Attendance: 13,027

[DFW HOYA]

The box score also claimed the temperature was 60. (Closer to 50...)

http://www.bluehens.com/sportsinfo/football/2010Stats/2011nc.htm

[ngineer]

In comparison to prior years, certainly in the top half of turnouts. Going up against the Cotton Bowl, in Texas of all places, didn't help.

[DFW HOYA]

Frisco is really, really far away from most of the Dallas-Ft. Worth area: 28 miles from downtown Dallas, 52 from downtown Ft. Worth. At the western edge of Tarrant County it's a 63 mile trek. It's asking a lot for the casual sports fan to get there by 6:00 on a Friday.

Then again, the MLS team that makes it their home also struggles with attendance.

[chattanoogamocs]

In comparison to prior years, certainly in the top half of turnouts. Going up against the Cotton Bowl, in Texas of all places, didn't help.

Top half???

It was 17th out of the last 20 years.

[100%GRIZ]

In comparison to prior years, certainly in the top half of turnouts. Going up against the Cotton Bowl, in Texas of all places, didn't help.

Lets see what happens the next 2 years not competing with the Cotton Bowl. You have to admit the weather was Great (70% rain in Chattanooga today). On TV the crowd looked decent! The game was pretty damn fun to watch! It was actually nice that both teams had to actually travel the same distance! Thus no advantage to any team!

[chattanoogamocs]

Has nothing to do with the weather (not a drop of rain all day here in Chattanooga)...or how great the game itself was (I enjoyed it thoroughly)...or how "decent" the crowd looked (you can thank ESPN for that...the minute they didn't show a wide shot to open the game was the first indication that it wasn't much of a crowd).

The point is, I was told as naseum on here how much better this was going to be in Texas and how much the better attendance would be...and well, it wasn't.

But, I am sure Frisco is thanking God for the Cotton Bowl excuse...now they have a whole year to figure something to try and get fans in Dallas to care...or pray a team from Texas gets in the finals.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I highly doubt the game will remain in Frisco once their contract is up.

BTW, the attendance number seems a bit inflated.

[Dallas Demon]

Frisco is really, really far away from most of the Dallas-Ft. Worth area: 28 miles from downtown Dallas, 52 from downtown Ft. Worth. At the western edge of Tarrant County it's a 63 mile trek. It's asking a lot for the casual sports fan to get there by 6:00 on a Friday.

Then again, the MLS team that makes it their home also struggles with attendance.

Sorry, not sure where you live in DFW, but Frisco is NOT far away from most of DFW. It's in the heart of HS football country and on the north side of the area, just on the north side of Plano.

[Dallas Demon]

I highly doubt the game will remain in Frisco once their contract is up.

BTW, the attendance number seems a bit inflated.

I was there, I'm surprised the announced attendance was that low. Both sides were full except the far edges, the end zone was not. It was a great atmosphere.

[lionsrking2]

I was there, I'm surprised the announced attendance was that low. Both sides were full except the far edges, the end zone was not. It was a great atmosphere.

I thought the game looked and sounded good on TV and I too was surprised the attendance wasn't listed higher...but considering the game was between schools from opposite coasts, I thought it was well attended...I guarantee you if this game had been in Chattanooga, you wouldn't have 13,000 for these two teams.

[chattanoogamocs]

I thought the game looked and sounded good on TV and I too was surprised the attendance wasn't listed higher...but considering the game was between schools from opposite coasts, I thought it was well attended...I guarantee you if this game had been in Chattanooga, you wouldn't have 13,000 for these two teams.

I always love it when people use the word "guarantee", when they absolutely, positively can't guarantee a thing on the subject.

Here, I will show you how silly it looks...I "guarantee" that if this games was in Chattanooga, it would have drawn over 32,000. :)

Since neither of us can guarantee a thing, the next best option is to look at past history which shows us that the last 7 years in a row that Chattanooga's attendance was at least a 1,000 more than what was announced tonight. Including Delaware and Colgate (Colgate didn't bring 500 fans with them).

So, the reality is, you basically talking out of your, uh, back end. ;)

That being said, the people that where there seemed have be having a great time...just like the people who came to Chattanooga each year.

Maybe next year the Frisco committee can trick the locals and bill it has a high school championship game and it will be a sellout!

Barring that, a Southland team better step up and get to the finals.

[PantherRob82]

Did Delaware draw any better in Chatty? I can't imagine more people from EWU would have gone to TN, but not TX.

[lionsrking2]

I always love it when people use the word "guarantee", when they absolutely, positively can't guarantee a thing on the subject.

Here, I will show you how silly it looks...I "guarantee" that if this games was in Chattanooga, it would have drawn over 32,000. :)

Since neither of us can guarantee a thing, the next best option is to look at past history which shows us that the last 7 years in a row that Chattanooga's attendance was at least a 1,000 more than what was announced tonight. Including Delaware and Colgate (Colgate didn't bring 500 fans with them).

So, the reality is, you basically talking out of your, uh, back end. ;)

That being said, the people that where there seemed have be having a great time...just like the people who came to Chattanooga each year.

Maybe next year the Frisco committee can trick the locals and bill it has a high school championship game and it will be a sellout!

Barring that, a Southland team better step up and get to the finals.

Come on pal, you know as well as I do that's it's highly doubtful that a game between Eastern Washington and Delaware would have drawn more people in Chattanooga than in Frisco...though I do realize you're likely bitter because your town lost the game.

[number1debater]

Missoula would have sold at the very least 20,000 tickets.

[Tod]

Missoula would have sold at the very least 20,000 tickets.

You have no way of knowing that.

[number1debater]

You have no way of knowing that.

Yes I do, I have a crystal ball.

Really? Do you think anyone has any way of knowing anything they predict on these boards? I would say that given we can always hit 20k in the playoffs and there are no other distractions that would be a safe bet

[Wildcat80]

One day soon I hope UNH gets to Frisco. Never got to Chatty but I think I'd much rather fly & Stay in Dallas than TN. ??

[Panther88]

I felt like I was back in high school, literally, and it was almost sickening. The whole atmosphere... **SMH**

I enjoyed watching the trench guys on both sides of the ball doing great work for their squads, along w/ the QBs. Also, the start time/day for the game was questionable. A Friday evening start, during dfw rush hour? lol That's not too smart IMO. And, all know if you live in the metroplex, you have to commute (drive and put miles up), it's mandatory. This place is quite large.

[ThompsonThe]

13,000 or so is a sellout? Doesn't Frisco seat over 20,000? How can that be anywhere close to a sellout?
Sounds as if you just as well hold it in a corn field in Iowa as Frisco.

[SuperEagle]

Truth hurts. The last 7 years the attendance was better in Chatty. Since this is Frisco's 1st title game, I had hoped the locals would be excited and show up in full force. That didn't happen. If there is not a drastic change next year, this game should make it's way back to Chatty very soon.

[ngineer]

Top half???

It was 17th out of the last 20 years.

You are correct...the thread I was referring to listed championship attendance, but on 'further review' I see despite the title that the attendance listed was the average for the entire tournament, which this year was fairly good. However, the championship game attendance is disappointing in comparison with recent years in Chatty.

[Saint3333]

Cotton bowl maybe had an impact of 500 on the attendance, let's not pretend that an additional 5,000 would have shown up for the game.

Attendance is 80-90% dictated by the teams in the game and the proximity to their fanbase. Play the odds when determining the next location.

[JohnStOnge]

We will never know but if the game had been in Chattanooga I would've expected relatively low attendence for a title game between EWU and Delaware there as well. One factor in my thinking is that, while watching playoff games at Delaware on TV this year, I was kind of taken aback by how poor the attendance looked. I wondered why there wasn't more interest among the Delaware fan base. I just looked it up this morning and it wasn't as bad relative to the past as I thought but attendance was still down. 2007 isn't a good comparison because they only had one home playoff game and it was with Delaware State (they got 19,763). But in 2003 Delaware averaged 18,895 for the season and 13,601 for the three playoff games. This season the Hens averaged 17,753 for the season and only 10,818 for the three playoff games.

Eastern Washington does not have a history of great attendance and this year was no different. The Eagles finished 69th in FCS at 6,473 per game. That's about where Colgate was in 2003 (68th at 6,439). The 2003 championship game had 14,281 attendance. That's not a whole lot more than 13,027.

All in all there are indications that Delaware's fan interest was down this year relative to 2003 throughout the season plus 2003 was the first time the Hens made it to the title game. I really don't think there's a whole lot to suggest a high level of confidence in the idea that attendance would've been better for the particular matchup involved if the game had been in Chattanooga.

As an aside, just as a matter of opinion, I do think Frisco's setting looked better on TV than Chattanooga's does. And I don't think things went badly considering the screw up associated with scheduling the game on the same date as the Cotton Bowl. Hopefully the fact that LSU beat the snot out of Texas A&M caused some people to start channel surfing in order to find something else to watch and that helped the ratings. Probably not but that would be nice. Going in being mostly in the same time slot as one of the few really interesting FBS bowl matchups was a really bad situation and I hope they are able to avoid that in the future regardless of where the FCS championship game is. I mean, if you have to be opposite a bowl make it something like the GoDaddy.com bowl. Don't end up competing with something like LSU vs. Texas A&M.

[DFW HOYA]

A game like this is always dependent on the travel distance of the participants. Chattanooga was a closer drive for the SoCon and CAA schools, granted, but I'm not convinced as many EWU people would have found a flight from Cheney, WA if it was there.

I do wonder about what attendance would look like when private schools get back to the finals.

[Skjellyfetti]

Attendance sucked. But, noone wants to say it this year. If you do you're a whiner.

Last year attendance was 14,300 and everyone thought it sucked and that the game should be moved from Chattanooga. This year, attendance dropped by 1,300 and all of a sudden that's great.

All we accomplished by moving the game to Frisco was lowering the bar on expectations. xsmhx

[Skjellyfetti]

A game like this is always dependent on the travel distance of the participants. Chattanooga was a closer drive for the SoCon and CAA schools, granted, but I'm not convinced as many EWU people would have found a flight from Cheney, WA if it was there.

Don't you think it's smart to have the game in proximity to most of the teams?

Yeah, Chattanooga is close for SoCon, OVC, Big South, CAA, and MEAC teams.

Frisco is close for about 6 or 7 schools total. Only 1 or 2 that are very successful and have any chance of making the championship game while it's in Frisco.

[chrisattsu]

Those of you complaining about attendance--

Did you actually go to the game? I had a great time. Bothsides of the stadium were pretty full. The end was the only part of the park that was open.

[BigApp]

Missoula would have sold at the very least 20,000 tickets.

I would agree with that. Given a month to prepare financially, enough time to get time off from work, et al, I would think you're not far off. Maybe not 20k, but maybe 15k

[Saint3333]

Those of you complaining about attendance--

Did you actually go to the game? I had a great time. Bothsides of the stadium were pretty full. The end was the only part of the park that was open.

I don't make it a habit of going to games in which ASU isn't playing and I'd wager 99% of fans do the same. You may be missing the point. In the history of the NC game 3 current FCS teams have been within driving distance of Frisco, 30 current teams have been within driving distance of Chattanooga. 10:1 odds.

[DFW HOYA]

Lots of unfair complaints. If all fans want is a full house, flip a coin between the teams and make it a home game. The NCAA wants neutral sites and unless you consider January in Missoula "neutral", a location like Frisco fits the bill.

The key is building local support, and that takes time. Next year shoud be better.

[Gil Dobie]

I don't make it a habit of going to games in which ASU isn't playing and I'd wager 99% of fans do the same. You may be missing the point. In the history of the NC game 3 current FCS teams have been within driving distance of Frisco, 30 current teams have been within driving distance of Chattanooga. 10:1 odds.

True, I doubt I would go if NDSU was not in the game, and driving distance would have to be within an hour, or in Fargo. Great seats last night in front of my TV.

[FargoBison]

Shocking, a bunch of SoCon fans wanting the game back in their backyard. Give Frisco some time.

[MplsBison]

Has nothing to do with the weather (not a drop of rain all day here in Chattanooga)...or how great the game itself was (I enjoyed it thoroughly)...or how "decent" the crowd looked (you can thank ESPN for that...the minute they didn't show a wide shot to open the game was the first indication that it wasn't much of a crowd).

The point is, I was told as naseum on here how much better this was going to be in Texas and how much the better attendance would be...and well, it wasn't.

But, I am sure Frisco is thanking God for the Cotton Bowl excuse...now they have a whole year to figure something to try and get fans in Dallas to care...or pray a team from Texas gets in the finals.

Honestly, I could care less about the weather or the attendance. Neither are going to make that much of a difference.

Simply by the fact alone that the game is now in a major media market in the US is what's important for the continued growth of the FCS brand. Keeping the game in a backwater, small, mountain town in Tennessee would have continued to perpetuate the image of FCS as "small time college football", like DII and DIII are.

[JohnStOnge]

Lots of unfair complaints. If all fans want is a full house, flip a coin between the teams and make it a home game. The NCAA wants neutral sites and unless you consider January in Missoula "neutral", a location like Frisco fits the bill.



You remind me of when it was the "Marshall Invitational." Great attendance site. Five games at Hungtington and the attendance figures ranged from 27,674 to 32,106. And the 27,674 was for one in which Marshall didn't participate (Youngstown State vs. Boise State).

[JohnStOnge]

Honestly, I could care less about the weather or the attendance. Neither are going to make that much of a difference.

Simply by the fact alone that the game is now in a major media market in the US is what's important for the continued growth of the FCS brand. Keeping the game in a backwater, small, mountain town in Tennessee would have continued to perpetuate the image of FCS as "small time college football", like DII and DIII are.

I wouldn't say I couldn't care less about attendance. But I don't think it's the only factor. If it was, there would be no need to even make a detailed proposal. Just let cities say they'd like to have the game then let the NCAA plug everything into a computer model that tells them which city is likely the result in the highest attendance. Obviously there are other things involved.

As far as weather goes...that matters more to me than attendance does. Like I wouldn't want to see a championship game in Missoula in January regardless of attendance or anything else. Only way I'd be OK with something like that is if they didn't have the neutral site championship game concept and just seeded the teams and let the high seed play at home all the way through including the championship game.

[Milktruck74]

CHATTANOOGA CAME OUT FOR THE GAME. in most years the Locals made up 50% of the tickets sales in Chattanooga. Frisco didn't show up. As far as Flying, DFW to PHP is about 35 miles and takes about an hour to drive, Finley Stadium is 120 miles from ATL and takes about 2 hours to drive (or a 27 minute flight to the Chattanooga Airport). Is that really an argument? you still have to rent a car.

[Redhawk2010]

Now I haven't read most of the threads, but I'll bet somewhere there is a CAA fan (maybe not even a UD fan) complaining that the only reason the Blue Hens lost was because it was moved across the country. Time for the East Coasters to grow a pair and grow up! They throw a fit every time they don't get their way. What the NCAA needs to do is quit catering to the East Coast (along with every other sport!) and play the game at a time that makes sense for the location. I would guess there would have been more fans there if they wouldn't have had to take off work to get there before kickoff! You can't base the location on one year.

[Milktruck74]

Honestly, I could care less about the weather or the attendance. Neither are going to make that much of a difference.

Simply by the fact alone that the game is now in a major media market in the US is what's important for the continued growth of the FCS brand. Keeping the game in a backwater, small, mountain town in Tennessee would have continued to perpetuate the image of FCS as "small time college football", like DII and DIII are.

Wake up FCS IS small time college football and always will be. I (and many FCS fans)like the fact that it isn't the BCS. One of the few things the NCAA has done correctly is not move the game to a super stadium (Superdome, Georgia Dome, Jerry's World, Pro Player, etc), because it would look like nobody cared. I for one prefer a packed small venue over a quarter filled mega stadium. In the same perspective a smaller town can be consumed by the event and make a big deal about it... the Metroplex could care less.

[FargoBison]

I liked the setting of Pizza Hut Park while watching on TV. The stadium seems bigger than it is and definitely looked nice on TV even with the smaller crowd.

[Milktruck74]

Please correct me if I am wrong (I checked websites not the actual paper).... I couldn't find anything about the game in the sports section of the Dallas Morning News or the Frisco paper for today or yesterday (gameday). When the Game was in Chattanooga, it was usually Front page, above the fold the day after and a two page spread on Gameday. I'm not saying Chattanooga should get the game back, I'm just saying Smaller venues are better options for the FCS.

[ur2k]

Honestly, I could care less about the weather or the attendance. Neither are going to make that much of a difference.

Simply by the fact alone that the game is now in a major media market in the US is what's important for the continued growth of the FCS brand. Keeping the game in a backwater, small, mountain town in Tennessee would have continued to perpetuate the image of FCS as "small time college football", like DII and DIII are.

How does that affect the FCS brand? Contunally saying the game is in "Frisco" as opposed to saying it is in the Dallas area dilutes that arguement. Also, the actual media partner of the game didn't change, its shown on ESPN2 regardless of location.

[DFW HOYA]

In the same perspective a smaller town can be consumed by the event and make a big deal about it... the Metroplex could care less.

If so, let's put it in Boone, NC.

In a span of just eight days, the Dallas-Ft. Worth area sold out the Armed Forces Bowl (36,742), the Cotton Bowl (83,514), and put 40,121 into a bowl no one had ever seen before (Ticket City). The NCAA can't roll out some billboards and a few newspaper articles and expect people to show up during rush hour. I bought a ticket one hour before game time in Row 2 of the general admission section.

Here's what I saw outside of the two teams:

1. No halftime show.
2. A pregame show with skydivers brought in from McNeese State.
3. A group of pee-wee football kids running across the field before the game.
4. NCAA video presentation/time killers that reminded me of something between movies at the theater ("Guess the name scramble?" Really?)

There were no local ties, and maybe it's because there's no I-AA team within 200 miles of DFW, but no matter. If this game is better scheduled, better promoted among the sports buying public, and better organized around the game and not just around the schools, this can sell out. Maybe the NCAA needs to hire a company to run this game a little more like the Cotton Bowl and a little less like the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.

One pet peeve: the NCAA covered up all but one reference to Pizza Hut throughout the stadium, including covering up signage at every concession stand. Why? Pizza Hut didn't pay to be a "corporate partner".

[Rekdiver]

Southern California or Florida please.....preferably Tampa so we can visit Mons Venus.....

[tarmac]

end zone seats were covered with a tarp. In any case congratulations to EWU and DU for a entertaining game.

[MplsBison]

Wake up FCS IS small time college football and always will be. I (and many FCS fans)like the fact that it isn't the BCS. One of the few things the NCAA has done correctly is not move the game to a super stadium (Superdome, Georgia Dome, Jerry's World, Pro Player, etc), because it would look like nobody cared. I for one prefer a packed small venue over a quarter filled mega stadium. In the same perspective a smaller town can be consumed by the event and make a big deal about it... the Metroplex could care less.

Agreed on the NFL stadiums, the FCS game is better in the smaller stadium - which is why the MLS stadium in Frisco is perfect. Thanks for bringing that point up.

FCS will never be BCS and it never intends to be that, but it can still grow the brand. That's only possible with the correct setting for the N.C. game. Frisco may not end up being that place, but I certainly know places like Huntington, WV and Chattanooga, Tenn are not the place!

[MplsBison]

How does that affect the FCS brand? Contunally saying the game is in "Frisco" as opposed to saying it is in the Dallas area dilutes that arguement. Also, the actual media partner of the game didn't change, its shown on ESPN2 regardless of location.

Perception, of course.

Do you want FCS to be perceived as a small division of small schools in small towns? I don't (even if it is).

[MplsBison]

If so, let's put it in Boone, NC.

In a span of just eight days, the Dallas-Ft. Worth area sold out the Armed Forces Bowl (36,742), the Cotton Bowl (83,514), and put 40,121 into a bowl no one had ever seen before (Ticket City). The NCAA can't roll out some billboards and a few newspaper articles and expect people to show up during rush hour. I bought a ticket one hour before game time in Row 2 of the general admission section.

Here's what I saw outside of the two teams:

1. No halftime show.
2. A pregame show with skydivers brought in from McNeese State.
3. A group of pee-wee football kids running across the field before the game.
4. NCAA video presentation/time killers that reminded me of something between movies at the theater ("Guess the name scramble?" Really?)

There were no local ties, and maybe it's because there's no I-AA team within 200 miles of DFW, but no matter. If this game is better scheduled, better promoted among the sports buying public, and better organized around the game and not just around the schools, this can sell out. Maybe the NCAA needs to hire a company to run this game a little more like the Cotton Bowl and a little less like the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.

One pet peeve: the NCAA covered up all but one reference to Pizza Hut throughout the stadium, including covering up signage at every concession stand. Why? Pizza Hut didn't pay to be a "corporate partner".

Makes you wonder if maybe the BCS interests were in the NCAAs ear threatening them if they tried to promote it/market it harder. Nothing would surprise me about the mafia bosses that run big time college football, even though the FCS N.C. game is never going to be a threat to the bowls. I guess if you're going to be ruthless, then you've gotta squash any and all competition, no matter how insignificant.

[Redhawk2010]

end zone seats were covered with a tarp. In any case congratulations to EWU and DU for a entertaining game.

So? Look around at many NFL games and see how many have sections covered in tarps. Look at Major League Baseball games and see how many have sections covered with tarps. You're never going to bring in 50,000 for a game. You have to hit up a smaller venue and try to actually market the event.

[McNeese75]

Southern California or Florida please.....preferably Tampa so we can visit Mons Venus.....

xlolx Hard to argue with that logic

[McNeese75]

CHATTANOOGA CAME OUT FOR THE GAME. in most years the Locals made up 50% of the tickets sales in Chattanooga. Frisco didn't show up. As far as Flying, DFW to PHP is about 35 miles and takes about an hour to drive, Finley Stadium is 120 miles from ATL and takes about 2 hours to drive (or a 27 minute flight to the Chattanooga Airport). Is that really an argument? you still have to rent a car.

Chattanooga DID NOT come out for the first game in 1997.

[SFA 71]

The four years prior to the game moving to Chatty the attendance was 119,050 or an average of 29,763 per game. The first four years the game was in Chatty, the attendance was 67,407 or an average of 16,852 per game. The last four years in Chatty the attendance was 78,569 or 19,642 per game, but those games included crowds from Ap State. If you look at the last 4 years not including Ap State the attendance was 63,203 or an average of 15,801 per game. Not including Ap State, attendance actually dropped & it certainly never reached the size of the previous site.xtwocentsx

[DFW HOYA]

As the only Patriot League fan probably at PHP, I could not help but wonder how many fans any PL or NEC school would have brought to the game. So this attendance thought--how much is attendance dependent (or should be dependent) on larger schools making the final? What were the crowds like from Villanova last year?

[Pards Rule]

The four years prior to the game moving to Chatty the attendance was 119,050 or an average of 29,763 per game. The first four years the game was in Chatty, the attendance was 67,407 or an average of 16,852 per game. The last four years in Chatty the attendance was 78,569 or 19,642 per game, but those games included crowds from Ap State. If you look at the last 4 years not including Ap State the attendance was 63,203 or an average of 15,801 per game. Not including Ap State, attendance actually dropped & it certainly never reached the size of the previous site.xtwocentsx

So if these figures are accurate I would say it was a pretty good showing for a new venue. I watched the game on TV and it appeared as if both sides were full - you could tell the ends were not surprisingly sparse. I say give Frisco some time. Also interesting to see how much oxygen we recover when we arent decked against the Cotton Bowl in the same city on the same night. BTW a greatly entertaining game for the first I-AA Championship at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, TX! A chuckle: I was reading the Wilmington (Dela) News-Journal's 6 page special section about this championship game and noticed an ad placed by the UD Bookstore hawking National Championship garb available after the game. The best part was the ad said "Good luck on the way to FRESNO!!" (my caps added for emphasis).

[glsjunior]

I don't understand why this game wasn't marketed as being in Dallas. When I first heard Frisco I thought the game was being held in San Fransisco. Hell anything within 60 miles of Atlanta is considered Atlanta. Marketing the game as being in Frisco just made it sound small.

[Dallas Demon]

CHATTANOOGA CAME OUT FOR THE GAME. in most years the Locals made up 50% of the tickets sales in Chattanooga. Frisco didn't show up. As far as Flying, DFW to PHP is about 35 miles and takes about an hour to drive, Finley Stadium is 120 miles from ATL and takes about 2 hours to drive (or a 27 minute flight to the Chattanooga Airport). Is that really an argument? you still have to rent a car.

1 hour to drive? 35 miles? Actually, it is 29.88 miles to be exact according to mapquest. In DFW Metroplex terms, that is right next door. Your 1 hour estimate must include picking up your bags, catching the rental car bus, renting a car, then driving. I live smack in the middle of DFW Airport to Pizza Hut Part. I can hop in my car now and be at either place in 15 min tops. Of course if you try to drive during rush hour it would take longer. But if you were traveling in rush hour from ATL I'd say you would add an hour at least just to get on the north side of Atlanta - so let's compare apples to apples. Let's stop stretching the truth here.

Regarding the ACTUAL people in attendance, I would strongly argue that the attendance in Frisco this year was way more than in attendance at Chatty the previous game in the rain. I believe the number of tickets sold were used for attendance figures the last year in Chatty.

[Dallas Demon]

Please correct me if I am wrong (I checked websites not the actual paper).... I couldn't find anything about the game in the sports section of the Dallas Morning News or the Frisco paper for today or yesterday (gameday). When the Game was in Chattanooga, it was usually Front page, above the fold the day after and a two page spread on Gameday. I'm not saying Chattanooga should get the game back, I'm just saying Smaller venues are better options for the FCS.

I'll correct you. The web site for the Dallas Morning News is not laid out like the newspaper, not all articles are there. There was a writeup in the sports section every day that I looked this past week and was well covered by the local TV media and radio. For example, for Friday's Sports Day section of the Dallas Morning News a large writeup was on Page 5. Disappointed? You shouldn't be, the Sports Day section was 18 pages. In today's (Saturday's section), it was mentioned in a caption on Page 1 with big headlines/coverage on Page 9. In contrast, the Cotton Bowl was covered on Page 1 but also resumed coverage on Page 10. The Sports Day section was 16 pages today. Tomorrow (Sunday), there are normally two (2) Sports Day sections, one for Professional and another for Colleges/High Schools/Other. Typically it will be 35+ pages both combined. How does that compare to the Chattanooga sports section, 3 or 4 pages max covering all national and local sports?

Plus, there are 6.7 million + people here, even if a fraction of people read the article that is way more than every single person in Chattanooga reading the article. Bottom line, more positive coverage for the FCS.

Lastly, Frisco is becoming widely known in business circles in a similar fashion as Plano become in the 80s/90s. It was America's fastest growing city last year. Frisco is just another northern Dallas suburb, when development for Plano reached all the way up to the north side (they ran out of space) then Frisco took over. Next up is Prosper (it is already growing much bigger), then Celina, etc. This is all one big city, just different city jurisdictions. Space to grow is not a problem.

[Skjellyfetti]

What were the crowds like from Villanova last year?

Last year's crowd was bigger than this year's by about 1,300

[ElonAlum]

FYI Richmond Times Dispatch had the game as The front page of the sports section! But no score since it finished so late lol

[caribbeanhen]

2003 was the first time the Hens made it to the title game

you were on a roll until you said this... just not true

[JohnStOnge]

For what it's worth here is an assessment from the McNeese Delphi board from a Dallas area high school football coach:

"Great job Mr. Burnett and staff. They did the SLC proud. I thought the crowd was more like 17,000, but they obviously counted only tickets sold because there were more people there than that. Good walkup crowd as well. The feedback on the stadium is great from what I heard. All four corners of the stadium has picnic tables to eat and watch the game, and the 3000 sq. foot banquet room they have under the pressbox was spectacular with large screen TV's, a full buffet, and several open bars. I think this is where Joe Biden may have been.

To my surprise,right after the fireworks, etc., they announced skydivers were in the air. The first guys name was Dwayne B. and that rang a bell. Then they they said from Lake Charles , LA. The next guy I knew from track and cheerleading, Jimmy Heath, he was announced as being orginally from Corpus, but also a LC resident. I think the third guy may have been from LC as well.

Blayne and I both wore Blue and Gold with McNeese on it. We were kidded by EWU fans thinking we were Hens. At the game, I was highfived on the Delaware side as being a Hen, not even bothering to read McNeese. They had a huge following and made their program proud by having so many fans. To be honest, EWU shocked me with their turnout as well. Lots of younger fans drove from Washington and bought tickets on gameday, etc. so the conference sold near 3,000 tickets in the last week. I saw several dads in the walkup window buying tickets for their sons. I think local fans did get the news about this game and many of these men wanted their sons to see a real championship game, much like a Class AAA or AAAA state title game . The tailgating was great, EWU surprising us with several hundred fans lining the alleys with tailgate partying, but UD had thousands partying on the Eastside.

I am sure there are kinks to be worked out, but Tom Burnett and crew had security and highway patrol covered like a blanket. There was a cop car every 1 mile parked along the Dallas Tollway for as far as I rode. I am sure it was the route of Joe Biden, so they had to stay from 4PM to about 9PM."

[Blue Hen 53]

Stadium was beautiful, Tailgate Town was fabulous for the kids and the weather was better than Nooga. I hope my Hens get a do over next season, I will be there!

[CollegeObserver]

This was my fourth time to the FCS championship game. Despite the ugly loss for my Hens, I thought Frisco did a great job. The stadium was beautiful, the field was in perfect shape, there were tons of clean, new lodging options and places to eat, and the weather was absolutely fantastic. Travel was easy, and I felt the UD fans showed in greater numbers than I thought possible.

"T-Bones" was fun to visit, but was really a dump in 'nooga. "Third Base" in Frisco had some lovely female forms on display and inexpensive brews, and was in a great area, not in a battle zone.

Frisco has some minor issues to fine tune, I would really like to get there again. Very well done, Frisco.

[Redhawk2010]

Frisco has some minor issues to fine tune, I would really like to get there again. Very well done, Frisco.

Did any of it have to do with the Vice President being there, you think? It sounds to me like a lot was thrown at Frisco.. the time of the game, the VP, etc. Even well-tuned plans get off track once things start happening..

[cmaxwellgsu]

So we have a higher attended stadium in Chattanooga that houses a college football team, yet that's too small time so we make it a side show on a field for a different sport? To me having it on a crappy pizza joint's soccer park is pretty bush league. If I had my way it would be in Nooga on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, ESPN won't have that. I actually did go to Montana-Villanova last year. Griz folks were all over town and were very visible, but Nova folks filled their side pretty well too. Oh well, I guess it'll get back to normal in a couple of years.

[CollegeObserver]

Chattanooga got old. Frisco is new and different, and WARM. Nice. Beautiful natural grass field. No vacant/condemned buildings looming over the facility.

If Chattanooga gets it back at some point, I'm sure it will be fun again.

Yes, Biden was very much in the way.

[chattanoogamocs]

I find it funny that people keep trying to bring up the weather...anywhere outside of Florida or Southern California (or in a dome), the weather is going to be a toss up.

This year it was in the low 50's in Frisco...exactly one year earlier the high on the same day was 37.

Chattanooga has games where it was cold...and games where you could wear a light jacket.

[chattanoogamocs]

The four years prior to the game moving to Chatty the attendance was 119,050 or an average of 29,763 per game. The first four years the game was in Chatty, the attendance was 67,407 or an average of 16,852 per game. The last four years in Chatty the attendance was 78,569 or 19,642 per game, but those games included crowds from Ap State. If you look at the last 4 years not including Ap State the attendance was 63,203 or an average of 15,801 per game. Not including Ap State, attendance actually dropped & it certainly never reached the size of the previous site.xtwocentsx

That's an awesome arugment (sarcasm intended)...though it doesn't surprise me that you left out that the game was previously held at Marshall and Marshall made the finals 3 out of the 4 years you averaged. Of course, those numbers wouldn't be as high...hell, it could never be that high at Finley or Frisco...neither seats over 23K.

[chattanoogamocs]

Those of you complaining about attendance--

Did you actually go to the game? I had a great time. Bothsides of the stadium were pretty full. The end was the only part of the park that was open.

Both sides of the stadium were "realitively full" (between the 20's)...end zone was almost completely empty (and tarped). Of course, the set up of Pizza Hut Park, the endzone seats are almost a 3rd of the capacity.

[FargoBison]

So we have a higher attended stadium in Chattanooga that houses a college football team, yet that's too small time so we make it a side show on a field for a different sport? To me having it on a crappy pizza joint's soccer park is pretty bush league. If I had my way it would be in Nooga on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, ESPN won't have that. I actually did go to Montana-Villanova last year. Griz folks were all over town and were very visible, but Nova folks filled their side pretty well too. Oh well, I guess it'll get back to normal in a couple of years.


Along with the date change, the venue -- Pizza Hut Park -- was well received. The stadium gives the championship room to accommodate around 21,000 fans and has all the requisite amenities for fans and the teams, including a number of practice fields.

“I think it's a great venue,” Baldwin said. “I think it's the perfect size. …it's a great park. And the surrounding area is great. Obviously the facilities to practice on, I mean, you can't get any better than that.”

Across the board, the response was positive for the change. The game is already scheduled to be played in Frisco for each of the next two years.

“I react a lot of times how my players react,” Keeler said. “And so when we got off the bus, kind of took a peek at the players' eyes and they just lit up. You can see [the stadium] on the Internet, you think it looks like a nice facility. Then you get here and it's very impressive. This is a tremendous venue to get a chance to play in a national championship game.”

http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/2011-01-08/teams-enjoy-fcs-format-change

[chattanoogamocs]

Come on pal, you know as well as I do that's it's highly doubtful that a game between Eastern Washington and Delaware would have drawn more people in Chattanooga than in Frisco...though I do realize you're likely bitter because your town lost the game.

Again...whereas you have nothing but your opinion, I at least have history to fall back on.

Delaware has played at Finley twice, so they are a pretty known quantity. Both times they played, it was against teams that brought very small travel crowds (Colgate and Villanova...neither had over 1,000...'Gate barely brought 500)...Both those games drew over 14,000. So, I am pretty positive that Chattanooga could have drawn equal or better than Frisco, even if no one came from EWU (I figure you would have still had 500 to 1,000 Eagle fans come no matter where it was held).

I am not bitter about losing the game itself...I am bitter about the BS claims on here that Frisco (and Dallas) would support it much better than Chattanooga had. Bull hockey! :)

[chattanoogamocs]

So, from reading all the thread, here is what I have come up with...

Dallas/Frisco...6 MILLION people. Better stadium, better environment, easier to get to, better weather, Texans who love their football, better media coverage, major market...anything I missed?

Chattanooga...600,000 people. Crappy stadium in a crappy neighborhood, podunk town, podunk state, horrible weather, etc, etc.

And still...more people showed up last year in Chattanooga than this year in Frisco.

How is that possible????? Consider all those impediments, you would think, at most, there would have only been maybe 50 people in Chattanooga.
(large dose of sarcasm intended ;))


BTW...Congrats to EWU....that comeback was amazing.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

Again...whereas you have nothing but your opinion, I at least have history to fall back on.

Delaware has played at Finley twice, so they are a pretty known quantity. Both times they played, it was against teams that brought very small travel crowds (Colgate and Villanova...neither had over 1,000...'Gate barely brought 500)...Both those games drew over 14,000. So, I am pretty positive that Chattanooga could have drawn equal or better than Frisco, even if no one came from EWU (I figure you would have still had 500 to 1,000 Eagle fans come no matter where it was held).

I am not bitter about losing the game itself...I am bitter about the BS claims on here that Frisco (and Dallas) would support it much better than Chattanooga had. Bull hockey! :)

Delaware never played 'Nova in Chatty. Delaware played Colgate who drew very few fans to the game, and Appy, who drew a ton, and Delaware could have drawn more, if the UD athletics department hadn't dropped the ball and forgotten to order enough tickets. Montana played Villanova and had a 14K attendance draw.

[chazg]

And I am sure that the Cotton Bowl being played on the same night had no effect on locals attending the game.

[lionsrking2]

So, from reading all the thread, here is what I have come up with...

Dallas/Frisco...6 MILLION people. Better stadium, better environment, easier to get to, better weather, Texans who love their football, better media coverage, major market...anything I missed?

Chattanooga...600,000 people. Crappy stadium in a crappy neighborhood, podunk town, podunk state, horrible weather, etc, etc.

And still...more people showed up last year in Chattanooga than this year in Frisco.

How is that possible????? Consider all those impediments, you would think, at most, there would have only been maybe 50 people in Chattanooga.
(large dose of sarcasm intended ;))


BTW...Congrats to EWU....that comeback was amazing.

Bottom line is Frisco presented a more appealing bid to the NCAA and now has the game...by most accounts, they did a nice job on their first try and have potential to do much better...if Chattanooga wants it back, they'll step up to the plate and do what it takes...in the meantime, the whining and sour grapes is wearing thin. xcoffeex

[Saint3333]

I find it funny that people keep trying to bring up the weather...anywhere outside of Florida or Southern California (or in a dome), the weather is going to be a toss up.

This year it was in the low 50's in Frisco...exactly one year earlier the high on the same day was 37.

Chattanooga has games where it was cold...and games where you could wear a light jacket.

I believe they had snow and ice yesterday just two days after the title game.

[henfan]

I'll confess to being very suspect about the NCAA moving the game from Chatt to Frisco.

As someone who has attended multiple NC games in Chatt and now Frisco, I'd have to say that I prefer the entire experience of Frisco over my trips to Chatt... by a lot. There are one or two minor elements that Chatt did better (in stadium concessions, for example) but Frisco was by far a better, more attractive situation. Overall I think it was an impressive showing in their very first year handling the game. I wouldn't hesitate to return.

I'm sure those experts who haven't attended NC events at both (or either!) locations might disagree.

Congrats to the EWU Eagles on a well-deserved championship!

[danefan]

IMO, the game looked entirely more professional on TV in Frisco then it ever did in Chatty.

This could have to do with ESPN just doing a better job, or the fact that they had 3 weeks to prepare.

Or it could have to do with the stadium in Frisco just being a better venue for TV or that they spent more money decking it out with personalized banners (EWU and UD banners on the end-zone stage), etc....

Who knows. I've heard from a couple people that have been to both and all said it was a better atmosphere in Frisco. Give it three years and it could be great.

And attendance will never dictate where the game is. The only thing that will is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Chatty is the prime example. If someone can pay the NCAA more to host the game then Frisco offers at the end of the 3-year contract, then it will move.

[bluehenbillk]

I will say this - and I know that the puny amount of people that watch the game on TV makes it difficult to switch, but pretty much every local I talked to there asked why we play the game on a Friday night versus a Saturday afternoon. Granted it was a small sample size but I'd imagine they'd do much better attendance wise on a Saturday. Frisco is at the far north end of the metroplex - making it a pain even for folks that live up that way.

[WWII]

This was my first Championship game. Sat amongst the UD fans. I asked them if they'd been to both venues and they much preferred Frisco over Chattanooga. I had a nice time at the game. I'll probably always attend the Frisco games as I can also visit my son and grand daughter. Although I would rather have a Sat. afternoon game.

[Saint3333]

I will say this - and I know that the puny amount of people that watch the game on TV makes it difficult to switch, but pretty much every local I talked to there asked why we play the game on a Friday night versus a Saturday afternoon. Granted it was a small sample size but I'd imagine they'd do much better attendance wise on a Saturday. Frisco is at the far north end of the metroplex - making it a pain even for folks that live up that way.

No chance of that happening now with the date change to the first week of the NFL playoffs. Agreed Saturday would be helpful.

[GtFllsGriz]

I attended the championship in Chatty and had a blast. However, it is nice to see the game more centrally located. For teams from the west it can be a disadvantage if you make that trip more then twice in a month with few days in between. Of course that all changes a bit now that the championship game is played three weeks later.

[100%GRIZ]

I will say this - and I know that the puny amount of people that watch the game on TV makes it difficult to switch, but pretty much every local I talked to there asked why we play the game on a Friday night versus a Saturday afternoon. Granted it was a small sample size but I'd imagine they'd do much better attendance wise on a Saturday. Frisco is at the far north end of the metroplex - making it a pain even for folks that live up that way. Sorry Folks but ESPN will always determine the day and time of the game & it will always be on a Friday and and probably at 7:00pm est.

[Redhawk2010]

Sorry Folks but ESPN will always determine the day and time of the game & it will always be on a Friday and and probably at 7:00pm est.

Because the NCAA doesn't have the guts to make things right.

[Big Al]

Because the NCAA doesn't have the guts to make things right.

Exactly. The NCAA should never certify any bowl to play at the same time as an officially-sanctioned NC event. Since only the NCAA can certify bowls, they have cards in their hand that aren't being properly played.

[FargoBison]

No chance of that happening now with the date change to the first week of the NFL playoffs. Agreed Saturday would be helpful.

The playoff game didn't kickoff until 3:30 central, could have easily started the FCS game at noon.

[bluehenbillk]

Agreed, play the game at 12 or 1 EST on Saturday & it doesn't conflict with the NFL. Then again, ESPN probably makes better ratings on college hoops & thus they keep it on Friday night.

[SuperEagle]

Simply by the fact alone that the game is now in a major media market in the US is what's important for the continued growth of the FCS brand. Keeping the game in a backwater, small, mountain town in Tennessee would have continued to perpetuate the image of FCS as "small time college football", like DII and DIII are.
***
I don't think it has to be in a major market for our division to grow. Look at the College World Series. There are certainly bigger cities than Omaha but the CWS has done quite well there. The ACC basketball tournament has been in Greensboro more than any other city. Are there bigger cities than Greensboro? Of course. But ACC President's love having it there because the town rolls out the red carpet for the tourny. I was hoping Frisco would do the same for this year's championship. But, it seems like the locals stayed away and that's a disappointment.

[bluehenbillk]

I wouldn't say the locals stayed away - there was a group of 14 in our tailgate & only 4 were from the UD area.