Attendance at college football games has dropped to its lowest level in 22 years. Last season, the average college football attendance across all 129 FBS institutions was 41,856, the lowest figure since 1996. The previous record low was set in 2011, when attendance was 42,145.
The drop in attendance is a result of many factors, including increased television coverage of games, as well as changes to NCAA rules that have reduced the number of players on campus during the regular season. Overall revenue from ticket sales and sponsorships has remained relatively constant over the past few years, while expenses have increased due to higher payrolls and facility upgrades.
Despite the decline, some schools continue to draw large crowds. Michigan Stadium, home of the University of Michigan Wolverines, had an estimated 99,761 fans attend football games last year. Southern California’s Rose Bowl had an average attendance of 79,971 over the course of the 2012 season. The other major bowl games averaged around 50,000 spectators each.
College football attendance has declined every year since 2005, when more than 100,000 people came out to see USC play Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. The number of people attending college football games has dropped by about 2 million since then. In 1996, when the record high was set, there were about 18 million tickets sold for FBS games.
In 2019, 47,537,702 spectators attended NCAA football games across all levels (FBS, FCS, Division II, and Division III) at home, neutral-site, and postseason games. The highest average attendance was reported by FBS schools ($101,812), followed by FCS schools ($61,918). Women’s basketball had the highest average ticket price at $63.07.
The most popular sport among college athletes is football. In 2019, a record 9,163 high school athletes were recruited by NFL teams. That’s more than any other professional sports league except for the NBA, which recruited 8,952 players.
Here are the other most popular sports: Baseball - 3,244 American football - 3,095 Basketball - 1,805 Soccer - 1,581 Tennis - 1,276 Volleyball - 1,161 Cross country - 779 Swimming - 553 Diving - 507 Track and field - 481 Lacrosse - 360 Roller hockey - 302 Indoor soccer - 289 Boxing - 255 Wrestling - 246
Almost all college athletes participate on at least one team during their career. But only about 70% play on the same team in both high school and college. The others move around to different positions on different squads or even try out with different NFL teams.
With 47.5 million spectators attending games in 2019, college football is the nation’s second most popular sport, with 392 regular season telecasts reaching more than 145 million unique fans and 38 postseason bowl games reaching 90 million.
The United States has a large population of college football fans. In 2017, sports marketing company NIKE reported that there were about 18 million college football fans in the country. That makes up approximately 14 percent of the total U.S. population.
College football fans are often referred to as “die-hard” fans. This term comes from the fact that they will follow their favorite team no matter what city or state they live in life. Sometimes this will mean moving to another city when their team goes to a new location, like when Florida Gators fan moved to Tampa after the University decided not to continue playing football there.
There are also “seasonal” fans who will only watch college football during certain seasons. For example, most people will only watch College Football during the fall semester. This is because most schools start playing football in August/September and finish in January/February.
Finally, there are fans who don’t pay attention to college football at all.
During the 2018 NFL regular season, the league’s average per-game attendance was 67,042, the lowest amount since 2010. In 2018, the Dallas Cowboys had the greatest average attendance of any NFL club, averaging 91,619 for their eight regular-season home games. The Indianapolis Colts had the lowest average attendance at 44,219.
The 2017 NFL regular season saw a record number of people attend an NFL game for the first time in nine years. On December 30, 2017, 70,845 fans attended all 16 games with one match being played in London. The previous record high attendance for an NFL regular season was 65,514 set in 2016. The highest average attendance across all 32 teams was 90,181 by the Dallas Cowboys. The lowest average attendance was 44,219 by the Indianapolis Colts.
In 2016, the NFL saw a record number of people attend its games for the first time since 2007. On December 29, 2016, 69,813 people went to see all 16 games with one match being played in London.
From 1985 to 1994, the NFL’s average attendance ranged from 21,512 to 45,163 per game.
The amount of people that watch a live football game each week is significant, especially when high school football is considered. In certain places, attendance at high school football games may rival that of college games. There are no exact figures, although I believe some broad estimations may be made. TV ratings for high school football games show that most fans tune in during the season’s early weeks when there are only a few games being played. As the season progresses, more games are held and so fewer people are likely watching ballgames as a whole.
In general, the more popular the team playing against your favorite college or pro squad, the smaller the crowd will be. If you’re a Michigan Wolverine fan, for example, you probably don’t want to watch an Ohio State game with hundreds of Buckeyes fans in attendance. The same goes for Florida Gators supporters who might not feel comfortable if T-Bird fans swarm into their stadium.
Some schools may attract larger crowds than others, but most play before a sparse audience. The fact that high school athletes often come from small towns where sports are important factors in determining social status makes this phenomenon understandable.
There are several reasons why so few people attend high school football games. Some students may have other interests, while others may not like the weather in North Carolina or Missisippi.
The NCAA single-season average home attendance record at Michigan Stadium is 112,252 people per game, established in 2012. On September 7, 2013, 115,109 people packed Michigan Stadium to watch Michigan upset Notre Dame 41-30, setting a post-1948 NCAA collegiate football attendance record. The previous record was held by Texas with 111,897 in 1998.
Texas averaged 101,845 per game from 1960-69, but the record for most attended games in a season belongs to Michigan (1.92 million). The Wolverines played six regular-season games in 2012 and drew 1.9 million fans, which at the time was the largest audience ever for a regular-season college football game. They outdrew every other program on campus, including Michigan State and Ohio State, who both had larger stadiums that year. In addition, Michigan played in the Rose Bowl, one of the most prestigious bowls in sports, so its average rating is higher than it would be if it were playing in its own stadium each week.
Penn State’s Nittany Lion Stadium opened in 1937 and has a capacity of 102,094. It is the largest stadium in the Big Ten and the 11th largest in the country.
Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium opened in 1929 and has a capacity of 102,054. It is the third largest stadium in the Big Ten and the 15th largest in the country.
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