Which School Has the Best Home Crowd in I-AA?

[seeker]

Which School Has the Best Home Crowd in I-AA?

1. In attendance.
2. In tailgating.
3. In season ticket sales.

What does your school have?

[ucdtim17]

UCD doesn't have much of a home crowd, but this away crowd would rival anyone's:

http://photos-n-03.facebook.com/n/89/51/n3202048_5365189_7549.jpg

http://photos-n-03.facebook.com/n/92/47/n3202048_5364792_1263.jpg

notice the red in the middle vs. the blue on either side

[SochorField]

excuse me....*tearing up*

[mainejeff]

1. Montana
2. McNeese State
3. Montana/Delaware(?)

[93henfan]

OK, here's the link to the 588 page: 2005 NCAA Football Records Book (http://www.ncaa.org/library/records/football_records_book/2005/2005_d1_football_records.pdf#search='2005%20ncaa%2 0football%20attendance')

It has the following attendance numbers (avg per game) from the 2004 season, starting on the bottom of Pg 425:

1. Florida A&M - 25,609
2. Southern - 23,048
3. Montana - 22,118
4. Delaware - 21,055
5. Alcorn St - 17,684
6. Grambling - 16,663
7. Georgia Southern - 15,123
8. Harvard - 15,002
9. Youngstown St - 14,670
10. Tenn St - 14,611

As far as tailgating, if you read many I-AA publications or websites I think you will generally see Montana, Delaware, Georgia Southern, McNeese, and most of the better known historically black colleges often mentioned.

Regarding season ticket bases, I can only tell you from personal experience that Delaware is around the 11,000-12,000 mark. Fellow hens, do you have the exact number?

Hope that helps.

[CatFan22]

I love MSU tailgating. It is just a great experience that I have enjoyed even since high school. Everyone should check it out sometime.

[CrunchGriz]

Montana has 17,000+ season ticket holders, and led I-AA in home attendance last year (and it was second the previous two years, according to ncaasports.com).

The HBCU Classics make home attendance difficult to sort out, as many of them are not in their "home" stadia, and virtually all draw very, very well.

[93henfan]

Montana has 17,000+ season ticket holders, and led I-AA in home attendance last year (and it was second the previous two years, according to ncaasports.com).

The HBCU Classics make home attendance difficult to sort out, as many of them are not in their "home" stadia, and virtually all draw very, very well.

Exactly. Also, because of the classics they do not compete with the rest of us in the I-AA playoffs, nor do the Ivys. So if you cut the NCAA list down to playoff-participating I-AAs, you have:

1. Montana
2. Delaware
3. Georgia Southern
4. Youngstown St

Four benchmark I-AA programs with plenty of history and hardware to go around.

[HENJOHN]

I am pretty sure the Delaware Season Ticket base was up to 11,500 according to an early 2005 season release I read. I have been to a number of places that were great crowds and Tailgating. Being a UD season ticket holder I am obvioulsy biased toward Newark, Delaware some, but here's mine (from experience or places I have been to):

1) Montana
2) Delaware
3) McNeese St
4) Ga Southern
5) Youngstown State

[bluehenbillk]

There was an article published in the preseason on this topic that listed the top 20 schools in terms of fans. Montana was #1 & Delaware was #2.

[UNH 40]

Montana isn't even challenged in this category. I have played at Delware which is always a difficult place to play, because of the noise and how hostile the crowd is. But when we (UNH) traveled to Montana in the 2004 playoffs I was simply amazed at how loud the crowd was and how much of a home field advantage they have there. It played a huge role how badly we played that day. It isn't just how loud the crowd is, it is the fact that they are right on top of you, literally. There is only about five yards between the sidelines and the first row of seats, we could barely hear what coaches were saying on the sidelines in our defensive meetings. The atmosphere is unbelievable, I can understand why players from I-A have no problem transferring to play there, the atmosphere is not that different. Montana No Question biggest home field advantage from the crowd.

[UNH 40]

Georgia Southerns crowd was crap they pale in comparison to Delaware and Montana.

[kalm]

1. Montana
2. Montana @ EWU

There guys, satisfied? Thought I'd beat ya to it. :)

[GAD]

Which School Has the Best Home Crowd in I-AA?

1. In attendance.
2. In tailgating.
3. In season ticket sales.

What does your school have?
Delaware, Southern, Montana these three are interchangable
Honorable Mention: McNeese, Georgia Southern, Jackson State

[GannonFan]

Can't argue with the picks - Montana probably wins out on noise, as the UNH poster has said, partly based on stadium design - the fans are are close as you can get to the field. I think Montana is the clear winner in season tickets (17k versus UD's 12k) unless Southern has a lot of season ticket holders. Delaware and Southern have legions of fans that always show up, McNeese is right up there as well. Those 3 or 4 are probably the tops, with the Jackson St's and Georgia Southerns right behind. Youngstown isn't too bad either - surprisingly good tailgating at Youngstown as well.

[Ronbo]

For the past two seasons we have averaged over 23,000 during regular season, 23,450 something in 2005. Then along comes the Turkey weekend playoff game and we get 16,000 fans and our average plumets to 22,300 or something like that. The point is if you want to see a regular season game at Montana you better buy a ticket in August or you need to come to the games and search for scalpers outside the stadium.

[gram4life]

Exactly. Also, because of the classics they do not compete with the rest of us in the I-AA playoffs, nor do the Ivys. So if you cut the NCAA list down to playoff-participating I-AAs, you have:

1. Montana
2. Delaware
3. Georgia Southern
4. Youngstown St

Four benchmark I-AA programs with plenty of history and hardware to go around.

SMH, FAMU AND TSU are playoff -participating teams.

[SU Jag]

Southern University! :beerchug:

[ButlerGSU]

Georgia Southerns crowd was crap they pale in comparison to Delaware and Montana.

It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and pouring rain when you UNHers came down. Listen to everyone and read some of the reviews on I-AA.org and you'll see that fans and tailgating at Georgia Southern is easily in the top five.

[Pard4Life]

Which School Has the Best Home Crowd in I-AA?

1. In attendance.
2. In tailgating.
3. In season ticket sales.

What does your school have?

1. not Lafayette
2. not Lafayette (maybe one game per year.. Lehigh)
3. not Lafayette

:rolleyes:

but we do have some very loud parents, that is always fun and interesting

[AppGuy04]

Which School Has the Best Home Crowd in I-AA?

1. In attendance.
2. In tailgating.
3. In season ticket sales.

What does your school have?

1. ASU/Montana
2. Georgia Southern
3. No experience with this other than ASU

[Granite]

1. not Lafayette
2. not Lafayette (maybe one game per year.. Lehigh)
3. not Lafayette

:rolleyes:

but we do have some very loud parents, that is always fun and interesting

Reminds me of a conversation with a UNH football player a few years ago, back when the team wasn't winning and wasn't drawing well. He said that when he came out of the tunnel, he heard his mom yelling his name and cheering for him. I told him that was nice that his parents came out to support him at his games. His response was, "yeah, but no Division I football player should EVER be able to hear his parents yelling for him at a college football game!" :)

[Pard4Life]

Reminds me of a conversation with a UNH football player a few years ago, back when the team wasn't winning and wasn't drawing well. He said that when he came out of the tunnel, he heard his mom yelling his name and cheering for him. I told him that was nice that his parents came out to support him at his games. His response was, "yeah, but no Division I football player should EVER be able to hear his parents yelling for him at a college football game!" :)

But the thing is we are winning, titles too... and draw reasonably well for what we've have done in the past... but I can't help thinking that most of our games sound like polo matches in the stands.. very quiet... maybe its the stadium acoustics? :confused:

Don't get me wrong though, the intension of my post was to convey that despite our winning, we don't have the following and atmosphere to go along with it.

[DinoDex200]

Hard to beat the old standards like Montana and UDel. I would put GSU in there, but it seems like their fans run away if things are perceived as "going bad". When they are good, though, Statesboro is alot of fun.

I think App State can be up there with MT and DE IF we can keep up the atmosphere we had this year. It was already pretty good (probably top 20), but this year's went to a whole other level. We'll see what happens when we have more than 4 home games, and GSU and Western aren't on our schedule.

[Granite]

But the thing is we are winning, titles too... and draw reasonably well for what we've have done in the past... but I can't help thinking that most of our games sound like polo matches in the stands.. very quiet... maybe its the stadium acoustics? :confused:

Don't get me wrong though, the intension of my post was to convey that despite our winning, we don't have the following and atmosphere to go along with it.

Oh I know - you guys have had some really good success lately. Its just that your comment about having loud parents reminded me of my conversation with the UNH player about something similar.

I have to say that the parents' support of the football program here at UNH is outstanding - they do a really nice job coming to games, cheering on their kids, and generally helping to create some noise at Cowell Stadium. Our fans also have a tendency to sit on their hands, even in big moments, although the UNI game did get pretty noisy.

[FlyYtown]

No Particular Order. Taking in effect everything.
1. Montana
2. Delaware
3. Youngstown State
4. Georgia Southern
5. McNeese State

[crunifan]

I really wish UNI had a consitant near sell out crowd. Games with crowds like the SIU game this year are just magical really. If that happened UNI-Dome losses would be even more rare than they are now.

[seeker]

No Particular Order. Taking in effect everything.
1. Montana
2. Delaware
3. Youngstown State
4. Georgia Southern
5. McNeese State
1. In attendance.
2. In tailgating.
3. In season ticket sales.

What does your school have?

[jmuroller]

1. Hofstra
2. Northeastern
3. Rhode Island

[SUjagTILLiDIE]

Montana has 17,000+ season ticket holders, and led I-AA in home attendance last year (and it was second the previous two years, according to ncaasports.com).

The HBCU Classics make home attendance difficult to sort out, as many of them are not in their "home" stadia, and virtually all draw very, very well.
No Classics are averaged in Southern's Attendence numbers.

[nlwwln]

wagner college............... sike!!! :lmao:

[catbob]

Having tailgated at both MSU and UM, I much prefer the atmosphere at MSU. UM is too corporate/business like. MSU is a giant block party which tends to get out of hand. :)

Here are some pics from tailgating at homecoming:http://www.bobcatnation.com/homecomingtailgate.htm

As far as atmosphere goes, the student section I sit in is usually crazy but overall we need some improvement. We don't usually cheer until there is something to cheer about which irritates me. Plus we need to bowl the souther endzone to keep the noise in.

[HiHiYikas]

1. In attendance.
2. In tailgating.
3. In season ticket sales.

What does your school have?
Attendance - our regular season attendance was up this year, finishing second to Montana (can't find reg season figures, but I want to say we came withing a few hundred fans on average). We were also high on the percentage of stadium capacity list, with numbers around 130% throughout the regular season. By the end of the season, we had added 3 playoff games to the figures. Unfortunately, the added games dropped our averages a bit. We averaged 107.6% of capacity (4th in I-AA), and 17,917 in average attendance (5th in I-AA). Plenty of excuses are made for why numbers drop in the playoffs. Things like weather, holidays, etc. don't make as much sense to me as the plain fact that we've never been a very successful playoff team. Given the numbers in Chattanooga on Dec. 16th, I have to hope our playoff attendence will increase in the future.
Tailgating - I am woefully inexperienced in this category, but quick to point out that geography works against would-be tailgaters in Boone. The tiny stadium lot is full of $1000-level donors to the Yosef club, and another tiny lot near the stadium typically fills up by 10 am game days. I'm sure the festivities are good, but it's hard to imagine adding more space without damaging the landscape even more than we already have.
Season ticket sales - probably 1/3 of the seats on the home side are season tickets? The stadium lot is full of season ticket holders. Don't have numbers.

[eagleskins]

GSU has the best tailgating by far. McNeese comes in at #2, with Delaware on their heels. We also have the best looking women, right Capn?

[HiHiYikas]

GSU has the best tailgating by far. McNeese comes in at #2, with Delaware on their heels. We also have the best looking women, right Capn?
I can only imagine that the flat expanse that is Southeast Georgia is prime tailgating material. Not to mention the milder late-season temperatures. I am picturing asphalt as far as the eye can see, full of fired-up grills and fans. Not unlike the way movie effects people duplicate 25 people into 25,000.

Maybe I'll make that trip one day...

[CrunchGriz]

No Classics are averaged in Southern's Attendence numbers.

I didn't mean to imply that they were. In fact, I was attempting to give some credit to the HBCUs for their very high Classics' attendance. It's just that the NCAA doesn't allow these games to be included in their home games, which makes true comparison difficult. Should they be counted as home attendance if they're held at a nearby city? Don't know. The attendance at them is great though, no doubt, and your fans should (and do, from what I can tell) take pride in that.

[FlyYtown]

1. In attendance.
2. In tailgating.
3. In season ticket sales.

What does your school have?


Attendance around 15,000.
Tailgating Spans some 2 Large Lots which are packed week in and week out.
Season Tickets. Well when its raining outside on some games and noone is in the stands the attendance announced is 10,000+. So take that into effect too. Season Tix are big with us.

Go YSU!

[putter]

1. Montana
2. Montana @ EWU

There guys, satisfied? Thought I'd beat ya to it. :)

Gotta love WASHINGTON'S Grizzly Stadium.. :hurray: ;)

[RadMann]

You should not base a rating on a program's home field gameday experience by one visit for a playoff game in my opinion. For many programs playoff games occur at odd times and have lower than regular attendence. An earlier post in this thread rated GSU lower because of a playoff game and that is not really an accurate guage.

[SUjagTILLiDIE]

http://i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=71441
http://i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=71499
http://i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=71678
Can't find 1-5 :lmao: Just disapeared :lmao:

[UNH 40]

1. Hofstra
2. Northeastern
3. Rhode Island
those are the three worst places to play. Hofstra has a great stadium minus that terrible astro turf, they just never seem to be able to draw a crowd even in the good years. If they could ever fill that stadium it would be a loud place to play with those aluminum bleachers, I wish UNH had that facility. Northeastern and Rhode Island staduims are pathetic, and have no fan support.

[AppMan]

GSU has the best tailgating by far. McNeese comes in at #2, with Delaware on their heels. We also have the best looking women, right Capn?

It's Ok once you get past the gnats, sand fleas, and 100 degree temps. Have to admit I've seen some pretty nice eye candy down there.

[93henfan]

http://i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=71441
http://i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=71499
http://i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=71678
Can't find 1-5 :lmao: Just disapeared :lmao:

Here's the one your were missing: http://i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=72014

[blukeys]

those are the three worst places to play. Hofstra has a great stadium minus that terrible astro turf, they just never seem to be able to draw a crowd even in the good years. If they could ever fill that stadium it would be a loud place to play with those aluminum bleachers, I wish UNH had that facility. Northeastern and Rhode Island staduims are pathetic, and have no fan support.


I agree that these are not great A-10 venues. In the 2000 Delaware - Hofstra game Delaware fans at least equaled Hoftstra fans and then UD brought the band which made it appear worse for Hofstra.

Never liked Northeastern's stadium but while watching this year's NU-GSU game it looked interesting and I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to live in one of those homes overlooking the field. I could sit on my back porch with my glass of JD and watch some good I-AA football. :) :) :)

[Eaglegus2]

GSU has the best tailgating by far. McNeese comes in at #2, with Delaware on their heels. We also have the best looking women, right Capn?

I hate to differ but I have been to McNeese, Delaware and been tailgating at GSU for over 15 years.

I rate McNeese State 1st, GSU 2nd & Delaware 3rd.


Never been to Montana, but I will one day.

[SUjagTILLiDIE]

I hate to differ but I have been to McNeese, Delaware and been tailgating at GSU for over 15 years.

I rate McNeese State 1st, GSU 2nd & Delaware 3rd.


Never been to Montana, but I will one day.
If you rate McNeese State first, where does that place Southern. There has been several McNeese fans that has stated on other threads that SU was No.1.

[SUjagTILLiDIE]

Here's the one your were missing: http://i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=72014
Thanks 93henfan :beerchug:

[Snot Bubbles]

I know the #'s are not as high as some of the others listed but they have a great crowd and atmosphere.....they do it right!

[SoCon48]

I know the #'s are not as high as some of the others listed but they have a great crowd and atmosphere.....they do it right!
It has improved with new AD and the winning season.
Too, the attendance was 1st or 2nd in the nation during reg season this time around.

[Catmendue2]

Southern U

Jackson State{if winning}

Mcneese State

[Go...gate]

Seems like Lehigh is being overlooked here; great atmosphere, nice facility, knowledgable fans, lots of room to tailgate. IMO, it should be among the leaders.

[McTailGator]

If you rate McNeese State first, where does that place Southern. There has been several McNeese fans that has stated on other threads that SU was No.1.


Maybe another way to rate Tailgating is how much revenue it brings in.

McNeese makes aproximately $30,000 a year off of it's reserved tailgate spots. This will soon increase as we have a rate increase in our future.

Also, McNeese's Tailgate spots are VERY organised with 23 x 48 foot uniformed reserved spots that tends to make our area look much smaller than SU's.

Before we sold reserved spots, we were a lot like SU. Some of our fans took advantage of the first come first serve style before we reserved the uniformed spots. Fans were going out as early as Tuesday night with rope and stakes staking tailgating claims. It was worse than the Oklahoma land rush.

[SUjagTILLiDIE]

Maybe another way to rate Tailgating is how much revenue it brings in.

McNeese makes aproximately $30,000 a year off of it's reserved tailgate spots. This will soon increase as we have a rate increase in our future.

Also, McNeese's Tailgate spots are VERY organised with 23 x 48 foot uniformed reserved spots that tends to make our area look much smaller than SU's.

Before we sold reserved spots, we were a lot like SU. Some of our fans took advantage of the first come first serve style before we reserved the uniformed spots. Fans were going out as early as Tuesday night with rope and stakes staking tailgating claims. It was worse than the Oklahoma land rush.
I have no idea how much SU makes on tailgating but im sure its a pretty penny. We use to charge $5 to enter campus per vehicle but due to some state law they had to stop. SU has reserved tailgating spots around the dome and football stadium. Also Rv's have to pay between $50-$100 per game and we usually have between 200-300 per game. I was really anticipating tailgating in Cowboy country but that B***h Katrina had other plans. Maybe some day in the future it will happen.

[HENJOHN]

Seems like Lehigh is being overlooked here; great atmosphere, nice facility, knowledgable fans, lots of room to tailgate. IMO, it should be among the leaders.

I agree. I have been to Lehigh a number of times (numerous times counting the old Taylor stadium) and it is indeed a very nice place for a College football game with a nice atmosphere. Being from UD and seeing games at McNeese, Ga Southern, YSU and Montana, I would not put them in quite the same category.
Fans are not quite as intense, tailgating and the atmosphere is a little more laid back than some of the others. Still a very nice place & atmosphere. (All IMO)

[erkU]

Georgia Southern fans often do more before the game than at it. Tailgaiting in Statesboro is something else. Has to be near the top of the list in 1-AA.