The number of empty seats in FBS bowl games for 2018-2019 season

[bonarae]

It's a staggering and alarming stat. Six of the minor bowls have at least 35,000+ empty seats each. Only two bowl/CFP games were sold out ones, and only three others had less than 1,000 empty seats each.

https://fbschedules.com/how-many-seats-were-left-empty-during-the-2018-19-bowl-season/

Is it wise to pare down the number of bowl games and almost leave the G5 reward box empty? xchinscratchx

[Reign of Terrier]

There was a good bit by some chick on sportscenter about bowls in late December. They exist because the communities that have the stadium want them.

[Professor Chaos]

It's a staggering and alarming stat. Six of the minor bowls have at least 35,000+ empty seats each. Only two bowl/CFP games were sold out ones, and only three others had less than 1,000 empty seats each.

https://fbschedules.com/how-many-seats-were-left-empty-during-the-2018-19-bowl-season/

Is it wise to pare down the number of bowl games and almost leave the G5 reward box empty? xchinscratchx
And those attendance figures get the normal college football fudging as well. I watched a good part of the Quick Lane Bowl and if there was 28,000 fans at that one there was 30k+ down in Frisco last Saturday.

[UNAPride]

The Bowl era is pretty much dead. I predict over half will fold during the next decade, which I'm fine with seeing happen. Way too many of them.

[PaladinFan]

I'm actually surprised that the National Championship sold out considering the massive distance from the fan bases and the appeal of watching two teams play for the umpteenth year in a row.

I think they should just set the National Championship game to be played in Atlanta. It is a major hub in the epicenter of college football. Since the CFP started, only two teams (Oregon and Ohio State) have played in the game that haven't been from Georgia, South Carolina, or Alabama (and Clemson is pretty much in Georgia).

Going back to the BCS era, you'd have to go all the way to 2004 to find a game that featured two non-southern teams (USC/Oklahoma). In fact, I think that was the only game in the entire BCS era that didn't include a team from the South (we can quibble over whether Texas is "the South" but you get my point).

Why not just put the game in the (1) place where your game is most popular and (2) closest to the biggest fan bases of the teams most likely to be in the game?

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

The Bowl era is pretty much dead. I predict over half will fold during the next decade, which I'm fine with seeing happen. Way too many of them.

I hope we return to the "traditional" bowl era. About 15-20 games with all but one or two being played before Christmas. I want to see Cincinnati against Michigan, App State vs Florida, Fresno State vs Oregon. You can still have your tradition Big 10/PAC 12 Rose Bowl.

[NDB]

The Bowl era is pretty much dead. I predict over half will fold during the next decade, which I'm fine with seeing happen. Way too many of them.

They're run like the olympics lite.

They're million dollar+ ventures. Little graft. Little shakedown. A couple of well paid director jobs. Total joke.

[ngineer]

The bowls will survive so long as someone is making money. That's it. Nothing more.

[Bisonoline]

The bowls will survive so long as someone is making money. That's it. Nothing more.

As long as the the companies keep paying the advertising dollars and companies keep wanting to see there logo on the 50 they aint going anywhere.

[OL FU]

I'm actually surprised that the National Championship sold out considering the massive distance from the fan bases and the appeal of watching two teams play for the umpteenth year in a row.

I think they should just set the National Championship game to be played in Atlanta. It is a major hub in the epicenter of college football. Since the CFP started, only two teams (Oregon and Ohio State) have played in the game that haven't been from Georgia, South Carolina, or Alabama (and Clemson is pretty much in Georgia).

Going back to the BCS era, you'd have to go all the way to 2004 to find a game that featured two non-southern teams (USC/Oklahoma). In fact, I think that was the only game in the entire BCS era that didn't include a team from the South (we can quibble over whether Texas is "the South" but you get my point).

Why not just put the game in the (1) place where your game is most popular and (2) closest to the biggest fan bases of the teams most likely to be in the game?

I get what you are saying but if this was a BCS board, Clempsin fans would be jumpin' your ass. :)

[walliver]

Most bowl games face the same issues as FCS playoffs.

Many of these games are scheduled with short notice and involve significant travel by teams that frequently struggle to draw fans at home during the regular season.
The problem with the "college football playoff" is that semifinal games are scheduled about 4 weeks in advance, but the participants in the national championship game only have one week notice. The issue this year was that Alabama and Clemson fans were forced to arrange air transportation to San Francisco and surrounding airports with only one week notice, and were paying the kind of high fares associated with last-minute bookings. Many fans could not afford the last minute rates. because of these issues, I don't see the CFP expanding anytime soon.

Many of the G5 early December bowls faced similar issues. In addition, playing G5 bowls in NFL stadia is not a good idea, but finding destination cities with right-sized venues is problematic.

For the bowls, it really doesn't matter since it's all done for TV anyway. It's just like MACtion. ESPN never focuses on the stands, and the crowd noise sounds like a small high school crowd.

Also, this year we had very cold and wet weather in the southeast which affected attendance at FCS play-off and G5 bowl games.

[Nor Eastern]

Many of the G5 early December bowls faced similar issues. In addition, playing G5 bowls in NFL stadia is not a good idea, but finding destination cities with right-sized venues is problematic.

For the bowls, it really doesn't matter since it's all done for TV anyway. It's just like MACtion. ESPN never focuses on the stands, and the crowd noise sounds like a small high school crowd.



Yep. Short notice, mid-week games, and holidays all hurt attendance for both the bowl games and FCS playoffs.

The G5 bowl games will be gaining a "destination" city in Conway/Myrtle Beach in 2020 at CCU's stadium. That stadium will hold just shy of 21k. With a CUSA/SBC tie-in, if both teams are from the east (Marshall, WKU, MTSU, UNCC for CUSA and App/GaSt/GaSo/Troy in SBC) it will probably sell out.

[tigonian02]

Yep. Short notice, mid-week games, and holidays all hurt attendance for both the bowl games and FCS playoffs.

The G5 bowl games will be gaining a "destination" city in Conway/Myrtle Beach in 2020 at CCU's stadium. That stadium will hold just shy of 21k. With a CUSA/SBC tie-in, if both teams are from the east (Marshall, WKU, MTSU, UNCC for CUSA and App/GaSt/GaSo/Troy in SBC) it will probably sell out.
If it somehow is GaSt vs Charlotte, I doubt anything sells out. Any of the other combinations, you’re right.

[tigonian02]

And long as schools are also making money from the bowls then they aren’t going anywhere. SBC made 1.7 million per school this bowl season. This even went to the schools that didn’t make bowls.

https://www.journalnow.com/sports/asu/source-sun-belt-conference-to-receive-million-from-cfp-the/article_7279a23c-b6c8-5b69-bef7-f1ef11bc849b.html