Record-Low Home Opener Attendance Of 22,728 For Boston College vs. Wagner

Today’s attendance of 22,728 for BC vs. Wagner set a new record for lowest attendance at Alumni Stadium for a home opener since it was expanded to 44,500. [CORRECTION: The all-time low in attendance at Alumni came in 2006 when BC played Buffalo; 16,000 turned out for that game in monsoon conditions, still a record-low overall for Alumni Stadium attendance. A previous version of this story said today’s game had the lowest attendance at the stadium since its expansion.]

Last year’s FCS debacle against Howard drew 26,132.

The attendance continued a decline in home-opener attendance for BC; last year’s tilt against Maine was previously the record-low for a home opener at 29,262. The previous year, BC drew 30,083 for the home opener on a Friday night against Pittsburgh; in 2013, BC drew 30,992 vs. Villanova.

The last time BC opened up with a top-tier opponent was 2012 against Miami, when BC drew 39,262 fans.

With Buffalo on deck, don’t expect much of an uptick at the gate, for a team whose attendance has continued to decline even more than the national average for college football (which is generally decreasing).

Last year's high-water mark was 39,111 for a Saturday night game vs. Florida State; it's doubtful even the Clemson game (given that it's on a Friday) will push those numbers. Louisville is a game that could see high attendance depending on if the Cardinals are still a CFB playoff contender at that point in time.

It should be noted that even though the overall attendance was low, the student section turnout was solid - probably about 90% full in the first half. Pretty impressive, all things considered. But BC will need to do more to turn full-ish student sections in to full-ish stadia after the students graduate.