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Building on yesterday's per-game home football attendance analysis, I thought it would also be worthwhile to look at the per-team averages from 1995-2010. First, here are the top six Alumni Stadium "best-sellers," taking a look at per-game attendance for programs that have visited BC three or more times since 1995:
| Program | Average Attendance | # of Games |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Notre Dame | 44,500 | 6 |
| 2. Miami | 43,682 | 6 |
| 3. Virginia Tech | 43,510 | 8 |
| 4. Navy | 42,845 | 4 |
| 5. Syracuse | 42,627 | 5 |
No real surprises in on this list. I suppose the only real surprise here is that none of BC's new ACC conference opponents make the list. Florida State is the highest ranked "new" ACC program at number 7, with a per-game attendance of 41,531 (3 games). Clemson is next (41,167), while Maryland (41,115) and N.C. State (40,200) round out the top 10. The ACC programs may be lower on this list as attendance has dipped in recent years, but still these programs have only sold out Alumni once (and N.C. State never has), which hurts their averages.
Here's a look at the bottom five (again, for programs that have visited BC three or more times).
| Program | Average Attendance | # of Games |
|---|---|---|
| 11. Connecticut | 39,983 | 3 |
| 12. Wake Forest | 39,845 | 4 |
| 13. Pittsburgh | 39,298 | 5 |
| 14. Temple | 39,254 | 4 |
| 15. Rutgers | 38,253 | 5 |
| 16. Army | 36,269 | 5 |
On the other hand, a few of these did surprise me starting with Army coming in last. Now I realize that Army went through a pretty brutal stretch of football during the late 1990s and early 2000s, but I was under the impression that Army traveled really well. Though a 1997 outlier really hurts its per-game average, Army averaged just 36,269 per-game in five games from 1995-2010 (the last game occurring in 2007). The Black Knights return to campus next season.
Temple and Rutgers are your usual suspects as both were clearly the worst football programs in the Big East from 1995-2004 (with the Owls getting the boot in 2004). Pittsburgh was a bit of a surprise as well. I figured Panthers fans traveled a bit better when they made their trip to Chestnut Hill during the Big East years. UConn was a transitional I-A program during that time and Wake Forest shows us how difficult it is to travel with a tiny fan base.
Finally, a word on Division I-AA and MAC opponent averages.
Of the seven Division I-AA opponents that have visited the Heights from 1995-2010, Massachusetts leads with an average, Parents' Weekend-aided per-game attendance of 43,687 over two games. Contrast UMass' attendance average with that of Northeastern, who only averaged 38,332 in two road trips to Alumni. I guess there's a reason why one program recently folded its varsity football program while the other is making the jump to Division I-A. The other I-AA opponents over the years ... Maine (41,162), Weber State (34,168) and Rhode Island (32,628).
The other problematic home games have been games against MAC opponents. Kent State has averaged just 30,144 in per-game attendance for its back-to-back road trips to BC in 2009 and 2010. Ball State has drawn the most interest at BC, averaging 41,258 fans for their 2003 and 2005 trips. The only other MAC program to travel to BC more than once during the time period was Central Michigan, who averaged 37,977 per game.
On average, I-AA opponents averaged 38.8k. Non-AQ opponents have averaged 37.4k. MAC opponents? Just 32.8k.