College game day. For many students the words alone are enough to ignite excitement for supporting their team surrounded by cheering student sections, marching bands and brisk fall air.
However, studies have shown that an increasing number of students are not as excited as was once thought. For them, attending a football game equals standing outside for hours in chilly weather, with little or no access to cellphone reception and alcohol. It would seem that more and more people are opting to cheer on the home team from a bar down the street once the tailgate fun has ended. At least at a bar there are most likely some cheap game-day specials and, most importantly, some free Wi-Fi.
Average student attendance at college football games is down 7.1 percent since 2009, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal of stadium turnstile records from about 50 public colleges with top-division football teams. The decline was 5.6 percent at colleges in the five richest conferences.
This season, Time Magazine anticipated the University of Michigan, the winner of no fewer than 11 national championships and 42 conference crowns, will have a student attendance around 13,000. This is an astounding 40% less than the figure hit last year which was estimated at 19,000.
This growing number of empty seats in student sections across colleges in the U.S. is a repercussion of soaring ticket prices, more lopsided games and fewer matchups against longtime rivals. In addition to this, there is the surge of televised games that allow students to keep tailgating long after kickoff.
Even the students who do still attend games tend to arrive later and leave earlier, said Richard Southall, director of the College Sports Research Institute, which can be an embarrassing headache for athletics programs. It appears that schools cannot even count on students who purchase tickets to show up at games. According to The Wall Street Journal, the University of Kansas, which had a 3-9 record last season, 74 percent of bought student tickets went unused.
College administrators are understandably alarmed as noisy students help create a home-field advantage that can be crucial to the outcome of football games. Furthermore, colleges depend on football to create bonds that will keep students connected after graduation, including season-ticket buyers and donors. To maintain this connection schools will be implementing changes to the game day experience in order to keep the support of the essential student fans.
A recent survey carried out by Ohio University’s Center for Sports Administration and stadium designer AECOM suggests that more than half of Division I FBS institutions plan on spending more than $10 million on facility investments over the next year. The top three priorities for that spending consist of enhancing food and beverage options, premium seating and connectivity.
Schools are already making plans to create a better atmosphere for the fans. For example the University of Nebraska at Lincoln has approved a $12.3 million project for installing a better sound system and wireless Internet in its stadium. The University of California at Berkeley is now offering freshman season tickets, usually available for a $99 fee, for free. And 21 college-owned stadiums now sell alcohol.
It is a real shame that Wi-Fi has become a factor in whether students attend football games. Students should want to put on their school colors and support their team whatever the weather or connectivity status. College football is about the tradition, the marching band at halftime and the cheerleaders and crazy mascots, that makes the most stubborn of sport fans cry out with school spirit.
