A record number of games for the ’15-16 college bowl season led to record total attendance, but average attendance at those bowls was the lowest in at least a decade. There were 42 postseason FBS games this season, with those bowls averaging 43,424 fans. That figure is down from 44,361 fans for 39 bowls in ‘14-15 and 48,793 for 35 games in ’13-14. Of the new bowls, the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl at the Georgia Dome, which led off bowl season with N.C. A&T-Alcorn State, drew the most fans. That game drew 35,528 fans Dec. 19. The new Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl in Tucson, which featured Nevada-Colorado State, drew 20,425 fans, while the new AutoNation Cure Bowl in Orlando drew 18,588 fans. The bowl with the lowest attendance was again the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl, which saw attendance drop to 13,123.
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COLLEGE BOWL SEASON ATTENDANCE TREND
|
|
SEASON
|
BOWLS
|
TOTAL
|
AVERAGE
|
|
'15-16
|
42
|
1,823,822
|
43,424
|
|
'14-15
|
39
|
1,730,074
|
44,361
|
|
'13-14
|
35
|
1,707,745
|
48,793
|
|
'12-13
|
35
|
1,722,834
|
49,224
|
|
'11-12
|
35
|
1,765,224
|
50,435
|
|
'10-11
|
35
|
1,813,205
|
51,806
|
|
'09-10
|
35
|
1,769,857
|
50,567
|
|
'08-09
|
34
|
1,755,876
|
51,643
|
|
'07-08
|
32
|
1,733,490
|
54,172
|
|
'06-07
|
32
|
1,697,262
|
53,039
|
|
'05-06
|
27
|
1,479,750
|
54,806
|
| |
|
|
|
THE HIGHS…: The Rose Bowl again led all games with 94,268 fans for Stanford-Iowa, up from 91,322 last year for the Oregon-Florida State matchup, which was a CFP semifinal. The Goodyear Cotton Bowl, which was a CFP semifinal this season, ranked No. 2 with 82,812 fans. The Alabama-Michigan State matchup at AT&T Stadium was a sellout. The AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium drew record attendance for the second straight season. LSU-Texas Tech drew 71,307 fans on Dec. 29. The CFP National Championship on Monday drew 75,765 fans to Univ. of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, marking the lowest figure for a title game since ’07, when the same venue hosted the Florida-Ohio State matchup.
…AND THE LOWS: Excluding events in their second season, six bowls saw record-low attendance. One year after record-setting attendance, the New Era Pinstripe Bowl saw a record low for the six-year-old event at Yankee Stadium. More established games like the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl and the Hawaii Bowl also saw new lows. While not a record low, the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium saw its lowest figure since switching to an ACC-SEC matchup in ’06. The National Lending Holiday Bowl in San Diego also saw its lowest figure since ’92. In Shreveport, the Camping World Independence Bowl saw its lowest attendance since ’88.
