Longest Sellout Drought?

[DFW HOYA]

What schools have gone the longest without selling out at home? A few come to mind:

Jackson State played before 65,000 in 1999, no easy feat then or now.

Holy Cross has not sold out 23,000 seat Fitton Field since 1986, its last game against Boston College.

A sellout of 26,000 at Cornell? Probably in the Ed Marinaro days, if then.

Penn? Not sure.

[PantherRob82]

I would guess Indiana State.

[bulldog10jw]

Yale sold out in 1981 for Harvard, 75.000+

They also had 70,000+ for the 100th Harvard game in 1983, but I never heard that referred to as a sellout.

It's been all down hill from there. Some good crowds, but never a sellout.

[Sycamore62]

I would guess Indiana State.

When they had bleachers on the visitors side I wouldn't even know what a sellout was

edit: 18,293 in 1980

i guess that would fill the UNI Dome

[bjtheflamesfan]

Liberty has never sold out to my knowledge, and Williams Stadium opened in 1989. We went above capacity this year but no sellouts

[PantherRob82]

When they had bleachers on the visitors side I wouldn't even know what a sellout was

Has it ever sold out with half a side?

[Sycamore62]

Has it ever sold out with half a side?

No they took those out in 1996. Biggest crowd I can remember since I was there was my freshman year 1993 at homecoming. I think it was about 9,500. I assume 20,000 were tailgating

raetz and Jack Harbaugh got in a fist fight after the game at the 50yd line

They should just limit tickets to 4000 and call it a sellout

[chattownmocs]

Chattanooga hasn't sold out Finley stadium since the stadium opener in '97

[Sader87]

Princeton and Penn have to go back to the 1950s, no?

Brown probably sold-out (or came damn close) some of those Yale or Harvard at Bruno games in the 70s.

Columbia? Ever?

URI? Maybe in the mid-80s.

I don't know if UConn evah sold out a game at Storrs....maybe a UMass game at some point?

UNH and Maine have had sell-outs recently I believe.

Not sure about the newer NE-FCS schools (CCSU, Bryant, Sacred Heart)

Did Northeastern evah sell out? I doubt it...maybe a play-off game.

[ccd494]

UNH and Maine have had sell-outs recently I believe.

Define "sell out." I don't think Maine has ever actually ever stopped selling tickets. Capacity is listed at 10,000, but every seat was full for the UNH playoff game last year and it was announced as less.

They announced more than that for Montana in like 2003, and it seemed like seats were available. So who the heck knows how many people actually fit in that place. There's plenty of room to keep fitting people in and around the field with temporary bleachers, standing room only, and the like.

[HailSzczur]

Nova has cracked 12k on quite a few occasions, but I can't seem to find the last time we hit the 12,500 mark.

Looking at the largest crowds in stadium history, the last time we broke 13,400 (back when we had endzone bleachers i presume?) was in '88 against Richmond. Suspiciously 3 straight games that season had 13,400 though.....

[Go Green]

Dartmouth probably last did it in the early to mid 1970s.

With Memorial Field capacity being reduced (again) next season, and with the team on the rise, we could break the streak soon if the weather cooperates.

[clenz]

Define "sell out." I don't think Maine has ever actually ever stopped selling tickets. Capacity is listed at 10,000, but every seat was full for the UNH playoff game last year and it was announced as less.

They announced more than that for Montana in like 2003, and it seemed like seats were available. So who the heck knows how many people actually fit in that place. There's plenty of room to keep fitting people in and around the field with temporary bleachers, standing room only, and the like.I assume sell out status at all fixed seats being sold.

UNI has 16,300 fixed seats but has gone over 17k in attendance.

[DFW HOYA]

Interesting that in the link below on the demise of Columbia's Baker Field, some thought a 20,000 capacity for Wien Stadium would be "too small".

http://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/20/sports/a-columbia-football-era-ends-at-baker-field.html

[Mattymc727]

Not sure on UNH either. Cowell currently seats 6500, but UNH sold over 18k tickets on homecoming. Dont think it was called a sellout but when you sell triple the amount of tickets than you have seats, sounds pretty close...

[MR. CHICKEN]

Not sure on UNH either. Cowell currently seats 6500, but UNH sold over 18k tickets on homecoming. Dont think it was called a sellout but when you sell triple the amount of tickets than you have seats, sounds pretty close...

20022....WAS BUYIN' DUH TIX......UH REQUIREMENT....TA ENTER TAIL-GATES & PARTIES..?.......COOD EXPLAIN......AWQ!

[UAalum72]

Princeton and Penn have to go back to the 1950s, no?

The Princeton Bulletin says the opening of the new stadium was a sellout 09/19/1998. http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/98/0928/stadium.html

Probably none since then.

[Mattymc727]

20022....WAS BUYIN' DUH TIX......UH REQUIREMENT....TA ENTER TAIL-GATES & PARTIES..?.......COOD EXPLAIN......AWQ!


That is correct. You need a ticket to tailgate. However they used that number for official attendance too, but it clearly wasnt.

[Sycamore62]

That is correct. You need a ticket to tailgate. However they used that number for official attendance too, but it clearly wasnt.

I dont know why they dont do this at ISUb.

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

That is correct. You need a ticket to tailgate. However they used that number for official attendance too, but it clearly wasnt.

Who cares! They legitimately sold over 18K tickets and they were scanned. Personally, I agree with the process because all those "extra" tickets sold help offset the cost for the additional police and medical staff needed in that Homecoming mosh pit. For the record, the ticket is required to enter Boulder Field for tailgating, not Lot A. On Homecoming alcohol is allowed in Lot A as well. And for the fans of future Homecoming game opponents at UNH, please go to Lot A for tailgating!!

UNH has been over capacity every home game this season except for the Albany game when the temps were in the high 30's with rain. Thankfully, many people are willing to stand and watch Wildcat Football.

[UAalum72]

What schools have gone the longest without selling out at home? A few come to mind:

Jackson State played before 65,000 in 1999, no easy feat then or now.

Holy Cross has not sold out 23,000 seat Fitton Field since 1986, its last game against Boston College.

A sellout of 26,000 at Cornell? Probably in the Ed Marinaro days, if then.

Penn? Not sure.
The Ivy League Media Guide series history (http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/sports/fball/2014-15/media_guide/14fbguide-SeriesHistory.pdf) is only for league games and doesn't show attendance every year, but Cornell is shown as having some games of "23,000" or "22,500" in 1971-72, if you want to believe those numbers. The Schoellkopf record of over 35,000 was vs. Michigan in 1951.

For Penn I saw one game over 50,000 in 1969 but nothing approaching whatever the capacity of Franklin Field is.

[GAD]

Jackson State has not had a sell out since '99, but the crowds they draw would probably sellout 90% of the stadiums in FCS.

[SIUSalukiFan]

Southern Illinois hasn't had a sell out since 1980, and that came on a day the school honored a former player who was paralyzed in a game the year before.

[clenz]

Southern Illinois hasn't had a sell out since 1980, and that came on a day the school honored a former player who was paralyzed in a game the year before.
You didn't sell out once the first year after you moved out of the **** hole stadium into your new one?

[PantherRob82]

You didn't sell out once the first year after you moved out of the **** hole stadium into your new one?
I swear the first UNI game in the new joint was full.

[kdinva]

VMI had 10,000 + some Standing room in 1973 when they hosted Navy (no kidding. USNA came to Lex for football). That was the only sellout/largest crowd at Foster Stadium.

VMI has had about 6 or 7 games with 9500 or so (for Marshall and Citadel games) in attendance.

[bostonspider]

Until Richmond moved into the much smaller Robins Stadium in 2010, their last sell out in UR Stadium (22,600) was in 1986 versus Virginia Tech.

[Ivytalk]

A head-scratcher for me is what was the last time that Harvard had a non-Yale home sellout? Have to hit the books for that one.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh vs Lafayette last year. The last none Lehigh-Lafayette sellout was 2000 against Bucknell......

[Sader87]

A head-scratcher for me is what was the last time that Harvard had a non-Yale home sellout? Have to hit the books for that one.

Without checking, I'd guess a Dartmouth game in the 1960s....

[Ivytalk]

Without checking, I'd guess a Dartmouth game in the 1960s....

Dartmouth or Princeton.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I wonder if Colgate sold out Andy Kerr pre-Dunlop stands during the PL era. That would be '86-'90 iirc. Perhaps against Cornell? Are there any pics of the stadium during that era? I can't imagine Rutgers or Syracuse playing there, even in the '70's.

[JMUNJ08]

Until Richmond moved into the much smaller Robins Stadium in 2010, their last sell out in UR Stadium (22,600) was in 1986 versus Virginia Tech.

JMU and Richmond crowd sizes for those games the last few years there would almost both sell out Robins now...

[Go Green]

Interesting that in the link below on the demise of Columbia's Baker Field, some thought a 20,000 capacity for Wien Stadium would be "too small".

http://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/20/sports/a-columbia-football-era-ends-at-baker-field.html

Really a shame that Columbia never took football seriously. With all those people in NYC, all they had to do was field a halfway decent team and they could have gotten some healthy crowds.

[SFA 93]

Don't think Homer Bryce Stadium has ever sold out. The stadium can sit 25,000 but the record is 23,617 and that was back in 1995.

Have had a few 14,000 and 15,000 crowds but nothing near what we used to get back in the 80s and 90s

[Go...gate]

The Princeton Bulletin says the opening of the new stadium was a sellout 09/19/1998. http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/98/0928/stadium.html

Probably none since then.

I think you are correct, though attendance in 1998 was generally very good.

[Go...gate]

Colgate's last two official sellouts at Andy Kerr Stadium (an "official" sellout is 12,500) were September 10, 1977 (Rutgers - estimated attendance was 18,000) and October 9, 1982 (Holy Cross - estimated attendance was 14,500). Additional seating was added for each game.

[Go...gate]

I wonder if Colgate sold out Andy Kerr pre-Dunlap stands during the PL era. That would be '86-'90 iirc. Perhaps against Cornell? Are there any pics of the stadium during that era? I can't imagine Rutgers or Syracuse playing there, even in the '70's.

See above. I don't believe Syracuse has ever played at Colgate - playing before a sellout at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse evey year was a fine payday for Colgate through the years.

Colgate played Cornell in its official "Football Centennial" game in 1990, and it was a very good crowd, but not a sellout.

[Franks Tanks]

I imagine it has been a while for Bucknell as well.

[Go...gate]

Lafayette-Lehigh is nearly always a sellout, is it not?

[clenz]

I swear the first UNI game in the new joint was full.



http://www.siusalukis.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/062810aaa.html
The Southern Illinois football team moved into the brand-new Saluki Stadium for the 2010 season, after playing the previous 73 seasons at historic McAndrew Stadium. SIU, which was ranked No. 5 in the nation at the time, opened Saluki Stadium on Sept. 2, 2010 with a 70-7 win over Quincy in front of a sellout crowd of 15,276.

That looks like the only sell out though. By the second home game attendance was just over 13k, and by the final game of the regular season they were just over 6k.

2011 they were only over 10k twice - 13k for the home opener against Missouri State (also Family Weekend) and 12k for YSU (Homecoming). Other than those 2 games they averaged about 7.5k on the season

2012 12k for Indiana State (family weekend) and just 10k for UNI (which was homecoming...if that wasn't homecoming I doubt it clears 10k). Other home games were roughly 7.8K

2013 10,036 for home opening against #14 EIU, 11,400 for a ratedYSU (family weekend), 11,100 for #1 NDSU (homecoming) and were under 6k in 2 of their other 3 home games. Average in those three was basically right at 6k.

2014 (one game game left vs UNI) 10,300 for SEMO, 13,100 for WIU, 10,200 for rated Indiana State (homecoming). About 7.5k in other home games.

I'm actually really shocked at how bad attendance is in Carbondale. Granted, I believe this year is the first year SIU has played a home game as a ranked team since the stadium opened. Not only am I shocked at how bad it is, I'm equally shocked at how far away they are from ever selling it out with only 4 games over 13K (including the sell out to open the stadium)

I must say, it is a gorgeous looking stadium - even if it is lacking any noticeable "character" - and a shame that people don't have a winning team (jokes about owning UNI recently aside) to watch in it.

http://grfx.cstv.com/schools/silu/graphics/auto/SalukiStadiumSellout.jpg
http://photocom.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v20/p530314993-3.jpg

[Model Citizen]

Drake Stadium frequently sells out for the Drake Relays, but for football? I would guess not since an Iowa State game in the 1950s. The stadium had a larger capacity back then than it has had since the 2005 renovation.

If Butler didn't sell out the Bowl during their D-II playoff run in the '90s, they are in a similar situation.

[Sycamore62]

http://www.siusalukis.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/062810aaa.html
The Southern Illinois football team moved into the brand-new Saluki Stadium for the 2010 season, after playing the previous 73 seasons at historic McAndrew Stadium. SIU, which was ranked No. 5 in the nation at the time, opened Saluki Stadium on Sept. 2, 2010 with a 70-7 win over Quincy in front of a sellout crowd of 15,276.

That looks like the only sell out though. By the second home game attendance was just over 13k, and by the final game of the regular season they were just over 6k.

2011 they were only over 10k twice - 13k for the home opener against Missouri State (also Family Weekend) and 12k for YSU (Homecoming). Other than those 2 games they averaged about 7.5k on the season

2012 12k for Indiana State (family weekend) and just 10k for UNI (which was homecoming...if that wasn't homecoming I doubt it clears 10k). Other home games were roughly 7.8K

2013 10,036 for home opening against #14 EIU, 11,400 for a ratedYSU (family weekend), 11,100 for #1 NDSU (homecoming) and were under 6k in 2 of their other 3 home games. Average in those three was basically right at 6k.

2014 (one game game left vs UNI) 10,300 for SEMO, 13,100 for WIU, 10,200 for rated Indiana State (homecoming). About 7.5k in other home games.

I'm actually really shocked at how bad attendance is in Carbondale. Granted, I believe this year is the first year SIU has played a home game as a ranked team since the stadium opened. Not only am I shocked at how bad it is, I'm equally shocked at how far away they are from ever selling it out with only 4 games over 13K (including the sell out to open the stadium)

I must say, it is a gorgeous looking stadium - even if it is lacking any noticeable "character" - and a shame that people don't have a winning team (jokes about owning UNI recently aside) to watch in it.



I think Saluki Stadium also looks a lot better in person than in their photos

[clenz]

I think Saluki Stadium also looks a lot better in person than in their photos
I think it looks great in pictures. I just think it looks "cookie cutter" in a "whats the quickest/cheapest we can get it" way.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love a stadium like that in Cedar Falls - having said that it's currently wind chill in the teens and snowing...so...I'll stick with the UNIDome..:D