Football Attendance Crisis

[GV Dad]

I was checking the records in the media guide the other day. It wasn't long ago that WIU was averaging over 10,000 a game. So it is possible to get back to that. The product on the field is really good right now, so it shouldn't be a problem to market it.

One of our game day visits was to MO State. They sell the 22 oz cans of beer at the concession stands. I like the idea of beer sales, for attendance and revenue. But a beer tent makes me worried that it will take away from the game.

You are right on about lack of accommodations. We are looking to be creative, maybe use one of the camp grounds close to town. Or see if there is a lot the school would permit using a camper/RV. I realize though, not everyone has a camper or RV. Maybe buy a house and airbnb the days we don't use. Seems to be a market for that.

[sealhall74]

I was checking the records in the media guide the other day. It wasn't long ago that WIU was averaging over 10,000 a game. So it is possible to get back to that. The product on the field is really good right now, so it shouldn't be a problem to market it.

One of our game day visits was to MO State. They sell the 22 oz cans of beer at the concession stands. I like the idea of beer sales, for attendance and revenue. But a beer tent makes me worried that it will take away from the game.

You are right on about lack of accommodations. We are looking to be creative, maybe use one of the camp grounds close to town. Or see if there is a lot the school would permit using a camper/RV. I realize though, not everyone has a camper or RV. Maybe buy a house and airbnb the days we don't use. Seems to be a market for that.

I hate the 22 oz cans. I am a slow drinker and by the time I hit bottom, the gusto is all gone. IMHO, averaging 10K a game would be a real stretch even if you gave away the booze.

[GV Dad]

I was checking the records in the media guide the other day. It wasn't long ago that WIU was averaging over 10,000 a game. So it is possible to get back to that. The product on the field is really good right now, so it shouldn't be a problem to market it.

One of our game day visits was to MO State. They sell the 22 oz cans of beer at the concession stands. I like the idea of beer sales, for attendance and revenue. But a beer tent makes me worried that it will take away from the game.

You are right on about lack of accommodations. We are looking to be creative, maybe use one of the camp grounds close to town. Or see if there is a lot the school would permit using a camper/RV. I realize though, not everyone has a camper or RV. Maybe buy a house and airbnb the days we don't use. Seems to be a market for that.

I hate the 22 oz cans. I am a slow drinker and by the time I hit bottom, the gusto is all gone. IMHO, averaging 10K a game would be a real stretch even if you gave away the booze.

You guys know much better than I do, so this is a serious question and not meant to be sarcastic. In 2010 Western averaged just over 11,000 per game. What has changed that would make 10,000 a stretch 8 yrs later? I think I read that attendance has been decreasing, so that may be an issue.

[sealhall74]

I was checking the records in the media guide the other day. It wasn't long ago that WIU was averaging over 10,000 a game. So it is possible to get back to that. The product on the field is really good right now, so it shouldn't be a problem to market it.

One of our game day visits was to MO State. They sell the 22 oz cans of beer at the concession stands. I like the idea of beer sales, for attendance and revenue. But a beer tent makes me worried that it will take away from the game.

You are right on about lack of accommodations. We are looking to be creative, maybe use one of the camp grounds close to town. Or see if there is a lot the school would permit using a camper/RV. I realize though, not everyone has a camper or RV. Maybe buy a house and airbnb the days we don't use. Seems to be a market for that.

I hate the 22 oz cans. I am a slow drinker and by the time I hit bottom, the gusto is all gone. IMHO, averaging 10K a game would be a real stretch even if you gave away the booze.

You guys know much better than I do, so this is a serious question and not meant to be sarcastic. In 2010 Western averaged just over 11,000 per game. What has changed that would make 10,000 a stretch 8 yrs later? I think I read that attendance has been decreasing, so that may be an issue.

The biggest changes are 1) a new Athletic Director and 2) I think most on this board would agree a new way of counting event attendance. The reality of the matter is that the guy working as AD back in 2010 is now AD at a college which does not have football and they dont even bother to announce the attendance for the sports they do have. So there you have it. I think the AD and staff we currently have are very much straight shooters and tell it like it is (i.e. butts in seats). All that negativity aside, I do think roughly doubling attendance of this year to something in the 7K range is a reasonable goal to shoot for each and every year assuming student enrollment and Macomb economy are stable.

[wiu712]

It wasn't long ago that WIU was averaging over 10,000 a game.

While the attendance numbers may have been "enhanced" during the TVA era, there can be no doubt that attendance has been down for the past few years. The new east side stands were sparsely occupied during our 4 home games this past season.

One of the main reasons for attendance decline has to be the decreasing enrollment numbers over the last 10 years.

Total Student Enrollments:

Fall 2006 = 11,168
Fall 2007 = 10,990
Fall 2008 = 10,648
Fall 2009 = 10,446
Fall 2010 = 10,392
Fall 2011 = 10,386
Fall 2012 = 10,001
Fall 2013 = 9,605
Fall 2014 = 9,445
Fall 2015 = 8,988
Fall 2016 = 8,360
Fall 2017 = 7,631

[leatherneckcountry]

Also need to find away to get the loyal fans that the last staffs ticked off to come back as well

[GV Dad]

Also need to find away to get the loyal fans that the last staffs ticked off to come back as well

What did they do?

[Leatherneck309]

As already noted above, my understanding is that the TVA administration calculated attendance differently which provided enhanced numbers. Not certain but I feel like they counted all tickets sold and given away but not actual people through the gates. However I don't think a consistent 7,000 or more for big games would be unrealistic but it is going to take some work.

[wiu712]

In comparing our 2017 football attendance to that of Eastern Illinois and Truman State (state universities of similar size and located in towns comparable to Macomb), Eastern had much larger crowds for both Family Weekend and Homecoming.


Western 2017 Football Attendance:
Sept 30 = 5,631 (Homecoming).
Oct 14 = 3,217 (Family Weekend).
Oct 28 = 2,247.
Nov 18 = 2,812.


Eastern Illinois 2017 Football Attendance:
Sept 16 = 7,031 (Family Weekend).
Sept 23 = 3,699.
Oct 7 = 3,016.
Oct 21 = 8,176 (Homecoming).
Nov 4 = 2,828.


Truman State 2017 Football Attendance:
Sept 16 = 3,212 (Family Weekend).
Oct 7 = 2,189.
Oct 14 = 3,467 (Homecoming).
Nov 4 = 1,532.
Nov 11 = 1,643.

[Tere North]

In comparing our 2017 football attendance to that of Eastern Illinois and Truman State (state universities of similar size and located in towns comparable to Macomb), Eastern had much larger crowds for both Family Weekend and Homecoming.


Western 2017 Football Attendance:
Sept 30 = 5,631 (Homecoming).
Oct 14 = 3,217 (Family Weekend).
Oct 28 = 2,247.
Nov 18 = 2,812.


Eastern Illinois 2017 Football Attendance:
Sept 16 = 7,031 (Family Weekend).
Sept 23 = 3,699.
Oct 7 = 3,016.
Oct 21 = 8,176 (Homecoming).
Nov 4 = 2,828.


Truman State 2017 Football Attendance:
Sept 16 = 3,212 (Family Weekend).
Oct 7 = 2,189.
Oct 14 = 3,467 (Homecoming).
Nov 4 = 1,532.
Nov 11 = 1,643.

Another indication we are going Goldfarb's way of becoming a Truman State