Michigan State Univ. AD Mark Hollis said that the issue of "declining student section attendance at Spartan Stadium has been one of concern for at least three years," according to Kyle Austin of MILIVE.com. But the empty seats at Saturday's home win against Nebraska "jump-started the discussion." Hollis said that the 13,000-member student section "was two-thirds full at kickoff." But he said that by halftime, "it was less than a quarter full," and as students "condensed in the front rows large swaths of empty bleachers were revealed." MSU football coach Mark Dantonio said that he "was disappointed in the number of fans that left early." Hollis said that he "was disappointed and embarrassed by the level of support" from students. He added that the process of making changes "is still in its preliminary stages," but that he "doesn't want to rule anything out." Austin noted considerations "could include going away from the current general admission policy for the student section to an assigned seating model or decreasing the size of the section." While issues of game length and kickoff time "can be worked on at a conference and national level, Hollis has focused his attention on talking to Michigan State students about what can be done in Spartan Stadium" (MLIVE.com, 10/6). In East Lansing, Graham Couch notes MSU estimates that 15-30% of the purchased student tickets "are going to waste" each week. Hollis described Saturday's scenario as a "perfect storm." He said, "Having a late start, having a very long game, and having weather drop over 20 degrees from kickoff to the end, and getting a lead. Take all those factors, and when many individuals make the same decision (to leave) at the same time, it kind of creates a, 'What's wrong here?'" Couch wrote the notion that students "owe their football program time or attention, simply because they were interested enough to buy a season ticket, speaks to college football's overblown sense of self-importance." But "on the other hand, if the players and coaches feel the lack of support and are bothered by it," it is "worth trying to fix." MSU will "never solve 18-to-21-year-olds dressing for style over warmth, or get them to stop thinking in packs, or prevent them from following their crush right out of the stadium." Hollis is "smart not to create adversaries out of this crew." Instead, he is "ready to negotiate a system around their preferences." (LANSING STATE JOURNAL, 10/7).
BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE: ESPN.com's Brian Bennett wrote of MSU's student attendance woes on Saturday, "Two things must be noted here: First, the Spartans were dominating the game, leading 27-3 with 13 minutes to go. Many fans (students weren't the only ones who left) surely felt the outcome was well in hand and it was time to beat the traffic. And secondly, the temperatures that night were unseasonably cool, dipping down in the low 40s to go along at times with a swirling rain." It is "often very easy from the warmth of one's den to heckle fans who don't stick it out for hours in challenging conditions." Still, student turnout "remains a puzzler for athletic departments" (ESPN.com, 10/6).
