Attendance under 20K

Tue Dec 16, 2014 8:22 am

WYO finishes with about 19K average for the season. UAB, who just dropped football, was just over 21K. We beat 3 teams in the MWC in average attendance.

Other conferences have fan game day experience committees. Other Universities are hiring consultants to improve fan game day experience.

Small TV market and terrible attendance are not good characteristics in today's college football environment. Obviously, winning will do a lot, but I think there is concern beyond that.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 8:40 am

TV times didn't help either. IMO Wyoming can get to 25K for average attendance when game times are good and the product on the field is good too. We're not located in some large metro area like UAB, so start times make a big difference....as does weather.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 9:06 am

They should bring in some consultants on this.

1.) We have the second largest fan base in the MWC. That would lead me to believe that we have a non-traditional tv market that needs to be promoted. I have a feeling we have quite a few pokes fans watching from all over the nation. To what extent that occurs - I don't know. The research would be a great selling tool.

2.) Attendance is an issue. I think UW is working backwards lately. Increasing ticket prices. Losing more games.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 9:09 am

Demographics and geography.

Frankly, attendance is largely irrelevant considering our max is less than 30k. We could sell out every game and it would not change our position in the landscape of collegiate athletics.

In the grand scheme of college football, 25k is really on different than 19k. Television matters more than attendance. CFB attendance is stagnant at best (actually declining slightly based on a recent CBS sports article), but media revenue continues to skyrocket.

Having said that, what happened at UAB has really no bearing on Wyoming. Two very different scenarios and it actually highlights one of our key strengths, being the only University in the state. Certainly the population of Wyoming is small, but due to that lack of competition and a state budget situation that is superior to many states (although we certainly have challenges currently, they are backed up by a very large "rainy day" fund", which eliminates some of the really crazy budget shenanigans that can go on in State Legislatures due to their lack of ability to borrow), we are in no real danger of dropping football.

Will Wyoming ever be part of the "P5" or whatever form the top tier of college football will take? No, we won't. But, there isn't a single thing that the fanbase or the administration could do to change that.

Don't get me wrong, I wish we had better fan support and I have many frustrations with our administration, but from a big picture perspective we really have nowhere to go. We have the backing at the state and institutional level that will allow us to compete at the highest level that will have us and that level will be determined by factors (primarily media revenue potential) that we have very little control over.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 9:17 am

WyoBrandX wrote:They should bring in some consultants on this.

1.) We have the second largest fan base in the MWC. That would lead me to believe that we have a non-traditional tv market that needs to be promoted. I have a feeling we have quite a few pokes fans watching from all over the nation. To what extent that occurs - I don't know. The research would be a great selling tool.

2.) Attendance is an issue. I think UW is working backwards lately. Increasing ticket prices. Losing more games.

In terms of attendance, there are two key factors:

1. Winning/Losing

2. Logistics

The first one is discussed plenty on this board. The second one has arguably just as large of an impact. Night games in November in Laramie, WY will rarely be well attended. Night games in November in Laramie, WY where the expected result (usually fulfilled) is the home team getting curbstomped? Well, we know how that looks.

Wyoming, moreso than almost any other program, really needs Saturday afternoon games. This is particularly true in November. 25k for Montana or 21k for Florida Atlantic vs. 14/15k for USU/BSU (actual was much less).

Tue Dec 16, 2014 9:19 am

Night games in November (and even late October) might be making us some money, but they are hurting our attendance average. This will continue until we are playing for the MWC championship in those games.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 9:26 am

Advertising, advertising advertising, advertising, advertising and, wait, oh a little bit more advertising! In order to build fan support and excitement for UW athletics it's going to take some... wait for it... advertising! Send out letters to UW alumni, get some floats in parades state-wide, distribute pamphlets in gas stations, billboards in every town. We've got to make it seem cool to come to Laramie to see games (which it really is). Athletics can be a great tool because it's the only real connection many of us have left to the Univ. of Wyoming.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 9:57 am

All good points. Personally, I think we should do more of a game weekend experience rather than game day experience.

Maybe a 5* meal in the IPF the night before the game with a pep rally type atmosphere, band, and silent auction. It could start with tours of facilities. (stolen ideas from an article about what other schools are trying)

Do we have organized charter busses from different regions in WYO combined with accommodation arrangements? I wonder what it would take to get a passenger train in the Fall that ran from Sheridan down through Casper, Cheyenne, and on to Laramie? Serve booze and a festive environment?

Make sure you have CSU or BYU in November as a home game and have only 1 other home game at most in that month.

I agree with Nowhere that our realistic attendance targets probably won't do much for our national perspective. However, I do think a largely sold out stadium with more energy will help in recruiting.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 11:04 am

Also keep in mind that Wyoming has a relatively small percentage -- I think only three states are lower -- of people living here who were also born in the state.

That means that on top of our tiny population, we just don't have many who were born and raised here...and youth is the time when diehard allegiances to college teams are formed.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 11:26 am

LanderPoke wrote:Advertising, advertising advertising, advertising, advertising and, wait, oh a little bit more advertising! In order to build fan support and excitement for UW athletics it's going to take some... wait for it... advertising! Send out letters to UW alumni, get some floats in parades state-wide, distribute pamphlets in gas stations, billboards in every town. We've got to make it seem cool to come to Laramie to see games (which it really is). Athletics can be a great tool because it's the only real connection many of us have left to the Univ. of Wyoming.

When i saw the data that McPeachy posted from the CJC guide, this thought traversed my mind. Why isn't the CJC putting a guy in a Cowboy Joe Truck and sitting on the main streets of all these cities in Wyoming where the CJC membership is so low?

I see the guy selling carpets, the guys selling Montana Flathead cherries, but no CJC. I would imagine driving by and seeing the CJC tent and truck would entice people to stop by.

There are 7 community colleges. On gamedays, why doesn't CJC get a party together at each of the local colleges and broadcast the game live (not everyone can take the time to drive to laramie, but it doesn't mean they don't want to enjoy some of what there is to offer). Hell, they can probably serve beer at the colleges where they can't at the stadium.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:00 pm

ragtimejoe1 wrote:WYO finishes with about 19K average for the season. UAB, who just dropped football, was just over 21K.

I guess that means we better drop the football program.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:04 pm

WyoBrandX wrote:They should bring in some consultants on this.

1.) We have the second largest fan base in the MWC. That would lead me to believe that we have a non-traditional tv market that needs to be promoted. I have a feeling we have quite a few pokes fans watching from all over the nation. To what extent that occurs - I don't know. The research would be a great selling tool.

2.) Attendance is an issue. I think UW is working backwards lately. Increasing ticket prices. Losing more games.

I see this flung about.. where does this info come from?

Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:05 pm

Attendance actually up 123 from 2013.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:07 pm

MrTitleist wrote:
WyoBrandX wrote:They should bring in some consultants on this.

1.) We have the second largest fan base in the MWC. That would lead me to believe that we have a non-traditional tv market that needs to be promoted. I have a feeling we have quite a few pokes fans watching from all over the nation. To what extent that occurs - I don't know. The research would be a great selling tool.

2.) Attendance is an issue. I think UW is working backwards lately. Increasing ticket prices. Losing more games.
I see this flung about.. where does this info come from?

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/0 ... haos/?_r=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:13 pm

Major college football home attendance in 2014 dipped to its lowest average in 14 years as many schools continue to struggle to fill seats.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootbal ... n-14-years" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:35 pm

WYCowboy wrote:Night games in November (and even late October) might be making us some money, but they are hurting our attendance average. This will continue until we are playing for the MWC championship in those games.

Boise State won the MW and played in late games all year. Late start times are here to stay regardless of wins/losses.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:37 pm

J-Rod wrote:
WYCowboy wrote:Night games in November (and even late October) might be making us some money, but they are hurting our attendance average. This will continue until we are playing for the MWC championship in those games.
Boise State won the MW and played in late games all year. Late start times are here to stay regardless of wins/losses.

I think he was saying more people will go to those games if there was something on the line.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 3:24 pm

JimmyDimes wrote: I think he was saying more people will go to those games if there was something on the line.

My bad, I misread.

This is an issue for all MW programs, not just Wyoming. Those late starts are brutal for fans. I hope Thompson does some extra negotiating this off-season.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 3:47 pm

J-Rod wrote:
JimmyDimes wrote: I think he was saying more people will go to those games if there was something on the line.
My bad, I misread.

This is an issue for all MW programs, not just Wyoming. Those late starts are brutal for fans. I hope Thompson does some extra negotiating this off-season.

Negotiating isn't likely to change much were locked into the ESPN deal and the only way we get paid from it is accepting poop ass night games. MWC isn't going to have prime time starts anytime soon I don't think.

Tue Dec 16, 2014 6:14 pm

LanderPoke wrote:Advertising, advertising advertising, advertising, advertising and, wait, oh a little bit more advertising! In order to build fan support and excitement for UW athletics it's going to take some... wait for it... advertising! Send out letters to UW alumni, get some floats in parades state-wide, distribute pamphlets in gas stations, billboards in every town. We've got to make it seem cool to come to Laramie to see games (which it really is). Athletics can be a great tool because it's the only real connection many of us have left to the Univ. of Wyoming.

I think that's an oversimplistic, pollyanna-ish take on it. Advertising wouldn't have gotten me there this year. I didn't see a game at all in person for the first time in 14 years this year. There is nothing that the CJC or the AD could've done with advertising to get me there. The problems go a lot deeper than not 'getting the word out' enough. Everybody knows that UW has a football team that plays in Laramie on 6 Saturdays in the fall.