BYU is averaging 58,327 fans through two home football games this season, but those crowds "came against two of the stronger opponents" on the schedule, and Saturday's paid attendance of 59,023 against Virginia "marked the sixth straight non-sellout" for the school, according to Jay Drew of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall "wondered aloud why they were nearly 4,500 fans short of a full house" for the Sept. 20 game against Virginia. Roughly 5,840 tickets "went unsold" for the school's home opener Sept. 11 against Houston, but even with the "recent drop, BYU continues to rank in the top 30 nationally in attendance." BYU expects a "sellout or close to one" on Friday for a game against in-state rival Utah State, which will feature the jersey retirement for BYU alum Jim McMahon at halftime. Drew: "But what happens when UNLV and Savannah State visit in November?" BYU Associate AD/Communications Duff Tittle said, "Are we concerned? Yeah, just like everybody else in the country is concerned." He added, "Our overall numbers are good, as far as the revenue the university is bringing in. That part, we feel real comfortable with." Meanwhile, Tittle "disputes that football independence -- and the sometimes uneven home schedules that come with it -- has put a dent in BYU’s turnstile count." Tittle said that season-ticket sales "are down only slightly, by a couple of hundred tickets this season." But he added that student attendance "is way down" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 9/28).
