Major-college football experienced its largest per-game attendance drop in 34 years and second-largest ever, according to recently released NCAA figures.
Attendance among the 129 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams in 2017 was down an average of 1,409 fans per game from 2016. That marked the largest drop since 1983 when average attendance declined 1,527 fans per game from 1982.
The 2017 FBS average of 42,203 fans per game is the lowest since 1997.
That average attendance drop marked the second-sharpest decline since the NCAA began keeping track of college football attendance in 1948. For the first time in history, average attendance declined nationally for four consecutive seasons.
The 2017 numbers include FBS home games, neutral-site games, bowl games and the College Football Playoff.
Since establishing an all-time high average attendance in 2008 (46,971), FBS attendance has slipped a record 10.1 percent over the last nine years......
In fact, there were indicators across the board that fewer fans are paying the price of admission to actually watch games.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...ion-with-largest-attendance-drop-in-34-years/
Attendance among the 129 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams in 2017 was down an average of 1,409 fans per game from 2016. That marked the largest drop since 1983 when average attendance declined 1,527 fans per game from 1982.
The 2017 FBS average of 42,203 fans per game is the lowest since 1997.
That average attendance drop marked the second-sharpest decline since the NCAA began keeping track of college football attendance in 1948. For the first time in history, average attendance declined nationally for four consecutive seasons.
The 2017 numbers include FBS home games, neutral-site games, bowl games and the College Football Playoff.
Since establishing an all-time high average attendance in 2008 (46,971), FBS attendance has slipped a record 10.1 percent over the last nine years......
In fact, there were indicators across the board that fewer fans are paying the price of admission to actually watch games.
- Despite an uptick in the number of teams playing NCAA football (666), the total amount of fans (47.6 million) were the fewest since 2005.
- In the latest realignment era (since 2012), Power Five conference attendance is down an average aggregate of 11,383 fans per game. Only the SEC is up in average attendance (+128) during that six-year period.
- The Pac-12 has experienced the biggest overall drop of any Power Five league: 4,078 fans per game since 2012. Its 2017 average of 49,601 is the conference's lowest average attendance since 2001.
- The ACC experienced its lowest average attendance (48,442) since 1999 (45,073). The 2017 figure was the lowest among Power Five conferences for the 13th straight year.
- Only the Big Ten and Mountain West had average per-game increases in attendance from 2016. In once again leading FBS in attendance, Michigan (111,589 per game) posted the six largest crowds of 2017.
- Purdue had the largest attendance increase (up 13,433 per game) going from 34,451 in 2016 to 47,884 in 2017. The Boilermakers won seven games for the first time since 2011.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...ion-with-largest-attendance-drop-in-34-years/
