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Boston College Football: 2010 Average Home Attendance

By Brian F.
CHESTNUT HILL MA - SEPTEMBER 04: The Boston College Eagles student section celebrates a touchdown in the first half against the Weber State Wildcats on September 4 2010 at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
CHESTNUT HILL MA - SEPTEMBER 04: The Boston College Eagles student section celebrates a touchdown in the first half against the Weber State Wildcats on September 4 2010 at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Getty Images

Phil Steele recently took a look at last year's average college football home and road attendance figures. Last year, BC ranked 65th nationally in home attendance, averaging 38,369 fans (we're no. 65! we're no 65!). That figure puts BC below non-BCS programs like BYU (61,381), East Carolina (49,665), Utah (45,459), TCU (42,466), Air Force (40,093) and UCF (39,614). In the ACC, BC ranked 10th ahead of only Wake Forest (30,474) and Duke (28,750).

Here are the average home attendance figures for the ACC:

18. Clemson (75,786)
20. Florida State (71,270)
24. Virginia Tech (66,233)
30. North Carolina (58,250)
33. N.C. State (56,877)
39. Miami (52,575)
50. Georgia Tech (46,449)
53. Virginia (45,459)
64. Maryland (39,168)
65. Boston College (38,369)
77. Wake Forest (30,474)
80. Duke (28,750)

Of course, not all stadiums are created equal. The more interesting statistic is how BC is doing relative to filling up Alumni Stadium. Building on Steele's figures, I took a look at the percent capacity for each of the FBS' 120 programs. BC does slightly better here, ranking 53rd nationally, filling Alumni Stadium on average 86.22 percent. That's good for seventh in conference behind Virginia Tech, N.C. State, UNC, Wake Forest, Clemson and Florida State.

14. Virginia Tech (100%)
26. N.C. State (98.77%)
32. North Carolina (97.08%)
33. Wake Forest (96.74%)
38. Clemson (94.38%)
52. Florida State (86.60%)
53. Boston College (86.22%)
55. Duke (84.71%)
56. Georgia Tech (84.45%)
74. Maryland (76.05%)
77. Virginia (73.92%)
84. Miami (69.63%)

At first glance, Florida State's 86.60% statistic surprises me a bit. I know the Seminoles struggled with home attendance last season, and the Doak is one of the largest stadiums in the conference, but that figure seems low, especially considering the year that FSU had. Wake Forest and Duke don't draw nearly as bad given the size of their stadiums. Same for BC. Miami plays in the NFL's Dolphin Land Shark Sun Life Stadium, so you can forgive the 'Canes if they only fill the place to 70 percent capacity.  

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