Hero Sports publishes FCS attendance for 2021

[caribbeanhen]

https://herosports.com/2021-fcs-attendance-leaders-bzbz/

Gotta give a tip of the cap to the SWAC fans

Delaware still #10 and now that Rocco has been fired will be trending up

[caribbeanhen]

Here are the average home attendance figures for all FCS teams (playoffs are included):


Rank
School
Avg


1
Jackson St.
42,293


2
Montana
24,584


3
James Madison
19,631


4
Montana St.
19,176


5
Southern Univ.
18,698


6
Florida A&M
16,967


7
Jacksonville St.
16,809


8
North Dakota St.
15,101


9
Yale
13,263


10
Delaware
12,844


11
South Dakota St.
12,668


12
N.C. A&T
12,437


13
New Hampshire
11,576


14
Eastern Ky.
11,539


15
Harvard
11,201


16
Alabama St.
10,881


17
Youngstown St.
10,512


18
UC Davis
10,422


19
Alabama A&M
10,241


20
Missouri St.
10,156

[DFW HOYA]

Imagine finishing 119th and still not being last in your own conference.

[caribbeanhen]

Imagine finishing 119th and still not being last in your own conference.

Colgate pretty bad and the Sharks of Long Island in last at under a thousand

Actual butts in seats even more embarrassing




Rank
School
Avg


1
Jackson St.
42,293


2
Montana
24,584


3
James Madison
19,631


4
Montana St.
19,176


5
Southern Univ.
18,698


6
Florida A&M
16,967


7
Jacksonville St.
16,809


8
North Dakota St.
15,101


9
Yale
13,263


10
Delaware
12,844


11
South Dakota St.
12,668


12
N.C. A&T
12,437


13
New Hampshire
11,576


14
Eastern Ky.
11,539


15
Harvard
11,201


16
Alabama St.
10,881


17
Youngstown St.
10,512


18
UC Davis
10,422


19
Alabama A&M
10,241


20
Missouri St.
10,156


21
The Citadel
9,982


22
Norfolk St.
9,965


23
Western Caro.
9,824


24
North Dakota
9,661


25
Furman
9,577


26
ETSU
9,508


27
Tarleton St.
9,204


28
Mercer
8,908


29
Illinois St.
8,574


30
SFA
8,349


31
Elon
8,254


32
South Carolina St.
8,206


33
Cal Poly
7,952


34
McNeese
7,903


35
Murray St.
7,844


36
Southern Ill.
7,742


37
Northern Ariz.
7,620


38
Sacramento St.
7,615


39
Ark.-Pine Bluff
7,567


40
Central Ark.
7,560


41
Grambling
7,532


42
William & Mary
7,511


43
Chattanooga
7,482


44
Abilene Christian
7,415


45
Sam Houston
7,283


46
North Ala.
7,175


47
Holy Cross
7,156


48
N.C. Central
7,022


49
Princeton
7,019


50
Richmond
6,940


51
Nicholls
6,855


52
Stony Brook
6,777


53
UNI
6,757


54
Texas Southern
6,710


55
Morehead St.
6,707


56
Northwestern St.
6,566


57
Howard
6,529


58
Villanova
6,513


59
Weber St.
6,404


60
South Dakota
5,816


61
Kennesaw St.
5,803


62
Tennessee Tech
5,756


63
Eastern Wash.
5,725


64
Lamar University
5,716


65
Lehigh
5,639


66
Austin Peay
5,617


67
Towson
5,561


68
Columbia
5,549


69
Dartmouth
5,480


70
Mississippi Val.
5,440


71
Bethune-Cookman
5,323


72
VMI
5,217


73
Southeastern La.
5,215


74
Northern Colo.
5,168


75
Campbell
5,164


76
Maine
5,051


77
Indiana St.
4,976


78
Penn
4,971


79
Rhode Island
4,892


80
Idaho
4,878


81
Merrimack
4,860


82
Sacred Heart
4,854


83
Alcorn
4,833


84
St. Thomas (MN)
4,739


85
Dixie St.
4,728


86
Wofford
4,686


87
Albany (NY)
4,684


88
Southern Utah
4,591


89
Eastern Ill.
4,441


90
Davidson
4,225


91
UT Martin
4,208


92
Gardner-Webb
4,142


93
Morgan St.
4,049


94
Tennessee St.
4,023


95
Samford
3,949


96
Prairie View
3,827


97
Brown
3,752


98
Southeast Mo. St.
3,729


99
Cornell
3,682


100
Hampton
3,680


101
Idaho St.
3,674


102
Fordham
3,668


103
Butler
3,352


104
Portland St.
3,329


105
Western Ill.
3,282


106
Drake
3,176


107
Charleston So.
3,102


108
Monmouth
3,093


109
Central Conn. St.
2,926


110
Bryant
2,883


111
Lafayette
2,861


112
Dayton
2,692


113
Delaware St.
2,649


114
UIW
2,483


115
Valparaiso
2,480


116
Bucknell
2,415


117
Marist
2,362


118
Presbyterian
2,351


119
Georgetown
2,265


120
Robert Morris
2,150


121
Houston Baptist
2,148


122
Colgate
2,042


123
San Diego
1,987


124
Wagner
1,921


125
Duquesne
1,616


126
Stetson
1,221


127
Saint Francis (PA)
1,216


128
LIU
943

[aceinthehole]

Imagine finishing 119th and still not being last in your own conference.

4 of the bottom 5 are from the NEC. That's pathetic.

Although I do find it funny that the CAA's newest member Monmouth finished 1 spot ahead lof CCSU. :)

[kdinva]

I am not convinced VMI includes the Corps in their data. I went to two games, and including the corps, there were easily approx. 7000 there.

[ASU33]

We managed to finish in the top 20 with a terrible team AND a 50% cap on stadium capacity due to covid.

[McCowboys]

McNeese's might have been higher, but noon kickoffs with a heat index over 100 degrees is not very appealing to many people. This was due to not having stadium lights due to two hurricanes back to back. The lights will be back and so will 7 PM kickoffs this season, and so expect an increase in attendance with new Coach Gary Goff in the saddle. Geaux Pokes!

[JacksFan40]

I don’t know where this ranks compared to other seasons but I’d guess it’s one of our best attended seasons. UND game was the only bad regular season game for attendance.

I expect attendance to decline next year though due to disappointment over how big of a letdown this past season was, and just because we don’t have any marquee home games like NDSU and UNI.

[walliver]

Despite our worst team in 40 years, at last we didn't finish last in the SoCon.

Samford's attendance always surprises me. It's undergraduate enrollment is over twice that of Wofford. According to wikipedia, 66% of their undergraduates come from outside of Alabama - I guess they all go back when they leave.

[Anthony215]

4 of the bottom 5 are from the NEC. That's pathetic.

Although I do find it funny that the CAA's newest member Monmouth finished 1 spot ahead lof CCSU. :)

Remember Monmouth capacity is 4k so even with it finishing 1 spot ahead of CCSU remember that 3093 average equates to 77% of seats being filled. Compared to CCSU who had an average of 2926 fans which equates to 58% of seats filled lol.

[CockyGeek]

Despite our worst team in 40 years, at last we didn't finish last in the SoCon.

Samford's attendance always surprises me. It's undergraduate enrollment is over twice that of Wofford. According to wikipedia, 66% of their undergraduates come from outside of Alabama - I guess they all go back when they leave.

There's barely a job market in Birmingham. You can make twice as much in Atlanta after breaking the bank on some of these Samford degrees. There's also the almighty SEC to contend with. And now UAB has a brand new stadium five miles down the road to catch the casual fans.

[Panther88]

We managed to finish in the top 20 with a terrible team AND a 50% cap on stadium capacity due to covid.

PVAMU didn't report the correct #s to the ncaa, hence where we are located. For example, 2 weeks after the game, "someone" reported 6K for HC'ing game when it was near capacity. xsmhx (~12K-13K)

Unfortunately, I attended 2 games last fall where the tix scanners were inoperable; I was allowed entry w/out being counted. Our "AD" needs to go, and dude was just hired last year.

[UAalum72]

4 of the bottom 5 are from the NEC. That's pathetic.

Although I do find it funny that the CAA's newest member Monmouth finished 1 spot ahead lof CCSU. :)
Who knows what Merrimack's true count was. Listed 4800+ average in a 4000-seat stadium, including over 12,000 for homecoming. Averaged about 2500 in their three other home games.

[ElCid]

Who knows what Merrimack's true count was. Listed 4800+ average in a 4000-seat stadium, including over 12,000 for homecoming. Averaged about 2500 in their three other home games.

Sounds like tickets sold for homecoming and they may have been mandatory for alum to buy as part of weekend festivities package. That's one thing I wish that the NCAA could control. Make it mandatory to report butts in seat only. Probably don't have that power. But it is annoying. It's done by the same few schools year in and year out.

[Dane96]

I can tell you as a local, Merrimack's numbers are absolutely BULL-SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET.

They played in a mostly empty stadium during the season.

Allegedly 3857 vs. St Anslem. Fat chance...not even close...maybe half that if, lucky.
Around 1200 vs. CCSU. Still likely inaccurate, however believable.
Around 2300 vs. Bryant- non accurate...probably 1200

The Duquense game is the biggest joke I have ever heard in counting. The 12,000 plus number is how many people must have walked into each event, and that's not even accurate. The school that 2500 alumni returned to the school. The Andover community can't stand Merrimack except for hockey, and that is still mostly student based. They have about 5,000 students. A believable number is 8000 fans in attendance...but 12000 is a joke. Duane Stadium seats around 3700 including concessions, press box, game day operations helps counted. Here's a photo of that game. Almost positive, that at max, they had 4500 fans at the game. Calculate the real numbers, and they averaged maybe 2200 a game:

https://www.merrimack.edu/live/image/gid/45/23017_DSC00423-Pano.rev.1644147476.jpg

[Dane96]

Sounds like tickets sold for homecoming and they may have been mandatory for alum to buy as part of weekend festivities package. That's one thing I wish that the NCAA could control. Make it mandatory to report butts in seat only. Probably don't have that power. But it is annoying. It's done by the same few schools year in and year out.

See my post below. Normally would agree, and I think they did that for all events and combined them (dinners, etc). That had 2500 alumni come home per the school (I live about 20 miles away) and they have 5500 students (no charge). So that's 8,000. Even with the thought you had, which I agree is a good thought, the numbers don't add up. No way did 4,000 OTHER non-student and non-alumni enter the campus that day. The campus is a postage stamp. Heck, it's a third of Andover's community including North Andover.

[caribbeanhen]

Yea these attendance numbers are getting unmasked rather easily when you can count the number of people in the stands

[ElCid]

I'm curious as to other school's policies regarding student attendance.

Ours is, unique, obviously. Basically the entire Corps attends, it's mandatory for all cadets unless they have another formation like guard duty, another sport activity, etc. The Corps marches from campus into the stadium. It's an event. So we have probably 2,000 right off the bat guaranteed.

Do any other schools, besides VMI, have any sort of free attendance going. Like for freshman at least?

I'm convinced that we have such good attendance, relative to size, because we build up loyalty and interest for the program with required attendance. Some might argue otherwise, especially when a cadet just wants to get gone for day with his girlfriend or family, and they are forced to go. But I think it is good overall.

It really might be in some schools interest to offer free tickets for freshman to go if they desire. Might build a habit pattern and generate interest. Some may do this. I don't know, but I'm curious. It certainly would pay in the long run. More than the few bucks it might lose from tickets sales. And a fuller stadium builds momentum for attendance and excitement.

[CockyGeek]

JSU is a big inflator of numbers but fans on our message board will swear up and down that the numbers are accurate. If we claim the stadium holds 24k and one side is completely empty and everything from the 20-yard-line is empty, they will still say there is 16k people there. I bet they'll claim sellouts every week in CUSA

[wcugrad95]

At most schools, student tickets are included as part of the athletic fees they pay. So the problem is not having a ticket, it is that at most schools the students simply don’t go. Now if your argument is mandatory attendance for Freshman, that is another story (and one that won’t make it very far at universities that are not affiliated to the military).

[OhioHen]

https://herosports.com/2021-fcs-attendance-leaders-bzbz/

Gotta give a tip of the cap to the SWAC fans

Delaware still #10 and now that Rocco has been fired will be trending up
Most surprising to me is how few SWAC teams are near the top of the list. Those schools usually dominate the top 10.


PVAMU didn't report the correct #s to the ncaa, hence where we are located. For example, 2 weeks after the game, "someone" reported 6K for HC'ing game when it was near capacity. xsmhx (~12K-13K)

This explains one of the missing teams from the top of the list.

[ST_Lawson]

At most schools, student tickets are included as part of the athletic fees they pay. So the problem is not having a ticket, it is that at most schools the students simply don’t go. Now if your argument is mandatory attendance for Freshman, that is another story (and one that won’t make it very far at universities that are not affiliated to the military).

That's our situation. All students get in free with their student ID. The difficult part is getting them to show up.

[ElCid]

At most schools, student tickets are included as part of the athletic fees they pay. So the problem is not having a ticket, it is that at most schools the students simply don’t go. Now if your argument is mandatory attendance for Freshman, that is another story (and one that won’t make it very far at universities that are not affiliated to the military).

Most school give students "free" tickets already? Free being given to them vs buying them "out of pocket." Not that fees are free, but you know what I mean. I did not know that. Does any school charge student on the spot for tickets? Interesting. No, I wasn't suggesting mandatory, just something for encouraging. But if they are already free then something else needs to be thought of for encouraging them. I'm still thinking wet t-shirt contests, but nobody will listen.

[nodak651]

When I was at UND, I was charged 5 bucks for a student ticket after the student section ticket allotment was fully claimed for a Montana game. I think I recall that happening a couple other times as well. Though, the student section was closer to mid field then, so the tickets we got were at like the 10 yard line or something like that, and the games weren't sellouts. Now that the student section has been slid down, the closest seats to the student section are now at the 40-50 yard line, so I doubt this is still an option as they would rather sell to the general public there. But to answer your question, the normal student section-designated football seats have always been free. For hockey, per game ticket prices are now up to 15 bucks a game for students, with 0 free tickets. They can also buy Friday night only season tickets or Saturday night only season tickets for $86. Hate to mention hockey but it's an example of a school charging students "on the spot" for tickets beyond the normal athletic fee.

I just checked on NDSU, and it looks like their student tickets are free, which is surprising to me, considering the fact that the students voted down an athletic fee increase, and the amount non students are charged for tickets.

[katss07]

Boy nothing says FBS football quite like 7,200 fans

[katss07]

JSU is a big inflator of numbers but fans on our message board will swear up and down that the numbers are accurate. If we claim the stadium holds 24k and one side is completely empty and everything from the 20-yard-line is empty, they will still say there is 16k people there. I bet they'll claim sellouts every week in CUSA
At least your stadium is only empty on the away side. It's going to be embarrassing for Sam in CUSA when attendance drops even further.

[caribbeanhen]

At least your stadium is only empty on the away side. It's going to be embarrassing for Sam in CUSA when attendance drops even further.

Why do you think it drops even further?

[katss07]

Why do you think it drops even further?
Loss of the Battle of the Piney Woods numbers, games more accessible on TV networks, obscure opponents as opposed to longtime conference rivals, continued lack of upgrades and amenities to Huntsville High's Stadium

I really don't know maybe it improves. But if students and alumni aren't excited about a national champion playing against schools nearby, I can't imagine they'll be lining out the door to see New Mexico State and Florida International.

[ElCid]

At least your stadium is only empty on the away side. It's going to be embarrassing for Sam in CUSA when attendance drops even further.

At least they have an away side. *Sigh*

[wcugrad95]

Most school give students "free" tickets already? Free being given to them vs buying them "out of pocket." Not that fees are free, but you know what I mean. I did not know that. Does any school charge student on the spot for tickets? Interesting. No, I wasn't suggesting mandatory, just something for encouraging. But if they are already free then something else needs to be thought of for encouraging them. I'm still thinking wet t-shirt contests, but nobody will listen.

I have two daughters who are at FSU, and even in P5-level football (and basketball) the student section is filled with kids who got in "free" on their athletic fees. The difference is that there are only so many seats, so if you don't get your ticket ahead of time (they have sign-ups for it) and the student allocation is used up, then you have to pay for a "regular" seat somewhere else in the stadium. That is generally not an issue at FCS schools.

The low turnout has been discussed in lots of threads. I agree that offering contests, having post-game concerts, etc. all need to be looked at. But in the end it is really more about the product you put on the field that makes the biggest difference. College kids have so much else to do now, or they grew up fans of <INSERT_THEIR_FAVORITE_P5_SCHOOL>, or they go home, or all the games are on TV, or... Even the big schools are struggling. I also think some of these numbers are still impacted by the pandemic, but I am happy to see a number of SoCon schools up and around the 10k mark. I expect WCU and Mercer (perennially 2 of the highest in attendance) to go back closer to 11 or 12k - especially if Mercer continues to be good and WCU gets better.

[ElCid]

I have two daughters who are at FSU, and even in P5-level football (and basketball) the student section is filled with kids who got in "free" on their athletic fees. The difference is that there are only so many seats, so if you don't get your ticket ahead of time (they have sign-ups for it) and the student allocation is used up, then you have to pay for a "regular" seat somewhere else in the stadium. That is generally not an issue at FCS schools.

The low turnout has been discussed in lots of threads. I agree that offering contests, having post-game concerts, etc. all need to be looked at. But in the end it is really more about the product you put on the field that makes the biggest difference. College kids have so much else to do now, or they grew up fans of <INSERT_THEIR_FAVORITE_P5_SCHOOL>, or they go home, or all the games are on TV, or... Even the big schools are struggling. I also think some of these numbers are still impacted by the pandemic, but I am happy to see a number of SoCon schools up and around the 10k mark. I expect WCU and Mercer (perennially 2 of the highest in attendance) to go back closer to 11 or 12k - especially if Mercer continues to be good and WCU gets better.

If we ever get our visitors side rebuilt I'm sure we will again crack the top 20 in FCS.

[caribbeanhen]

Loss of the Battle of the Piney Woods numbers, games more accessible on TV networks, obscure opponents as opposed to longtime conference rivals, continued lack of upgrades and amenities to Huntsville High's Stadium

I really don't know maybe it improves. But if students and alumni aren't excited about a national champion playing against schools nearby, I can't imagine they'll be lining out the door to see New Mexico State and Florida International.

Seems to be a National trend minus the SWAC and the Montana’s

[FUBeAR]

If we ever get our visitors side rebuilt I'm sure we will again crack the top 20 in FCS.Not sure it’s worth the investment to rebuild the entire Visitors side to reach the lofty goal of getting 175 more people to attend the game, especially not with current attendance only 87% of current capacity. Doesn’t seem like there’s enough demand to fill the seats already there.

FUBeAR likes y’all having the same Visitor’s stands as Charleston Southern.

[ASU33]

Most surprising to me is how few SWAC teams are near the top of the list. Those schools usually dominate the top 10.


This explains one of the missing teams from the top of the list.

Alcorn is another team that's usually up there but they only reported for 1 game which drastically impacted their average.

[kdinva]

.....FUBeAR likes y’all having the same Visitor’s stands as Charleston Southern.

ouch!! xslapfightx

[GAD]

Southern could have been higher, but after a very embarrassing lose at homecoming a lot of people didn't return we finished 4-7xsmhx

[KnightoftheRedFlash]

4 of the bottom 5 are from the NEC. That's pathetic.

Although I do find it funny that the CAA's newest member Monmouth finished 1 spot ahead lof CCSU. :)

Well, you can't be surprised.

Most schools are located in a region where college football is an afterthought. Or near Ivy League schools.
NYC doesn't care about big time CFB. They aren't traveling to the suburbs for LIU or to Staten Island for Wagner.
SFU has Penn State next door. Our numbers sink even lower when the PSU game is home or on TV at the same time. Combine that with a history of not winning and you have low attendance.
The conference itself doesn't prioritize football. 45 scholarships isn't getting the job done. They pour everything into basketball and the conference hasn't been off the 16 line in a decade.
Small stadiums. Even if some of the members fill their grounds, the raw numbers aren't impressive.

NEC football needs to be revamped at the core level.

[DFW HOYA]

W
The conference itself doesn't prioritize football. 45 scholarships isn't getting the job done. They pour everything into basketball and the conference hasn't been off the 16 line in a decade.
Small stadiums. Even if some of the members fill their grounds, the raw numbers aren't impressive.
NEC football needs to be revamped at the core level.

The NEC might as well be the MVFC compared to the Patriot League when it comes to prioritization.

[ElCid]

Not sure it’s worth the investment to rebuild the entire Visitors side to reach the lofty goal of getting 175 more people to attend the game, especially not with current attendance only 87% of current capacity. Doesn’t seem like there’s enough demand to fill the seats already there.

FUBeAR likes y’all having the same Visitor’s stands as Charleston Southern.

If you built it...they will come.