-A program.
Virginia Tech
1996: 44,500
1997: 47,681
1998: 37,628
2000: 44,500
2002: 42,826
Miami (Fla.)
1995: 44,500
1997: 40,005
1999: 44,084
2001: 44,500
2003: 44,500
2005: 44,500
Pittsburgh
1995: 44,500
1997: 34,796
1999: 33,574
2001: 41,637
2003: 41,983
Rutgers
1996: 44,500
1998: 38,287
2000: 33,565
2002: 33,786
2004: 41,126
West Virginia
1995: 44,500
1997: 39,200
1999: 42,335
2001: 42,482
2003: 39,723
Connecticut
2000: 35,383
2002: 40,066
2004: 44,500
Temple
1996: 42,463
1998: 40,496
2000: 35,333
2001: 38,724
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
Interesting stuff, is the ‘Cuse data coming in the article tomorrow?. Aside from the obvious benefit we’ve discussed on this site of getting Miami more regularly, I think you could make an argument for playing both Pitt and WVU as a means of helping attendance.
Do we know which Big East members we have beef with besides UCONN?
by chicagofire1871 on Jun 28, 2011 10:04 PM EDT reply actions
We basically have a beef with any program that joined in on the lawsuit against BC — UConn (the ringleader), Pitt, West Virginia and Rutgers. Syracuse didn’t join the lawsuit. No ill-will towards the C-USA promotions.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on BC Interruption
Related FanShots on BC Interruption
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
