October 20, 2006
Attendance: What schools could lose DI-A status?
The Indianapolis Star has an article looking at the efforts Ball State is taking to boost home game attendance to stave off a potential NCAA reclassification. Under the NCAA rules, all DI-A schools must average 15,000 in home game attendance once in a rolling two-year period.
The new attendance requirement has caused schools to try several measures to boost the numbers in the stands. While some teams are doing special promotional concerts/events to coincide with home games, others are reaching out to larger name opponents for help - playing neutral site games where they are the home team to increase their average attendance.
There are 15 schools on the NCAA minimum attendance radar according to the IndyStar - six from the MAC alone.
I've gone through and pulled a list of the teams that could be in jeopardy of losing their DI-A status, with 2005 average attendance (pdf), 2006 year-to-date average attendance (pdf), the school's name, and a two-year average of those numbers.
2005 AVG - 2006 YTD AVG - SCHOOL - Two year rolling avg (must >15,000 for DI-A)
11,476 -- 6,431 - Florida Atlantic -- 8,954
5,219 -- 11,686 - Eastern Michigan -- 8,453
10,896 -- 13,134 - Utah State -- 12,015
14,929 -- 13,906 - Bowling Green -- 14,418
12,953 -- 14,138 - Ball State -- 13,546
15,241 -- 14,386 - Miami (OH) -- 14,814
18,630 -- 14,811 - SMU -- 16,721
12,735 -- 14,860 - Temple -- 13,798
15,175 -- 15,135 - Idaho -- 15,155
15,147 -- 15,193 - Florida International (FIU) -- 15,170
17,591 -- 15,482 - Louisiana - Lafayette -- 16,537
10,893 -- 16,011 - Akron -- 13,452
18,033 -- 16,194 - Ohio -- 17,116
10,072 -- 16,753 - Rice -- 13,413
Comments:
TrojanHorse said:
posted on October 20, 2006 3:06 PM — 155.104.37.18 — link — abuse?
I would not be sad to see each and every one of these teams dumped to 1AA, there isn't a one that is worth the time and effort to keep them 1A
FIU could stage fight night at each game, that would surely drive up attendence
Idaho could have Mr. Potato head night
Temple should go straight to Division II
gatorhippy said:
posted on October 20, 2006 4:12 PM — 209.16.115.5 — link — abuse?
I'm with PrePRo on this....
What happens to the conferences these teams are affiliated with and is it fair to said conferences if they are forced to drop them?
Who replaces these teams within these conferences or are the conferences forced to disband there by forcing the other teams to more than likely eventually drop to 1-AA as well?
Shouldn't your classification be based on student population rather than game attendance?
Did the NCAA along with the reps from BCS conferences; who no doubt pushed for this; even consider any of the above?
Didn't all of the top tier teams; at one time; average below this mark?
The whole thing seems unfair, just an attempt by "The Man" in CFB tryin to push out the little guy...Total hose job, IMHO...
posted on October 20, 2006 4:26 PM — link — abuse?Kevin Donahue said:
Well, them's the rules, as they say 'round these parts. You have to average 15K. A few years back, when the NCAA instituted this requirement, conferences and the upper-crust teams were (rightfully) concerned with diluting the DIA product and the ongoing expansion of conferences.
What happens to a conference if a team falls out of DIA? Well, you have to go get a new member or live with fewer. Most conferences have membership provisions that spell out exactly what would happen if a school was reclassed or dropped (eg SMU death penalty).
Interestingly enough, most GAME CONTRACTS also have provisions that would allow future opponents to opt-out of scheduled games if a team is re-classed, if they so choose.
gatorhippy said:
posted on October 20, 2006 4:50 PM — 209.16.115.5 — link — abuse?
Also, just about all of these teams in the midwest and northern region could have their attendance numbers skewed by crappy weather...
Schools like Idaho, Miami(OH), and Ohio could easily drop below the average if they are hit with severe snow and/or blizzards late in the year and receive sub 10,000 attendance at their last few home games...
Is this taken into account?
easternfan said:
posted on October 20, 2006 5:34 PM — 67.72.98.91 — link — abuse?
I always thought it should be based on student population not attendance. I hate to be a conspiracy theorist, but I kind of agree with gatorhippy, its the BCS trying to get rid of everybody except the schools that make them the most money.
K Hat said:
posted on October 20, 2006 11:38 PM — 4.245.72.115 — link — abuse?
It's a shame to see some of these teams that will fall to Div I-AA, but think about it, you can't find 15,000 people to attend your football games each year? That's not enough people to fill up some college basketball arenas.
Wasn't it just 10 or 12 years ago when South Florida started their football program at the Div I-AA level? Maybe some of the schools in attendance trouble should find out how South Florida went from Div I-AA to the Big East in with ten years.
Robstan said:
posted on October 21, 2006 11:44 AM — 68.221.197.138 — link — abuse?
I don't think it should be based on school attendance. Look at Ole Miss or Vandy... I'm sure there are more. They have very small student bodies, yet they average way more than 15,000. I agree with K Hat. I would hate to see these teams Fall, but their fans need to show up!
I would imagine if they had tickets priced right, it would be easy to average 15,000. Anyone know how much the ticket prices are for these schools? If they're $30 or $40 per game, they should lower them.
I'm in Alabama and they have good ticket deals for UAB and Troy. Notice they aren't on this list.
Jarred said:
posted on October 22, 2006 2:23 AM — 12.178.138.65 — link — abuse?
The BE was probably hoping South Florida would become the next Miami. Some of these schools haven't been D-I very long, so they haven't reallt built up a fan base. A lot of them are outranked by bigger schools and pro teams.
Matt Keegan said:
posted on October 22, 2006 4:46 PM — 24.162.227.244 — link — abuse?
There is a profliferation of Div 1A teams and something must be done to cull the numbers. Still, if a team can bring in a big name opponent to ratchet up attendance, more power to them.
http://thearticlewriter.com/blog/2006/10/22/once-beleagured-rutgers-stands-tall/
NIU fan said:
posted on October 23, 2006 1:19 PM — 63.104.22.210 — link — abuse?
I attend several NIU football games each year. In recent years NIU has not had any problem making the 15,000 requirement, however this has not always been the case. I for one think the whole MAC plus the Sun Belt Conference should be dropped to Div 1-AA. The games will still be fun to attend. Plus, may have the added benefit of NOT being televised. When at the game, the frequent TV time outs is a royal pain.
Tomcat said:
posted on October 25, 2006 7:22 PM — 69.151.96.63 — link — abuse?
Thanks Kevin I never really understood what costituded a Div 1-A school? Texas State in San Marcos has a much larger student body than some Div-1-A schools, examples Baylor, Rice Etc Etc
Rice Owls not only have a smaller attendance , but a smaller alumi base, even though it is an old institution located in one of the nations largest metropolitan areas.
It is kinda hard to sell tickets when you are not winning games.This year the Owls have improved and I'm happy with the new coaching staff. The Owls had declined over the last few years 03 5-7 04 3-8 05 1-10. Now this year they have victories over Army, UAB and UCF. The rest of the schedule looks pretty tough with games against UTEP and Tulsa.
Rice has one of the largest stadiums in the southwest, over 70,000 I beleive? Hopefully with the new coaching staff the Owls will win more games resulting in increased attendance and better recruiting.BTW Owls receiver Jarett Dillard is # 3 in the NCAA right now with 769 yds.
Go OwlsBalRog said:
posted on October 27, 2006 2:24 PM — 198.246.149.100 — link — abuse?
I agree with Robstan. Student population is not an indicator of ANYTHING when it comes to college football. Just look at my old home state of Virginia. The two largest schools (George Mason U and Va Commonwealth U) don't even have football at all!! My Hokies are number 3 in size, but the number 4 school is Old Dominion U, which doesn't have a football team either (although their BOV recently voted to start a D-1AA football program in 2009).
Rounding out the top 5 is U Va (D-1A of course), but is not much larger than number 6 James Madison U (D-1AA).
Seriously folks, student population has NO place in this discussion whatsoever.
gatorhippy said:
posted on October 27, 2006 5:05 PM — 209.16.115.5 — link — abuse?
Gotta say after reading a great article on Wake Forest sports yesterday, I have to retract my statement about student population...
Demon Deacons are excelling in numerous sports this fall and only hold an enrollment of 4000...
With an annual student pop. around 4000 they still manage to fill their stadium (on average) enough to not even make the list aside from up and down seasons...
Brenden said:
posted on November 1, 2006 4:35 PM — 158.93.190.41 — link — abuse?
In times past, in some few cases only a decade or two ago, most of these schools have fielded decent teams. At present, I look at that list and agree that it would be better for them to drop down a competetive level. But I have to ask myself why the NCAA sanctioned them for D1 play in the first place if they won't work with them now that their teams are down. Most all teams have their downs, some more than others. Problem now is that with the current system, which includes the BCmesS, there is little chance for these schools to generate enough revenue to become competetive. Yes, they could drop ticket prices to try and increase attendance, but football is one of a few income generators for all the rest of the athletic departments at most any school, big or small. I expect that even when these schools field lousey teams, just by being in a conference that might send one or two teams bowling funds a significant amount of their other programs with their conference cut of the bowl payout. But that isn't enough for them to invest in better facilities so that they can build. That puts a heavy burden on the alumni base, which is already called upon to suport other areas of import to the school, such as academic facilities and scholarships. They are kind of stuck in a holding pattern that both keeps them barely solvent, but also prevents their improvement. Short term fix, drop them all to D1. But as long as there is limited access to the big payouts by the self styled (and not without reason) power conferences, other lower tier teams will fall into the same situation when these ones are gone. And while some might not mind simply forcing out all the mid-majors on down, I think it would be a great loss to the game to see them all go. Rather, I'd like to see the NCAA help these teams by leveling the playing field so that every D1 team has an equal and fair shot at competing. Put in a playoff, just like every other sport and level of football, and give every conference champ an invite. Many ways of doing this have been suggested at other times and in other forums, and if the NCAA were to take it seriously, it could be done. Toss the big boys a bone and invite the runner up from the major conferences, too. But right now so many middle of the pack teams get to go bowling for no particular reason that some of the reason and drive to win the conference has been lost. They all get their big payout regardless, as long as the usual favorites do their thing - and they have stacked it to make sure they have the best chances to do just that. Sure initially the mid & lower champs would probably get flattened, but with equal opportunity and access to better funding that could change. Right now they don't even get to pretend they have a fair chance of improving, unlike middle of the pack teams and even doormats from the majors. Even if they ran the table in their conference, the odds are still very heavily against them under the current system, and the bucks they need to fix their woes tantalizingy held out of reach by the same ones who complain about having to put up with them 'diluting the product', as it was phrased earlier. So far only Utah has broken out, but they didn't have the cash--even with the big payout--to hold on to a quality coach who got them there. The SEC took him off of their hand just as easy as you please. Think they wouldn't have liked to be able to make a competetive counter-offer? So they can compete if given the chance. But who will give it to them? There was outrage that year because an undefeated Auburn team never got to compete for the title, but nobody seemed to care that Utah was also undefeated, and likewise was deprived of the chance. They didn't even get a chance to measure themselves against a quality bowl opponent. They destroyed Pit in the Fiesta. I wonder how they might have fared against Oklahoma? Imagine what a playoff might have proved. For now that is all we can do, us and those bottom dwelling teams that likely won't ever get much of a chance.
HANK GUPTON said:
posted on November 14, 2006 3:20 PM — 198.66.72.2 — link — abuse?
i can recall growing up in beaumont,texas in the 1960s when the southland conference was formed and headquartered there. this conference was started as a division 1-a conference with the following teams-- Lamar University ( long since dropped their program)Mcneese State, Trinity, Abilene Christian, Texas Arlington ( since dropped program) University of Louisiana Lafayette, etc. more teams came and just as quickly dropped out or changed status untill the whole conference dropped to division 1-aa. I also recall the dreams the powers that be had for the Southland Conference to become the new major conference in the south and that the Independence Bowl in Shreve Port, Louisiana was formed for the champion of the Southland Conference to host. Mcneese State played Syracuse in the first game and was soundly defeated by a mediocre Syracuse team. The next year, most of the original teams dropped out and down a classification and most of the Texas teams were the ones withdrawn. The Southland Conference still exists but in division 1-aa with the newcomers in the majority. Why did this have to happen? The future looked so bright for the Southland in division 1-a. Now it is hardly recognized nationally.
posted on November 25, 2006 8:49 PM — link — abuse?
These numbers come from the NCAA site, and I believe those are updated weekly. I'll update again after the season. (Email me if I forget)
@blink4x - If these teams have "slush funds to buy tix", then why haven't they? Why didn't they last year?MU Ohio fan said:
posted on December 27, 2006 10:18 AM — 192.88.212.43 — link — abuse?
As Miami (OH) long-time season tix holder, this presents a dilemma. We just had a horrible, albeit rebuilding, season. It was complicated by an absolutely horrendous schedule where the moved our homecoming game to a Sunday night game (against the NFL.) In order to please the ESPN tv "gods" we had only 2 saturday games. Something has to be done to take all of this into account before booting teams like us into 1-AA.
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PreProSports said:
posted on October 20, 2006 2:13 PM — 68.21.103.162 — link — abuse?So, what happens to these schools if they get the boot? Do they get kicked out of conference? How could SMU remain a CUSA school, but be Div 1-AA?